Ex-NorthStar Church Volunteer Gets Life

Former NorthStar Church volunteer Cesar Pastrana will spend the rest of his life in prison after he pleaded guilty Friday to 10 counts of child molestation, four counts of aggravated child molestation and one count of aggravated sodomy.

The 25-year-old Kennesaw man admitted in a Cobb County courtroom that he molested nine boys, including two relatives, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

It was a different story than the one Pastrana initially told church officials when asked about an allegation of inappropriate conduct during a February church lock-in for middle and high school students.

"We called Cesar in for a meeting," Rev. Mike Linch said at the time. "He denied the allegation but we immediately released him as a volunteer in our ministry and asked him to not come back to NorthStar."

Pastrana was arrested Feb. 10 on two counts of child molestation and two counts of aggravated child molestation after police said he molested a juvenile during the church lock-in, which was held the weekend of Feb. 3 at a private Acworth home.

The warrants for those initial charges also covered an August incident, according to Cobb County jail records. Pastrana had been at the jail since Feb. 10 without bond.

As authorities continued to investigate him, the number of charges grew. In May, a Cobb County grand jury returned a 15-count indictment against Pastrana, a North Cobb High School graduate.

The church conducted a background check on Pastrana and the results came back clean. The check did not reveal that Pastrana had been banned from Barber Middle School in Acworth, where he was a volunteer two years ago.

Related content

• May 5, 2012: Pastrana Indicted on 15 Child-Sex Counts
• Feb. 21, 2012: 
• Feb. 15, 2012: Update: Molestation Suspect Banned from Middle School
• Feb. 13, 2012: NorthStar Church Youth Volunteer Charged with Child Molestation

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