Pastor accused of faking assault, tying himself up had financial trouble

The pastor of a Somerville church accused of faking a robbery was behind on the church's rent, his landlord reportedly said.

Jairon Pena rented space at the New Covenant Missionary Church for his church, Iglesia Cristiana Puerta del Cielo, but faced a rent increase that he couldn't cover, according to NJ.com. The pastor at New Covenant said the increase was to cover the cost of utilities, which went up because Pena added services.

"I tried to help him as much as I could but he kept increasing his usage of the church, and I had to raise the rent," David Rouse said.

Rouse said the congregation numbered between 50 and 80.and met several times a week.

Somerset County Prosecutor's Office spokesman Jack Bennett would not comment when asked if the financial difficulties played a role in why Pena allegedly faked the robbery.

Police on Friday responded to a 911 call from an individual saying someone had been assaulted and tied up, and found Pena with his hands loosely tied with a rope behind his back, authorities have said. His legs were tied and a piece of was cloth stuffed into his mouth with a plastic bag over his head, along with a piece of paper taped to his chest and back with a misspelled Islamic phrase, authorities said.

After Pena was transported to a local hospital for medical attention, authorities learned that Pena didn't have any visible injuries, which would normally be present in the event of being assaulted and bound, the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office has said. Upon further investigation, police determined that the pastor had fabricated the event "by staging a crime scene due to some personal events in his life."

He was charged with third-degree false public alarm, fourth-degree false swearing and making a fictitious report to law enforcement, a disorderly persons offense.