RACINE, Wis. — The Racine County District Attorney has charged a local pastor with four charges related to sexual assault.
Bernabe Leon-Alvarez, 37, faces attempted sexual exploitation by a therapist, repeated sexual assault of the same child and child enticement charges.
Law enforcement was made aware of the accusations in January of 2023 when a girl contacted them about abuse starting in 2020. The girl was 14-years-old at the time and said Leon-Alvarez abused her at a church event up north.
In the criminal complaint, the girl goes into detail, explaining the abuse started as touching but escalated to inappropriate massages.
The girl’s family utilized Leon-Alvarez as a religious therapist of sorts, according to the complaint. They called upon him to help with their daughter as she was having issues with her family. The girl told investigators, the meetings with Leon-Alvarez quickly made her uncomfortable. She says Leon-Alvarez would use oils to massage her and, “…he used the oil to make a cross on her head.”
The interactions would happen at the church, the criminal complaint explains. Additionally, the girl says Leon-Alvarez would compliment her, saying he was in love with her and give her gifts like jewelry, a cell phone, money and a headset for a video game system. When the girl heard her family was going to have her younger sister meet with Leon-Alvarez, she spoke up about the assault she had received.
It took her time to come forward because she said, “she felt like she just could not tell anyone what he was doing.”
“They are banking on that,” Peter Isely with Nate’s Mission said. “They are absolutely banking on that and when it’s a minister or person of God, imagine how this multiplies exponentially.”
Isely is a survivor of clergy abuse himself. It’s why he’s dedicated his live to advocating for survivors of clergy abuse. He says cases resulting in charges is not the norm.
“It’s the exception that this man, this minister, has been arrested,” Isely said. “I’m very proud of her and proud of these survivors that are taking on this ethical responsibility.”
A family friend heard about the assault and spoke up herself that she experienced similar uncomfortable interactions. She says she told her mother about the uncomfortable interactions and the mother confronted Leon-Alvarez. However, she says she still met with Leon-Alvarez about 15 more times after that confrontation.
Isely knows it can be hard for others to come forward or speak out when they hear about these kinds of allegations.
“Victims tend to block out any news stories about this stuff,” Isely said. “They’re trying to protect themselves psychologically.”
The State of Wisconsin has an anonymous tip line where survivors can contact them about any assaults they may have experienced.
TMJ4 News was not able to identify the church Leon-Alvarez works for. A neighbor at Leon-Alvarez’s last known address says he helped her fix her car and frequently runs a food pantry on his block for the less fortunate. She says these allegations are surprising to her.
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