Church responds to former Nashville pastor accused of child sex abuse at church

By Samantha Singer
FOX17
April 02, 2018

http://fox17.com/news/local/church-responds-to-former-nashville-pastor-accused-of-child-sex-abuse-at-church

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — 

A former church member spoke out about the former Nashville pastor accused of molesting several children at Nolensville Road Baptist Church over the course of 20 years.

Former pastor Denny Patterson, 45, is a husband and father of four. Patterson is facing eight counts of aggravated sexual battery and will face a criminal court judge on Wednesday.

Metro Nashville Police said they expect more charges and victims as they continue to investigate.

Nolensville Road Baptist Church, 20 minute drive south of downtown Nashville, is now in the spotlight for alleged child sex abuse.

Police said children reported that Denny Patterson had them engage in strange activities including sitting on his face and stomach, sometimes in their underwear.

The disturbing accusations are upsetting to 19-year-old Kade Coleman, who said he spent some time at the church years ago.

“That's like the sin of all sins,” Coleman said.

Coleman said he was active in the church youth group during Patterson’s tenure.

“I was about 12 or 13, and two of my friends from school brought me there actually,” Coleman said. “We went to the youth group.”

Police said Patterson resigned from the church on September 24, 2017 and moved to Pennsylvania. On September 27, 2017, church members reported the alleged abuse to Metro Police.

MNPD detectives traveled to the Pittsburgh area and arrested Patterson in early March 2018 following a February 2018 grand jury indictment.

Leaders at Nolensville Road Baptist Church declined Fox 17 News’ request for an on-camera interview Monday.

Church spokesman James Thomas sent the following statement:

On Monday September 25, 2017 the church leadership of Nolensville Road Baptist Church was made aware of the accusations against former pastor Denny Patterson. The church leaders immediately sought legal advice by phone. Later that afternoon a church leader contacted a Tennessee attorney and set up an in-person appointment for the next day.

After discussion with legal counsel, the church leadership met with Denny Patterson. During the meeting Denny was instructed to surrender his church cell phone with its pass code. He was then further instructed that he could no longer come into the church building. After the meeting, his office was sealed off and his church laptop and cell phone were preserved by the church and later turned over to law enforcement.

The next day church leaders met in person with a Tennessee lawyer. We were advised to go to the police. Three of the church leaders went the following day and filed a report with the Metro Police Department.

Since the investigation began, Nolensville Road Baptist Church has been in full cooperation with the Police Department. We turned over the laptop, cell phone and pass codes for each to the detective. Full access to all the church property and church records was made available to the police.

We want to thank the Metro Police Department and Detective Thomas for all the hard work and numerous hours that they have put into the case.

We here at Nolensville Road Baptist Church want to let our community know that the sinful actions of one man do not reflect upon church as a whole. We remain committed to truth, transparency in all our operations, and for the care and support for the victims and families who have been victimized by the alleged perpetrator.

Our hearts grieve for the families involved. Therefore we ask that if anyone has a question, that they be directed to James Thomas, the church’s spokesperson.

Mr. James Thomas can be reached at (615) 668-5019 or emailed at REV3.22jt@yahoo.com