Pastor accused of hiring homeless people to burn his ex alive

A California woman, whose ex-boyfriend is accused of hiring transients to throw a Molotov cocktail into her home, said she believes he wanted her dead.

“It definitely was clear to me that he's not just out to hurt me, but he wants to kill me,” Sarah Nottingham told ABC News’ “20/20.”

On Jan. 9, Nottingham said a Molotov cocktail crashed through her home as she and her family slept. Shortly after, police stopped a suspicious truck and arrested three transients, who, after questioning, confessed they were hired by Nottingham’s ex-boyfriend, Mark Lewis.

Watch the full story on ABC News' "20/20" TONIGHT at 10 p.m. ET.

Lewis, the pastor of Independent Fellowship Baptist Church in Vacaville, Calif., denied any involvement in the incident to local reporters. He is currently awaiting trial on arson and fraud charges. The three transients, who say they were staying at the pastor’s church, all pleaded not guilty.

Nottingham first met Lewis at his church.

“To see somebody that was that excited for God and to have that much enthusiasm ... just, you know, it was exciting,” Nottingham said.

She was a Sunday school teacher at the church and was married by Lewis. But her marriage fell apart after two and a half years, and she left the church. In 2011, when Lewis’ wife, Joanna Lewis, was found dead of an apparent suicide, Nottingham said Lewis called her within 24 hours.

“He was crying and he asked me if I had heard what happened,” said Nottingham. “And I told him, ‘Yes.’”

The two, according to Nottingham, eventually became secret lovers.

“He worried about his [church],” Nottingham said. “‘If they find out I’m dating the ex of one of my, you know, parishioners here, I’m going to lose the church.’”

But Lewis instead lost Nottingham, who said she discovered he was sending inappropriate text messages to female parishioners, including 17-year-old Desiree Nye, who had been a member of the church since age 5.

“At first, I always looked at him like a dad,” Nye told “20/20.” “And then, I was more confused because then he would send me something ... inappropriate ... like a picture of him with nothing on.”

Sassy wrote:What a scumbag!    

Ben_Reilly wrote:

Sassy wrote:What a scumbag!    

Isn't it sadly predictable how first you find out somebody like this tried to murder someone ... then you find out, "Oh yeah, he also sends naked pictures to underage girls"? It's just a well of scum reaching down to the Earth's core.