MARATHON (FL)
ChurchLeaders [Colorado Springs CO]
August 3, 2026
By Dale Chamberlain
A former Southern Baptist pastor has been sentenced to six years in prison after pleading no contest in a child sex abuse case in Florida. Monty Chitty briefly fled to Texas after his initial arrest in 2024 before being recaptured.
Editor’s note: This article contains information about sexual abuse and assault that some readers may find disturbing and/or triggering.
Chitty, 64, was pastor of First Baptist Church of Marathon, Florida, when he committed his crimes against a teen girl. In March 2024, he was arrested at the church, which was also his place of residence, after calling the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office “to get ahead” of allegations he thought might be brought against him.
Prior to Chitty’s call, deputies received a call from an anonymous caller who overheard a 15-year-old girl say that she had been raped.
Deputies interviewed the girl, who said that Chitty had given her an alcoholic beverage that she believed was mixed with drugs. She reported immediately feeling weak and she soon fell unconscious. She said that she awoke to Chitty performing oral sex on her.
The girl said that after Chitty had finished, she fled, contacting her grandmother to come and pick her up.
In phone records obtained by police, Chitty was found to have sent lewd messages to the teen after the assault, using a cat emoji to compliment the girl’s genitals. He then probed her about what she could remember about the assault.
After his arrest, Chitty was released on a $75,000 bond. He fled from his arraignment in a white van with out-of-state license plates shortly after being released from custody.
Chitty was later rearrested in Woodville, Texas, after he approached a church group working with people experiencing homelessness. One of the members of that group recognized Chitty and contacted police.
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Chitty’s bond was increased to $1.3 million. He has remained in custody since his extradition back to Florida.
Chitty has now pleaded guilty to sexual battery of a minor and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was sentenced to six years in prison but will be credited with some time served.
Monroe County State Attorney’s Office said while it had “sought a more significant prison sentence…the negotiated plea resolved the case without requiring the victim to return to Monroe County or testify at trial, consistent with her expressed wishes.”
“Holding offenders accountable is always our priority, but when justice can be achieved without forcing a victim to relive a traumatic experience in a courtroom, that is a significant consideration,” said Chief Assistant State Attorney Joseph Mansfield. “This resolution accomplishes both by securing a state prison sentence, long-term supervision through sexual offender probation, and lifetime sex offender registration.”
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