CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — A former youth pastor is facing a lengthy prison sentence for the rape of two girls under the age of 13 in two separate cases in Canton and Woodstock.
Superior Court Judge Tony Baker sentenced Reyes Hernandez-Macario, 26, to two consecutive life sentences for the crimes, Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit District Attorney Susan K. Treadaway said Friday.
A Cherokee County jury found Hernandez-Macario guilty on all eight charges he faced: two counts of rape, two counts of child molestation, two counts of false imprisonment and two counts of cruelty to children in the first degree.
Prosecutors said Hernandez-Macario was known to both girls.
Canton Police Department began investigating the first rape report in August 2023, and Woodstock Police Department began investigating another report in September of the same year.
As a youth pastor for a church in Canton, Hernandez-Macario drove kids on a bus to services. One child in Canton told authorities that after dropping off the other children, Hernandez-Macario parked the van, locked the doors and assaulted her. He then warned her not to tell anyone.
She told her family six months later, and they called 911.
In the Woodstock incident, a child said that Hernandez-Macario assaulted her while alone with her in the living room of her family’s home, covering her mouth to prevent her from calling for help, holding her down, and threatening to harm her family if she told.
The girl told her family one year later.
“In both cases, the defendant isolated the victims, used force to overpower them, and relied on threats to keep them silent. The jury heard directly from these young victims and witnessed the lasting trauma they continue to carry,” said Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Rachel Hines, of the Special Victims Unit, who prosecuted this case on behalf of the state.
“Delayed disclosure is very common in cases involving child victims,” Hines said. “Fear, confusion, and threats from the offender often prevent children from coming forward right away.”
Hernandez-Macario was arrested on Oct. 22, 2023, at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport as he was about to board a flight to Guatemala. He had bought a one-way ticket.
“This defendant exploited positions of trust to gain access to children and used violence and intimidation to control them. He then made a cowardly attempt to flee the country once they came forward,” Treadaway said.
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