Texas Youth Pastor, Former Teacher’s Aide Confesses to Sexual Abuse of Children

A Texas youth pastor and former teacher’s aide has confessed to multiple incidents of child sexual abuse involving several victims. 

 The Mesquite Police Department arrested Conner “Jesse” Penny, 32, April 5 for the delayed sexual assault of a child. Police said that since his arrest more victims have come forward, and they have issued additional warrants in connection with alleged abuse between 2013 and 2021.

At the time of his arrest, Penny was the youth pastor at Inspiration Church, formerly known as Mimosa Lane Baptist Church, a position he had held since 2016. He was previously employed as a teacher’s aide and counselor in an afterschool program run by the Mesquite Independent School District and the City of Mesquite from 2014 to 2016, police said, as well as working as a physical education aide at an elementary school.

The school district said he left his position in good standing.

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Court records show a 6 year old had reported two incidents that happened in 2014 while Penny worked at the after-school program, and that a family member told investigators about two more incidents that happened in 2020. 

Police told local FOX-TV affiliate KDFW Penny had confessed to the incidents during questioning.  

Rocky Pope, a teaching pastor at Inspiration, told KDFW the church suspended Penny from his role as youth pastor as soon as it found out about the allegations, then terminated him.

Pope said the church community was struggling to reconcile the allegations against Penny. He said Inspiration does criminal background checks on all the staff and volunteers, and that there was nothing in Penny’s history to indicate a problem. 

Penny is being held in the Dallas County Jail on a $2.5 million dollar bond for one count each of continuous sexual abuse of a child, aggravated sexual assault of a child, and indecency with a child.