UPDATE, NOV. 16, 3:01 P.M.: An Orange County District Attorney's office (OCDA) statement on the sexual assault charges against David
Elifar Verduzco reveals that the 32-year-old now has an alleged 12-year-old female victim to go along with the 9-year-old girl he is accused of molesting, The release adds that Verduzco, the electronic keyboard teacher at Agape House of Prayer in Anaheim, first befriended the girls' families, who were fellow parishoners.
The statement also corrects the order of the defendant's name as previously reported by Tustin police.
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The Santa Ana resident was charged Tuesday with one felony count each of sexual penetration with a child 10 years or younger, lewd acts upon a child under 14, and child annoyance for the unidentified 9-year-old girl. He is also charged with two felony counts of lewd acts upon a child under 14 for the 12-year-old. And he faces sentencing enhancements for substantial sexual conduct with a child and lewd acts on multiple children.
If convicted, Verduzco could spend 60 years to life in state prison. He is being held on $1 million bail before his continued arraignment on Dec. 9 in Santa Ana.
As with the 9-year-old, Verduzco is accused of meeting the 12-year-old through her parents, who are also Agape parishioners.
Between Jan. 1 and Sept. 27, he is accused of having kissed and inappropriately touched the girl's thigh during keyboard lessons. He is further alleged to have sent inappropriate text messages to her cell phone.
Verduzco is accused of babysitting the 9-year-old and two other little girls at their Tustin home on Aug. 28 while her parents went to the hospital. After putting the two youngest girls to bed, he allegedly fingered the 9-year-old in her bed.
Like Tustin police, the OCDA is seeking other potential victims. If you have information that can help the case, contact Supervising District Attorney Investigator Lou Gutierrez at 714.347.8794.
ORIGINAL POST, NOV. 14, 9:19 A.M.: David Elifar Verduzco befriended a family at his church,
cultivated the relationship and then molested the parents' 9-year-old
daughter, Tustin police say.
The 32-year-old was being
held at Orange County Jail without bail on multiple felony charges.
He is expected to be arraigned today.
Police fear Verduzco may have pulled the act on other families. If you fear your children have been victimized or have other information that can help investigators, contact Tustin Police Det. Pam Hardacre at 714.573.3248.
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.