Former Morrisville Pastor Charged in 1992 Child Sex Case

By Jo Ciavaglia
Bucks County Courier Times
March 6, 2014

http://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/news/local/former-morrisville-pastor-charged-in-child-sex-case/article_d36b59cd-e123-5dc1-911c-083a98cc081f.html

Former Baptist pastor Scott Sechrist is accused of sexually assaulting a then 10 year-old girl for two years.

A former Morrisville church pastor is accused of repeatedly molesting and sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl, who originally reported the crimes to police in 1992.

Bristol Township reopened the investigation last October after receiving an investigation referral from the Bucks County District Attorney’s office involving the sexual assault allegations, which allegedly took place between 1989 and 1992, according to court records.

Bristol Township police Lt. Terry Hughes said Thursday that he could not comment on why charges were not filed in 1992 but he said the information would come out at trial.

A detective interviewed the now 34-year-old woman who alleged that she was sexually assaulted and raped by Bristol Township resident Scott Sechrist, a former pastor at a Baptist church in Morrisville. The girl’s family and Sechrist’s family had become friends through the church, police said. Police did not know the name of the church.

The woman alleges that Sechrist began making inappropriate comments to her and began grabbing her buttocks when she was in the fifth grade, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Within a few months his behavior escalated to the point where he allegedly started molesting the girl, which progressed into sexual contact that continued for two years, the girl said.

The assaults took place in the woman’s family home in Bristol Township.

At least three times a week during family prayer time at the home, the woman alleges that Sechrist would molest her for 10 to 15 minutes, according to a probable cause affidavit. The woman alleged Sechrist also assaulted her elsewhere in the house. The assaults occurred at least once a week and stopped when she reported the abuse to Bristol Township police at age 12.

Sechrist is charged with 20 counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a victim under age 16, 10 counts each of aggravated indecent assault, statutory sexual assault, indecent assault and related offenses.

He was arraigned Thursday before Bristol Township District Judge Robert Wagner Jr. who released him on $500,000 unsecured bail. He was also ordered to have no contact with the victim or her family.