Posted on 03/02/2023 4:24:27 AM PST by Morgana
After a mother found disturbing content on her 16-year-old’s phone, police investigated and arrested a Florida youth pastor, charging him with multiple counts of sexual misconduct.
February 9, Human Trafficking detectives arrested Moises Escoto, 36, after learning he had made contact with the child two years earlier on a chat and meetup app called Sniffies.
Sniffies is a map-based meetup app launched in 2018 for gay, bisexual, or curious men. While the site claims to have strict rules for regulating and reporting underage users, a discussion thread on Reddit suggests that many underage users lie about their age on the app.
In a public release, the Hillsborough Sheriff’s Department alleged that since the initial contact, Escoto solicited the minor via Snapchat and Sniffies for sexually explicit pictures and videos in exchange for money and gifts. Escoto also secretly met with the underage teen, and they engaged in sexual acts, the release says.
The criminal report affidavit says the victim initially informed Escoto of their age, to which he responded, “I don’t care.”
Escoto was a youth pastor at Iglesia de Cristo Misionera Mahanaim Church in Tampa until his arrest. Iglesia de Cristo Misionera Mahanaim is one of several Spanish pentecostal churches throughout the eastern U.S. under the umbrella of Iglesia De Cristo Misionera Inc.
MinistryWatch reached out to the Tampa church, who provided us with the following statement:
“As a Christian Ministry, we are devastated and heartsick to learn that one of our staff or members has been arrested for a serious crime. In such a situation, that individual is immediately removed from any leadership role in our Ministry pending the outcome of the alleged criminal matter, and we will fully cooperate with law enforcement regarding the matter.
“Our Ministry does not cover-up criminal conduct, and we have zero tolerance for any criminal or inappropriate conduct within our ministry community. As a matter of policy, our Ministry would always report any suspicions of criminal or inappropriate conduct to the proper law enforcement authorities. We carefully interview and screen our employees and leaders, and our leadership team maintains strict policies of conduct based on best practices.
“We believe that transparency and accountability are essential for successful ministry, and we are fully committed to ministering in a safe and responsible manner. With regard to the recent criminal matter related to our Ministry, we intend to cooperate fully in bringing any alleged criminals to justice.”
Along with Escoto, police arrested another Florida man on similar charges—a registered foster parent.
Of the arrests, Sheriff Chad Chronister said, “It is absolutely disgusting that these two men, who were placed in positions of mentorship and trust with children in our community, used online apps to seek out and victimize our youth. Unfortunately, we know that predators are constantly on the hunt to ruin the innocence of our community.
“I urge parents to know where and what their children are doing online at all times. We will not stop searching for these deviants wherever they may be, and we ask for parents and the community to help us protect our precious children.”
Escoto faces eight charges of sexual misconduct, plus charges for criminal disclosure and resisting arrest. The affidavit says during Escoto’s arrest, detectives escorted him to the ground after he pulled his hand away and attempted to run.
This investigation remains active, and police request that anyone with information about the case come forward. On February 22, police filed a search warrant for Escoto’s property.
Escoto remains in jail on a $138,500 bond.
You mean.....kids LIE about their AGE so they can talk to grownup perverts online???? NO WAY!!!!!!
I think Biden has good grounds for a law suit regarding this name. He's known as "The Sniffer" after all.
Religious people seem to flock to these positions. If republicans were smart, they’d tighten up requirements for church hires. It’s becoming an epidemic and makes all religions look horrible.
every week I find several of these stories. Yes it is making Christianity look bad!!
“ The criminal report affidavit says the victim initially informed Escoto of their age”
Is this just poor grammar or is the newspaper writer also a sodomite and trying to conceal the homosexual predilection to molesting minors?
Poor grammar.
It is deliberate. They are trying to maintain the fiction the sex of the victim is not known.
Organized religion is the first refuge of scoundrels.
— Mark Twain
When I a tween, one of the young rabbis was a closeted sodomite who tried to prey on young boys. Got found out pretty quickly, but us boys knew he was trouble for several years before he was removed. We weren’t sure what was wrong, but we could tell.
They’re everywhere, like wolves. Waiting to prey on children.
They look for innatentive or missing parents, especially. Something to keep in mind to keep you kiddos safe. Be clearly involved with your kid and the perverts steer clear.
What is covered sets the narrative as much as how it is covered.
The dominant media hunts for these stories to make religion and churches look bad. Then they promote them. It is a very strong anti-Christian bias.
I’m thinking #9 is correct.
The sites I’m using are ones that call out for religious abuse, all forms of it.
Yes the media will run with this but when are we going to crack down and be more vigilant? Why do we allow this to go on? It’s our own fault. We need to watch who we put in the pulpit.
for our teen ~ cell phone/school computer remains only at kitchen table at our house, no apps, no passwords, Life360 must always “on” - and I have girlfriends with teens, we inform/screenshot any suspicious activity that might show up on any one of our kids devices...
mean ol’ parents !!!
I don’t see that as entirely accurate. I believe groomers see churches as fertile hunting grounds populated with naive people more willing to trust than the general public. I’ve personally known multiple cases where deviants targeted congregations. They know the right things to say to parents to gain their trust and the congregations are anxious to fill positions with people who have a “calling” to share the message of Christianity.
Satan takes many forms. If he was red with horns and a tail it would be easy to identify him. He takes many forms and often masquerades as a pious person. It is not the religion, but the person who is at fault.
It’s called “affinity fraud” and cuts across all religions and ethnicities.
Bernie Madoff largely preyed on Jewish charities, for example.
That’s not something for politicians to do, it is something for churches to do.
I volunteer with a Christian youth adventure organization. We require leaders to supply recommendations, including pastoral, take a mandatory youth protection training course, a criminal background check and are never allowed to be alone with any youth. Any communication with youth, phone, text, email must include another leader or a parent.
Churches need to adopt a similar program
It’s not about religion, it’s about access to kids. Churches, synagogues, recreation programs, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Big Brother/Sister programs, teachers, gymnastics, dance class, etc. The perverts go where the kids are.
It’s sad. And a real reason that religion in general is losing support.
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