KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas pastor with a decades-long career in ministry is facing criminal charges in Linn County after investigators say he committed multiple sex crimes against a minor.
According to charging documents, 70-year-old Wade Booth, a pastor at First Baptist Church in Pleasanton, Kan., was charged Tuesday in connection with the sexual assault of an underage victim between Jan. 1 and July 31.
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The indictment includes multiple charges, including unlawful sexual relations with a student under the age of 18 and aggravated intimidation of a witness or victim. Booth is also facing two other sex crime felonies in connection with the case.
Booth is currently being held in the Linn County Jail on a $750,000 cash bond. His first court appearance was on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m.
According to his profile on the church website, Booth’s began his career shortly after graduating from Springfield, Missouri’s Baptist Bible College in 1981.
From there, he served in two mission churches before becoming a pastor at Calvary Bible Baptist Church in Harper, Kan. Twelve years later, he became a missionary church planter in Oklahoma, where he planted two churches.
Booth moved to Pleasanton in 2007 to lead the First Baptist Church. He has worked there ever since.
At this time, details surrounding the case are unknown. FOX4 has requested an affidavit from Linn County and a comment from First Baptist church but has yet to receive a response.
This is a developing story. Stay tuned to FOX4 News for the latest updates and information.
