A 43-year-old pastor in Carlsbad was arrested on charges related to child molestation Wednesday, the San Diego County Sheriff's Office (SDSO) confirmed.
Matthew Tague, a pastor at the North Coast Calvary Chapel, was arrested for 16 counts of lewd and lascivious acts with one minor victim.
Sheriff's investigators said Tague called them Monday and reported the crimes himself.
"It's very disturbing and horrible, but for it to be your next door neighbor,” said Lon Plourde.
Plourde told NBC 7, Tague has two grown children and three much younger adopted children.
He added that nothing appeared out of the ordinary at his neighbor's home.
"[Tague] was always outside playing with the kids and the kids seemed very happy. No reason to think anything weird was going on. It was definitely a shock,” Plourde said.
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According to SDSO, Tague is accused of molesting a child under the age of 14 by force multiple times.
"There is a lot of information I'm not prepared to disclose right now about the victim, the relationship, and so forth. It appears this has been going on for about a year,” SDSO Lt. Karen Stubkjaer said.
But officials did say the charges are not related to Tague's position at the church.
Tague, a San Marcos resident, was arrested around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. He was booked into the Vista Detention Facility and is being held on $1.9 million bail.
The Sheriff's Department said the investigation is ongoing. There is no indication that there are any additional victims.
North Coast Calvary Chapel released a statement after the arrest, which read:
"We are deeply grieved to share that early this week we learned that a pastor at North Coast Calvary Chapel, Matthew Tague, was reported to have acted inappropriately with a minor, off church property, and outside of church ministry activities. When our staff learned of the allegations, we immediately reported the accusation to our Sherriff’s Department and terminated Mr. Tague’s employment. On Wednesday, May 31, Mr. Tague was arrested on suspicion of the offense. The investigation of the accusation is now in the hands of law enforcement. We ask you to please pray for the victim, as well as the family involved in this tragic matter. Please pray for law enforcement as they determine the facts. We also ask you to pray for justice and restorative healing to take place for all involved. We are utterly heartbroken by these events. We have strict requirements and procedures in place for hiring pastors and staff including professional background checks and exhaustive interviews. In this case, Mr. Tague had no previous record of arrest or criminal charges. It goes without saying that we are cooperating fully with law enforcement."
No other information was immediately available.
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