Judge orders Reger’s continued custody
Correction: The sentence identifying Reger as the pastor should have read, “In the one charge filed against Reger at this time, he allegedly engaged in illicit sexual conduct in October and November 2009 with Minor Victim No. 3 in the Philippines. This victim met Reger in 2008 when he traveled with the pastor of the Susanville church to a foreign nation.” Lassen News regrets the error.
Brad Reger, who faces one charge of allegedly engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor in the Philipines in October and November of 2009, will remain in custody for now.
At a court hearing this afternoon, Wednesday, July 12, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento, Reger’s counsel did not oppose the detention order requested by prosecutors, but the judge granted that motion with without prejudice, meaning Reger’s attorneys could still seek his release from custody at a later date.
Reger faces a maximum of up to 30 years in prison or a fine of up to $250,000 or both fine and imprisonment and supervised release of at least five years up to life on the single charge.
According to the court file, in the one charge filed against Reger at this time, he allegedly engaged in illicit sexual conduct in October and November 2009 with Minor Victim No. 3 in the Philippines. This victim met Reger in 2008 when he traveled with the pastor of the Susanville church to a foreign nation.
According to the motion for detention, “As explained below and in the criminal complaint, defendant has a long history of sexually abusing minor victims. The United States respectfully requests that this court order him detained pending trial. Because the defendant is facing significant time in prison, has demonstrated a long-standing pattern and history of sexual offenses committed against minors (both in the United States and abroad), has the means to live comfortably abroad and has traveled abroad extensively for many years, there are no conditions or combination of conditions that will reasonably assure the appearance of the defendant or the safety of the community … For more than a decade, the defendant sexually abused more than a dozen teenage boys while in a position of trust, as a licensed Nurse Practitioner and as a leader of missionary trips associated with his church. Using his status as a nurse practitioner and church leader, he groomed vulnerable victims with jobs, gifts, money and trips. He conducted countless sexually abusive physical ‘exams’ of these boys in his clinic in Susanville, in hotel rooms across the United States and in other countries and even inside of vehicles. He would entice his victims to travel with him to other states and other countries by promising exciting trips involving religious service, outdoor adventure and often paying for those trips. Those trips provided defendant with the opportunity to repeatedly touch the naked genitals of his victims for his own sexual pleasure. There are likely many more victims (who) will be confirmed following the defendant’s arrest.”
Reger will appear in a preliminary examination at 2 p.m. Friday, July 21.
