VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Yersson Solarte Basto, a former Sanford church pastor, has been booked in Volusia County on additional charges of sexual battery involving a minor.
Solarte, 33, was initially arrested in May on charges of sexual abuse and molestation of girls in his congregation. The Volusia Sheriff’s Office announced Friday it has now charged him with five counts of sexual battery on a victim under the age of 18 for crimes that occurred at his home in DeBary.
The investigation by VSO detectives revealed that Solarte used his position of trust to groom the victim and coerce her into multiple instances of sexual abuse, the sheriff’s office stated.
These new charges add to the previous allegations made against him in Sanford. Solarte was initially taken into custody on May 7 by the Prince William County Police Department in Virginia. He was in the Volusia County Branch Jail Friday morning with no bond.
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