Texas Church Hires Man Accused of 29 Counts of Sex Abuse, by Gideon Resnick, Daily Beast (September 9, 2015)

Kyle Adcock has been charged with 29 counts of sexual abuse of a minor and now he is gainfully employed at a Texas church.

Alabama court documents indicate that Adcock was charged with sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl while serving as a youth minister between 2010 and 2012. He now works at the First Baptist Church of Bedford in Bedford, Texas, where congregants are understandably quite concerned about having teenagers take classes there where Adcock is a temporary employee in the music ministry.

According to Pastor Steve Knott, the church does background checks before hiring their staffers, but a Google search reveals many mugshots of Adcock and articles about his alleged offenses. When reached for comment by Fox 4 News, Pastor Knott pointed out that Adcock has not yet been convicted of a crime. A trial date for Knox is set for later this year.

Adcock was arrested in Texas last year and was held on a $500,000 bond. Woodward Avenue Baptist Church, where he worked in Alabama, expressed their grief at the time of the arrest.

“The congregation of Woodward Avenue Baptist Church is deeply saddened by the news that unfolded yesterday regarding a former staff member,” the church said in a statement at the time. “Our first priority is to offer prayer for the victim and her family. We are willing to work with law enforcement agencies in any way necessary to help in their investigation and would encourage anyone with information about the case to contact law enforcement. Woodward Avenue Baptist Church is committed to having a positive influence in the Shoals and beyond.”

Julie Brooks, a parent of a teenager who takes classes at Adcock’s new place of employment, doesn’t want the alleged offender around.

“Kids trust ministers,” she said. “And if they are approached by someone who works in the church, you would trust him. You would have no reason not to.”