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| Northside Baptist Youth Minister Gary Welch |
A popular youth minister in Corsicana was arrested on Monday for aggravated sexual assault of a child. Gary Welch, 42, is the youth minister at Northside Baptist Church.
Court documents say a 16-year-old girl came forward to police on Saturday after she confided to her aunt she had been sexually assaulted by Welch for more than two years - since she was 13 years old. Investigators say the abuse "happened numerous times at several different locations" and that the two last had intercourse on New Year’s Eve.
Police would not clarify if the girl was a member of the church, but said they are investigating whether there could be more alleged victims.
There have been concerns raised before about Gary Welch. One father says he had his suspicions about Welch three years ago, when he realized the youth minister was showing interest in his teenage stepdaughter.
"This guy was texting our daughter at all hours of the day and night," he said. "He was going to school, eating with her at lunchtime... Seems like it exceeded the scope of a youth minister."
The father pulled his stepdaughter out of the church and complained to the pastor, Rick Lamb.
"It kind of fell on deaf ears," he said. "He kind of blew our concerns off and said that [Welch] was a very kind and loving man.”
There were even questionable postings on Welch's Facebook page, which has been removed. Like, for instance:
"The other day I met a young girl who doesn’t believe in the concept of long term relationships because it has never been modeled for her. In her life, when relationships got difficult, people left."
"As I navigate through different websites, I am often saddened as I see people begging for attention. Young girls indirectly asking for someone to tell them they are attractive or guys promoting an image of so-called masculinity as they try to impress the people looking on."
The married youth minister, who is also a father, is being held on a $150,000 bond.
Northside Baptist Church has posted the following statement on their website:
"We are shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the arrest of our youth minister, Gary Welch. We first became aware of this matter around 4:30 p.m. on Monday, March 19, 2012. At this time we do not know the precise charges against him. We will be cooperating fully with law enforcement authorities as they investigate this matter."
The Psalmist wrote, "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble." We are asking God to help everyone involved with this matter during this time. We ask the public to pray for Gary's family, the alleged victim and her family, for our church, and, until more is known, we also request our privacy be respected.
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