CHARLOTTE (NC)
WCNC - NBC 36 [Charlotte NC]
August 4, 2023
By Julia Kauffman
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department announced Friday it arrested and charged a convicted sex offender and associate pastor of a church with new crimes.
Robert “Bobby” Price faces 14 counts of criminal misconduct against children, including statutory sex offense on a child. The charges stem from alleged abuse of three boys between the ages of 9 and 15 from 2001 and 2011 when he was a youth pastor at a Concord church.
WCNC Charlotte reported in 2013 when Price was arrested for a separate child abuse case at the same church. He served 16 months in jail for the crime.
“There’s always concerns, there’s a high rate of recidivism with those that are registered sex offenders,” CMPD Captain James Wright said Friday. Recidivism is when a convicted criminal relapses into criminal behavior.
When Price was arrested Friday, WCNC Charlotte learned he works at Camino Church in Charlotte, where his brother Rusty Price is the CEO. Rusty told WCNC Charlotte his brother’s past is well known, and he wasn’t allowed near children at Camino.
“We believe when people have failure in their life, there is life after that,” Rusty said.
Unfortunately, Price’s case isn’t the only recent allegation of child abuse in the greater Charlotte area.
Mooresville police officer Matthew Beebe was arrested Wednesday and charged with four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.
“People who are in positions of power are able to easily manipulate or abuse because of that position,” Hannah Arrowood told WCNC Charlotte. Arrowood is the executive director of Present Age Ministries, a Charlotte-based organization committed to combatting sexual abuse, exploitation, and trafficking.
Since March, WCNC Charlotte has covered at least nine child sexual abuse cases in the greater Charlotte area. In at least six of the cases, suspects held positions of power as first responders or church leaders.
“It grieves my heart deeply because people who are there looking for truth and guidance and direction are met with what will become trauma that they have to deal with the rest of their life,” Arrowood said.
She added it’s imperative for parents to pay close attention to their children’s lives and who they’re spending time with. To help prevent abuse, she said parents and guardians must educate their children on the topic.
“That conversation has to happen in early elementary school, unfortunately, and you do it age appropriately, and you build upon it,” Arrowood said. “It’s not a one conversation and you’re over.”
Both Price and Beebe are out on bond, according to police.