Pastor flees after molesting girl

PLYMOUTH, Ind. -- A pastor remained at large Thursday after being charged with molesting a 12-year-old female member of his congregation.\nJose Alberto Martinez, 52, of Lakeville, Ind., faces a Class A felony charge of child molesting that was filed this week in Marshall Superior Court after he had failed to appear for a Jan. 16 interview with investigators, Sgt. Leo Mangus said.\nThe girl said Martinez molested her several times recently in his van while it was parked in a remote area east of Plymouth, Mangus said.\nPolice did not know Martinez's whereabouts.\n"We heard word that his car may have been impounded in Hammond so we are checking on that," Mangus said. "But we are not sure why he would go to that area, because he doesn't have any family around there."\nMartinez was the pastor to a group of Spanish-speaking worshippers at the Plymouth campus of Church of the Heartland, a South Bend-based church that also has satellite campuses in Logansport, Winamac and Starke County.\nIn early January, Herbert Hiatt, who's identified as the bishop and overseer of the Church of the Heartland system, told police he believed that Martinez was having inappropriate contact with the girl, according to court documents.\nHiatt told police that he had spoken with Martinez about the allegations, and Martinez did not deny them, the documents said.\nHiatt said Martinez's congregation rented space from Church of the Heartland to hold services.\nMartinez and his wife took the child to California in December on a trip to visit his family, and Martinez's wife stayed in California at the end of the visit, court documents said. The child reported that he had intercourse with her at least twice in motels on the drive back.