Pastor who said he can’t stop abusing kids pleads guilty to sexual exploitation of a child

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Editors’ note: This article contains graphic descriptions of child sexual abuse.

A Long Island pastor who told investigators that he couldn’t stop himself from abusing children and has a penchant for preying on youth aged 11 and 15, pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a child in federal court in Central Islip Tuesday. He is expected to spend at least 15 years in prison.

Pastor Jose Saez Jr., 29, of Iglesia Cristiana Alumbrando El Camino (Lighting The Way Christian Church) was arrested and charged with producing child pornography in 2023 after the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided his Brentwood home and recovered more than 20 videos of a 16-year-old boy that the pastor had shared with others.

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“The defendant’s sexual exploitation of minors, both in person and online, is horrific, and he now faces at least 15 years in prison for his unspeakable crimes,” United States Attorney John J. Durham said in a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York. “That he held a position of trust and responsibility as a pastor of a local church makes his conduct even more reprehensible. Protecting vulnerable children from predators like this defendant will always be a priority of this Office.”

According to court documents reviewed by The Christian Post, Saez allegedly told investigators that he was aware that the teenage boy, who he met on the messaging app called Telegram, was a high school student.

Yet the married father of three children, who were aged 1, 3 and 5 at the time of his arrest, intentionally persuaded the minor to produce sexually explicit photographs and videos of himself and share them with him.

In an October 2023 letter to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anne Y. Shields, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark E. Misorek argued that Saez was a danger to the community as he shared evidence of Saez admitting to preying on the children of his “friends and family,” and finding victims at church. He also shared how Saez groomed the 16-year-old boy, identified as John Doe.

“In August of 2023, the defendant engaged John Doe in a direct conversation on Telegram. The defendant groomed John Doe with flattery and gradually progressed to asking him for nude images of himself. John Doe repeatedly made references that he was 16 years old — a minor. Nonetheless, the defendant ultimately convinced John Doe to send a video of himself [performing sexually explicit acts],” Misorek noted. “The defendant encouraged John Doe, saying in sum and substance, ‘Send me a picture of your face, tease me, let me see you in the mirror, need more pics, the front too, I want to see your body, take it out . . . your d---.”

That same month, Saez admitted to an undercover agent that he had sexually abused an infant and revealed how he targeted his younger victims at his church.

“In August of 2023, the defendant had online conversations with the UC. During those conversations, the defendant stated, among other things, that he had performed oral sex on an infant and ejaculated on the infant, that his ‘sweet spot’ for molesting children was children between the ages of 11 and 15 and that he was able to find his younger victims at ‘church,’” Misorek wrote.

Investigators reviewed some 12,000 videos, 400,000 images and 6,800 chats recovered from devices owned by Saez. In one conversation, when asked if he was nervous about getting turned down by a minor, he replied, “Getting turned down implies I’m giving them a choice[.]”

Though investigators did not recover any images of the pastor with infants, he stated in one chat, “I f------ a few littles.”

During questioning with officers, Saez, who could be sentenced to a maximum of 30 years in prison for his crime, admitted that children are never safe with him

“Finally, during the course of the interview, while discussing creation, distribution and possession of child pornography, the defendant stated, ‘I am sorry that I can’t stop,’” Misorek wrote. “Notably, the defendant also stated, ‘I told [a third-party who I reside with] never to leave me alone with the kids.’”