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	Hip-Hop Pastor Soulja Faces Rape Charges; More Victims at Roy, Ogden Churches? The Standard-Examiner November 10, 2010 http://www.standard.net/topics/courts/2010/11/10/hip-hop-pastor-soulja-faces-rape-charges-more-victims-roy-ogden-churches ROY -- Police are investigating whether there may be more victims after a Roy pastor was charged with having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old girl who attended his church. Aaron Witcher, 38, also known as Pastor Soulja, was charged Wednesday afternoon with eight counts of rape, a first-degree felony. He is being held in Weber County Jail on $180,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in 2nd District Court. Roy Police Chief Greg Whinham said the relationship began when the girl was 15, but he was unsure of how long it had continued. Both parties have admitted to a sexual relationship, Whinham said. He said the victim is a member of Witcher's congregation, Crosswalk Christian Training Center, which moved to Roy on Sept. 19. Whinham said police are investigating whether others may have been victimized. "We are looking at his history of moving from Baptist congregation to Baptist congregation," he said. "He's been in Salt Lake (City), Ogden and out to Roy more recently." He said anyone who has been a victim of Witcher or knows anything about possible victims can call the Roy Police Department at 801-774-1063. Whinham said the relationship was discovered when Roy police received a call Aug. 2 about suspicious activity in the parking lot of an LDS church. "They were found in a car, but they weren't found to be doing anything," Whinham said. "But the officer thought it was odd." Police began an investigation into the relationship and executed search warrants at Witcher's home Nov. 4. Witcher has worked with young people and as Christian hip-hop artist Soulja since 2000, according to his website. Soulja -- which stands for Serving Only Under Lord Jesus Amen -- is described as "once a soldier in the United States Army and now a Soulja in the Army for Christ" on his website. He has released two Christian hip-hop CDs locally. According to a Standard-Examiner article in 2008, he is married and has four children. Whinham said Witcher had been released from a position at the Genesis Project in Ogden before moving his congregation to Roy. Genesis Project Pastor Matt Roberts said no one in the church had any idea Witcher might have been engaged in the type of activity he is charged with. "We were absolutely unaware and floored by that information," he said. "There was no clue. There had never been accusations of any type of relations with a minor." Roberts said Witcher's separation from the church was due to misconduct, but not of a sexual nature. Roberts said they have spoken with police and are pretty confident that none of the abuse took place at the Genesis Project. Though the girl may have consented to the relationship, Whinham said Witcher was booked on rape charges because of her age. "This is a case where we are dealing with a person of significant trust," Whinham said. "In my view, he uses that position as a predator. ... They use that position and ability to manipulate young minds into having these kinds of relationships. Though a person can be consensual, society protects them as a victim." According to a probable cause statement, Witcher gave a detailed confession to Roy Detective Daniel Tubbs. The girl said the sexual relationship with Witcher was ongoing for nine months and included intercourse "at least 20 times" as well as other sexual acts, according to the affidavit. Witcher, interviewed Tuesday by Tubbs, said intercourse occurred "a dozen times." He detailed a number of locations where he had sex with the girl, including a storage unit in Roy, the Business Depot Ogden, in the victim's home and on the trunk of his car at Roy Municipal Park. The state court website shows four different cases, three filed within the same week of April 2000, of the state Office of Recovery Services placing liens against Witcher for back child support payments, all in 3rd District Court in Salt Lake City. The fourth was filed in July of this year in Ogden, showing $1,539.04 owed as of last week. Of the three Salt Lake City support liens, one was dismissed in 2005 with apparently more than $5,000 owing, and another is listed as "satisfied" in 2003. The third was transferred to Farmington and showed $3,904.39 owing as of last week. The records also show a paternity action filed against Witcher in 1993 by a woman not his wife. It is listed as "settled by voluntary acknowledgment" the same day it was filed.
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