Pastor fights rape claims

Lolita Harper

BURBANK -- The dark, cold cell guarded by the Iranian Secret Police is

not the only prison Pastor Robak Hoospianmer, also known as Roubik

Hoospian, has been spent time in.

Last month he spent the night in Los Angeles County Jail after being

arrested on suspicion of intent to commit rape, residential burglary and

stalking, according to court documents.

The woman involved -- whose name is being withheld to protect her

identity -- has accused Hoospianmer of the crimes, which allegedly

occurred at her Pasadena home in August, according to the original

complaint filed by the Los Angeles County district attorney.

However, the 41-year-old pastor, a Burbank resident who preaches at

the Southern Baptist Church in Glendale and works as a social worker, was

not taken into custody by officers from the Pasadena Police Department

until Dec. 19, after a warrant for his arrest was issued.

Detectives on the case needed the extra time to find a witness who

could corroborate the victim’s claims, Pasadena Police Sgt. Tom Pederson

said.

“Until that witness was found, the case was not fileable,” he said.

The charges were filed by the victim, a member of the pastor’s former

church, who claimed to have had an affair with him, Hoospianmer said in a

telephone interview Tuesday.

Hoospianmer denied the criminal charges, the alleged affair or ever

being in the woman’s home.

“My enemies are making a trap to destroy my reputation,” he said in

his own defense.

The most recent claim by the alleged mistress is not her first attempt

to ruin his name, Hoospianmer contends. In 1999, Pasadena police officers

arrested him on suspicion of residential trespassing and making annoying

phone calls to the same woman, court documents report. The charges were

amended and Hoospianmer pleaded no contest to fighting in a public place.

Asked why he pleaded no contest to charges he denied, Hoospianmer said

he was advised to do so by his attorney, Daniel Bunnet. The pastor said

he had yelled at the woman in a restaurant, and Bunnet advised him to

accept a charge of fighting in public.

Bunnet did not return telephone calls placed by the Leader.

Hoospianmer received a sentence of two years of probation and was

ordered to attend a year -- 52 sessions -- in a domestic violence

batterer’s program, at a cost to him of $813. His probation was

terminated in July after he completed the sessions.

Hoospianmer paid for the counseling at Foothill Family Service in

Pasadena but thought the program was for anger management.

“I did not know it was for domestic violence,” Hoospianmer said.

According to program progress reports, group facilitator Nuhid Ashtari

noted that Hoospianmer was an “active participant” and “tried to learn

how to control his anger.

“Mr. Hoospianmer was attentive ... and gave examples of his past

behavior and how he changed, which was helpful to newcomers,” the report

stated.

The preliminary hearing for the most recent charges is scheduled for

Feb. 1 at Pasadena Superior Court. Hoospianmer is free on his own

recognizance.

Hoospianmer hopes the judge will see that the charges are false and

dismiss the case, he said.

Although Pasadena police never enter an investigation assuming guilt

or innocence, it appears the district attorney’s office believes there

was probable cause to file the assault, intent to commit rape, burglary

and stalking charges, Pederson said.

“We just gather the facts and present them to the [district

attorney,]” he said. “But after the information was presented, all the

charges were filed.”