2 prison officers - 1 a youth pastor - accused of child molestation, Tulare police say
Two men who have worked as correctional officers have been arrested for allegedly molesting children in Tulare three decades ago, police said Monday.
Tulare police detectives last week arrested 56-year-old Kevin Sandoval, a retired corrections sergeant, and 48-year-old Steve Arey, a correctional officer, the police department reported in a news release.
An adult victim recently reported to police being molested multiple times by Arey at the age of 8 or 9 years old , police said. Arey was working as a youth pastor at the Valley Bible Church in Visalia at the time, during the mid- to late 1990s.
During the investigation, detectives said they found several other alleged victims of Arey, who now works at the High Desert Prison in Los Angeles County.
Sandoval was found to have allegedly committed the same types of crimes at the same church, Tulare police said. Arey and Sandoval were associates, police said.
Sandoval was arrested in a Rancho Cordova home on Nov. 21, while Arey was arrested at the prison where he worked the next day, both on the suspicion of child molestation. Sandoval faces five counts, and Arey faces 15, according to police.
There may be more victims to these crimes, police said. If you have any information regarding this investigation, police urge you to call Detective Matt Muller at 559-685-2300, ext. 2157.
Thaddeus Miller: 559-441-6015, @thaddeusmiller
This story was originally published November 25, 2019 at 4:38 PM.
