Church Leader Charged w/ Sexual Assault
MINNEAPOLIS – A 43-year-old man who teaches Sunday school and runs senior programs at a south Minneapolis church has been charged with sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl.
Ruben Ramirez-Toxtle is charged with one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a minor. According to the complaint, Ramirez-Toxtle is a pastor at Iglesia Centro Cristiano de Minneapolis. In court, his defense attorney said he is not a pastor, but prosecutors said he teaches Sunday school and senior programs, which are positions of authority.
According to the charges, the alleged victim and her family are members of the church.
The girl told her mom that Ramirez-Toxtle had touched her breasts and told her he was falling love with her. When several members of the church staff confronted him about the allegations, Ramirez-Toxtle admitted he had done what she said, but said he never had sex with her. He was given a letter reprimanding his behavior.
In an interview with police on Nov. 2, the girl said Ramirez-Toxtle had touched her breasts over her clothing and rubbed her buttocks over her clothes several times in July and August at the church, and said he told her he was in love with her.
Bail has been set at $25,000 for Ruben Ramirez-Toxtle, with conditions he stay away from children and the church.