CALDWELL COUNTY, N.C. — A pastor in Caldwell County charged with sex crimes against children is in jail under a $1 million bond.
Deputies told Channel 9′s Dave Faherty Monday that they executed search warrants at Ashley Crouse’s home and his church after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that he had child sexual abuse material.
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On Monday, detectives with the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office were out at New Vision Baptist Fellowship Church, which is south of Granite Falls. Crouse was the pastor there.
The arrest warrants in the case charge Crouse with four counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.
According to the court documents, Crouse received videos depicting child sex abuse of girls between the ages of 8 and 12 years old.
As recently as a week ago, Crouse can be seen preaching on New Vision’s Facebook page. However, church leadership told Faherty that Crouse is no longer the pastor.
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Caldwell County deputies and the State Bureau of Investigation executed search warrants at the church and at Crouse’s home near Sawmills. Channel 9 learned investigators seized computers and thumb drives from both locations.
Deborah Annas lives just down the street from Crouse.
“He’s here to teach us, to guide us. So I just think it’s awful,” she said.
Some church members said they didn’t learn of the allegations until Friday, which is when deputies arrested Crouse. They say they voted him out as pastor over the weekend and did not hold services.
“My faith is in God, not any man,” one church member said. “Not a preacher or nothing because preachers fail you. Everybody fails you. Every person on the face of the earth has sinned in their life.”
Investigators said they’re still actively working the case.
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