Local Youth Pastor Arrested

This won't be a fun Christmas for the junior high department at Capo Beach Calvary Chapel:

DANA POINT – Capo Beach Calvary Church's junior high ministry director was arrested at the church this morning on suspicion of having a "sexual relationship" with a teen-age female enrolled in his program.

Daniel J. Pedroza Jr., 28, of San Clemente, will be charged with six felony charges, Orange County Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino said.

"We received a child abuse report from social services, detailing that a minor female between the ages of 14 and 18 disclosed she had been engaged in a sexual relationship with her youth pastor," he said.

Investigators arrested Pedroza at the Capistrano Beach church around 10:30 a.m. today.

During my church insurance years we had a coverage on every policy for "Sexual Misconduct/Molestation" just to cover stuff like this. We also had to ask every pastor whether anyone in their church had ever been accused or convicted of an act that would fall under that coverage. In nine years I think I only had one church respond in the affirmative, and that involved a past employee.

Things like this can get ugly pretty fast.