Pastor Accused in Child Sex Case Worked Here 2 Years Ago
By Lauren Baheri
A recently removed pastor who once worked in Lincolnton and Shelby was charged last week with sexually assaulting a child. The abuse is alleged to have occurred decades ago in Jacksonville, Fla. Michael Wayne Hill, a 52-year-old former Seventh-day Adventist pastor, was charged with sexual battery of a person younger than 12 years old. No statute of limitations exists in a child sex crime. Hill served as pastor of churches in Shelby and Lincolnton for 15 years, according to Robert Crux, marketing director for Carolina Conference, the division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church that covers Gaston, Cleveland and Lincoln counties Hill left his most recent position in Shelby in April 2014. At the time of his arrest, Hill was the pastor of a Kansas church. He was picked up in Daytona Beach on a warrant issued in Duval County, Fla. Florida news reports quote investigators who say the accuser is now an adult and that Jacksonville, Fla., officials believe other people might have been victimized by Hill. They also say he was arrested after a police-monitored conversation with the accuser. Investigators say the pastor went to the location with his wife. The charges stem from an alleged incident 20 years ago, before Hill came to North Carolina. Crux said the church was not aware of the charges against Hill until last week. “We’re just watching it unfold from a distance,” Crux said. The Carolina Conference runs background checks on pastors, according to Crux, and found no criminal record for Hill. Nor were there any issues with his actions at local churches, said Crux. “At least 15 years here and we had no cause for concern,” Crux said. “We’re reserving judgment until it gets to court.” According to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, Hill was jailed without a bond.
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