Kumari Shreya
Investigation Discovery’s ‘Let Us Prey: A Ministry of Scandals’ studies the various criminal happenings under the umbrella of the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB). In the name of faith, many people have been known to not hurt others for immoral reasons. Victor Monteiro, Paul Fox, and Aaron Willand were also accused of inexcusable crimes, and their stories are explored in detail in the show. Now, the world is curious about where the three of them are these days.
Victor Monteiro is Now a Free Man
Let’s take into account Malo “Victor” Monteiro, a former youth pastor from Wildomar, California. Apart from his time as a pastor at Faith Baptist Church, he was also an assistant pastor at Menifee Baptist Church in Menifee, California, at one point. However, in July 2018, Monteiro was arrested in regards to charges of sexually assaulting minors. Following his detainment, several people close to the former pastor spoke up against him, while many of the victims came forward to share their stories.
On November 13, 2018, Monterio ended up pleading guilty after being accused of sexually abusing minors. Many of his victims, like Rachel Peach, Lea Ramirez, and April Avila, shared their statements in the court before his sentence was decided, explaining how his actions had affected them. According to the deal that Monterio signed, he had to open five years and four months in prison. He did get credit for 164 days already served but was fined $3,000. Though Monterio’s sentence was meant to end in 2023, he was released early on January 31, 2021, on orders of the California governor, who cited COVID-19 as an issue.
Paul Fox Was Released Early
Laverne Paul Fox was accused by Kathy Durbin of grooming her and taking advantage of the fact that she saw him as a father figure. Durbin started to publicly share her stories a few years back and sought legal action against the man whom she accused of sexually abusing her. Ultimately, Fox was arrested on January 23, 2020, in Erie, Pennsylvania, though he continued to claim innocence. However, Fox decided to change his tune and pled guilty on January 8, 2021, on two charges of sexual abuse, having initially been charged with three.
The initial plea deal made by Fox would have seemingly allowed him to serve 16 months in prison. However, following Durbin’s victim impact statement, it was decided that a hearing would be held for Fox in order to truly determine his sentence. It was on September 15, 2021, that Fox was sentenced to two years in prison. However, he was released in August 2022, significantly earlier than his sentence stated, due to an apparent overcrowding issue. The move made several people, especially Durbin, extremely upset.
Aaron Willand is Serving His Sentence in Prison
From August 2001 to June 2003, Aaron Willand was an educator at Grace Baptist Christian School, Gaylord, Michigan. It was during this time frame that he came in contact with Ruthy Heiler. During his time with the IFB, he had allegedly been accused of sexual abuse against minors many times, but the issue was apparently often hushed up. In fact, when Willand moved to Washington due to similar reasons, he had allegedly raped Heiler multiple times when the girl had apparently come to help him with the move.
However, in December 2018, Heiler and another one of Willand’s alleged victims from the Grace Baptist Christian School reported his crimes to the Michigan police. At the time, Willand was living in Arlington, Washington, and ended up surrendering to the authorities in 2019. After a lengthy legal process, Willand was sentenced for various acts and degrees of sexual crimes. For an act of first-degree sexual misconduct, he was given 135 months to 40 years in prison.
Additionally, Willand was found guilty of criminal sexual conduct of the second degree, adding a sentence of 57 months to 15 years. He was also sentenced for third and fourth-degree acts of sexual crime, each earning him a respective sentence of 85 months to 15 years and 17 months to two years. As of writing, Willand is serving his sentence at the Chippewa Correctional Facility in Kinross, Michigan, with the earlier release date slated to be November 13, 2032. That said, his maximum sentence can extend up to August 13, 2062.
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