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	Pastor Won't Face His Accusers Suspect in Child Molestation Cases Dies at Age 81 By Matt Galnor The Times-Union November 11, 2007 http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/111107/met_216781947.shtml The Rev. Robert Gray, the former Trinity Baptist Church pastor awaiting trial on child molestation charges, died Saturday, according to his attorney. He was 81. Gray had been hospitalized since mid-October and suffered from a variety of health problems. An exact cause of death was not available Saturday. Attorney David Barksdale, who represented Gray, released a statement saying Gray's family prays that everyone involved in the court cases can find peace and that the family would not comment further on Gray's passing. This month, a judge ruled Gray was too ill to stand trial Tuesday on six counts of capital sexual battery. The charges involved four women who say Gray sexually abused them when they were children in the 1970s. At the time, Gray led the Westside church and its school, Trinity Christian Academy. One of Gray's accusers, whose case was not part of the criminal charges because the statute of limitations had expired, said Gray's death before a trial angered her. "I wanted him to have to get in the hot seat and answer questions," she said. "I wanted it to be on the record so everyone knew what he did." The woman is not being identified because the Times-Union does not name victims of sexual abuse without their permission. Gray was arrested in May 2006 and again two months later when more charges surfaced. More than 20 women have come forward with accusations against Gray, but in most cases the statute of limitations had expired. Gray was pastor at Trinity for 38 years, resigning in 1992 to do missionary work in Germany. Trinity spokesman Daniel Riddick did not return messages left on his office and cell phones Saturday afternoon. The church is still facing civil lawsuits filed by five of Gray's accusers, but Gray was not a defendant in those cases. According to Times-Union archives, Gray grew up in Tampa and served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He later went to Stetson University, where he said he and fellow student Homer Lindsey Jr. would spend hours debating theology. Lindsey would later become pastor at Jacksonville's First Baptist Church. Gray came to Jacksonville in 1954, starting what would be a high-profile 38-year tenure at the church. He helped transform Trinity from a small Southern Baptist church to an Independent Baptist mega-church with a more than 140-acre Westside campus. By 1977, Trinity had the second-largest bus ministry in the nation, carrying more than 2,400 people to each Sunday on its fleet of 52 buses. The church has a school for students from kindergarten through high school and also runs a four-year Trinity Baptist College on the property. The rapid growth Gray oversaw put the church in financial trouble, and Trinity declared bankruptcy in 1977, with debts of more than $4.2 million. The Rev. Tom Messer, who succeeded Gray, said the church paid off its debts dollar for dollar. Contact: matt.galnor@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4550
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