Texas youth minister charged with sexually assaulting 15-year-old girl
A former youth leader at a Baptist congregation in Texas has been arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a minor.
Timothy Wells, the former Junior High Minister at First Baptist Church of Wylie, turned himself in to authorities on Friday, and faces allegations that he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl.
According to the Collin County Sheriff’s Office, a staff member at First Baptist reached out to authorities in December to report the alleged sexual assault.
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“The allegation was leveled at another staff member and the assault was alleged to have occurred at an off-site location, not at the church,” stated the Collin County Sheriff’s Office last Friday.
“During the course of their investigation, Collin County Sheriff’s Office Investigators identified a 15-year-old female victim who disclosed that she had been inappropriately touched by First Baptist Church of Wylie Junior High Minister Timothy Wells.”
In response to the allegation, Wells — who had been employed by First Baptist since January 2019 — was put on leave by the church and later had his employment terminated.
Authorities charged Wells with indecency with a child by sexual contact, which is a second-degree felony, and was held at a detention facility in lieu of a $25,000 bond.
In a separate case last August, the pastor of a Texas Baptist congregation was sentenced to 17 years in prison after admitting to having molested a teenage girl from when she was 13 until she turned 18.
Stephen Bratton, the former pastor of The Grace Family Baptist Church, received the sentence after pleading guilty back in February of aggravated sexual assault of a child younger than 14.
“Several other pastors came forward to tell authorities what was going on after this man confessed to them, and we applaud those people of conscience,” stated Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg at the time.
“This man, who had risen to a position of authority in the church, turned a child into a victim and violated his community’s trust. The victim and his community deserved, and got, justice."
