Nashville Pastor Headed to Prison for Sexually Assaulting Church Member

The Tennessean
August 9, 2012

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John T. Vine

John T. Vine, a former South Nashville pastor, will serve 22 years in prison for sexually assaulting a teenage girl who attended his church.

In May, a jury found Vine, 68, former pastor at Lake Providence Missionary Baptist Church, guilty of two counts of aggravated sexual battery and one count of solicitation of a minor.

Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Seth Norman delivered the sentence on Wednesday.

Vine met the victim at the Baptist church when the victim was a small child. He was an associate pastor at the church, according to a Metro police report.

For years she attended the church with her mom, a single mother of five.

According to the police report, Vine used to buy the mother clothes and food for her kids and helped her out with bills. The family used to affectionately refer to Vine as “Granddad.”

When the victim was 11, about six years ago, her mother was attending a women’s retreat and left her daughter with Vine at his home, which is when the sexual abuse began. Several other instances followed.

The report described how he, on various occasions, rubbed the victim with lotion against her will and spoke to her about sexual topics. In one incident, he purchased a bathing suit for her and tried to cajole her to try it on, but she refused.

According to the report, Vine stepped down after other allegations against him emerged. He then became a pastor at Faith United Church in North Nashville.

When he was approached about the sexual abuse, he said, “I was foolish. I’m human, and I make mistakes. I’m alone and lonely,” according to the report.

Before his conviction, he said he was in sex offender treatment.

Vine was sentenced to 11 years for each of the aggravated sexual battery charges, which will be served consecutively. He was sentenced to five years for the solicitation charge, which will be served alongside the other convictions.

The Tennessean does not identify victims of sex crimes.

Reach Bobby Allyn at 615-726-5990 or ballyn@tennessean.com