Former Baptist Music Minister due in court again

08 Jun2 2009

Benton, Arkansas ‹ 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.

³(Pierce) will have the opportunity to plead, but could ask for a
continuance,² Casady said. ³I¹m not sure what he will do.²

Pierce has been free on a $25,000 bond. The bond was issued by Robinson on
April 27 following Pierce¹s 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 Pierce¹s 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 ³cooperated fully with the
authorities and will continue to do that.²

During the news conference after Pierce¹s 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
church¹s 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 ³occurred in and around
rural areas of Saline County and also occurred in the church ... ,²
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.

³He has followed the conditions of his bail,² Pennington said.

Pierce is under a ³no contact² 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 ³any child under the age of
18 to whom he is not related² and prohibited from ³using third parties to
circumvent these conditions.² Specifically, the order states that Pierce may
not use Facebook, MySpace ³or any other form of passive Internet
communication² 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. ³They¹re supportive of their children,² he
added.

³The individuals who have accused Pierce of the sexual acts say their abuse
began when they were ³probably 15,² the sheriff said.

He said he isn¹t 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 ³praying 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.²

http://www.bentoncourier.com/content/view/174831/1/



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