Saddleback Church youth mentor arrested for allegedly engaging in lewd conduct with 2 teenage boys

A 32-year-old youth mentor at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Orange County has been arrested on Thursday on after he was accused of committing lewd acts on two teenage boys.

Ruven Meulenberg, who volunteered as a junior high youth mentor at the California megachurch, has been arrested on Thursday on suspicion of lewd and lascivious acts with a child, CBS LA reported.

The police started investigating Meulenberg after a 14-year-old boy told his parents that the youth mentor molested him, according to Lt. Lane Lagaret. The parents then informed the church's youth pastor, who called the Sheriff's Department.

Lagaret noted that the detectives identified a second victim, also a 14-year-old boy, during the investigation.

One of the victims attended Saddleback Church while the other boy was part of the Junior High Ministry program.

Both victims told the investigators they engaged in lewd conduct with Meulenberg over the past year, and some of the incidents took place on Saddleback Church property.

Meulenberg and his twin brother are known in the youth ministry circle as the "Tornado Twins." They operate a website called Kids Want Answers and they were instrumental in creating a video game about the Bible.

A former church employee has said that the suspect's father is a pastor from Holland and some of his relatives have worked or still work at Saddleback.

Meulenberg, who volunteered at the church for approximately six years, is being held in Orange County Jail on $100,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.

Authorities believe that there could be more victims based on the suspect's "leadership role and access to children."

Saddleback Church has released a statement saying it was "shocked and grieved to share that this week a Saddleback member reported that a student ministry volunteer had acted inappropriately with two 14 year old boys."

"We ask you to do two things: First, please pray for the Saddleback families who are involved in this sad matter. Second, please pray for the investigators as they determine the facts. As followers of Jesus, we always want the whole truth to come out because Jesus taught us that lies enslave us, but the truth sets us free," the statement continued.

Saddleback Church has been ranked as the seventh-largest congregation in the U.S., with more than 22,000 people attending on a weekly basis, according to data released in 2015.