6 Underage unnamed girls - /Convicted: Luis Morales - Orlando FL

Head of Ormond Beach ministry found guilty of sex charges


Luis Morales


ORLANDO, Fla. —


It took a jury of eight women and four men two hours and 15 minutes to
convict Luis Morales, who calls himself Apostle Tito, and co-defendant
Rebeca Rivera, of child sex and trafficking charges.

Investigators accused Morales of molesting six underage girls he'd met through the church ministry he ran.

Morales' defense attorney Kenneth Weaver said he'll appeal the verdict, and said there's no evidence to back the charges.

"It was just words. Can you convict someone on just words? Now we know the answer is 'yes,'" said Weaver.

The 14-year-old victim and her family cried when they heard the guilty verdicts.

The girl tearfully told WFTV's Kathi Belich that "no one's going to be able to get hurt again."

"He is the worst of the worst, because using the name of God to do these
acts is as bad as it can get," the girl's mother told Belich.

Court documents show Morales' wife, Linda, is under federal investigation for
allegedly telling a victim's mother that she had lewd surveillance
pictures of the child, showing the child seducing Luis Morale, and
allegedly claiming to have given the photos to her husband's attorney.

"Did anybody, in fact, ever give you any surveillance photos that show
interaction between the children and Mr. Morales?" Belich asked Weaver.

"Well, I can't comment any further because it's an ongoing investigation," said Weaver.

Rivera's husband is also being investigated for allegedly threatening the parents of the victims, to get them to drop the case.

Prosecutors now want to seize the Morales Ormond beach home, because they say it was used to commit the crimes.

Weaver told investigators he never received any surveillance videos from Linda
Morales. But he said he can't talk to WFTV because he's a witness in
the case against his client's wife.

Morales faces life in prison when he is sentenced next year.