A well-known former pastor of a large local church pleaded no contest to a charge of driving under the influence last week, stemming from a motorcycle accident that occurred earlier this year.
Gerald Torres, 43, known as “Pastor G” by the congregation at Reality Church, was riding a 1998 Yamaha westbound on Casitas Pass Road in Carpinteria on May 3 when he veered off the roadway and struck a traffic sign and a fence, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Torres was seriously injured, suffering major head injuries and cuts to his extremities, and his 8-year-old son, who was his passenger, was thrown from the motorcycle. The boy suffered only minor abrasions and was released to a family friend at the scene, the CHP said.
Torres was released to the hospital after being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.
Tyler Morgan, a pastor at Reality Church, told Noozhawk on Wednesday that Torres is still on administrative leave and “will not be asked to return in the near future.”
Last Wednesday, Torres pleaded no contest to driving under the influence of alcohol while with a minor passenger under 14 as well as driving without a license.
Torres was placed on four years of probation and ordered to serve 45 days in custody, according to prosecutor Justin Greene.
He will also be required attend a nine-month DUI/alcohol school, attend a 52-week CALM parenting class, pay restitution and fees, abstain from alcohol for the period of his probation, and install an interlock device on all vehicles he owns, Greene said.
In July, the church issued an update to the congregation, saying Torres was on “an open-ended leave of absence and engaged in a restoration process.”
“As a part of the restoration process,” the statement said, “G will be meeting weekly or bi-weekly with a professional counselor, one who works with pastors and leaders who have fallen or are in crisis.”
The church’s elders also assembled a team responsible for tracking Torres’ progress, and included several people outside of the Reality community, including Ben Patterson, campus pastor at Westmont College, and David Guzik, a pastor at Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara.
“This is a lengthy, open-ended process, as we do not know when or if G will return to ministry,” the statement said. “But we sincerely believe that God will be glorified in the midst of it, both in G’s life as well as the life of the church.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
