Youth Pastor Accused of Having Sex with Teen

WTSP
March 10, 2015

http://www.wtsp.com/story/news/local/2015/03/10/ex-youth-minister-charged-with-sex-with-a-minor/24701215/

Phillip Kendrick II

A former youth minister at a Lakeland church has been arrested for allegedly having sex with a 15-year-old girl sometime between November of last year and January.

On Monday, the pastor of Mt. Tabor Baptist Church told Polk Sheriff's detectives a church member told him that Phillip Kendrick II had sex with a young church member he'd met four years ago at the church.

"I never believed something like this would ever happen," said Pastor Matt Gilmore. "We're saddened, shocked and we're providing care to both his family and to the victim and her family as well."

Pastor Gilmore says they have 80 to 100 members at the church. He says he's known Kendrick for 11 years and served with him at two different churches, but not now.

"He'd never been in trouble before - never been in trouble with the law before," he says. "People fail everywhere whether it's the church or whether it's over at Burger King or anywhere else, but there are always people who do wrong," he adds. "We do our very best to protect the children that we have. When he left in October we had no idea that anything was going on."

During the investigation, detectives learned the girl met Kendrick when he was a youth minister approximately four years ago while attending a youth group at the church.

In an interview with deputies, the girl said she viewed Kendrick as a trusted source of support. Over the course of four years, she told deputies that the relationship between the two turned from a ministerial relationship to more of a personal friendship.

In October 2014, Kendrick reportedly told her he had "strong feelings" for her.

From interviews with the girl and Kendrick, detectives learned they had sexual contact with each other on three occasions. Kendrick also sent pictures of his penis to the girl, and she sent naked images of herself to him. Both the girl and Kendrick said the sex was consensual.

Gilmore says Kendrick has not been working at the church as a youth minister since October 2014.

"Nothing happened on this church campus nor did it happen while he was the young minister of our church. This happened after he left here."

Gilmore says he's ministering a message of restoration and forgiveness to those involved.

"This will hurt, but we're going to continue to provide care to all those affected," he says.

Kendrick has been charged with three counts of lewd battery, one count of transmitting material harmful to a minor, and one count of the use of a two-way communications device to commit felony. He is currently being held without bond.