Dustin Colony-Herrera was the youth pastor at Yucaipa Christian Church in San Bernadino County, California back in 2004 when the first allegations of child sexual abuse were made. Meanwhile, he lived over the county line in Riverside County where some of the abuse is said to have occurred. So, some of the abuse was reported in one county and some in another and due to that, investigators had no idea of the scope of his abuse. To make things worse, when they began investigating, he moved to Medford, Oregon, and didn’t show up for his court date.
In 2009, a person abused by Colony-Herrera in both counties reported what happened to him, leading to the two investigations finally being aware of each other and a realization that they were dealing with a serial predator. He is alleged to have abused eight pre-teen children.
He was arrested, finally, in 2019, and extradited to California. He denied the allegations, claiming they misunderstood his affectionate manner.
- Press-Enterprise: Ex-youth leader at Yucaipa church accused of molesting 8 children in Calimesa
- Palm Springs Desert Sun: Youth pastor’s alleged sex abuse obscured by county, state lines for 15 years
Palm Springs, California · Tuesday, April 16, 2019
