Editor's note: This story contains descriptions of child sexual abuse.听
A Tucson, Arizona, pastor has been charged with failing to report the sexual abuse of two children following an听听that exposed听.听
Isaac Noriega
Golden Dawn Tabernacle pastor Isaac Noriega, 82, was indicted on two counts of听,听one felony count and one misdemeanor, according a copy of the indictment obtained by Lee Enterprises Public Service Journalism Team.
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Noriega was arrested and booked into the Pima County Jail Friday. He was released on a signature bond, a signed promise to return to court, according to court records. He听faces up to two years in prison for the felony charge and six months for the misdemeanor.听
Twenty former members have accused Golden Dawn Tabernacle, which also goes by its formal name Tabernaculo Emanuel, of being a "cult" that isolates its congregants from outsiders 鈥 including law enforcement. The former congregants say the environment puts children in harm's way and encourages the cover-up of abuse.听
Asked for comment on the criminal case against him, Noriega hung up the phone on a reporter.听
"I don鈥檛 have nothing to say," Noriega said before ending the call.听
The case stems from two victims,听听补苍诲听, who told Lee Enterprises in previous reports that Noriega knew about and ignored the sexual abuse they suffered as children at the hands of other Golden Dawn congregants.听Philip asked to be identified by his first name only.听
Credit: Pima County Superior Court via 857 Tucson
Under Arizona law, priests and clergy members must make a report to law enforcement or the Department of Child Safety when they have a 鈥渞easonable belief鈥 that a child is the victim of abuse.
Failure to report a "reportable offense" is a felony, while failure to report other instances of abuse or neglect is a misdemeanor. Reportable offenses include child molestation, sexual assault, child sex trafficking, incest, bestiality and most other sex crimes.听
The law governing reportable offenses used to treat failure to report as a misdemeanor, said Pima County Attorney Laura Conover.听
"The events span a series of years, and at some point during those years, the Legislature upgraded the charge from a misdemeanor to a felony," Conover said.听
It was the late 1980s, Thorstad said, when she was sexually assaulted.听Thorstad said a 14-year-old Golden Dawn congregant raped her at his home when she was just 7 years old.
Her mother found her bloodied underwear after the incident, but Thorstad said she stayed silent about who abused her for years.
Thorstad said she finally shared her allegations in a counseling session with Noriega and her mother when she was 16. She said it seemed like Noriega already knew about her abuse.听
Noriega told her she wasn't the first person to come to the church about the teenage boy "being inappropriate with girls," but that since the teenager had left the church, "we're not going to concern ourselves with him," Thorstad recalled.听
鈥淭he fact that he was just like, 鈥極h yeah, you鈥檙e not the first one,鈥 鈥 Thorstad said. 鈥淭hen why aren鈥檛 you doing anything about it? You absolutely can report it 鈥 but you鈥檙e not. You鈥檙e choosing not to, in my eyes. If you know about it, and you know it鈥檚 happened to multiple people, you鈥檙e making the conscious decision to ignore it.鈥
Anjounette Thorstad left the Golden Dawn Tabernacle when she was 17. She said she was abused as a child by a teenager who went to the church. When pastor Isaac Noriega found out about her allegations years later, the pastor made 鈥渢he conscious decision to ignore it,鈥 she said.
Noriega's second count relates to Thorstad 鈥 identified as victim "A.T." in the indictment 鈥 and his failure to report in 1997 that she has been sexually abused by a member of Noriega's church, according to the indictment.
Asked about what led to the cases, Conover said in an email, "Generally speaking, cold case investigations must be particularly meticulous and patient. It is a scientific and delicate work that is different than investigating something that has just happened in real-time."
"Every alleged victim is unique. Some may have waited their whole lives for the knock upon the door, in order to deliver news they have been waiting to share. Others have closed the book on the past and do not want it reopened under any circumstances."
'We don't go to the law'
Philip's father said Noriega actively discouraged him from going to police when he sought advice from the pastor after another congregant, Jose Mora, allegedly molested Philip.
Mora was听听for child molestation and other child-sex crimes after听听that he touched Philip on the groin and buttocks. The Tucson Police Department cited the Arizona Daily Star/Lee Enterprises investigation into Mora as what started the police investigation.
On Monday morning, Mora appeared in Pima County Superior Court wearing the usual orange jail garb. Judge Kellie Johnson prohibited the Arizona Daily Star from photographing Mora in the courtroom, citing possible impacts on his criminal case and his safety in jail and delayed Mora's pretrial hearing until July 14.
Judge Kellie L. Johnson presides over a hearing involving Jose Mora in Pima County Superior Court, 110 West Congress Street, in Tucson, Ariz. on June 30, 2025.
Another victim, Jonathan Santos,听. Santos said Mora molested him when he was about 7 years old around 2009.听
Philip said Mora groped him during three incidents at Mora's home during the听summer of 2012 when Philip was 11. Philip said Mora also forced him to have oral sex and penetrated him with his fingers, which Mora denies.
Philip told his father about the incidents that December, he said. His father said he immediately called Noriega, who came over to his home the following morning to advise him.听
鈥淲hat I was specifically told by Isaac as advice was, 鈥榃e don't go to the law,鈥 鈥 Philip鈥檚 father said.听
Jose Mora is pictured with other members of his church, the Golden Dawn Tabernacle. Mora has been accused of molesting an 11-year-old boy in the church in 2012, and molesting a different boy around 2009. Faces of those other than Mora have been blocked at the request of the photo owner.
Noriega also told him to talk with Mora to resolve the conflict, advice Philip's father said he took because of the high regard he held for the office of the pastor.听
Noriega denies this conversation took place. He said he knew that Mora and Philip "touched each other" but first learned of those allegations in the fall of 2023 during a marriage counseling session with Philip's parents. He said he did not report it to police.听
Mora, however, said he discussed Philip's allegations against him with Noriega before the meeting with Philip's father 鈥 years before Noriega said he found out.听
Philip's father said he met with Mora in December 2012. Mora admitted to sexually abusing Philip and asked for forgiveness, the father said.听
The charges against Noriega match this earlier timeline. Noriega is accused of failing to report in December 2012 that a member of his church had committed a "reportable offense" against Philip.
Other victims ignored
The two alleged instances of Noriega failing to report are not the only time he has brushed aside child sexual abuse allegations,听.听
One former Golden Dawn member said that in the early 2000s when she was 15, a man from the church started grooming her. The woman asked that her identity be shielded.听
She said the man sexually assaulted her when she was 17. He was about 27 at the time. The age of consent in Arizona is 18.听
She said she told her father, who brought her allegations to Noriega.听
鈥淥nce (my Dad) took it to the pastor, it was in the pastor鈥檚 hands,鈥 she said. 鈥淎nd then the pastor just brushed it under the rug."听
She said she spoke with Noriega after the incident, not about the alleged abuse but about whether she should stay in the church. Noriega confirmed this conversation took place.
The woman said she ultimately decided to leave Golden Dawn at 18 because she was no longer a virgin and would therefore be shunned in the church community.听
Noriega
In a September phone interview, Noriega failed to understand that a crime had potentially taken place. He described the alleged assault as two people "having sex" even though the teenage girl was 17 and could not consent to sex with an adult. Noriega said he was aware the girl was 17.听
Noriega said he was "not aware" of the age of consent in Arizona and did "not understand" that sex without consent is rape. He later claimed that he found out about that law eventually.听
'Swept under the rug'
Two allegations that Noriega's son, Stephen Noriega, engaged in unwanted physical contact with two girls in separate incidents when he was a young adult were also ignored, former church members said.听
One girl said Stephen kissed her on the lips when she was 12 and he was 18 or 19. She said she told pastor Noriega about it years later and he didn't do anything.听
Noriega said he didn't remember this conversation, but later identified the woman by her first and last name 鈥 information that Lee Enterprises never revealed to him.听
Rey David Aguirre, a former Golden Dawn member, said he spoke with Noriega about a different sexual incident involving another 12-year-old girl and Stephen a few years later.听
Aguirre remembers Noriega telling him that 鈥渋t wasn鈥檛 a big deal.鈥
鈥淭he pastor told me that she had already forgiven him,鈥 Aguirre said. 鈥淚t was swept under the rug.鈥
Noriega said he only found out about this allegation last year when reporters asked him about it. He said he spoke with the girl, now a woman, and she said Aguirre was lying.听
Alleged grooming dismissed
Decades after those incidents in 2019, allegations that a 24-year-old man from Golden Dawn was grooming a 15-year-old were reported to police.听
Noriega dismissed the allegations, yelled at those who reported them, refused to look at evidence and screamed at police when they came to do a welfare check on the girl at church, according to former congregants and law enforcement records.听
Noriega said he raised his voice because he is hard of hearing. He said he was 鈥渇irm鈥 with an officer because 鈥渙fficers entered the church premises without permission and contacted an underage female about false allegations.鈥
The 2019 case was closed 鈥渂ecause the victim is not cooperative,鈥 according to a police report.听
After the incident, former congregants said the girl was ostracized by the church community.听
Philip said there are many incidents of abuse that have been brought to Noriega, and "he never did anything."听
"Hopefully justice is done," Philip said. "Not just for me, but for all the other people too."听
Thorstad said she is grateful "someone's finally doing something about it." She said Noriega instills fear of the outside world in congregants, when really, he is the bad actor who needs to be held accountable.
She hopes children will no longer be victimized and ignored in the church.听
"Hopefully whoever (Noriega's) successor is in the church sees that you can't get away with something like this," Thorstad said. "I hope it will be a wake up call for them that they can't just scare their congregants into submission."
Noriega's next court date is July 31.听
Golden Dawn Tabernacle at 301 E. Los Reales Rd. is pictured on Sunday, June 30, 2024. Twenty former members have described the church as a 鈥渃ult.鈥
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For Star subscribers:听Victims say a Tucson church, Golden Dawn, protected alleged child molesters for years. Tucson police are now "looking into the possibility of additional victims"听鈥 and another has come forward.
Victims say an Arizona church, Golden Dawn, protected alleged child molesters for years. Tucson police are now "looking into the possibility of additional victims"听鈥 and another has come forward.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Jose Mora, 57, before he was arrested on suspicion of five counts of child molestation.
Jonathan Santos, 23, said a member of his former Tucson church molested him when he was about 8 years old. He's coming forward now to support another victim of the alleged "pedophile."听
Contact reporter Emily Hamer at emily.hamer@lee.net听or 鈥262-844-4151.听Contact columnist Tim Steller at tsteller@tucson.com or 鈥520-807-7789.听
