313: 5 Victims, 11 Felony Counts | Former North Valley Baptist Church Member Arrested
Preacher Boys Podcast
Eric Skwarczynski
4.6 • 701 Ratings
🗓️ 12 July 2024
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On November 13, 2020, I shared an episode of the Preacher Boys Podcast featuring Bruce Kennedy discussing his experiences at North Valley Baptist Church in Santa Clara, CA.
On the episode, we discussed several scandals relating to this particular ministry, and one in particular was that of Norlan Macias - a former member of North Valley Baptist Church.
Today, almost 4 years later, Macias has been arrested.
The following is a statement from the County of Santa Clara:
For release on July 11, 2024
CONTACT:
Joanna Lee
Deputy District Attorney
Sexual Assault Unit
(408) 792-1025
South Bay janitor charged with felony molestation
A South Bay man has been charged with sexually molesting teenaged children during church trips at his house on a Morgan Hill lake.
The case against 54-year-old Norlan Macias, of San Jose, was launched several years ago when a retired police officer heard a man describing a molestation on a podcast called, “Preacher Boys.”
Macias is charged with molestations that happened during a period that lasted longer than a decade, between 2001-2012.
Police and prosecutors are seeking others who may have been victims of the South Bay man, who was a janitor at the Campbell Union and Mountain View school districts.
Macias faces 11 counts of felony sexual molestation of five minors, ranging from 8 to 17. He will be arraigned this afternoon at 1:30 in department 23 in the Hall of Justice in San Jose. If convicted, he could face life in prison.
“I would like to thank the retired police officer for his diligence and dedication,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. “As with many officers, his mission of protecting our community’s children never stopped. I hope all of us take that same responsibility.”
The case against Macias began in 2020, when a retired San Jose Police Officer recognized Macias from the video podcast, which documents child abuse associated with religious institutions. He called 911.
The defendant used to take a group of teenage parishioners of the North Valley Baptist Church out on a boat at Lake Anderson in Morgan Hill. The boys would then go to the defendant's house in Morgan Hill, where the molestations took place.
While investigating this case, a detective stumbled on a 2013 report by a minor who said that he, too, was molested by Macias. He stated that the defendant lived near him and that he molested him after hiring him to do work on his home. After the initial statement, that case was closed due to lack of victim cooperation.
If anyone has any information about the suspect and molestation, they should contact Deputy District Attorney Joanna Lee at [email protected].
MY STATEMENT:
I've been a public advocate against clergy abuse for nearly four and a half years. It can often feel discouraging and frustrating when no one with power seems to be listening and pushing for real change. I've talked with many victims who have expressed the same sentiment.
Today is a reminder of the importance of not remaining silent. It is a reminder that our voices hold power. I'm thankful for the bravery of Bruce Kennedy in sharing his experiences with Norlan Macias and at North Valley Baptist Church on my podcast in 2020. I'm also thankful for the law enforcement officer who heard this message and decided to look into the case. They are both heroes.
It is my hope this story encourages survivors in similar high-control religious groups to find their voices and speak out, so justice can continue to be carried out.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Trigger warning. This podcast contains descriptions of various abusive situations. Listener discretion is advised. |
| 0:09.2 | You are listening to the Preacher Boys podcast, a podcast shedding light on decades of mental, physical, and sexual abuse within the independent fundamental Baptist movement. |
| 0:20.4 | The testimony shared on this podcast are told from the personal experience and perspective of the survivors. |
| 0:26.8 | Not all legal outcomes are known or final. |
| 0:29.8 | Any suspect is presumed innocent until proven guilty in the court of law. |
| 0:34.4 | Now, here's your host, Eric Squarsinski. Hey, everybody, welcome back to the Preacher Boys |
| 0:41.0 | podcast. I know today is not a normal release day, but I have some really, really good news. Back in |
| 0:47.1 | November 2020, a couple of months after I started the show, I did an interview with a guy named |
| 0:52.1 | Bruce Kennedy talking about his experience growing up at |
| 0:55.4 | North Valley Baptist Church, and we talked a little bit about the infamous Mike Zachary story. We talked |
| 1:00.7 | about some of the preaching and the theology at the church. But one of the stories that came up |
| 1:05.6 | around the 49-minute mark was a story about a guy named Norlin Macias. Norlin was a member of North Valley Baptist |
| 1:14.0 | Church, which is, of course, a IFB megachurch pastored by Jack Treber. And for his job, he was a janitor |
| 1:20.2 | at a couple of different school districts. The reason Norland was mentioned here on the podcast |
| 1:24.7 | is because Bruce Kennedy actually disclosed some abuse that took |
| 1:28.0 | place with Macias and several other boys, including Bruce himself. And so on this episode, I want to give |
| 1:34.3 | an update about what's happened almost four years since we recorded that episode. And I want to |
| 1:39.6 | give you a little bit of a recap of what we talked about on that previous episode. Now, the great news is that |
| 1:44.6 | today, July 11, 2024, Norland Macias has been apprehended and he is being held without bail. The |
| 1:51.6 | County of Santa Clara released this official statement today. A South Bay man has been charged with |
| 1:56.9 | sexually molesting teenage children during church trips at his house on a Morgan Hill Lake. |
| 2:01.9 | The case against 54-year-old Norland Macias of San Jose was launched several years ago |
... |
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