Get the weekly rundown Sign up to receive our weekly Legal Insider newsletter Email* Submit

A pastor with The Good Samaritan Church in Old Lyme was convicted Thursday in Middlesex Superior Court of sexually assaulting female parishioners.

Franciso Moran, 59, of 40 West Main St., Ap. 2, Clinton had been arrested in April 2015 by the Clinton Police following a lengthy investigation into sexual assault of an adult woman and her 15-year-old daughter. He met the victims in his role as pastor, but the crimes occurred in Clinton, according to Sgt. Jeremiah F. Dunn, public information officer for the Clinton Police.

The Good Samaritan Church used the Shoreline Church building on Shore Road for Spanish services, according to a police report. After learning of the assaults, congregants voted to remove Moran as the pastor.

The jury found Moran guilty of second-degree sexual assault, two counts of fourth-degree sexual assault, three counts of risk of injury to a minor and two counts of coercion.

Moran had been free on a $10,000 bond while the case was pending. Upon his conviction, a judge raised his bond to $2 million and he was taken into custody, according to Dunn. He also was ordered to surrender his passport.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit prepared by Clinton police officer Adrian Santiago, the Department of Children and Families contacted police in March 2015 after receiving information from a Hartford agency that works with immigrants and refugees regarding incidents of sexual assault at Moran's home in August and December 2014.

The agency indicated the pastor threatened the victim and the witness with deportation if they disclosed the incident to anyone.

The police interviewed the mother and other witnesses, who provided details of the assaults. The mother said that Moran was helping the family with their immigration status and that he invited her to his home to help her obtain a driver's license. She said he had started to touch her on the shoulders, leg and hair and send her text messages she felt were not appropriate, so she made sure Moran's wife would be home. When she arrived, she said Moran told her his wife would be home soon, closed the door behind her and closed the blinds. She said when she sat down Moran began to massage her shoulders and smell her hair and before she could stop him he reached down the front of her blouse and groped her breasts. She said Moran's wife arrived home and she ran from the house without saying anything.

The investigation revealed also that Moran had picked up the daughter and a child she was babysitting and brought them to his apartment. The daughter reported that Moran put the child in front of the television with a toy and invited the daughter to go into a bedroom to see the diplomas of the 18-year-old tenant. She said he closed the door, reached beneath her shirt with one hand and groped her breasts outside her shirt with theother hand. She said she walked of the room. The daughter was so distraught over the incident that she began cutting herself and spoke of suicidal thoughts, according to the affidavit.

Moran's sentencing date was not immediately available.

The case was prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant State's Attorney Barbara Hoffman, according to police.

Attorney Charles K. Thompson, who had represented Moran, declined to comment on the verdict when reached by phone Thursday evening.

k.florin@theday.com