BishopAccountability.org

DA: Former pastor admits on secret recording to child abuse

By Jo Ciavaglia
Bucks County Courier Times
March 11, 2014

http://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/news/communities/bristol/da-former-pastor-admits-on-secret-recording-to-child-abuse/article_730ef88b-3fdf-595b-9257-631fbd14f9e7.html

Scott Sechrist is the former Morrisville Baptist church pastor accused of sexually assaulting a now 34-year-old woman for two years back in the early 1990s.

In November, a 34-year-old woman arranged a “family” meeting to discuss sexual abuse she said she endured as a child because she and her husband were concerned about leaving their newborn daughter alone with some people.

But on Tuesday, the woman admitted under oath that the reason she gave for the meeting was a lie.

The true purpose was to coax a former Morrisville Baptist church pastor into admitting he sexually abused her when she was a child. The woman wore a hidden microphone that recorded the meeting conversation, according to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office.

Portions of the audio recording were played Tuesday during a preliminary hearing for Scott Sechrist, 61, a Bristol Township man accused of sexually assaulting the then-12-year-old. The woman originally reported the alleged crimes to police in 1992, but then recanted.

A male voice on the recording, identified as Sechrist, is heard saying that he wished he knew why he behaved the way he did.

“I thought about that for years. I babysat my nieces. I changed diapers,” the male voice said. “I don’t know why it was you ... I don’t know. I can’t answer that.”

The woman’s husband, who was in the courtroom, began crying while the recording was played.

The woman was the only witness to testify at the hearing, and was on the stand for longer than an hour.

She explained how her family and Sechrist’s family had become friends through the First Baptist Church of Morrisville, where Sechrist served as pastor at the time. He’s now a part-time pastor at a Christian church in Willingboro, N.J.

She said that when she was around the age of 10, Sechrist’s inappropriate comments to her escalated into sexual behavior, including inappropriate touching.

She said that the sexual abuse, which took place in her family’s home, continued until she confided in an older girl who attended her church. The girl told her parents who first talked to the then-12-year-old, she testified, and Bristol Township police were notified.

Soon after, she told the court, she recanted the allegations to Bucks County Children and Youth Social Service investigators and that the criminal investigation ended.

The woman also reiterated that statements she is making are identical to the statements she made in 1992.

Defense attorney Harry Agzigian asked why she didn’t tell her mother about the abuse at the time. The woman replied that her mother was seriously ill and she didn’t want to upset her. The woman also said she was confused about the sexual contact.

“The Bible says it’s wrong, but it was happening,” she explained, adding she realized the behavior was wrong when she saw a sex abuse video at school.

Following testimony Tuesday, Bristol Township District Judge Robert Wagner Jr. held Sechrist for trial on all charges including 20 counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a victim under age 16 and related offenses that were in place at the time of the alleged crimes. He remains free on $500,000 unsecured bail, but Wagner added a bail condition of no contact with any minors.

 




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