Abundant Life Ministries pastor Jonathan Tsai arrested after child abuse claims from LA church-goers

California pastor, 40, is arrested after woman who attended his church claims he sexually abused her for six years from the age of 12, prompting more women to come forward

  • Jonathan Tsai, 40, head pastor at Abundant Life Ministries in Los Angeles County, California was arrested on July 21 following child abuse claims
  • A woman accused him of sexually assaulting her for six years from when she was 12 years old
  • She told police the alleged abuse took place at her home which he would visit  often as a youth pastor because his family was close to hers
  • Two other women have come forward with claims and police say they stem back to the year 2000 
  • Tsai was held on $1.4 million bail but was released after three days 

Jonathan Tsai, head pastor at Abundant Life Ministries in Los Angeles, California was arrested on July 21 following child abuse claims but was released days later on $1.4 million bail

A pastor in LA’s Hacienda Heights has be arrested on suspicion of child abused after a woman claimed she was sexually assaulted by the church leader when she was a child.

The allegation came in to the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department on January 9 and the victim said she and her family were members of what was known as Home of Christians Eastern Los Angles Church at the time.

The anonymous accuser told police that Jonathan Tsai, now 40, regularly visited her home because his family became close to her relatives.

She alleges the abuse lasted six years from when she was 12 until she was 18 years old.

Tsai was a youth pastor at the time. 

The LASD say they identified two other women who have reported similar claims of sexual assault by the suspect when they too were minors.

Incidents stem back to the year 2000 according to prosecutors. Tsai would have been 20 years old at the time.

Tsai is currently Head Pastor at the church which is now named Abundant Life Ministries. 

The website for the church displayed a message that it was undergoing maintenance on Thursday.

The place of worship has a largely Mandarin Chinese congregation.

He was arrested at his home on July 21 and was held at Walnut Station on a bail amount of $1.4million. However he was released three days later on July 24.

The DA has charged Tsai with four counts of Lewd Acts on a Child Under 14 years Old, one count of Oral Copulation of a Person Under 16, and one count of Sexual Penetration of a Person Under 16.

His next court date is August 26, 2020.

Police believe there are more victims and have urged them to come forward.

West Covina Police Department is also investigating the suspect for sexual assault cases that occurred in the city of West Covina.

‘It’s an ongoing investigation,’ Lt. Michael Burse, of the Special Victims Bureau told the LA Times. 

‘We feel there are probably more victims because these are crimes that occurred over a long period of time.’

Anyone with information regarding this case is urged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Special Victims Bureau toll free tip line at (877) 710-5273 or by email at specialvictimsbureau@lasd.org.

If you prefer to provide information anonymously, you may call ‘Crime Stoppers’ by dialing (800) 222-TIPS (8477), or use your smartphone by downloading the ‘P3 Tips’ Mobile APP or ‘P3 Mobile’ for the hearing impaired on Google play or the App Store, or by using the website lacrimestoppers.org.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk