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Pierce due in court again |
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Monday, 08 June 2009 |
David Pierce, the former Benton First Baptist Church music minister who faces 54 counts of sexual indecency with a child, is scheduled for his second court appearance Tuesday.
Pierce, 56, is scheduled to appear at a 1 p.m. proceeding before Benton District Judge Mike Robinson and possibly enter a plea, Saline County Prosecuting Attorney Ken Casady said.
“(Pierce) will have the opportunity to plead, but could ask for a continuance,” Casady said. “I’m not sure what he will do.”
Pierce has been free on a $25,000 bond. The bond was issued by Robinson on April 27 following Pierce’s initial arrest.
In the beginning, Pierce was charged with one count of sexual indecency with a child, then re-arrested after an additional 53 counts of the same charge were filed. When the subsequent charges were filed, Pierce was taken to the Saline County Detention Facility by his lawyer, Mark Hampton, booked and then released immediately on the same bond.
Following his first arrest, which occurred on a Friday evening, he was jailed until the following Monday. His release came a short time after his court appearance.
Four alleged victims are involved in the 54 counts, Sheriff Bruce Pennington said in a news conference after Pierce’s second arrest.
The charges are Class D felonies.
Dr. Rick Grant, senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Benton, has said throughout the ordeal that church officials have “cooperated fully with the authorities and will continue to do that.”
During the news conference after Pierce’s second arrest, Pennington said he expected additional charges to be forthcoming, but Detective Mike Frost said Friday that there are no new charges.
The current charges relate to incidents that have occurred in the past three years and all of those alleging the abuse are still teenagers, Pennington said. All of the alleged victims are male and are or were part of the church’s youth choir program, Pure Energy, which Pierce directed.
However, he said the kind of activity alleged to have occurred is believed to date back as far as 15 years, he said.
The incidents on which the allegations are based “occurred in and around rural areas of Saline County and also occurred in the church ... ,” Pennington said.
None of the alleged incidents occurred on choir tours, he said.
He noted that computers and ledgers used by Pierce were seized and taken to the Arkansas Crime Lab for analysis. He declined to elaborate on what information these contained, but acknowledged that pornographic material was involved.
Pennington said Pierce was released under his previous bond arrangement because he is not considered a flight risk.
“He has followed the conditions of his bail,” Pennington said.
Pierce is under a “no contact” order set by Robinson when he was released from jail the first time.
The court order states that Pierce may have no contact with church leadership, including but not limited to the pastor, the chairman of deacons, the church Personnel Committee or any church employee except his son.
He also is barred from having any contact with “any child under the age of 18 to whom he is not related” and prohibited from “using third parties to circumvent these conditions.” Specifically, the order states that Pierce may not use Facebook, MySpace “or any other form of passive Internet communication” and previously was ordered to surrender his passport.
Pennington said investigators would continue to interview alleged victims, saying he believed there would be more.
In addition to church officials, parents of the youths involved have been cooperative, Pennington said. “They’re supportive of their children,” he added.
“The individuals who have accused Pierce of the sexual acts say their abuse began when they were “probably 15,” the sheriff said.
He said he isn’t aware whether any alleged victim was aware that others had experienced similar abuse at the time of the the alleged incidents.
Pierce served as music minister at First Baptist for 29 years.
Previously, Grant said church members and staff are “praying for wisdom in our words, strength of courage, and healing for everyone involved. We serve a great God and we refuse to lose sight of that.”
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