BishopAccountability.org
	Ex-preacher Accused of Molesting Granddaughter By Lindsay Field Cherokee Tribune September 24, 2011 http://www.cherokeetribune.com/view/full_story/15650567/article-Ex-preacher-accused-of-molesting-granddaughter?instance=home_news_1st_right Police in Sandy Springs are trying to extradite a former Cobb preacher who is accused of molesting his granddaughter in Georgia. Sandy Springs police investigators have obtained warrants for Clarence Caldwell Arquitt Jr., 86, of Sanford, N.C., accusing him of molesting his granddaughter between 1991 and 1999. Arquitt is charged with child molestation, aggravated child molestation and sodomy. According to information given to investigators, Arquitt was a preacher and worked in several churches in Cobb County, including Olive Street Church of Christ and Piedmont Road Church of Christ in Marietta and North Cobb Church of Christ in Kennesaw. David Decker, a preacher at Piedmont Road Church of Christ in Marietta, said elders in his church confirmed that Arquitt worked part time for their congregation between 1998 and 2005. Additional information about his employment at Piedmont Road was unavailable. Phone calls and emails to North Cobb Church of Christ were not returned by press time on Friday. Arquitt also reportedly worked at Georgia Christian School and Home in Dasher and Woodstock Church of Christ in Woodstock and at churches in Tennessee, Mississippi, Florida and Alabama. The victim, now in her 20s, contacted Sandy Springs police and met with an investigator in August. “From 1996 to 1999, investigators believe that she was molested as his residence in Garden Court in Sandy Springs and prior to 1996, at his residence in Woodstock,” according to police. The victim told police that Arquitt molested her starting when she was 3 years old up until she was 11. Police are searching for information for other victims, the report stated. Arquitt was contacted by Sandy Springs police but refused to return to Georgia to be charged. He was booked on child molestation charges in Lee County (N.C.) Sheriff’s Department Jail and was released on a $30,000 bond. Sandy Springs investigators are working with the Fulton County District’s Attorney’s Office to extradite Arquitt, who is fighting extradition, back to Georgia, according to police. Anyone with information is asked to contact Det. Mike Bailey with the department’s Criminal Investigation Unit at (770) 551-3308, (770) 551-6900 or mbailey@sandyspringsga.gov. Read more: Cherokee Tribune - Ex preacher accused of molesting granddaughter Contact: lfield@cherokeetribune.com
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.