Notoriously Anti-LGBT Arkansas Pastor Facing 70 Child Porn Charges
In a case of brutal irony, a notoriously anti-LGBT Arkansas pastor is facing 70 child-porn-related charges. Dave Reynolds, formerly of the Cornerstone Bible Fellowship in Sherwood, Arkansas, was charged this week with 70 counts, including viewing, distributing, and possessing child pornography. The 40-year-old pastor made anti-LGBT rhetoric one of the cornerstones of his sermons while preaching at Cornerstone Bible Fellowship, and many LGBT activists can’t help but point out the hypocrisy of preaching against consenting same-sex relationships while allegedly indulging in some of the most sickening behavior in modern society.
he will never apologize to the lgbt he's condemned
— The Doctor (@Drstevenhobbs) May 14, 2016
The Arkansas pastor, who repeatedly preached against same-sex marriage, calling all homosexual activity a sin, was arrested early this week following a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, reports Queerty. The organization, which serves to protect children all across the United States, contacted local Arkansas police with a tip. They told authorities that there was a social media account in Sherwood, Arkansas, that “was storing pages and pages” of child porn.
Following an investigation, local authorities determined that the Arkansas account belonged to anti-gay pastor Reynolds.
According to reports, the Arkansas pastor told his church superiors that he was being investigated for child-porn-related crimes back in March. Church elders reportedly asked the pastor if he had “engaged in viewing” the disgusting and illegal material, and his response was less than candid. The Arkansas pastor reportedly told his religious brethren that he had “not knowingly done so.”
The Arkansas pastor’s superiors ultimately decided to strip Pastor Reynolds of his evangelizing duties. The Cornerstone Bible Fellowship also released a statement indicating the church’s full cooperation with law enforcement.
“Our present concern is with the people of Cornerstone to whom the Lord has entrusted us as shepherds. We have been and will continue to pursue all avenues to determine whether any of Cornerstone’s people may have been directly or indirectly affected by any actions Dave may have taken.”
The Arkansas pastor was arrested on May 10, following a months-long investigation into his social media use. On Wednesday, Sgt. Keith Wilson with Sherwood Police released more information to the stunned local community regarding what led up to the arrest.
“Back in December the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children received information regarding child pornography.”
Court documents in the pastor’s child porn case indicate that his troubles began back in 2015, when social media accounts found “several user names viewing explicit information,” reports Arkansas Matters. The user names were all traced back to the Arkansas pastor, via IP address.
According to investigators, church elders did confirm that the pastor had gone to them and admitted a problem with pornography, but he didn’t expand on the nature of the porn he was watching. Reportedly, he never told anyone that he’d been viewing child porn. Authorities say that, at this point, none of the pastor’s alleged victims appear to be from Arkansas.
The #MoralMajority is neither. Antigay Arkansas Pastor arrested 4possession & distribution of child porn-70 counts
— Rex Doctor (@RexDoctor) May 14, 2016
Legal documents also reference a photo of a 13-year-old that was found on the Arkansas pastor’s computer. She was later discovered to be a member of his congregation and the picture was determined not to be pornographic in nature. However, she was questioned by investigators and is now reportedly helping with the investigation into the pastor’s alleged child porn use. She’s also reportedly helping police to locate other young girls whose photos were found on the Arkansas pastor’s computer.
“There were a lot of pics on there. We want to make sure weren’t related to this, not just as simple as the 70 photographs.”
The shocked locals of Sherwood, Arkansas, are simply grateful that authorities have gotten a potential predator off of the street, and local police are in full agreement with the community’s sentiment.
“Anytime we can get someone in possession of child porn off the streets and away from our kids, that’s huge.”
Bail for the Arkansas pastor has pleaded “not guilty” to the charges levied against him. His bail was set at $250,000, and as of May 11, he hadn’t posted bond and remained behind bars. The next court date for the anti-gay Arkansas pastor has not been set.
[Image via Shutterstock]
