Las Vegas pastor faces judge on sex abuse charges
A Las Vegas pastor accused of sexually abusing girls at his church since at least 2016 faced a judge on Tuesday.
Prosecutors have three active cases against Bramwell Bernardo Retana, 44, who was arrested Dec. 20 and faces a total of 40 felony counts. He is being held in the Clark County Detention Center without bail.
Charges against Retana include lewdness with a child younger than 14, first-degree kidnapping, child abuse and luring a child with a computer to engage in a sexual act.
The Metropolitan Police Department began investigating Retana last year after a girl told her parents that the pastor of Iglesia Cristiana Oasis De Paz had been sexually abusing her for more than a year.
Retana and his wife, Gabby, founded the church at 2020 Michael Way in March 2004.
Details surrounding the most recent charges were not immediately available, although Metro previously said investigators believed there could be more unidentified victims due to Retana’s position at the church.
At least four more girls accused Retana of sexual abuse after media reports of his arrest in December.
Retana’s attorney, Ryan Helmick, told Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Melanie Tobiasson on Tuesday that the cases “all stem from the same allegations.”
According to arrest reports released last week for Retana, his wife had known about the alleged abuse since at least May, when she learned that Retana had kissed a girl. And days before her husband’s arrest, she was overheard on the phone with the first girl who came forward, telling her, “Sorry for talking to you that way. I thought you were trying to steal my husband.”
Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Follow @randompoker on Twitter.