Church Volunteer in Child Sex Case Had Child Abuse Prior

By Alan Gathright
Denver Channel
February 2, 2012

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/30349617/detail.html

A volunteer for a Loveland church children's group who was arrested Tuesday on a child sex assault charge had previously pleaded guilty to a child abuse case, according to court records obtained by 7NEWS.

Robert Kirchhoff, 54, of Loveland was arrested on felony charges of aggravated sexual assault on a child and sexual assault on a child under age 15 by a person in a position of trust, according to court records.

Kirchhoff was held in Larimer County Jail on $100,000 bond.

Kirchoff is a children’s group volunteer at Resurrection Fellowship Church in Loveland, said Loveland police Sgt. Jeff Fisher. He said that police have no information indicating the alleged crimes happened at the church.

Kirchhoff volunteered for a pre-teen children's group at the church, said Deborah Kline, administrative assistant to Senior Pastor Jonathan Wiggins.

On Saturday, police detectives began investigating a report of unlawful sexual contact involving a man and an underage girl at a Loveland residence, Fisher said. Police said only that the incident happened at an earlier date, but court records indicate the incident happened Monday.

In December 2006, Kirchhoff was arrested in a domestic violence incident in Westminster, according to court records.

He pleaded guilty in Jefferson County court to child abuse/negligently causing injury and harassment, court records said. He received a deferred sentence and cleared his record after successfully completing an unspecified court requirement.

Prosecutors dismissed domestic violence and reckless endangerment charges, records said.

Kirchhoff has children and his wife divorced him in January 2011, court records said.

The same wife filed for divorce in 2004 and filed a domestic violence complaint and was granted a temporary restraining order against Kirchhoff in that case, court records said. However, the couple did not follow through with the 2004 divorce.

When 7NEWS asked if the church runs criminal background checks on people who work with children, Kline said: "We do have policies in place for child-care workers." But she said she did not have the authority to disclose details on those policies.

Did church officials know that Kirchhoff had previously pleaded guilty to child abuse and harassment charges?

"I am not familiar with that information, so I really can't comment on that," Kline said.

She said that Wiggins, the senior pastor, was expected to address Kirchhoff's arrest during during weekend church services.

In the sex assault case, Loveland police asked anyone with information about Kirchoff or the case, to call Detective Brandon Johnson on the Criminal Investigations Unit tip line at 970-962-2032.