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Sacramento County church youth volunteer accused of sex abuse, child porn possession
Sacramento Bee - 7/18/2022
Investigators on Monday sought information from the public after a volunteer youth group leader at a Carmichael church was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of sexually abusing a child and possessing child pornography.
Samuel Paul Cantrell, 46, was arrested July 8 on suspicion of 15 counts of committing lewd and lascivious acts with a child younger than 14, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday in a news release.
The alleged sexual abuse occurred over a two-year period with one victim, sheriff’s officials said. He also was arrested on suspicion of possessing obscene material depicting a person younger than 18, according to the news release.
Cantrell worked as a volunteer youth group leader and youth worship leader at the Crossroads Church in Carmichael. Sheriff’s officials said the child listed as the victim in this case was not associated with the Crossroads Church, and investigators were not implicating the church in the allegations in the “active and ongoing criminal investigation.”
On Monday, Cantrell remained incarcerated at the Sacramento County Jail with his bail amount set at $1.5 million. He was scheduled to appear Tuesday for a bail review hearing in Sacramento Superior Court.
Investigators asked anyone with relevant information to this sexual abuse investigation to call the Sheriff’s Office Child Abuse Bureau at 916-874-5191.
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