MORGANTON (NC)
The Roys Report [Chicago IL]
August 24, 2023
By Josh Shepherd
The children’s pastor of a church in rural North Carolina, who also taught elementary-age children at a local charter school, has been arrested and charged with child sex crimes.
On Tuesday, Aaron Mirtsching, 41, of Morganton, N.C., was arrested “without incident” according to a statement from Burke County Sheriff’s Office. He was charged with three felony counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. Mirtsching bonded out the same day, paying $20,000 in fees.
Mirtsching had served on staff as children’s director at Thrive Church in Morganton. According to a church statement, he was “immediately relieved of his duties.” (The church also referred to Mirtsching as “children’s pastor” in a now-deleted social post.)
The investigation was prompted by a cyber-tip from the state’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, a collaboration of more than 200 law enforcement agencies.
According to a law firm in N.C., the felony charges specified involve the possession of child sex abuse material. Local TV station WLOS reported: “According to arrest warrants, the images found on Mirtsching’s computer in October 2022 were of children between the ages of 8 and 12 years old.”
A follow-up statement from Thrive Church on Wednesday noted: “We are cooperating with any and all law enforcement and authorities. There are no charges or accusations about Thrive Church being involved in this case at all other than Aaron being a recent employee.”
Mirtsching was concurrently employed as a teacher at New Dimensions Charter School in Morganton, according to multiple sources. The Roys Report (TRR) reached out to the school’s director regarding specifics of his employment tenure but did not receive a response.
In a statement to local media, school officials said they “are cooperating with authorities, and at this time, do not know of any circumstances relating to New Dimensions.”
Social media posts indicate Mirtsching was employed at the school as of August 2015. An archived version of the school website states that, as of this June, Mirtsching taught second-graders.
The statement from Thrive Church added that leaders are “committed to the safety and well-being of all those who attend. The church has background checks on leaders, employees, and staff and we offer our full cooperation and support to authorities and law enforcement.”
Last spring, a post on the church’s Facebook page celebrated Mirtsching’s 40th birthday. It included a quote: “‘The best part of being over forty is we did most of our stupid stuff before the internet.’ – Unknown.”
A representative of the Burke County District Court stated that a preliminary hearing in Mirtsching’s case was still in session as of publication time. A probable cause hearing in his case is scheduled for September 14.