Forsyth Pastor Arrested on Molestation Charges, by Jason Wright, NorthFulton, March 13, 2008

Forsyth Pastor Arrested on Molestation Charges

By Jason Wright
NorthFulton
March 13, 2008

http://www.northfulton.com/Articles-i-2008-02-28-170533.112113_Forsyth_pastor_arrested_on_molestation_charges.html

ALPHARETTA A Forsyth County pastor has been arrested on charges he allegedly molested two young teenage girls.

Derek Gillett, 38, of Alpharetta was arrested at his home in Cherokee County near the Forsyth County line March 7 on two counts of aggravated child molestation and two counts of sodomy.

Gillett is the pastor of the Cornerstone Community Church in Forsyth County.

He is being held in the Cherokee Adult Detention Center without bond.

Sgt. Jay Baker, a spokesman for the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office, said one of the young girls involved in the case "confided to a friend, and that [friend's] family reported the incident."

To protect the identity of the teenagers, the Sheriff's Office is not releasing their relationship to Gillett. However, he did say they were not members of his congregation.

There are no reports of additional victims, and Baker said the Sheriff's Office is not aware of any other arrests for similar charges involving Gillett.

Cherokee County District Attorney Garry T. Moss would not speculate on when Gillett could be expected to request a bond hearing or what the specific charges will be at this time.

"The crimes against him are very serious, and a lot of them require mandatory minimum service time," he said.

A start-up organization, Gillett's church held its services at Midway Elementary School.

Jennifer Caracciolo, director of public information and communications for Forsyth County Schools, said Cornerstone Community Church had used Midway for two weeks, but it was not uncommon for community groups to use schools on weekends.

"School facilities are available for community use for local non-profits, business partners and government agencies," she said. "Numerous churches meet in our schools because they are centrally located. This also allows start-up churches to keep expenses low before constructing a building."

She said representatives from the church contacted the school administration March 13 and notified them they would no longer be meeting at Midway.

Before leaving to start Cornerstone a little more than a year ago, Gillett worked as a youth director with Midway United Methodist Church in Forsyth County.

Ed Tomlinson is the Atlanta/Roswell district superintendent for the United Methodist Church. He said Gillett was never credentialed in the church officially, though he did express interest in becoming ordained.

"He asked a few questions, but never submitted the documentation," said Tomlinson.

In the Methodist Church, it is common for non-credentialed volunteers to work in the organization. Tomlinson said the church ran a full criminal history and background check on Gillett before allowing him to work with children. It came up clean.

"There was never anything like this that came forward [during his tenure]," said Tomlinson.

Calls to Gillett's attorney, Marc N. Curat, were not immediately returned.