Pastor Maffey Convicted of Kissing Minor

A jury Monday convicted a Protestant pastor of the Apostolic Christian Church in San Clemente of molesting a 14-year-old female parishioner he met through his job.

Ricardo Avalos Maffey, 44, of Santa Ana, was convicted of five felony counts of lewd acts upon a child and one felony count of contacting a minor with the intent to engage in child molestation, according to a release from the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

He faces a maximum sentence of six years in prison. He is scheduled for sentencing April 15 in Santa Ana, the release states.

Maffey met the 14-year-old through the church and began "grooming the victim by spending time alone with her while the victim was volunteering in the church office," the release states.

From May to August, 2008, the defendant violated his position of trust by engaging in illegal sexual contact with the girl, the release states.

"On multiple occasions, Maffey kissed Jane Doe on the mouth while the two were alone after prayer service or in the church office," the release states. "The defendant also inappropriately touched the victim’s leg and buttocks."

During this time, the defendant sent numerous emails to the victim to arrange future meetings and disclose his sexual urges. Maffey called the 14-year-old "the most bootylicious girl I know," according to the DA's release.

The victim’s mother discovered some of the emails and contacted the church. The church contacted the police.

During the trial, Jane Doe testified that Maffey instructed her to delete his emails to prevent her parents from reading them and told her to email him at work so that his wife would not discover the emails on his personal email account, the release states.

Maffey confessed to police officers, prosecutors said.

The defendant testified in court, however, that he had not engaged in any unlawful sexual contact with the victim; he claimed that he had previously kissed the victim on the forehead and cheek as part of Pentecostal practice, the DA's release states.

Maffey also said that on one occasion Jane Doe unexpectedly kissed him, but it ended quickly and he was not the instigator.