(SC)
WACH [Columbia SC]
April 9, 2026
By WACH staff
Federal court records show a Midlands pastor arrested last week on sexual abuse charges involving an underage girl was out on parole on federal gun and drug charges at the time of his arrest.
Rodney Gibson and his wife, Kawiana Young, both 50, are charged in the most recent case in Richland County.
READ MORE: Sheriff: Richland County pastor, wife arrested in child abuse case
According to online records, in 2009, Gibson was sentenced to more than 30 years in prison on those federal charges, but was released in 2021, when President Trump commuted his sentence.
He was described as a “model inmate” for more than 11 years in custody.
Gibson has been on supervised release ever since and has requested it be terminated early.
Richland County deputies arrested the pastor of Pathway 2 Hope Ministries and his wife on April 1, after he was accused of sexually assaulting an underage girl for years, who was a foster child living in the couple’s home.
His wife also owns and operates a child development center in Columbia, and investigators say they’re looking into abuse accusations against her involving another child.