A 42-year-old church elder is facing charges of sexually assaulting a girl he is related to for a decade in Irvine, police said Wednesday.
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Michael Robert Maxwell was charged Tuesday with 18 felony counts of sexual assault involving the girl starting in 2011 and continuing through 2018, according to court records. Maxwell did not enter a plea at his arraignment in the jail courtroom in Santa Ana on Tuesday and is scheduled to be arraigned Sept. 12 in the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach.
Maxwell was an elder of Redeemer Church of Orange County in Newport Beach, according to Kyle Oldoerp of the Irvine Police Department. The victim, who is now a teen, came forward to authorities this month, Oldoerp said.
Police asked for the public's help with more information about the defendant. Anyone with relevant information was asked to contact Detective Vincent Vasquez at vvasquez@cityofirvine.org.
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