Police, Congregation Unite to Hunt Down Fugitive Nev. Pastor
A Las Vegas pastor on the run has been arrested in Mexico and brought back to Nevada for trial stemming from child sex abuse charges.
Otis Holland, now in federal custody and awaiting extradition in San Diego, is being charged with 11 counts of sexual assault of a victim under 16, one count child abuse and one count of conspiracy to commit a crime, Henderson Police said.
He is accused of counseling troubled teens, bringing them home to a sound-proofed "torture" room in his home, and even videotaping them as he abused them.
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The pastor had been in hiding since an arrest warrant was issued for him in June 2011. He was found in a church in Tijuana, Mexico, after police received a tip from "America's Most Wanted," a TV show that puts the spotlight on highly sought-after criminals.
Holland, 55, who had previously been arrested back in December 2010, again for child sex abuse charges, apparently slipped through the cracks of the court system until more teenage girls came forward to share how he had used religion to take advantage of them.
A couple of anonymous family members of a victim have come out to share their disgust with Holland's actions, saying that he would do "horrible things" to the girls inside the room in his home.
"I hope he spends the rest of his days enduring the same torment day in and day out that he put these young children through. That he never gets one second of happiness in his life," a male family member said.
"I think he's the scum of the earth. It doesn't get any lower," he added, saying that he lost faith in the system after Holland escaped the court's grasp after he was initially charged with the crimes back in 2010.
"It's crazy to me he was so calculated," a female family member said.
Apparently, the Nevada pastor held his church services inside a tax office on Hacienda Avenue in Las Vegas. It is not know whether he had a permanent church elsewhere, but it has been reported that members of his congregation, who felt betrayed when they found out about Holland's crimes, raised $10,000 in reward for anyone who helped lead to his capture.
Police believe that it is possible there might be other victims who have not yet stepped forward to make their accusations.
