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	Attorneys Ask for Venue Changes By John Ford Neosho Daily News January 10, 2007 http://www.neoshodailynews.com/articles/2007/01/10/news/03changes.txt Pineville - A change of venue is in the works for three McDonald County church leaders facing child sexual abuse charges. According to McDonald County Assistant Prosecutor Dan Bagley, attorneys for Raymond Lambert, Patty Lambert and Laura Epling have requested changes of venue, as their clients' cases have received too much news coverage to get a fair trial in McDonald County. All three have pleaded not guilty to child sex abuse charges. Raymond Lambert, 51, the pastor of Grand Valley Independent Baptist Church, faces four felony counts of second degree statutory sodomy and four counts of second degree felony child molestation. His wife, Patty Lambert, 49, faces one felony count of second degree child molestation and a felony charge of endangering the welfare of a child as part of a ritual or ceremony. Laura Epling, the wife of a church deacon, faces a Class C felony charge of second degree statutory sodomy. The Lamberts will appear at 10 a.m. next Tuesday in McDonald County Circuit Court for pre-trial conferences. Bagley said Laura Epling entered a not guilty plea on Tuesday, and a pre-trial conference has been set for her for next Tuesday as well. The main focus of the hearings will likely be the change of venue motions, Bagley said. "They will be hearing all of the changes of venue at one time, with the Lamberts and Laura Epling," Bagley said. "The 16th will be an important day for us. We would like to keep the trial here and bus in a jury from another county." However, the court has the option of moving the case to another county. While the trials could begin as soon as summer, it's more likely they would begin in the fall, Bagley said. This is because of a backlog of cases on the docket, the assistant prosecutor indicated. A preliminary hearing for church deacon Paul Epling has been set for Jan. 29. He faces an unclassified felony rape charge. On Dec. 18, after hearing testimony from a 19-year-old woman and her father, Newton County Division II Associate Circuit Court Judge Greg Stremel ruled there was probable cause to continue proceedings against Epling. Epling's accuser testified she performed oral sex on church pastor Raymond Lambert in the living room of Laura Epling's home. She said Mrs. Epling walked in on the pair, and Lambert told the older woman to show the teen how to perform the act. The 19-year-old woman testified Mrs. Epling did so by grabbing the back of her head, then took over performing the act on Lambert. The two then had sex while the teen-ager watched. Five felony child sexual abuse charges were dropped against Laura Epling's husband, Tom, another deacon in the church. The charges were dropped because of the statute of limitations had expired. Tom Epling faces no other charges. Lambert's uncle, George Otis Johnston, pastors the Grandview Valley Baptist Church in Granby, an offshoot of the McDonald County congregation. He faces a felony charge of first degree child molestation in McDonald County, and 18 felony child sexual abuse charges in Newton County. He too, will appear next Tuesday for a pre-trial conference. His attorney, Andy Wood of Neosho, has filed a motion for a change of venue. Wood has also filed motions for a speedy trial, to dismiss the case and for discovery. Johnston will go to trial in February on eight of the Newton County charges. Jurors will be brought in from another county for the proceeding.
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