WINONA, Minn. – A former pastor at Pleasant Valley Church, Rick Iglesias, whose church and street ministry touched hundreds, pleaded guilty to long-term sexual relations with a teen-age boy. The plea was to second-degree criminal sexual conduct. In a plea deal, three charges of the three first-degree charges were dropped. Judge Mary Leahy accepted the deal. The transgressions began in 2010, when the boy was between 13 and 15, and continued into 2012. The pastor was arrested in 2019, to the shock of his congregation and the community. He then left town. He has commuted back and forth from Pennsylvania and Texas for court dates. Iglesias, now 66, pleaded not guilty in April but under the plea deal acknowledges a “significant relationship.” The original charges could have meant 90 years. The reduced charge carries a maximum of 25 years with the range usually being 7-1/2 to 20. Most judges would opt against the lowest range because Iglesias, as a pastor, was in a position of authority.
Iglesias. October 13 sentencing date.