Man charged with child-sex crimes after Star's investigation of Tucson church

From the Twisted Message: A prophet’s unchecked global sect series

Arizona Daily Star, Tucson/April 19, 2025

By Emily Hamer

Editor’s note: This story contains descriptions of sexual violence against children.

A congregant from the Golden Dawn Tabernacle in Tucson was charged Thursday with five counts of child molestation following an Arizona Daily Star/Lee Enterprises investigation in which he publicly admitted to sexually abusing a child.

Jose Mora, 57, was also charged with three counts of sexual conduct with a minor, a felony in which the perpetrator intentionally or knowingly engages in sexual intercourse or oral sexual contact with someone under 18.

Mora could face life in prison for those charges, depending on the age of the victim. For the alleged child molestation, which involves engaging in sexual contact with a child under 15, Mora could be sentenced to up to 24 years in prison.

The charges stem in large part from the series, “Twisted Message,” in which it was reported that Mora molested an 11-year-old boy from his church in 2012. The pastor, Isaac Noriega, is also under police investigation for failing to report those allegations, as required by law, but he has not been charged.

Pima County Attorney Laura Conover confirmed that Mora has been booked into the Pima County Jail on an eight-count indictment.

“PCAO thanks the Tucson Police Department for their thoughtful and methodical investigation and the witnesses and victims who trusted all of us in coming forward,” Conover said in a statement. “As this is a pending criminal matter, we will not be commenting further.”

A member of a Tucson church admitted he molested a boy. The pastor said he knew and never went to the police, flouting state laws that mandate reporting of such incidents.

Mora admitted in a September interview with the newspaper team that he touched the buttocks and genital area of a boy from his church. Mora said there were “maybe four” “touching incidents” with the boy at his home, including an incident where he entered a shower naked with the boy and hugged and kissed him.

Mora was about 45 when the incidents happened, and said he knew that the boy, Philip, was either 11 or 12 at the time. Philip said in an interview that Mora also penetrated him with his fingers and forced him to have oral sex, which Mora denies.

Police also uncovered additional allegations against Mora stemming from an incident in 2009, according to his initial court appearance. The details of that incident were not immediately available. It’s unclear which charges relate to the 2009 incident and which relate to the 2012 incident.

Mora was detained April 10 by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). He has an immigration hold, meaning he could be subject to deportation due to his immigration status.

Mora was initially in federal custody at the Eloy Detention Center, but he is now in custody at the Pima County Jail. He is being held in jail on a $250,000 cash bail. His next court hearing is April 24.

At Mora’s initial appearance Thursday, his public defender asked for a $50,000 bail since Mora does not have a criminal record. But the prosecutor’s office asked for a $500,000 bail because the allegations against Mora involve crimes against a child and because there are children living in Mora’s home.

“There’s a continued risk and a concern for the safety of the public at large,” the prosecutor said.

Pastor Noriega said Friday that he “did not want to get involved” when asked for comment on Mora’s arrest. He did not respond to a question about whether he had kicked Mora out of his church after hearing about the allegations.

“I don’t have to say anything,” Noriega said. “You lie too much, and you twist everything we say. Everything is twisted.”

Noriega’s church, the Golden Dawn Tabernacle, which also goes by its formal name Tabernaculo Emanuel, was the subject of a year-long news investigation by The Star and Lee Enterprises. Twenty former church members accused Golden Dawn of being a “cult.”

The newspaper series, “Twisted Message,” uncovered a pattern of Noriega not acting on child sexual abuse allegations. As a pastor, Noriega is a mandatory reporter who has an obligation to report such allegations to police or the Department of Child Safety. Failure to report child molestation is a felony.

The charges against Mora are the first criminal charges related to the church.

John Calvo, a former congregant who runs the Golden Dawn Tabernacle Research Website, which aims to hold the church accountable for abuses of power, said Mora’s arrest is “a long time coming.”

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