Exeter Pastor Accused of Sexually Abusing Teenage Church Member

By Nicole Garcia
KMPH
May 9, 2012

http://www.kmph.com/story/18238103/exeter-pastor-accused-of-sexually-abusing-teenage-church-member


[with video]

EXETER, Calif. (KMPH) - An Exeter congregation in crisis - after a beloved pastor is accused of preying on a teenage girl, who is a member of the church.

62-year-old Alton Dorrough is in jail, facing at least nine counts of sexual abuse.

Dorrough is a pastor at the Church of God of Exeter and a volunteer chaplain with the Exeter Police Department.

Church members say the girl accusing Dorrough of sexually abusing her for several years is a youth leader at the same church.

The church called members to pray together Tuesday evening, many visibly upset by the bombshell that just dropped.

Dorrough was known to the congregation as "Pastor Gene".

Many young members looked to him for guidance.

"Gene was a father figure to almost all of us, that's why so many of us are coming. We all loved him dearly, he always had a smile on his face. Gene is definitely a father figure to a lot of people," said Kamron Drane, a member of the church who says he's friends with both the pastor and the teenage accuser.

Drane says the pastor played that fatherly role to the teenage girl who's now accusing him of sexually abusing her.

The teenager walked into the Exeter police dept Monday, and told officers the pastor had been molesting her for several years.

"Everyone has shortcomings, everyone has faults. We're lifting him up in prayer, it's going to have an impact on a lot of people, we're just going to keep him in prayer," said David, a member of the church.

As the congregation clings to their faith for answers, many say, they still have faith in their leader, despite the fact he is now an accused sexual predator.

"He's a good man and some people just take things to far, he made a mistake, he still knows the lord. And people shouldn't judge, they don't' know what it's like in his shoes," said Drake.

As for the girl who also looked to him for guidance, he says, "Eventually everyone gets sick and tired of being sick and tired. Guess she got that one final push, I don't' know the reason, but everything comes to an end sometime."

Dorrough is being held at the Tulare County jail on more than $1 million bail.

Investigators say this appears to be an isolated incident between the pastor and the girl, and at this point, they do not believe Dorrough has abused any other children.