Ex-O.C. youth pastor accused of molestation commits suicide

A former Dana Point youth pastor who was charged with sexually assaulting an 8-year-old boy in Colorado committed suicide Monday, officials said.

Nicholas Henshaw, 35, who was a junior-high pastor at Capo Beach Church in the early 2000s, was investigated on similar allegations when he was in Orange County, but wasn’t charged, officials said.

Henshaw was found dead in a hotel room in Loveland, Colo., said Stephen Hanks, a deputy investigator with the Larimer County Coroner’s Office. Death was caused by suffocation by asphyxiation with helium and has been ruled a suicide, Hanks said.

Henshaw was arrested Feb. 24 in the Colorado case and charged with sexual assault of a child by one in a position of trust, according to the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office. He was free on bail and was expected to return to court for his next hearing April 4.

In Colorado, sexual-assault cases involving minors can carry a sentence of up to life in prison, said Linda Jensen, spokeswoman for the Larimer County District Attorney’s Office.

Source: www.ocregister.com

By LINDSEY RUTA  / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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