Penn. pastor accused of child porn, raping girl at church after dodging charges in another state

PENNSYLVANIA
The Raw Story

By David Edwards
Tuesday, July 29, 2014

A 33-year-old youth pastor in Pennsylvania has been arrested after he was accused of raping a 15-year-old girl at his church.

Court documents filed by Rostraver Police accused Journey By Grace Church’s Brian Keith Smith of felony indecent assault of a minor younger than 16, felony possession of child pornography and several other misdemeanors, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The criminal complaint stated that the Smith recruited the girl to join his youth group, The Joshua Project, in September of 2013.

“At this point in time, the victim reported that the defendant began driving her home from church after youth group meetings,” the complaint said. “The victim stated in late fall of 2013 they began to frequently send text messages to each other. Victim stated that soon after the frequent text messages, the defendant would drive her home. While driving, the defendant would stroke the victim’s face which encouraged intimacy.”

Smith is accused of first kissing the victim in February of 2014. By mid-July, the assault had escalated to penetrating her with his fingers, exchanging oral sex, and other sexual contact, according to police.

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