Kentucky Sunday School Teacher Confesses to Sexually Abusing Teen Student

By Rachelle Blidner
New York Daily News
October 15, 2014

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/police-kentucky-sunday-school-teacher-confesses-sex-abuse-article-1.1975925

A Kentucky Sunday school teacher confessed to sexually abusing one of his 16-year-old students after he was arrested Monday night, police said.

Rex Allen Murphy, a 30-year-old teacher at Polly Ann Church of God in Eubank, Ky., was charged Monday night with sexual assault, sodomy and the use of a minor in a sexual performance, police chief Colin Hatfield said.

Murphy allegedly touched the male victim inappropriately at church and at Murphy's home, with at least 10 incidents of sexual abuse over the course of six months, police said.

Murphy also allegedly threatened the teen with black magic, The Commonwealth Journal reported.

"What the suspect told the victim is that if he touched his skin or shook his hand, he could tell the victim's sins from the past," Hatfield told the Daily News. "If the victim ever told anybody like his parents what was going on between the two, he would notify his parents of his past sins."

Police said the Sunday school teacher admitted he had touched the teen, but he had not meant his discussions of black magic to be a threat.

Murphy was booked into Pulaski County Detention Center early Tuesday, Lex18 News reported.

He is incarcerated on a $50,000 cash bond, Hatfield told the Daily News.

Polly Ann Church Pastor Linville Dalton told Lex18 that the church is handling the situation internally and that Murphy is no longer part of their church. He said he did not know about the allegations but does not believe any of the alleged activities occurred on church property.

Murphy was not a minister or youth pastor at the church, despite previous media reports, Dalton told The Commonwealth Journal.

Police learned of the abuse allegations after the victim reached out to a friend and co-worker, Hatfield said.

It is possible there are other victims, but police do not have "anything concrete" yet, he said.