Arkansas Youth Pastor Pleads Guilty To Raping Children
An Arkansas youth pastor from one of the largest churches in the state—Sunday services see as many as 8,000 parishioners—has pleaded guilty to raping six children, but one detective said there could be as many as 30 victims. Because lawmakers in red states like Arkansas refuse to ban churches and church leaders (like they do drag shows) from being near children, the rapes will never end. Via MemphisAppeal:
A former youth pastor at Bellevue Baptist Church in Shelby County pleaded guilty Friday to 13 sex-related crimes involving children in Benton County, Arkansas, according to Nathan Smith, the prosecuting attorney.
Keenan Maurice Hord received 60 years for the crimes but will be eligible for parole in 15. He must also register as a sex offender and have no unsupervised contact with any children, including his own, Smith said.
Hord began working at First Baptist Church Bentonville in 2016. He was arrested in August 2022 on a charge of sexual indecency with a child but was later charged with multiple counts of sexual assault in the first- and second-degree by Benton County prosecutors.
Prior to working at First Baptist Church Bentonville, Hord was an intern in Bellevue’s student ministry from 2011-2014 and then the student pastor at Bellevue Arlington from 2014-2016.
