LANCASTER – A 31-year-old Desert Christian School employee was charged Friday with molesting two girls, ages 11 and 12, at Grace Chapel’s Sunday church services in Lancaster.
Lancaster resident Jonathan Michael Macy pleaded not guilty to two counts of lewd acts upon a child under the age of 14, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Macy is due back in court Wednesday, Aug. 27 for a preliminary hearing.
Because the case involves two victims under age 14, Macy faces a maximum state prison sentence of 30 years to life, if convicted, according to Deputy District Attorney Jon Hatami. Bail remains at $1.2 million.
Macy was an employee at Desert Christian School and Grace Chapel Church, which is located on the school’s campus in the 44600 block of 15th Street West in Lancaster. Both victims knew Macy through his work at Grace Chapel Church, according to a statement by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Special Victims Bureau.
“On August 5, 2014, detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Special Victims Bureau began investigating an allegation of child molestation involving a young female child and an employee at Desert Christian School in Lancaster. Over the course of the investigation, a second victim of child molestation was identified,” detectives said in the statement.
Both incidents happened within the last year at Grace Chapel’s Sunday church services in Lancaster, and the victims were 11 and 12 years old, the prosecutor said.
Macy also worked as a teacher at St. Mary’s School in Palmdale. Both Desert Christian and St. Mary’s School are cooperating with the investigation, detectives said.
Officials at Desert Christian School and Grace Chapel Church did not return repeated calls for comment Friday.
The case remains under investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Special Victims Bureau.
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Previous related story: Lancaster man arrested for allegedly molesting children at church
Jaime P says
I would like to say this is going on everywhere and these pervs are getting nothing but a slap on the wrist! Something needs to change! My daughter was molested repeatedly by her best friends dad. He was also doing this to his own daughter which he confessed to but later changed his plea to not guilty. They told us initially that he was looking at 30 something yrs with more to be added. End result they cut a deal with him and he is now getting 5 yrs probation, counseling, and must registrar as a sex offender. Sick part about it is he gets to move back in his home with his teenage daughter!
Malou says
The real demons are religious people.
Parent says
My daughter attended the preschool there after a while I notice a change in her behavior I question the staff and everything later that week we we’re ask not come back I think the school has a lot of issues behind the close doors I think a full blown scale needs to be done I think there are more victims much younger then the students that came forward
dkb says
A “parent”, with a child who was asked to leave the school, posting accusations but no real name. What you anonymously “think” matters not.
William says
And, yet, your anonymous comment does matter?
You’re so funny.
bill says
William You generalize everything, and really say nothing. You have no solution to anything, yet you complain about everything. Each one of us can make a difference one person at a time. Please don’t just sit at your computer all day, faceless and complaining. That is just to easy and frankly it is very lazy.
William says
You’re new aren’t you?
stats says
William 100 being the safest, both Palmdale and Lancaster rank 29 with crime index. There are pedophiles in Palmdale also, but you have a hatred for Lancaster and fail to see what is right under your nose. You have an agenda, therefore your comments don’t speak truth. It’s called putting a spin on words to sway people with deception.
William says
@stats (a brand new username)
Palmdale usually leads in most measured categories.
Year after year, it is lower in crime rates in most catagories but there are a few exceptions now and then.
Palmdale has lower unemployment, higher property values, better bond rating and so on. Plus, Palmdale’s mayor is infinitely better than Rex Parris. Mayor Ledford’s commitment to his city and its residents is extraordinary. He is not a rich man looking for more loot like Rex. He has a bigger commitment and that drives Rex into fits of envy and the resulting crazy talk he’s known for. Meanwhile, the gentleman that he is, Mayor Ledford continues doing the work of a great civil servant which is reflected in the council and Palmdale’s city staff at every level. I couldn’t be happier living in Palmdale. Sure, it has problems like every city and town, family, business and organization but it has many more positive things going on.
So, stats, if you’re a Lancaster resident/voter your job is to do whatever it takes to make Lancaster work and/or rid yourselves of its failed leadership whose only mission is to enrich themselves at your expense. But, they have to pretend it’s for you or you wouldn’t buy it.
Palmdale is thriving in the face of a slow recovery while the blvd is in decline and now has ‘to be saved’ as was said in a recent council meeting. It’s not my job to fix Lancaster. It’s my job to point out what a mess it is so the Lancaster voters will replace the people who made the mess. And, its mayor Rex doesn’t just confine his rotten leadership to Lancaster but spreads his greedy self all over the place.
I supported the candidacy of Jonathan Ervin for that reason although I couldn’t vote for him.
You must have seen the filthy, rotten hit mail sent out about Mr. Ervin by none other than your Rex Parris whom you seem to be defending.
I keep hammering at Rex Parris since he has made matters even worse for Lancaster while being a bad neighbor to Quartz Hill and Palmdale and even Santa Clarita. Who’s next? Rosamond? Acton?
If you don’t like my routine criticism of Rex, take it up with him. He doesn’t seem to learn from his goofs and keeps on doing more of the same.
The idea of closing down the Metrolink station is another boneheaded notion from Rex and the council. Wasn’t building all those new condos off the blvd tied to there being a transit village nearby?
Wasn’t the station designed to make it possible for millions of tourists to visit the ‘world class’ blvd?
What exactly are you defending ‘stats’? Failure.
Well, that’s not such a good idea, now is it?
There are other even more critical comments here about Rex and Lancaster using the words ‘dumping grounds’ and ‘trash’ which I don’t typically do. But, you ignore them.
But, I must be doing something right for you to single me out of all the other much more critical comments, so I’ll keep on doing it and you can keep on replying.
That’s fine with me. I’ve been here several years and have seen people like you come and go and I’m still here. There is someone who recently disappeared in the last few days. But, before he did, his hair seemed to be on fire and some new usernames appeared at the same time with his distinct writing style, er, I mean no style.
And, you and several other new usernames seem to have picked up where he left off. Interesting, isn’t it?
William says
@stats
“You have an agenda, therefore your comments don’t speak truth.”
Your logic is truly faulty. It does not logically follow that someone with an ‘agenda’ doesn’t speak the ‘truth’. And agenda can contain truth or falsehoods or a little of both but that apparently went over your head in logic class.
Did you really think that using a big word like ‘therefore’ (a big word for you) was gonna let you slide?
Thank you for illustrating that for the class.
Next lesson for you to work on ‘stats’ is ‘providing evidence for your assertion’.
Class dismissed.
BTW ‘stats’. You should change your brand new username to ‘FAIL’. It’s more appropriate.
William says
Two articles side-by-side.
One has people complaining that a certain neighborhood is a ‘ghetto’ and ‘dangerous’, yada, yada, yada.
The other article is about Desert Christian school and child molestation.
Fascinating, isn’t it?
Z says
No.
Lynn says
Listen up people. my grandson and daughter went to that school and there was more going on than child molestation. Three kids were terminated unfairly one of them 2 weeks before graduation. There is a story about sex happening behind a trash container. Things are hidden so certain people in charge can keep their jobs.
Jennifer St. Jude says
He also showed up to volunteer at the week long Salvation Army Camp this past summer. I was surprised to see him there. He was everywhere children were. Salvation Army served mostly low income children who often have a lot going on in their lives. Macy appeared to prey upon more vulnerable kids. There is no such thing as counseling for a pedophile who pleads innocent. If he gets off he will reoffend because he’s sick and fear wont stop him. Prison even will only stop him for time served.
Mary says
Then they need to speak to all the parents and the kids who were there –
Celia says
If he is guilty that would mean that he suffers from any type of sex addiction, and that is an illness from which he cannot heal himself, but God can heal him. No one who is truly a Christian could believe that God cannot, or that there is anything that God cannot do.
getreal says
dream on. Who brainwashed you?
sikntired says
And where was your God when innocent children were being robbed of their innocence?
Please says
God is where he has always been… In peoples’ imaginations.
William says
God spoke to me while I drove down 10th Street West the other day.
He said “Step on it and you’ll just make the light”. So helpful.
bird says
Someone just doesn’t decide to start molesting children around the age of 30 years old! What about fingerprinting and extensive background checks for anyone that will be working or volunteering around children? Pedophiles like being around children and they are always the last one suspected.
God, family, country says
He was fingerprinted and investigated by the school and the church. These didn’t find anything that would prevent him from being offered a position because he had no prior convictions.
aj says
You guys none of that info is true if he admitted things there wouldnt be investigations just because he likes kids doesnt make him a sex offender make your comments when he gets convicted also not to say he is or isnt but what if these kids are lying? It could be you gotta keep your possibilities open scenario lets say he repremended these girls and as revenge they retalliate? No offense its hard to molest when it was during sunday school which is busy easily seen so until for sure we cant judge the media plays only plays 1 angle …i feel for the girls i do but i cant judge what hasnt been revealed its a fifty fifty chance if hes innoscent then whats that gonna tell you? Simliar thing happened kid goes to jail because his girlfriends parents retalliated because their daughter and him did things and to get back at they hit him with statutory rape again societys ways are messed up but his rep is damaged and he hasnt even been convicted….just saying…
Mary says
Well tell you what – send your kids to church with him until he is proven innocent. If I had small kids, I wouldn’t chance it. Let me tell you something. When I was a little girl, my uncle molested me. I was three years old and I remember it like it happened yesterday. My mom called me a liar for years, until my oldest sister and my cousin came forward with similar stories. My mom has since apologized to me and she has not spoken to my uncle in years over the incident. When a child comes to you to say that they are being molested, it is my hope you will believe the child.
Grammy says
@ aj – My grand daughter was 3 years old when he molested her last April. How is it that a 3 year old could make up these things with such detail? I surely hope that if something like this ever happens to your child, that you will not come up with such insane garbage as a toddler making up such things!
aj says
I taught toddlers and they repeat things all the time yes i would take this seriously if my child said this but you cant always assume the worst we werent there my question is why didnt anyone press charges until this girl came forward i would have also he never taught 3 year olds those sunday school classes always had two teachers in it im sorry if it did happen but kids repeat things without knowing what they mean im neutral to this because there hasnt been much evidence revealed im just saying it could be a lie with either sides we dont know yet i hope the truth comes out
Grammy says
@aj – My grand daughter was at the preschool when she was molested by him. There was an investigation done by SVU. We did NOT tell her these things to say, they were in her own words and she was NOT repeating things that were told to her. She said them in the only words that she knew to express. I find it very offensive that you would insinuate that the words were put in her mouth or repeated. I work at an elementary school and I also have several children. I think I KNOW what is “normal” to come out of a child’s mouth. I certainly hope that this never happens to one of your children or grand children to make you understand! I find it DISGUSTING when someone sides with a perpetrator who has harmed AT LEAST 3 young girls. I am certain that there are many more!
Shane Falco says
Grammy,
How did the LASD know to contact you regarding these new allegations? Did they do an investigation at the time?
God, family, country says
@aj
An investigation is always conducted in these cases even if the accused admits to the crime. It is necessary in order to establish appropriate charges and uncover any additional victims.
Ex DCS Parent says
@Grammy.. Thanks for that info. The reason I was asking is because after that date he still was on the elementary campus. He even subbed in my kid’s class once in May. DCS did not exercise due diligence and endangered our kids. Someone should get an attorney.
@ex DCS student… Totally agree with you. My other kid went to DCHS one year, and we got out of there. All the teachers were under qualified, and were related to each other! I’m glad you did too.
Disgusted... says
Wait… Is this the same “holier than thou” Cecil Swetland mentioned in this UN-Godly hit mailer?? Sounds like he needed to clean up the demons in his camp before trying to falsify information about the next person for political purposes.
https://www.theavtimes.com/2014/04/07/lancaster-deputy-mayor-behind-last-minute-mailer/
It’s sad that the people who are entrusted to protect our children often times hurt and take advantage of them the most. It’s devestating to hear children being molested and cover ups taking place to save the image of an institution…. What about the innocence of the child that was taken or the mental and physical anguish the child has endured. Everyone involved needs to be held 100% accountable.
Son of the Anti Rex says
Yessir. Thank gawd that Cecil and his Mayor kept that Ervin gang candidate out of office. No tellin what a decorated veteran would do for his city. Don’t it say In God We Trust on the wall behind our Mayor and his Chosen Ones? I sure wish they acted like it meant something.
Jud says
I bet his powerful teacher’s union kept him from being fired. I’m so sick of these public schools and the CEO’s that run them protecting pedophile teachers!
Jud is stupid says
It is a private “Christian” school, numb nuts!
HappyHour says
Teachers Union? Public school? Lay off the drugs if you can’t completely absorb the information you have been given!
Not working there anymore 2 says
Staff didn’t know about the investigation while it was happening. We found out once the new investigation occurred. The school them began telling us that this was gossip and the other case was closed. We were also told to talk about it.
Beyond disgusted says
That is beyond alarming and disgusting that they would tell their employees to hide that information. I no longer trust Desert Christian Schools with my children. Children are not safe there if they believe that a 3 year old being mistreated is just gossip. I’m very much disappointed with the CEO Cecil and believe he should be punished as well for not protecting the children entrusted to him and his staff by us parents.
Grammy says
There was also another investigation brought on by the SVU department back in April. The victim was a 3 year old little girl attending the preschool at Desert Christian (my precious grand daughter). The case was dropped, because she was too young to testify. The school quickly covered it up and transferred him to the high school campus, so that future victims WOULD be old enough to testify. I’m sure that would make those parents and grandparents pleased, if they had knowledge of this decision. Thank you Cecil Sweatland for being such a “family friend”! None of the promises were kept such as video cameras being installed on campus for future protection. Employees were told not to “gossip” about the allegation. What did all of these make….more victims! Please talk to your children and grandchildren to warn them about these monsters. If he had access to your babies, please inquire about any interactions they may have had. Go with your gut instincts!
Concerned Parent says
Is this the same man as in Jonathan ? Or are there more there at that school besides him?
Grammy says
Yes, it also was Jonathan. I prefer my grand daughter’s name for him better though…the “Trashman”.
Ex DCS parent says
Grammy.. Thanks for sharing this alarming news. Could you tell us about how long ago this happened? Both my kids went there.. And were familiar with creepy janitors. Also, were you invited to their meeting? We were not.had to find out seeing the front page of the paper. I’m furious, we paid well and trusted these people to keep our children safe.
Ex DCS student says
Ex DCS parent, yeah its really not safe there, even the high school has creepy janitors/teachers and you would think paying for private schools would help keep these creeps away but i guess not! That’s why i left, also it was expensive for my parents.
Grammy says
As I said in a earlier post, he was sent to the high school to be a janitor earlier in the year after our case came out. But hey, it doesn’t sound like he prefers girls after puberty….. Disgusting!
Grammy says
Our case came out in April 2014.
Mary says
Grammy
First, I want to say that I am very proud of you for coming out with your story about your granddaughter. It’s tough to have to do something like that. “Secrets” are one of the most horrible traits in a person/s and I am proud of you for coming forward with your story. Your story may help others to come forward from that church. Are you and the other victims allowed to sue the church? Do you have any rights now that it has actually been arrested with these charges? There has to be some sort of justice for your grandchild and the other victims involved in this. To those reading this: I want to remind you to NEVER trust anyone around your child. I know that this sounds horrible but with the rise of child pornography, so many men, and women too, (Read KTLA news today where a man and woman molested the two Amish girls) are hurting children. Porn is a horrible addiction and sadly more and more men (And women) are getting in to it because it is so accessible on our smart phones. It could be YOUR husband, my husband, your father, my father – you would be surprised at who is watching this stuff and sadly more and more children are becoming victims. So please parents, don’t trust anyone with your kids, not even in church. If you attend church, get out of your seat at least 3 times to check up on your child, especially if they are toddlers. Predators are at games, in church, in schools, and even in your own household.
Regarding the fingerprinting. I do understand that most have never had prior records, actually in most cases; however, there are some that have been arrested but have gone unnoticed because the fingerprinting has not been updated and therefore those arrest are going undetected. Better to be safe than sorry. As a parent of that school, I would demand updated fingerprinting to be on file before sending my child back to that school. And let’s keep in mind, it’s happening EVERY WHERE.