An Oklahoma pastor claimed to be a part of the notorious MS-13 criminal gang in order to coerce members of his flock to work for him without pay.
Elmer Baca Flores, 41, told his church members to quit their jobs and work for him, according to a post from the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics.
‘As parents, we have to be hypervigilant about protecting them. Ninety percent of the time, children are abused by someone they know, love, and trust.’
Officers interviewed several people who said their family members had gone to church and didn’t come back home. Flores used his influence as a spiritual leader to coerce the members to leave their families.
The scheme was first reported after a family told police their daughter had been sexually abused.
“One victim told Agents that Flores gave her a test to prove her ability to resist temptation. During this test, the victim was sexually battered by Flores,” said Mark Woodward, a public information officer with the OBN.
“Flores used his influence as a pastor to spiritually coerce the victims by targeting their religious convictions,” Woodward added.
Flores was arrested in April 2025 and booked on three charges of lewd conduct with a child.
Six months later, the charges were amended to include human trafficking for labor and one count of sexual battery.
On Tuesday, he was convicted of 13 counts of human trafficking for labor as well as various child sex charges.
He was sentenced to 30 years in prison and will have to register as a sex offender. He also faces deportation.
He called his church the “Ministerio Levantando Adoradores Para Cristo Inc.,” which was based in his home. A sign of the church from a KOCO-TV report indicated that it was Pentecostal.
The OBN said Flores’ conviction for human trafficking for forced labor was the first such conviction in the state of Oklahoma.
“I appreciate the amazing work by our Human Trafficking Unit and the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office in this landmark case,” OBN Director Donnie Anderson said. “And I applaud the bravery of these victims for coming forward to hold their trafficker accountable.”
Stacy McNeiland, the founder of ROAR at the Care Center, told KOCO that parents need to be vigilant against predators manipulating their children.
“As parents, we have to be hypervigilant about protecting them. Ninety percent of the time, children are abused by someone they know, love, and trust,” McNeiland said.
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Child abuse, Sexual battery, Human trafficking, Ms-13 gang, Deportation, Church, Crime
