YORK, Va. (ABP) — A Southern Baptist youth pastor arrested Aug. 13 on sex charges involving a teenage girl now faces more than 30 additional charges involving a second teenager.
Police originally charged Jack Duffer, 40, youth minister at Seaford Baptist Church near Hampton, Va., with one count of taking indecent liberties with a minor and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. After his arrest, police say, a second victim came forward.
On Friday, Aug. 21, police charged Duffer with 17 additional counts each of both charges. They stem from incidents authorities say occurred on several dates at two separate York County locations in 2008.
Sergeant Dennis Ivey of the York-Poquoson Sheriff's Office told the Williamsburg-Yorktown Daily the alleged events took place between Feb. 26 and Aug. 15 of that year.
Duffer, formerly a pastor in Hawaii, joined Seaford Baptist Church as its youth minister in January 2007.
Duffer was out of jail on a $20,000 bond at the time of his second arrest. His bond was revoked when he was arrested again, and he was held at Virginia Peninsula Jail in Williamsburg.
Seaford Baptist Church suspended Duffer with pay before his first arrest. After his second, Transitional Pastor Gene Cornett released a statement to media saying church leaders "will make further decisions based on this new information."
Duffer is married and has four children. When he resigned after five years as pastor of University Baptist Church in Honolulu in 2006, Duffer told the congregation it was because of his "passion" for working with youth.
While inviting any other possible victims to come forward, Ivey told WAVY Channel 10 in Portsmouth, Va., that Duffer's alleged acts hurt not only his victims but also the reputation of Seaford Baptist Church.
"I want the kids to realize that even though this occurs, not every adult youth minister you're going to meet is going to be this type of person," Ivey said. "It's not a common thing, especially not a common thing in York County. That's a shame when something like this is a black eye, so to speak, on the church itself. This church is a great church."
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Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.
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Jailed former pastor cited 'passion' for working with youth