TENNESSEE
Tennessean
Andy Humbles, ahumbles@tennessean.com March 14, 2016
A former Lebanon youth pastor pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of statutory rape by an authority figure.
Christopher Douglas Ross, 44, was sentenced to six years — three years on each count to run consecutively — and was taken into custody after his plea in a Wilson County courtroom with the victim and her parents present.
Ross was initially charged with 10 counts of statutory rape by an authority figure in January 2015 while a pastor at Fairview Church, where he oversaw a youth group in Lebanon.
The Tennessean generally does not name victims of sexual assault. But in this case, the victim approached The Tennessean through the district attorney’s office about her willingness to speak out about her case.
Courtney Greene, now 20, was 14 when Ross began making advances that included a kiss on church property, according to the state’s evidence against him. Sexual contact began when the she was 15 and Ross was 39, according to the state’s evidence.
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