VALDOSTA — A former Lowndes County pastor is sitting in an Oregon jail awaiting an August court hearing on charges involving three sexual assaults against women there.

Helio Ferreira, 41, was arrested in Valdosta Dec. 3 on a fugitive from justice warrant, according to a statement from the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office, which assisted Portland, Ore., police and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in the case.

Ferreira served as the senior pastor at Grace Fellowship Seventh Day Adventist Church, according to the church’s Facebook page.

Late in December, a grand jury in the Multnomah County, Ore., returned nine criminal counts against Ferreira: two counts of sodomy in the first degree, two counts of kidnapping in the first degree, three counts of rape in the first degree, one count of sexual abuse in the first degree and one count of identity theft. He was arraigned May 22, court documents show.

Ferreira entered not guilty pleas to all charges, according to court filings. On Aug. 13, he faces a case management hearing, said Brent Weisberg of the Multnomah County District Attorney’s office. No trial date has been set yet; Ferreira is now in the Multnomah County Jail, according to jail records.

The crimes took place “on or about” Nov. 17, 2012, Sept. 18, 2016 and Sept. 7, 2018, according to the statement.

In the 2012 incident, the victim “was incapable of consent either because of mental incapacitation or physical helplessness,” while the 2016 and 2018 incidents involved kidnapping, the statement said. The woman in the 2018 case was also a victim of identity theft, according to the district attorney’s office.

Ferreira was linked to all three cases by DNA evidence, according to the statement.

Authorities ask people with information on this case to contact Portland Police Detective Ross Dormady at (503) 823-0880 or ross.dormady@portlandpolice.gov.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.