Youth Pastor Guilty; Alleged Molester Charged; Another and a Groper Sought

A youth pastor who preyed on (as opposed to preyed with) two boys is convicted.

An alleged molester of three underage girl relatives is charged.

Another who is suspected of molesting a 5-year-old girl and the groper of a 15-year-old girl are sought.

Brandon Ernis Lee McDade pleaded guilty Jan. 9 to sexually assaulting two boys while working as a youth pastor at their church. The 31-year-old Mission Viejo resident was then sentenced to six years in state prison and a lifetime of having to register as a sex offender. Between May 2012 and December 2015, McDade met the boys, who were younger than 16, in his role as youth pastor at Grace Hills Church in Aliso Viejo. He molested both boys on church property and one of them at a movie theater. One victim reported the sick crime to his parents, who contacted the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. McDade, who was arrested on Dec. 9, 2015, following an investigation, copped last week to felony committing lewd acts upon a child under the age of 14, two felony counts of committing lewd acts upon a child between the ages of 14 and 15, and a misdemeanor charge of child annoyance.

Jose Manuel Escobar was charged Tuesday with sexually assaulting three underage girls he is related to—and more than once with each victim, according to the Santa Ana Police Department. The allegations against the 32-year-old car detailer date back to December 2002, with one of the girls claiming she was molested starting when she was 5 and the other two saying their were 14 or 15, according to Santa Ana Police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna. Escobar faces six counts of committing lewd acts on a minor younger than 14 and two counts of lewd acts on a minor, along with sentence-enhancing allegations of having more than one victim and molesting multiple children.

Rigoberto Arevalo Cubias, an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador, is believed to be on the run as Fullerton Police detectives suspect him of sexually assaulted a 5-year-old girl on Dec. 21. Officers were prepared to arrest the 30-year-old on suspicion of sexual intercourse or sodomy with a child under age 10 as well as an outstanding warrant for a 2014 DUI, according to the police. But he is believed to have discarded his car and cell phone to elude capture, police say. He is described as 5-foot-7, 185 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. If you spot him, contact Fullerton Police Detective Carin Wright at 714.738.6754 or leave an anonymous tip with Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855.847.6227.

A man believed to be in his 20s is being sought for groping a teen girl who was walking to school in Brea last Monday, Jan. 9. The 15-year-old was in the 1800 block of West Skywood Street headed to Sonora High School around 7:45 a.m. when she was grabbed from behind, according to the Brea Police Department. Brea and La Habra cops are working together to determine if the same groper pulled similar sexual batteries Jan. 6 and in November near the Brea/La Habra border.

For the most recent incident, investigators pulled images from a residential surveillance camera that show a man who may be in his 20s running from the area and a red, newer model, four-door sedan with chrome wheels and tinted windows that he may have driven off in. So there are three messages police want to get out to the public: If you’re a girl walking to Sonora High School, do so in a group; if you spot someone who looks like the guy or car in the photos, call the Brea Police Department at 714.990.7773; and if you have information on the Brea/La Habra groping incidents, call Detective David Aguirre at 714.990.7677.

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