A youth leader from a well-known church in Redlands has received a sentence of 175 years to life in prison for the sexual abuse of three young members of the congregation.
Last Friday, Abraham Jatnel Coronado was convicted on 13 felony counts related to sexual abuse involving young church members.
Coronado served as a youth leader at a La Luz Del Mundo church located in Redlands and managed an off-site church property called Ebenezer Ranch.
The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office reports that Coronado frequently took care of children without their parents present, and the kids often stayed overnight in his trailer on the ranch.
The DA’s Office stated that Coronado was “well respected and known to have a close relationship with the Church headquarters’ main leaders.”
Prosecutors stated that for many years, Coronado exploited his role to take advantage of young boys entrusted to him. The ages of the victims varied between 12 and 17 years old.
A former teenager has stepped forward as the first victim of abuse by a church leader. During the trial, he shared that Coronado had sexually abused him multiple times. In a recorded conversation, Coronado did not deny the abuse and expressed that he “wanted this [sex] to happen.”
In 2021, the initial victim came forward about the abuse after witnessing Coronado mentoring another young victim, fearing he would keep harming other children at the ranch.
The second victim shared that Coronado manipulated him from a young age to “become his boyfriend” and frequently separated the child from other kids at the ranch. The victim shared that he endured numerous instances of sexual abuse by Coronado, starting around 2010 when he was just 13 years old. At the age of 14, Coronado became more aggressive and assaulted the child, he stated in his testimony.
A third victim shared that Coronado would engage in inappropriate behavior by “slapping his buttocks, rubbing his chest, and pressing his pelvis against him” during the victim’s ages of 12 and 13. The individual stated he had never encountered an adult acting in such a manner towards him.
Coronado ultimately confessed to the sexual abuse of the children, recognizing his awareness of their age and his authority over them at that time. In a letter of apology addressed to his victims, Coronado expressed regret for the “stupidity” that led to their “suffering and humiliation.”
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