A pastor from a Glendale church was sentenced to six years in state prison Monday after pleading no contest to charges that he entered a Covina hotel room that was not his and sexually assaulted a young girl, prosecutors said.
Douglas Rivera entered the plea to one felony count of lewd act upon a child, according to a news release from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
In addition to his sentence he will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Prosecutors say Rivera drove to the Vanllee Hotel and Suites, at 1211 E. Garvey St., and parked his truck in front of a room where two young girls were staying on Feb. 7, 2018. Prosecutors allege he exposed himself to the girls before entering the hotel room and inappropriately touching one of them.
The girls had opened the door, believing it was their chaperone, according to police.
Authorities released surveillance video and still shots of the suspect, which they said resulted in numerous calls from people who are part of or associated with God's Gypsy Christian Church.
The callers said they believed the man was Rivera, who subsequently proclaimed his innocence in a video shot before he surrendered on Feb. 11 to Covina police, tearfully asking people to keep him in prayer.
News
Top news of the day
"I did not do nothing wrong," Rivera said in the video posted on Instagram. "I was at the wrong place at the wrong time."
