Fayette Pastor Accused of Indecent Contact with Girl
By Liz Zemba
The pastor of a Fayette County church is accused of indecent sexual contact with the 11-year-old daughter of one of his former congregants. Ray Scott Teets, 66, of South Union is charged by state police at Uniontown with indecent assault, unlawful restraint, interference with custody of children, corruption of minors, unlawful contact with a minor, concealing the whereabouts of a child, child luring, stalking and criminal trespass. The girl, her mother and her mother's fiance were members of a church listed as Fallen Timbers Community Church on Fallen Timbers Road in Springhill in an affidavit of probable cause. Teets is the pastor at Fallen Timbers Community Chapel at that address. As he was leaving the office of Masontown District Judge Randy Abraham, Teets said the charges were “outrageous.” Abraham set bail at $250,000. Teets told the judge he has a 1986 conviction for child sexual abuse in Maryland. The girl's parents told police that during their yearlong attendance at the church, Teets held six, 15-minute private meetings with the child in his office. The mother told police Teets became “fixated” on the girl “and would undermine the parents' authority by allowing (her) special privileges and giving her candy.” Because of Teets' “strange behavior,” the girl's mother and her fiance left the church, police said. Although they told Teets not to contact them and to stay away from their home, Teets sent the girl a letter, police said. On Nov. 15, a neighbor reported observing Teets carrying the girl on his back to the church. About 15 minutes later, the neighbor saw Teets carrying the girl on his back again, this time taking her to a nearby home. The neighbor provided police with surveillance footage of the incidents. Police said when the girl's mother and her fiance looked at the footage, they saw Teets meeting with the girl on two other occasions — Nov. 6 and Nov. 8 — behind a storage shed. The two would then enter an adjacent shed and emerge 15 minutes later, police said. The girl on Wednesday told police Teets attempted to touch her inappropriately and tried to lie on top of her when the two were in the shed. The girl told police that on Nov. 15, Teets took her to the church office and told her “he wanted to have sex with her,” police said. When the judge asked Teets whether he understood the charges, he said he did, but “I don't agree with them.” Teets said he would attempt to raise money to post bond and avoid going to the Fayette County Prison. Liz Zemba is a reporter for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 412-601-2166 or lzemba@tribweb.com
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