FLORIDA
Orlando Sentinel
Gal Tziperman Lotan
Orlando Sentinel
A youth pastor accused of kidnapping and raping a girl from his church had been arrested on charges of lewd or lascivious battery in 2009, records show.
Prosecutors ended up dropping the charges against Samuel Pierre in 2012.
The case was similar to the one brought against Pierre this week: Both involved girls of similar ages he knew through a church. In both cases, the girls thought that Pierre was taking them to meet other friends, but ended up alone with him, records show. Both girls said Pierre told them not to tell anyone.
The 2009 case was dropped because of witness statements, state attorney spokeswoman Angela Starke said. She did not immediately know what the statements were because the related files were in a warehouse.
Orange County deputies arrested Pierre, a youth pastor at the Prayer and Miracles International church on South Rio Grande Avenue, on Tuesday. They believe there could be other victims, Det. Michael Kleinfelt said during a press conference on Thursday.
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