California pastor married to porn star Christy Love pleads guilty to raping younger sister
A California pastor, who openly stated that his wife is an active "adult actress" but still serves as co-pastor of the church, is now facing a 30-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to multiple felonies, including the rape of his younger sister when he was a teenager.
Stephen Dela Cruz, 37, who leads Living Faith Church in San Diego along with his wife, Angela, pled guilty on May 14 to eight felonies, including three counts of forcible rape, three counts of forcible oral copulation and two counts of sexual penetration by a foreign object, the Ventura County District Attorney's Office announced last Thursday.
The pastor's sister, Samantha, who is almost six years younger than him, initially filed charges in juvenile court alleging that her brother was 14 and 15 at the time she was assaulted.
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"Samantha was incredibly brave, courageous and just never gave up," District Attorney Erik Nasarenko, who prosecuted the case, said in a statement. "Despite multiple setbacks and delays, she kept fighting for justice and to have her voice heard in court. Because of her determination to see her brother held accountable for these egregious crimes, the legal process did ultimately work."
In September 2021, Stephen and Angela Dela Cruz announced the launch of Living Faith Church. He described the inclusive, nondenominational congregation as "a church for sinners, by sinners" and revealed that his wife is an "adult actress."
"Brand New Inclusive Christian Church in Downtown San Diego! Come be part of an amazing community that's nonjudgmental, open minded, fun and loves Jesus. Where else will you find a[n] adult actress who is also a pastor?! This is a unique church that welcomes all sinners but glorifies Jesus!" the announcement reads.
In an interview with The San Diego Sun published last August, Pastor Dela Cruz, who describes himself as a hypnotherapist, life coach and business strategist, said that his wife's stage name is Christy Love. Even though they have been in a relationship for 18 years and married for 14 years, they have an open marriage, which he has learned overtime to deal with.
"My wife is an adult actress, and she gets recognized a lot (her stage name is Christy Love). One time, someone driving by in a car yelled, 'What the Hell! … She's married to that?!' I find it [so] hilarious!" he said. "Angela and I have been married for 14 years but dating for 18 years and have an open marriage. It was tough in the beginning, but I love this adventure we're on together. She is the best wing woman!"
In January 2023, the couple answered questions on a YouTube video about their theology and why they feel comfortable having an open marriage while proclaiming to be Christian leaders.
They said they want to be open with their struggle with sin.
"My husband and I met in Bible school. The first time I saw him, I said you're going to be my best friend, and he thought I was crazy. But here we are, 17 years later and still going strong. So we're so grateful for God for that," Angela Dela Cruz said.
"We moved to San Diego to plant a church, and during that time, we were financially struggling a little. I saw an ad on Craigslist to get into webcamming and eventually got into the adult industry. And now, here we are much later in life. We never felt the call of God leave us. We've always felt called to ministry all our life. We felt now was the time [to answer] God calling us to ministry and I'm still doing what I'm doing [porn]," she added.
Pastor Stephen Dela Cruz said the main difference between them and other pastor couples is that they are public about their struggle with sin.
"The difference between us and the pastor on television or whatever else in your neighborhood is that they're going to come out eventually one day and say, … 'I have fallen short, and I have cheated on my spouse, or I've stolen this, or I've done that,' and then they give up and they move on with life and everyone else is devastated," he said.
"I'm not trying to justify myself. We're wicked people. We are sinful people, according to Scripture. We have all fallen short. You're sinful. You're wicked, and because we're all sinful and wicked, we thank God for his grace and mercy," he continued.
"We're not saying what she's doing is holy. We're not saying what she's doing is righteous. We're not saying what she's doing is like worship unto God. No. We're acknowledging, 'Hey, you know what? This is our struggle. This is our journey with God."
According to District Attorney Nasarenko, who sought to have Pastor Dela Cruz's case transferred from juvenile court to adult court, the crimes he committed against his sister as a teenager involved significant sophistication and planning and were especially violent and severe.
He reportedly isolated his sister in their home and threatened to kill her if she ever disclosed his crimes. He also often displayed a knife before the sexual assaults, which occurred in 2001 and 2002.
"This is a day that I thought may never come, and I am thankful that this violent criminal will no longer be a threat to our community," the pastor's sister said after his guilty plea.
Stephen Dela Cruz's sentencing is scheduled for June 27.
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