Pastor arrested for inappropriate pictures of child

NEW YORK

A mother says he took partially nude pictures of her 10-year-old daughter.

Eyewitness News spoke to the victim's mother on the telephone.

She said these photographing incidents have been happening for a year, and her 10-year-old daughter just told her about it.

When she confronted the suspect, a friend who neighbors say is a local pastor; she says he threatened to kill her if she told police.

Eyewitness News went to Jose Malave's Bronx apartment, where neighbors say he lives with his wife, but no one was home.

Police arrested the 68-year-old Wednesday after a family friend claimed he took pictures of her 10-year-old daughter in her underwear.

"He's a pastor, he's a good pastor," a neighbor said.

Neighbors say they don't believe Malave committed this crime.

"They are very nice to me, a good family, a very nice man," the neighbor said.

"This is a wonderful man, and a wonderful wife. Like I told you, my mouth is in the basement," another neighbor said, "This would be the last thing that I would think."

The neighborhood where Malave lives is filled with children, and one mother we talked to says she's not surprised to hear these allegations.

"You can maybe have one of your neighbors be sex offenders," said Maria Corredor, a neighbor.

Maria Corredor says the number of registered sex offenders living on her block keeps growing, which forces her to remind her 9-year-old how to stay safe.

"Anything happen to you, you have to see how people touch you in any part. Anything that's going on with professors, teachers, you have to tell mommy," Corredor said.

Neighbors say Malave is a pastor, but they don't know what church he belongs to.

The 68-year-old suspect, who's never been arrested before, has yet to be charged and arraigned, but the DA's office tells Eyewitness News that will happen at Bronx Criminal Court.

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