Authorities: Newark Girl, 14, Sexually Assaulted By Linden Pastor

A Linden pastor has been charged with the sexual assault of a 14-year-old Newark girl, authorities said Wednesday.

Clifford Brower, pastor of Newark's Blessed Assurance Church.
Photo Credit: *Newark PD/Blessed Assurance Church Facebook*

12/09/2020 2:48 p.m.

Clifford Brower, 57, a pastor at the Blessed Assurance Church in Newark, is believed to have committed "various acts of sexual assault" on the girl on Aug. 5, 2019, Acting Assistant Prosecutor Theodore Stephens, II, and Newark Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose said.

Brower is currently being held at the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark, on charges of sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child, Ambrose and Stephens said.

The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office will be moving for detention. A hearing date has not yet been scheduled.

Anyone with information regarding the case is urged to contact the Special Victims Unit of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office at 973-753-1130.

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