Woman detailed years of abuse by ex-CCSD teacher, police say
A woman told police that she was sexually and mentally abused by a Las Vegas pastor and former teacher for years, according to a police report released Wednesday.
Reynaldo Crespin, 59, was arrested Saturday in New Mexico on a warrant from Las Vegas. He awaits extradition to Las Vegas, where he was charged with five counts of lewdness with a child, four counts of sexual assault on a child and one count of open and gross lewdness, Las Vegas Justice Court records show.
The alleged victim, who is now an adult, told police on Feb. 7 that Crespin abused her throughout her childhood, though the dates were redacted from his arrest report.
She said the most recent abuse occurred in December, which is when she told her family. She asked that her family not report it to police, but when Crespin went missing she turned to the police.
“She did not believe (Crespin) was trying to hurt her and never considered it abuse until it was explained to her that the acts performed should not have happened,” the report stated.
The woman outlined years of abuse, which began with inappropriate touching and resulted in sexual assault, according to the report.
Crespin and his wife are the only staff at New Horizon Christian Church on Walnut Road. The church is where Crespin and his family lived and home-schooled their several children, according to the arrest report.
No one at the church could be reached for comment.
Family Court records show that Marivic Crespin, his wife, opened a child custody case on Feb. 10 against Reynaldo Crespin regarding the couple’s three sons.
The Clark County School District said Crespin worked for the district from July 2016 until this month, most recently at Hickey Elementary School, 2450 N. Hollywood Blvd.
“He told (the victim) not to tell her mother because she would take it the wrong way and would leave him,” the woman reported to police.
The woman said Crespin was “training her” so she would know what to expect from men when she was an adult.
Other family members told police that Crespin locked himself in a bathroom on Jan. 31 and made suicidal comments, the report stated. His wife said he gave her a will and said “God was going to take him.”
Days later, Crespin quit his job at the school, cut up the family’s credit cards, disconnected the security cameras and Wi-Fi and disappeared. His family had not heard from him since Feb. 8, according to the arrest report.
Other children in Crespin’s care reported that they were choked and lifted by their ears when they upset the man, according to the arrest report.
Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.
