A Colorado Springs, Colorado, pastor has been arrested for reportedly having sex with a 14-year-old girl and fathering a child with the teen. An arrest affidavit indicates that the minister, Romello Leach, 22, admitted his actions with the girl were driven by “lust.”
El Paso County Sheriff’s investigators determined that the teenager became pregnant and subsequently gave birth in September and that Leach had been having sex with her for at least a year. According to WLWT 5 News , authorities say Leach’s actions “spelled out” a “pattern of abuse” that included numerous alleged sexual assaults.
The investigation into Leach began in May after authorities were alerted to a teenage girl who had been impregnated by an adult male. The girl first told deputies that the father of her child was a church friend, identified later as being Leach. The teen said she only had sex with Leach two times , beginning in November 2016 inside his vehicle and then again at her home in early 2017, according to The Denver Channel .
When asked by his ex-wife if he’d gotten a teen girl pregnant, Leach admitted in a phone recording that “it happened,” according to the affidavit. He also reportedly said that he’d “made the worst mistake” and that he “will not… sleep with everybody’s” teenage daughter.
On Tuesday, November 21, 2017, the teen girl called Leach with deputies by her side, reports The Denver Channel . Leach reportedly confessed to having sexual relations with her on at least four different occasions. The Colorado minister also admitted to being the father of the young girl’s 2-month-old child, according to the affidavit.
The arrest affidavit notes that Leach confessed to knowing his behavior was “wrong” and said he was “full of lust at the time,” reports The Denver Channel . In addition, the document states that Leach attempted to blame everything that took place on someone else.
Leach has been charged with several counts of sexual assault on a child under the age of 15 that take into account a pattern of abuse and the position of trust he held in relation to the girl, according to The Denver Channel . In total, Leach faces eight felony charges in the matter. At present, he is behind bars, held without bond at the El Paso County Jail.
Leach is a licensed minister associated with several churches in the Colorado Springs area. According to The Denver Channel , the sheriff’s office said it is currently investigating whether or not there are any other possible victims of Leach’s out there.
Authorities are asking anyone with any information regarding the Romello Leach case to call the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office Tip Line at 719-520-6666.
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