KWTX
January 12, 2007
http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/5175577.html
Lampasas residents were shocked Friday by news of the arrest of Jim Carlton Wooldridge, 61, the rector of the community's landmark St. Mary's Episcopal Church on warrants charging sexual assault and indecency with a child.
Lampasas County Justice of the Peace Andrew Garcia issued arrest warrants Thursday for Wooldridge and a second man, John Christian Wood, 20, of Lampasas after an investigation of a report "that a juvenile had been sexually assaulted" in the city.
Wood, police said, was arrested during a traffic stop just after 10 a.m. Thursday.
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Wooldridge was arrested after he surrendered to Lampasas police just after 4 p.m. Thursday at the Lampasas County Jail. He was later released on bond.
Wooldridge was charged with two counts of sexual assault and one count of indecency with a child.
Wood was charged with sexual assault, indecency with a child, unlawful possession of a firearm and misdemeanor possession of marijuana.
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The investigation that led to the arrests started on Dec. 1, officials said, after a juvenile confided in an adult who took the alleged victim to Lampasas police.
Investigators declined Friday to reveal the juvenile's age or sex or to discuss specific allegations, but the affidavit submitted for the arrest warrants says the victim was a teenage boy who alleges he engaged in sexual acts over a period of more than a year in the church rectory and in vehicles during drives.
The victim told investigators he was sometimes given money, according to the affidavit.
Police said Wooldridge, who was suspended by his superiors during the investigation, lives in a residence attached to the church, which he shares with Wood.
News Ten contacted Wooldridge by phone, but he said he had no statement.
The Texas Rangers are assisting with the investigation, the police department said.
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