Pastor Accused of Molesting Boys to Stand Trial

A trial date is set for the 68-year-old pastor and bishop from Lake Forest accused of sexually assaulting two boys from his Laguna Hills-based congregation.

Oscar D. Perez Perez was arrested Sept. 10, 2011, at his Lake Forest home on suspicion of lewd acts with an 11-year-old boy. Two days later, police identified another boy who accused Perez of similar acts.

Jury selection for Perez's trial is expected to begin Monday in a Santa Ana courtroom, according to the District Attorney's office.

He faces four counts of lewd acts, two per boy, as well as a sentencing enhancement because of the number of victims.

Perez was a pastor and bishop at Iglesia Antigua, a Spanish-language church that rented space at St. George's Episcopalian Church in Laguna Hills. (Iglesia Antigua bills itself as Old Catholic, a breakaway sect that is not affiliated with the Roman Catholic church or Diocese of Orange.)

Prosecutors allege he met the the two 11-year-old boys at church and had them sleep over at his apartment at different times. 

Perez is suspected of kissing the preteen and touching his genitals, according to the D.A.

An investigation of that case led to the . According to the D.A., the second victim stayed at the pastor's apartment on one occasion, awakening to find Perez sodomizing him.

Those acts allegedly occurred as long ago as January 2008, according to the D.A.

Perez remains jailed on $1 million bail. If convicted, he faces a maximum of life in state prison.