Stanly County pastor charged for allegedly not reporting crimes against children

ALBEMARLE, N.C. — A Stanly County pastor faces charges after he was accused of not reporting child sex assault allegations inside his church. One woman told Channel 9′s Hunter Sáenz the church is known to be more like a cult.

The Stanly County Sheriff’s Office said Kenny Parker faces three counts of failing to report crimes against juveniles.

The charges were part of a sheriff’s investigation into a string of sexual assault allegations involving minors. The investigation began on May 30 but the allegations span over several years.

Sáenz learned Parker has been leading the congregation at Straitway Baptist Church in Albemarle for years. He even lives across the street on Carolina Avenue.

The sheriff’s office confirmed several parents told Parker about what was happening. Stanly County Sheriff Jeff Crisco said his deputies got a call in May that blew the case wide open.

“This has been happening over the span of a few years, and there’s multiple victims and parents brought it to the preacher’s attention and he failed to report,” Crisco said.

Arrest warrants say the incidents date back as far as 2009, with one in 2014 and another in 2020.

Sáenz spoke with Margaret Colson, whose sister was a member of Straitway.

“Everybody that I know that don’t go there sees it as a cult,” she said. “They shut their members away from even their other family members. I lost contact with my sister for over 33 years.”

Colson said her sister was a teacher at the church-run school for first through 12th-graders. She said she’s not surprised by the arrest.

“I can understand how he might not report it because it would look bad on his church and look bad on him if it came out,” she said.

On Wednesday, Sáenz left voicemails with the church and even tried knocking on the locked doors, but nobody was there. He got the same lack of response when he called and knocked on Parker’s front door.

Sheriff Crisco just hopes any other survivors know they’ll be heard.

“We do encourage them to come forward, that way we can assist them in any way we can,” he said.

A judge gave Parker a $5,000 unsecured bond and his first court date is Sept. 9.

The sheriff’s office has made another arrest stemming from this case but at this point, they aren’t elaborating on that. Their main focus is now piecing more of the case together and finding the perpetrators.

If you have any information about a sex assault involving Straitway Baptist Church, you’re asked to call the Stanly County Sheriff’s Office at 704-986-3714.

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