A Hesperia priest is in police custody on suspicion of sexually abusing two minors in his care as a foster parent.
Jose Manuel Lozano is awaiting trial at the High Desert Detention Center in Adelanto, where he is being held in lieu of $5 million bail. Investigators said his alleged victims were a 16-year-old and a 10-year-old girl.
Jose Manuel Lozano
(Hesperia Police Department)
The 54-year-old Hesperia resident leads bilingual services for the largely Latino and Spanish-speaking congregation at Zion Assembly of God Church Hesperia, an affiliate of the Zion Assembly of God International Church, headquarters Located in Tennessee. A representative for the latter said in an interview that the organization condemned Lozano’s “ungodly” behavior and removed him from his post on March 15 after the allegations came to light. He was arrested last week.
Pastors from neighboring churches said they were shocked and dismayed to hear about Lozano’s arrest.
“This is just a reminder of all the ways we have systems in place to protect children,” said Tom Beasley, pastor of Hesperia Community Church. He said he did not know Lozano personally or any of his congregants.
“We have to do our due diligence,” Beasley said of his role as a pastor. “We live in a broken world.”
Lewis Busch, pastor of nearby Zion Lutheran Church and School, said he was “deeply saddened” to hear about the arrests. He said he also has concerns for young people and is anxious about the potential impact on ministry work.
“We are committed to helping people and healing people,” Busch said. He worries Lozano’s arrest further tarnishes the clergy’s reputation.
Services were being held at Zion Assembly Hall of the Hesperia Church of God in Lozano’s absence, with interim pastor Henry Rodriguez taking his place. Rodriguez did not respond to The Times’ request for comment, and the church’s Instagram and Facebook pages have been deleted.
According to Sovereign Way Christian Church Pastor Stephen Feinstein, Lozano’s congregation has been renting space from the church since 2018. He said he knew Zion Tabernacle Hesperia to be a good tenant who communicated well. He said the news was “shocking”.
He said the Sovereign Way Christian Church campus has security cameras in nearly every room, but law enforcement has not requested any footage.
“Sexual abuse is a problem in every institutional setting,” Feinstein said.
Local authorities believe Lozano may have targeted other victims, and officials are asking anyone with information to contact San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Deputy Frankie Zavala and Hesperia ) Police Department at (760) 947-1500, or call the anonymous tip line at 1-800-78 – Crime (27463).
