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	Pierce Expected to Enter Plea Courier August 26, 2009 http://www.bentoncourier.com/content/view/185271/1/ David Pierce, Benton First Baptist Church’s former minister of music, is expected to enter a plea Thursday during an appearance in Saline County Circuit Court. Pierce, 56, faces 54 counts of sexual indecency with a child. Prosecuting Attorney Ken Casady said he is hopeful that the case will be resolved Thursday. “I understand Mr. Hampton (Pierce’s attorney, Mark Hampton) has made public statements that he expects his client to plead, and I am hopeful that that is the case as well,” Casady said. “If he does plead, I expect him to be sentenced at that time,” the prosecutor added. Casady previously has indicated that any negotiated plea arrangement would involve a prison sentence for Pierce. Hampton was in court this morning and could not be reached for comment, an employee in his Little Rock law office said. Thursday’s proceeding is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. before Circuit Judge Grisham Phillips. Pierce had been scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 17, but a continuance was granted because of a trial conflict involving his lawyer. Pierce has been free on a $25,000 bond. Four alleged victims are involved in the 54 counts of the criminal charge, Casady said. Initially arrested on one count of the Class D felony, Pierce was arrested a second time when the 53 additional counts were added. After his first arrest on a Friday afternoon (April 24), Pierce was jailed for a weekend at the Saline County Detention Facility. He was released after a bond hearing the following Monday. Following the second arrest, he made a brief visit to the detention facility with his lawyer, then was released on the same bond arrangement. The bond was set by District Judge Mike Robinson in an April 27 hearing in District Court. Saline County Sheriff Bruce Pennington said Dr. Rick Grant, senior pastor of First Baptist Church, and church officials “cooperated fully with the authorities.” The charges against Pierce reportedly relate to incidents that occurred in the past three years and all of those alleging the abuse are still teenagers, Pennington said. All of the alleged victims are male and are or were part of the church’s youth choir program, Pure Energy, which Pierce directed. Pennington said the kind of activity alleged to have occurred involving Pierce is believed to date back as far as 15 years, he said. The incidents on which the allegations are based “occurred in and around rural areas of Saline County and also occurred in the church ... ,” Pennington said. None of the alleged incidents occurred during choir tours, he said. Investigators reported that the victims in the alleged incidents said Pierce would chart information about them, including measurements of their bodies and their genitals. Another alleged victim reportedly told authorities that Pierce took him to a location in the county and spoke with him about sexual activities such as masturbation. Computers and ledgers used by Pierce were seized and taken to the Arkansas Crime Lab for analysis. Authorities never revealed what information these contained, but acknowledged that pornographic material was involved. After Pierce’s second arrest, he was released under his previous bail arrangement because he was not considered a flight risk, Pennington said. Pierce was ordered to adhere to the same “no contact” terms that were set by Robinson after his initial release from jail. The court order stated that Pierce could have no contact with church leadership, including but not limited to the pastor, the chairman of deacons, the church Personnel Committee, or any church employee except his son. He was barred from having any contact with “any child under the age of 18 to whom he is not related” and prohibited from “using third parties to circumvent these conditions.” Specifically, the order stated that Pierce could not use Facebook, MySpace “or any other form of passive Internet communication” and previously was ordered to surrender his passport. In addition to church officials, parents of the youths involved have been cooperative, Pennington has said. “They’re supportive of their children,” he added. “The individuals who accused Pierce of the sexual acts say their abuse began when they were probably 15,” the sheriff said. He said he wasn’t aware whether any alleged victim was aware that others had experienced similar abuse at the time of the alleged incidents.
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