Virginia Baptist Pastor Charged with 30 Counts of Child Sexual Assault
The pastor of a Baptist church in southwest Virginia has been charged with 30 felony counts of sexual assault against juveniles.
Terry Compton, 62, the current pastor of Faith Independent Missionary Baptist Church in Damascus, Virginia, was arrested and charged by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
Compton is charged with 12 counts of taking indecent liberties with children; 12 counts of aggravated sexual battery; three counts of forcible sodomy and three counts of object sexual penetration, SWVA Today reported.
The abuse allegedly started in 1995 and continued for 26 years.
Officials said that although the initial charges are based on assaults on three minors, multiple victims have come forward.
“The case is in, really, its infancy – he just got arrested last week,” Washington County Commonwealth Attorney Joshua Cumbow told WJHL-TV “This is a big case.”
Compton is being held at the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail without bond.
UPDATE: On Nov. 29, 2022, Compton pleaded guilty to 16 charges and was subsequently sentenced to four life sentences plus 240 years in prison.
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