American Pastor on “15 Most Wanted” List Arrested in Brazil for Sexual Assault

In this photo released by Rio Grande do Norte State Security secretary, American sect leader Victor Barnard sits in a police station after being detained at Pipa beach, in the Northeastern state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, on Feb. 27, 2015.
(Photo: AP)

A fugitive American pastor accused of sexually assaulting two young girls in Minnesota has been arrested in Brazil, the U.S. Marshals Service said Sunday.

Victor Barnard, 53, was wanted on 59 counts of sexual assault in rural Pine County.

“He was picked up in Brazil and he will be detained there for now,” Thomas Volk, a spokesman for the Marshals Service in Minnesota, told USA TODAY.

Barnard is being held in Brazil pending formal extradition to the United States, Volk said.

“Through an extensive fugitive investigation, information was developed that Barnard was living in Brazil,” the service said in a statement. It said the service coordinated efforts with law enforcement and military in Brazil, and “Barnard was taken into custody without incident.”

Barnard was arrested at Pipa beach in Brazil’s northeastern state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazilian authorities said.

Volk provided few other details on the arrest.

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SOURCE: John Bacon
USA TODAY