Mario Ivan "Tony" Leyva Jr. (May 1946 – March 3, 2005), most commonly known as Brother Tony Leyva, was a Pentecostal preacher and convicted

pederast Pederasty or paederasty ( or ) is a sexual relationship between an adult man and a pubescent or adolescent boy. The term ''pederasty'' is primarily used to refer to historical practices of certain cultures, particularly ancient Greece and anc ...

and

child molester Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whether ...

Early life

Mario Ivan Leyva, Jr., of

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n descent, was born in Fletcher, North Carolina, in May 1946. "Tony", as he came to be called, was a victim of child molestation himself. As publicly stated, he was molested once during kindergarten and again when he was 14 on a baseball field near his high school. As a child, he enjoyed visiting his grandparents in Flat Rock, North Carolina, and came to live there in his late childhood. He became a

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

preacher at age 17, and married his childhood girlfriend, Tammy Sue.

Sexual abuse

During his teen years and early adult years as a Pentecostal preacher, he found himself attracted to younger boys in his church congregation. He would lure boys aged 10 to 14 years to the back roads of

Henderson County, North Carolina Henderson County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 116,281. Its county seat is Hendersonville, North Carolina, Hendersonville. ...

, with the promise of teaching them how to drive, but instead perform

oral sex Oral sex, sometimes referred to as oral intercourse, is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a person by another person using the mouth (including the lips, tongue, or teeth) and the throat. Cunnilingus is oral sex per ...

on them, calling it "God's special way for his people to love each other." "Brother Tony", as he came to be called, violated dozens of young boys in the area in this way. During the later 1960s and early 1970s, Leyva turned his attention to religious

revivals Revival most often refers to: * Resuscitation of a person *Language revival of an extinct language * Revival (sports team) of a defunct team *Revival (television) of a former television series *Revival (theatre), a new production of a previously p ...

and traveled across the South. He would invite young boys from both his hometown and towns along his travels to come with him, promising to teach them the ways of the Bible. The boys would earn their way by setting up lights, playing music, or driving tent trucks for Leyva's revival tent. Then, during the night at his motel room in that city, he would molest the boys. The boys' parents were often deceived by his charm, and the boys who were victimized never spoke out of embarrassment. Those who did speak out were often hushed up by disbelief.

Book

Leyva's life as an evangelist and molester are recorded in

Mike Echols Walter Harlan "Mike" Echols (April 1, 1944 – January 10, 2003) was an American author who wrote several books, mainly dealing with child sexual abuse. His books include ''I Know My First Name Is Steven'', which chronicles the story of Steven Stayn ...

' book ''Brother Tony's Boys: The Largest Case of Child Prostitution in U.S. History: The True Story''.

Arrest

Along with several other known pederasts, Leyva was arrested several times in 1988 on child molestation, sodomy, and interstate transport of minors charges.

Life after release

After Leyva was released from prison in 2002, he apparently fled to Haiti using forged papers. In August 2003 he was caught and held at the United States Embassy in

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...

. He was later deported back to the United States.

Death

Leyva died from skin cancer on March 3, 2005, in the infirmary of Powhatan Correctional Center in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. The state medical examiner's office determined he had metastatic

melanoma Melanoma, also redundantly known as malignant melanoma, is a type of skin cancer that develops from the pigment-producing cells known as melanocytes. Melanomas typically occur in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye ( ...

, a form of skin cancer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leyva, Tony American Pentecostals American people of Cuban descent 2005 deaths Deaths from melanoma People from Fletcher, North Carolina People from Flat Rock, Henderson County, North Carolina 1946 births