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A former pastor who spent 26 years serving churches in Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach has pleaded guilty to 13 felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts with minors and was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.

John Rodgers McFarland, 68, was first arrested in Escondido in December 2018 and charged in San Diego County with two felony counts of molesting a girl under 14, police and prosecutors reported at the time of his arrest.

Search warrants were issued for McFarland’s home as well as churches where he worked, and police said in 2018 that investigators had found evidence other victims had been abused during his time as a pastor in Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach.

In May 2019, McFarland was arrested by Fountain Valley police and charged with seven additional felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor, including five involving children under 14, and four felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor between the ages of 14 and 15, court records indicate. His victims ranged in age from 5 to 15, according to prosecutors.

Read the full story at LATimes.com.