Modesto man with church youth group tie charged with molesting family member

Erin Tracy
·2 min read
2

A Modesto man who has served in a leadership role over student ministries at his church has been charged with molesting a family member.

Michael Sasser, 40, was charged last month with three counts of sexually abusing a child, including the continual sexual abuse of a child.

According to the criminal complaint, the crimes are alleged to have occurred during a period of months in 2022 when the victim was 14 years of age or younger.

Sasser was co-leader of the student ministry at Redeemer Church on H Street in Modesto before stepping down Feb. 28, about a month before his arrest, according to lead pastor Patrick Nagle. Sasser also previously served as a church elder, Nagle said. Both are volunteer roles.

Nagle said Sasser notified students and parents he would be stepping down for “personal reasons” and “to focus on himself and his family.”

The alleged crimes were reported to Modesto police by a family member of the victim on March 8, said Police Department spokeswoman Sharon Bear. Sasser was booked into jail on March 23 after he turned himself in at the Police Department.

Nagle said the church was notified about the criminal investigation sometime in March before Sasser’s arrest. “We notified parents that there was an issue that took place in the home and CPS (Child Protective Services) and police were involved,” Nagle said.

He said parents were invited to set up meetings with staff if they wanted to discuss the matter in person and were directed to a staff member to report any inappropriate behavior by Sasser. Nagle said that as of Tuesday, they had not received any reports related to Sasser’s roles in the church. Bear said the Police Department has not, either.

“We made it clear as well to parents that he is no longer allowed to serve in any capacity here or allowed in the building,” Nagle said.

Sasser pleaded not guilty to the charges on March 27 and on Monday waived time for a preliminary hearing to begin within 10 court days. He remained in custody Tuesday, with bail set at $800,000. His attorney, Rebecka A. Monez, declined to comment for this story.

Sasser is set to return to court April 10 for an early case management conference.