WEST VIRGINIA
Logan Banner
By Fred Pace
fpace@civitasmedia.com
A former Ridgeview pastor has been charged for molesting a child for a second time.
James Robert “J.R.” Smith, 25, was a pastor at the Morningstar House of Prayer in Ridgeview in Boone County in October of last year when he was charged with sexually abusing a young boy in Fayette County, acccording to a criminal complaint filed in the case.
Smith has been out on bond on that charge, while Fayette County prosecutors are preparing to present the case to a grand jury.
However, a warrant was issued by the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department for Smith on Monday, Aug. 10, 2015, following his arrest on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2015, for allegedly molesting a child in Indiana.
Some members of Robert’s family became irate outside of the courthouse and tried to attack an Eyewitness News reporter and cameraman, according to a report by WCHS-TV.
Last year, in October, Smith was initially charged with first degree sexual abuse and sexual abuse by a parent or guardian on a warrant out of Fayette County issued by the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.