Victor Arden Barnard, 53, was arrested Friday at a home in a gated community, said the Public Security Secretariat of Rio Grande do Norte state. A 33-year-old woman was detained, police said.
Both were transported to a federal jail in Lagoa Nova in Natal, awaiting extradition to the United States, authorities said.
Barnard is suspected of 59 counts of sexual assault in Minnesota. He is accused of sexually abusing two young girls who were members of his church, the U.S. Marshals Service said.
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The ministry operated in a secluded area of Pine County from about 2000 until 2011 or 2012, Chief Deputy Steven Blackwell of the county sheriff’s office told CNN last year.
The fellowship left the property shortly after a new sheriff was elected and began investigating the ministry, Blackwell said. Afterward, The Salvation Army started running a family camp there.
CNN’s Brian Walker contributed to this report.
