LOUISIANA
Herald Argus
LA PORTE — A La Porte pastor has been accused of sexually touching a member of his church and could face prison time if found guilty.
Curtis Southwood, 77, is charged with sexual battery of a mentally disabled victim, a level 6 felony.
Southwood is a pastor with Calvary Baptist Church. He was arrested on a warrant on May 6 and will be appearing in court for his next hearing on July 8.
According to La Porte City Police reports, the 35-year-old victim claimed that while she was speaking to her grandmother on the phone during a Thanksgiving Dinner at the church, Southwood allegedly stuck his hand down her shirt and pinched her breast.
The victim also said she was at the hospital with Southwood, whose wife was receiving surgery, and that he began to talk sexually, telling her that women should wear shorter skirts and wear their shorts higher to show more leg.
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