Long Beach Pastor, Teacher Resigns After Admitting To 'Long-Term Moral Failure'

LONG BEACH, CA — A Long Beach pastor and music teacher resigned this week and was arrested, Arbor Road Church announced. According to Long Beach Police Department records, a man with the same age and name as Pastor Jeffrey Williams Zabel, 50, was arrested on suspicion of possessing child pornography.

The Long Beach Police Department said they learned Tuesday that a Jeffrey Williams Zabel had admitted to someone that he had viewed child pornography. After an interview with child abuse detectives, Zabel was taken into custody, on suspicion of possessing child pornography, police said.

He was later released on his own recognizance, according to police, who said they're still investigating.

The 50-year-old pastor did not reply to an email and other messages from Patch.

A Jeffrey Williams Zabel worked was a pastor at Arbor Road Church (ARC) in Long Beach and served as a music teacher at Lakewood Christian Schools (LCS).

In an internal letter obtained by Patch, church officials this week said they had learned “troubling news” about Zabel and scheduled a meeting with him early Tuesday morning.

“During the hour-long meeting that followed, Jeff openly disclosed (in detail) long-term moral failure in his life spanning more than a decade,” church officials said in the letter, adding that they urged the 50-year-old to face the situation “with humility, honesty and forthright.”

Following the meeting, Zabel resigned, church officials said.

“The severity of the deception made it crystal clear to everyone in the room that Jeff was no longer suitable for his role,” church leaders said in the letter. “We swiftly accepted his resignation and fully removed Jeff from ARC.”

Church officials confirmed in the letter that Zabel had been arrested, although they didn't state it was on suspicion of possessing child pornography. They added that the LBPD was investigating Zabel and that they are ready to help the department “in any way necessary.”

“Once the investigation concludes, we will keep you informed,” church officials said in the letter. “For now, we wanted to share this unfortunate issue with you immediately and as transparently as possible.”

Zabel's LinkedIn profile shows he worked at ARC since 2008. Before that, he was a pastor of worship and Arts at a church in Castro Valley and a worship director at Lake Avenue Church in Pasadena, according to the profile.