Brazilian Pastor Faces Immigration, Child Rape & Assault Charges

(Milford, Massachusetts) A 31-year-old pastor at the Plenitude of God Church, Ana Paula Almeida, faces charges in both federal and state courts on multiple counts involving alleged immigration and child sex offenses.

For allegedly violating sections of the Immigration and Nationality Act, Almeida was arrested on March 12. Subsequently, she was in custody until her release this week. Almeida is scheduled to appear before a judge in Boston Immigration Court on April 22 to face charges that she is in the country illegally. The judge could order that Almeida be deported.

Meanwhile, Almeida also faces several charges stemming from an alleged two-year sexual relationship with a girl in her congregation, starting when the girl was 14 years old. She was initially arrested in February and released on bail. Preliminary charges included one count of statutory rape and four counts of indecent assault and battery on a child 14 and older.

Since Almeida was in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), her pretrial conference on the child sex charges has been continued to May 14.

Officials at ICE have been communicating with the Milford prosecutor's office to hopefully coordinate the smooth adjudication of both cases. For example, it would seem appropriate to resolve the child sex issues prior to deporting Almeida, if that's to be the outcome.