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Former Church Volunteer Arrested On Sexual Abuse Charges: Police

A former church volunteer in North Richland Hills is facing sexual abuse charges for allegedly engaging in inappropriate acts with children during his time as a volunteer several years ago, according to police.

Francisco Guevara, 65, is charged with two counts of continuous sexual abuse of a child and one count of indecency with a child

North Richland Hills Police say they were first made aware of Guevara in July 2016 when one of his alleged victims came forward.

The victims told police the abuse happened seven years ago when they were between the ages of four and seven-years-old.

At that time, Guevara was volunteering in the nursery at St. John The Apostle Catholic Church.

NBC 5 reached out the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth, which released the following statement:

"The Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth has been informed that allegations of child abuse has resulted in the arrest and charges against a former volunteer at St. John the Apostle Church in North Richland Hills. The Diocese received the allegations last summer and immediately reported them to North Richland Hills police. In addition, the Diocese urged the victims' families to contact police, offered counseling to any victims and the families and twice made calls for victims at the St. John Parish. At the same time, the former volunteer was banned from any activities in the Diocese. The Diocese is committed to providing a safe environment for children. All clergy, employees and volunteers are required to take Safe Environment training as part of their employment agreement, followed by refresher training every three years. In addition, criminal background checks are conducted."

Police determined two of the alleged offenses occurred while Guevara was a volunteer and the third allegedly happened in Colleyville, where he is from.

Guevara's bond is set at $125,000.

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