Carlsbad pastor caught molesting family members pleads guilty to sexual assault

VISTA (KUSI) — A Carlsbad pastor whose wife caught him molesting a female family member last year pleaded guilty Thursday to a pair of sexual assault counts that could send him to prison for up to 20 years.

Matthew John Otis Tague, 44, pleaded guilty to two counts of lewd act on a child under 14 and is scheduled to be sentenced April 10 at the Vista Courthouse.

The defendant faces between 10 and 20 years in prison, said Deputy District Attorney Patricia Lavermicocca.

The prosecutor said Tague repeatedly molested the victim over a two-year period in 2016 and 2017 when she was 12 and 13 years old.

Lavermicocca said Tague’s wife caught him in the act late last May and reported him to authorities. Tague turned himself in a few days later.

Tague was a pastor at North Coast Calvary Chapel on Poinsettia Lane in Carlsbad.