Adventist Pastor Charged with Multiple Counts of Sexual Assault
5 January 2020 |
Multiple media outlets are reporting that Helio S. Ferreira, a man who served as an Adventist pastor in Georgia, has been arrested, charged with multiple counts of sexual assault.
He is accused of sexually assaulting three women over a six-year period when he was living in or visiting Oregon’s Multnomah County.
Oregon Live reported that Ferreira was indicted on December 20, 2019. He was charged with rape, sodomy, sexual abuse, kidnapping and identity theft. He is being held without bail in Georgia and will be extradited to Oregon.
A Multnomah County grand jury has issued a nine-count indictment against Ferreira.
Brent Weisberg, spokesperson for the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office, would not confirm to Oregon Live if Ferreira came into contact with the suspected victims through his church position.
Ferreira appears to have been quite active in Portland, Oregon-area Adventist circles over the last few years. Oregon Live reported that Ferreira offered music lessons to students at Hillsboro Seventh-day Adventist School during the 2017-2018 school year.
According to this news report, “Portland Police Bureau Detectives are actively looking to see if there are other related cases. Anyone with any information that could help investigators or information you believe could be connected, you’re urged to contact Detective Ross Dormady at (503) 823-0880.”
