By Bob Allen
A 42-year-old man who until recently worked as youth director at a Missouri Baptist church is in jail on a $100,000 cash-only bond after being arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing a teenaged girl.
Dale G. Johnson, former youth director at Parkade Baptist Church in Columbia, Mo., turned himself in to the Boone County Jail Friday afternoon, March 6, according to local media. Married and the father of two sons, Johnson faces charges of first- and second-degree statutory sodomy and possession of child pornography.
The most serious of the charges, first-degree statutory sodomy, involving a victim under the age of 14, is punishable by prison sentences ranging from five years to life.
Pastor Chris Cook told media that the church put Johnson on administrative leave when an investigation began with a hotline call to the Missouri Division of Children’s Services in early February. Cook said Johnson later resigned and is no longer affiliated with the church.
References to Johnson have been removed from the church website. An archived copy of his staff bio says he owned a landscaping business before becoming youth director and is a graduate of Central Christian College of the Bible in Moberly, Mo., a four-year undergraduate school identified with The Restoration Movement, a historical reference to the Stone-Campbell Movement pejoratively known as Campbellism that gave birth to Christian churches and the Church of Christ.
Parkade Baptist Church is listed as a member of the Southern Baptist Convention, Missouri Baptist Convention and Little Bonne Femme Baptist Association. The congregation also cooperates with ChurchNet, also known as the Baptist General Convention of Missouri, which separated from the SBC-affiliated Missouri Baptist Convention in 2002.