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	George Johnston Hearing Reset for August By John Ford Neosho Daily News [Missouri] June 20, 2007 http://www.neoshodailynews.com/articles/2007/06/20/news/04johnston.txt A preliminary hearing for a Granby pastor facing 17 counts of child sexual abuse has been postponed until August. George Otis Johnston, pastor of the Grandview Valley Baptist Church, will be back in court Aug. 6 for the proceeding. The hearing will be held in Judge Greg Stremel's Division II Associate Circuit courtroom in Neosho. On June 14, defense attorney Andy Wood filed for a motion to continue the hearing, originally set for Monday. On Monday, the continuance was apparently granted, and the hearing reset. Johnston faces 17 felony charges, including nine counts of first degree statutory sodomy, six Class C charges of second degree statutory sodomy, and two Class C felony counts of first degree child molestation. The charges were refiled last month by the Newton County Prosecuting Attorney's office as a way to combine two separate cases against Johnston. Last summer, a young woman alleged Johnston had molested her as a child, beginning when she was 8 years old and continuing until she left the Granby commune shortly after her 17th birthday. Meanwhile, her older sister came forward with allegations Johnston had also sexually abused her when she was a child. She testified some of the alleged contact took place while the pastor was supposed to be tutoring her in algebra. Johnston was in court Tuesday morning for a pre-trial conference on a Class A felony charge of child molestation. Another pre-trial conference has been set for Dec. 18 with Circuit Court Judge Timothy Perigo presiding. Johnston is one of several area church leaders facing child sexual abuse charges. His nephew, Raymond Lambert, pastor of the Grand Valley Independent Baptist Church near Powell, faces seven felony counts, including three charges of second degree statutory sodomy, two Class C counts of second degree child molestation, and two Class D counts of second degree child molestation. Lambert's wife faces a Class D felony count of second degree child molestation. A Nov. 13 trial date has been set for the couple, and they will next appear in court Sept. 18 for a pre-trial conference. Charges allege Lambert acted in concert with his wife in molesting a girl who was under the age of 17. In another charge, the McDonald County pastor is accused of acting in concert with Laura Epling, the wife of a church deacon, in molesting a girl younger than 17. Epling faces a Class C felony charge of second degree statutory sodomy. A pre-trial conference has been slated for July 17 in Pineville, with a jury trial set for Oct. 9. Another church deacon, Paul Epling, will go to trial Aug. 27 on a rape charge, an unclassified felony.
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