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Man accused of having sex with teen girl

The relationship had gone on since August, the 14-year-old told her mother.

By VANESSA DE LA TORRE
Published March 31, 2006

A Sunday school teacher was arrested Wednesday on 11 felony sex counts after authorities said he carried on a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old Largo girl.

Juan C. Bojay, 27, of Auburndale met with the teenager numerous times over several months after a mutual acquaintance introduced them, said the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

The victim and her family are members of Manantial de Vida Iglesia in Clearwater, a Spanish-speaking Assembly of God congregation where Bojay taught Bible classes. On Sunday, the 14-year-old told her mother that she's had a relationship with the man since August.

On Wednesday, detectives from the sheriff's Crimes Against Children unit arrested Bojay at a Largo residence. Authorities said he admitted to the allegations. Bojay was charged with 10 counts of lewd and lascivious battery and a single count of lewd and lascivious molestation, all felonies.

Arrest reports state that the crimes happened at places such as the victim's home, a Clearwater Holiday Inn and in Bojay's 2001 Volkswagen, which was sometimes parked at Largo Central Park and a McDonald's on East Bay Drive for a rendezvous.

So far there is no indication any sex acts took place at the church, said sheriff's spokesman Mac McMullen. Manantial de Vida, which translates to Fountain of Life, held its services and Sunday school classes in Kinports Hall, a large fellowship room it rented from St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Clearwater.

While Bojay frequently saw the 14-year-old at Fountain of Life, he was not her teacher, McMullen said.

On Thursday, St. Paul's severed its two-year relationship with the church after learning of the charges. The Rev. Joseph Schularick Jr. called the Fountain of Life's pastor to let him know.

"Of course he was upset," said Schularick. "I have nothing against him. . . . The tragedy is it's a very good congregation, good people, good ministry. And you have one guy, and the tragedy ripples through the congregation."

And that one man was enough to make the 70-member Fountain of Life find another place to worship.

"I talked to my attorneys, I talked to my bishop, and my counsel staff, and we all agreed you have to make a severance at this point," Schularick said. "The church has to be very clear on these issues. Sex abuse issues are not tolerated. And that's just it."

Bojay was being held Thursday in the Pinellas County Jail in lieu of $300,000 bail.

[Last modified March 31, 2006, 01:09:18]