Church Sex Abuse Case In Wildomar Drags On

WILDOMAR, CA — A former principal at Faith Baptist Academy in Wildomar who pleaded guilty in January to sexually molesting an underage student more than 30 years ago withdrew his plea last week and is due back in court this summer.

Laverne Paul Fox, who is now in his 60s, was arrested in Erie, Pennsylvania, in June 2019 and extradited back to Riverside County. He was charged with lewd acts on a child, oral copulation of a minor and forced sexual penetration of a child under 16 years old — alleged crimes that stemmed back to July 1990.

In January 2020 he denied the charges, but a year later he reached a plea deal with prosecutors and admitted to two felony counts of sexual abuse involving a minor.

Court records show Fox was expected to be sentenced April 30. The Press-Enterprise was in the courtroom during last week's scheduled hearing and reported that Judge Mark Mandio was uncomfortable with Fox's plea deal, and called attorneys from both sides into chambers. Afterward, the defense attorney withdrew his client's plea, according to The Press-Enterprise.

Court records show a preliminary hearing for Fox is now set for June 25 at Murrieta's Southwest Justice Center. A preliminary hearing is typically scheduled following a defendant's not guilty plea. During the hearing, the prosecutor must show that enough evidence exists to charge the defendant. If the judge concludes there is probable cause to believe the crime was committed, a trial is ordered.

Fox remains out of custody on bail.

Faith Baptist Academy Youth Pastor Malo “Victor” Monteiro was also charged with sexually abusing teen girls at Faith Baptist Academy. He was sentenced in 2018 to five years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually abusing three girls from the church. Earlier this year, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation granted 47-year-old Monteiro early release amid the coronavirus pandemic. According to the California Megan's Law website, Monteiro's last reported address was in Riverside.