Texas youth pastor accused of sexually assaulting multiple children
04/14/2022 12:09 pm PDT
MESQUITE, Texas (TCD) -- A 32-year-old youth pastor was arrested after allegedly sexually assaulting several children.
According to a press release from the Mesquite Police Department, on April 4, authorities received a report of sexual assault to a child. Authorities reportedly learned that between 2015 and 2018, Conner "Jesse" Penny sexually assaulted a female under the age of 17 on multiple occasions.
According to police, Penny was working as a youth pastor for the Inspiration Church at the time of the alleged assaults. Previously, Penny had reportedly worked as a teacher’s aide and counselor for the Mesquite Independent School District and the city of Mesquite.
According to police, an arrest warrant for Penny was executed on April 5. Since the arrest, police say multiple victims have come forward about additional instances of abuse by Penny between 2013 and 2021. According to KDFW-TV, four victims have come forward, including some as young as 5 and 6 years old.
Penny was reportedly charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child, aggravated sexual assault of a child, and indecency with a child. Police say Penny was booked into the Dallas County Jail on $2.5 million bond.
Rocky Pope, a spokesperson for Inspiration Church, told KDWF that Penny was immediately suspended from the church following the allegations and was eventually terminated on Tuesday, April 12.
Pope added, "We take any of these allegations very seriously. We have procedures and policies in place to help safeguard. We do criminal background checks on all the staff and volunteers on a regular basis. There was nothing in his history related to any of this."
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