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Megachurch pastor admits he 'sinned' after four women accuse him of sexual abuse and forcing them into full-body massages when they were teenagers more than four decades ago
By Thomas Burrows
A pastor has been placed on leave after allegations surfaced from multiple women who claimed he sexually molested them more than 40 years ago. Les Hughey is accused of exploiting his position to abuse four women while he was working as a youth pastor at a church in Modesto, in California, in the 1970s. In response to the report that appeared in the Modesto Bee, Hughey issued a statement saying he had 'sinned' during his time at First Baptist Church. But he claimed he'd only had 'consensual relations with fellow college-aged staff.' Four women have accused Hughey of sexual abuse while he was a youth pastor at Modesto's First Baptist Church. Hughey was 23 at the time and was married. The women accused Hughey of using his position to manipulate them. They said he would use dinner or babysitting as an excuse to invite the girls round to his house. He would then start touching them inappropriately when his wife went to bed, it is claimed. One of the women, Tracy Epler, told the Modesto Bee that Hughey forced her into sex for two years when she was aged 17 to 19. He was 23 at that time. 'He was charming, he was a lot of fun, he was gregarious, he was funny - he was a rock and roll star,' she said. 'People were drawn to him. I had never had sex before I was a church girl with a Christian family. It was scary I didn't know what was happening...it repeated itself for a couple of years. 'It was always on the floor, not on a bed. He would make fun of me because I wouldn't move. I didn't know what was going on. I would have scabs on my spine. He would finish and go to bed in the other room with his wife. I would be there until morning. I would have to fake being ok... It was a type of emotional prison - I didn't know what my options were.' Another woman said she confided in church leadership after another staff member found an explicit note Hughey had written to her. Officials told her to 'bury the secret,' she said. One of the women said: 'He used his position and power to manipulate the vulnerable. I was a naive kid and he was a narcissistic a**.' Another woman added: 'The sexual involvement was a means to an end. It was something I felt like I had to do to have (alone) time with him. I remember feeling used and guilty.' Hughey was removed from the church in 1978, though church officials did not publicly provide a reason for his departure. After leaving First Baptist, Hughey was hired at Scottsdale Bible Church in the mid-1980s. He founded Highlands Community Church in the late 1990s. In a statement issued on Sunday he said: 'I was unfaithful to my God, my wife, and the ministry, and was rightly removed from that church. 'Unfortunately, it's impossible to undo what happened, so I instead accept and live with the consequences, even now so many years later.' Hughey added that both his wife and church leaders were now aware of 'his history.' Doug Milligan, a Highlands Community Church official, added: 'Because the allegations are from more than 40 years ago, it will take some time to get a clear picture. 'We are concerned about the well-being of all people affected by these events.' He said the church would 'apply biblical standards and principles' and 'show compassion to all involved' during its investigation. Kory Schuknecht, ministry leadership pastor at Scottsdale Bible Church, added: 'We're sorry for any victims. Our heart goes out to them. There has been way too much of this going on.'
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