Pastor at Western KY church accused of having sexual relationship with a minor

Lexington Herald-Leader ^ | 02/17/26 | Christopher Leach

[Fury]

A former pastor at a Western Kentucky church has been arrested for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a minor, Kentucky State Police announced Monday.

David Rodgers, 40, of Utica, was arrested around 7:35 p.m. Feb. 16 after an investigation determined he had a sexual relationship with a juvenile “through a position of special trust.”

[DFG]

https://www.fox4news.com/news/north-texas-pastor-steps-down-after-sex-offender-son-arrested

[cyclotic]

Not saying this guy is innocent, just sharing a recent event where the suspect truly is innocent.

I checked out the church website. I think they’re handling it well. They changed the site to be password protected for members and have a very good, well-crafted statement right up front on the site.

This has the power to destroy a church if handled improperly. If handled properly, it’s a really big shard speed bump.

Churches and their individual ministries have a solemn duty to their members and families to protect them. Background checks, robust youth protection training for all individuals who work with kids and transparency in operations are critically important.

We’re currently searching for a new church. One of the reasons is that they rely on legal protections after the fact rather than pre-emptively protecting children. They don’t do background checks on volunteers, they allow a single adult to be with kids. The Sunday school rooms have solid doors with no windows and no visibility. They have no formal security team instead prefer to maintain the veneer of friendly openness. These are all things I’ve complained about over several years.

I work with a youth program that has strong background checks, robust youth protection and a strict policy of never being alone with a youth. We also teach the youth what their responsibilities are. Buddy system etc.

[ansel12]

Protestant type affair or Catholic type?

[Tell It Right]

Wow! It's hard to imagine a church operating with such lax child protection procedures. I believe you, I'm just having trouble processing it.

The church we attend and volunteer at (and the prior one) has a full background check for us volunteers with kids. And there's always at least 2 adults, and always 1 that's female. And a married couple doesn't count as 2 (security procedures-wise, we count a couple as 1 person, though for practical planning we always like extra help from the spouse).

To get to the hall with the elementary aged children's church rooms you have to check in that morning and have a printed sticker either as a parent or as a volunteer. Just to walk into the hall someone is greeting you and verifying that you're allowed into the hall. Kids have stickers too with a number code that matches the parent/grandparent who checked him in. Thus kids can't leave their room until the parent comes in and picks up the kid with a matching code #.

I haven't volunteered with youth (middle school and older) since I joined this church. I honestly don't know if they have a check-in/check-out procedure when they meet. I just know that the staff and volunteers have to go through the same background check and do similar training to mine.

[Robert DeLong]

That is true, he may have also engaged in a homosexual act as well, as abusing a child sexually.

However, I did see the word sodomy mentioned in the article:

Rodgers is charged with two counts of third-degree rape, two counts of second-degree sodomy - position of authority, two counts of first-degree sexual abuse, procuring or promoting the use of a minor by electronic means and possession of matter portraying sexual performance by a minor younger than 12, according to court records.

Here is what AI says about Sodomy:

Sodomy is a term historically used to describe non-procreative sexual acts, particularly anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a human and an animal (bestiality). The word originates from the biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah, where men attempted to sexually assault male visitors, interpreted by many religious traditions as a condemnation of homosexual acts.

Based upon that & my initial belief that sodomy is that act, is what occurred, and that the victim was a young male, not a female.

Everyone is geared to Epstein, apparently to believe that only female children are abused sexually. Which of course, is not the reality at all.

[ronniesgal]

the bad ones should not get preachy though.

[MayflowerMadam]

“Isn’t this what pastors and teachers do nowadays?”

Satan targets pastors and similar because when they “fall” the impact is much more efficient for him. Instead of destroying just one family, he can destroy 10s or 100s.

[umbagi]

Now prepended to the article:

Updated note: On Feb. 20, Kentucky State Police reported the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office and Daviess County Coroner’s Office responded to Rodgers’ home for an apparent suicide Thursday morning. State police said its protocol is to keep an investigation open until an official death certificate is issued.

[Fury]

Thank you for that update.

[Bob Wills is still the king]

Looks like he received The Call to begin a prison ministry.

[Fury]

Based on the update at 28, he committed suicide on Thursday (day info found at other news sources).