Pedro Custodio, known as “Pastor Pete,” faces battery charges after allegedly pushing an elderly resident for “talking excessively” and not moving quickly enough.
The operator of a Florida group home was arrested this month after allegedly assaulting a 77-year-old woman, reportedly becoming enraged because he felt she was “talking excessively.”
Pedro Custodio, who lives at and operates the residence in Umatilla, stands accused of battery on a person 65 or older.
According to a probable cause arrest affidavit from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to the group home on July 8 after the victim called to report the incidents.
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The woman, who resides in the halfway house with several others, told police that on July 2, while talking with Custodio in his bedroom, he “became upset with her for talking excessively.”
Custodio allegedly “became angry” and grabbed her by the thigh before “forcefully pushing” her to the floor. She showed deputies a bruise on her upper left thigh, which she claims was sustained during the alleged assault.
The victim also detailed a second alleged incident where Custodio became angry and pushed her to the ground because she “was not moving fast enough” when she was gathering her belongings to take a shower.
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Custodio was arrested and transported to the Lake County Jail. He has since posted a $10,000 bond and pleaded not guilty on Monday. His next court date is scheduled for August 4. No lawyer was listed for Custodio in court documents.
This isn’t Custodio’s first brush with the law. A decade ago, he was acquitted of sexually battering a woman at his homeless shelter, according to the Orlando Sentinel. More recently, in 2022, he was convicted and sentenced to probation for throwing a box cutter at a man through a car window, as reported by WESH news.
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