Pastor arrested for sharing child pornography videos in the interior of SP

A resident of Valinhos (SP) was surprised by federal and military police at home, when he was accessing the content, and tried to delete files. A religious leader is a repeat offender.

An evangelical pastor from the Assembleia de Deus Ministério Belém was arrested in flagrante delicto this Wednesday (3), in Jardim Santo Antônio, in Valinhos (SP), suspected of sharing videos of child pornography. The operation to fulfill the arrest warrant included federal and military police officers.

Agnaldo Roberto Betti has 457,000 followers on social media, including a YouTube channel where he offers Bible lessons for young people and adults. EPTV, an affiliate of TV Globo, is trying to locate the pastor’s defense but has not received a response as of the last update of this report.

According to the Military Police (PM), the 58-year-old religious leader was surprised by the teams in his own home, the moment he was accessing the content through an application. He tried to delete files but was unable to.

The Assembleia de Deus Ministério Belém stated that it “vehemently repudiates any behavior that goes against the principles and rules of faith of the Holy Bible and, especially, that implies violation of childhood.” According to the institution, the pastor was suspended from membership and from his position until “the facts are duly investigated . The pastor’s defense was not located.

According to the Federal Police (PF), Betti had already been indicted this year for the same crime, but “continued to acquire and share several videos and images of sexual violence against children and adolescents”.

This is the first case of flagrant sharing by the Federal Police in the metropolis. The investigation that led to the pastor’s arrest is part of Operation Shield of Innocence, which aims to protect children and adolescents who are victims of sexual abuse.

According to the PF, the man was sent to the Federal Police Station and, after legal procedures, should be sent to the penitentiary system, where he will await further proceedings at the 9th Federal Court of Campinas.

What does the church say?

The note from the evangelical church Assembleia de Deus Ministério Belém also states that, despite being a member, Agnaldo has not worked in pastoral roles since March 2017. He chose to maintain a “personal itinerant” ministry, supplying the channel he has on the internet.

The institution also stated that it was unaware of any type of investigation involving the pastor.

The Board of Directors of the Evangelical Church Assembly of God – Ministry of Belém in Campinas/SP, comes to the public, in view of the news released today about the arrest of Agnaldo Roberto Betti, under suspicion of sharing child pornography, to clarify that it vehemently repudiates any behavior that goes against the principles and rules of faith of the Holy Bible and, especially, that implies violation of childhood.

It also clarifies that the person involved, despite being part of the IEADCAMP membership and having an ecclesiastical link as a Minister of the Gospel, has no longer worked in pastoral roles, either in the main temple or in its branches, since March 2017, having opted to exercise a personal itinerant ministry, while also maintaining a private channel on the internet, with thousands of followers.

It also clarifies that IEADCAMP, through its Board of Directors, was unaware of any investigation or indictment prior to the facts disclosed today.

In view of the arrest and the news reports, we inform you that the person involved is suspended from the list of members and from the ecclesiastical office, until the facts are definitively investigated, awaiting the due action of the competent police and judicial authorities, safeguarding the right of defense and contradiction, including in an administrative procedure that must be processed in the legal and ecclesiastical bodies of IEADCAMP, in accordance with its Statute.

Finally, the Board of Directors of IEADCAMP expresses its solidarity with the victims of the events announced, as well as with the family of the person involved, who is also a victim of the conduct now revealed, and asks that we keep them all in our prayers.