New Jersey Pastor Busted For Faking ‘Muslim’ Attack at His Church
A borough pastor who was found bound and gagged by police on Friday in the church at which he serves has been accused of staging his assault, authorities said.
Jairon Pena, 36, of Somerville, gave an account of the assault to police that was full of inconsistencies and he had no visible injuries, which caused law enforcement officials to doubt he had been assaulted, Somerset County authorities said Monday.
On Oct. 30 at about 11:20 a.m., police responded to a 911 call at the New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church for a report of an individual who had been assaulted and tied up, authorities said.
Responding officer encountered an individual, later identified as Pena, who had his hands loosely tied with a rope behind his back, legs tied, and a piece of cloth stuffed into his mouth, authorities said. He also had a plastic bag over his head, along with a piece of paper taped to his chest and back with a misspelled Islamic phrase, authorities said.
Pena was alert and conscious when officers arrived at the church and told officers that he had been physically assaulted by two males and a female who were masked and wearing gloves.
But Pena’s account of the incident to responding officers contained inconsistencies when he was questioned by investigators, authorities said.
Pena allegedly told investigators that at about 10:30 a.m. he proceeded to the front door of the church to investigate a loud banging, authorities said. There, he told law enforcement officials, he was accosted by the three suspects who physically attacked him and removed bibles from the pews scattering them throughout the church, authorities said.
Pena claimed the suspects also stomped on bibles while ridiculing his God. The trio, he told investigators, tied his hands and legs, placed a rag in his mouth and a bag over his head, along with the two pieces of paper which were taped to him, authorities said.
Upon transporting Pena to an area hospital for treatment, investigators and medical personnel observed that he didn’t have any of the visible injuries that would normally be present as a result of being assaulted and bound, authorities said.
An investigation revealed that Pena had lied to the police and that he had fabricated the entire event by staging a crime scene due to some personal events in his life, authorities said.
Pena was charged with third-degree false public alarm and fourth-degree false swearing and fictitious report to law enforcement, a disorderly persons offense. He was processed and released on his own recognizance pending a court appearance.
The Somerset police along with detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, the Crime Scene Investigations and Forensics Unit, and agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation Newark and Franklin Township Field Offices assisted in the investigation, authorities said.
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