A pastor in Corinth was arrested at his home Wednesday on charges of attempted sexual performance of a child.
Pastor Jeffrey Dale Williams of The Church of Corinth is accused of attempting to persuade a child under the age of 18 to remove clothing and show herself completely naked, according to Corinth police.
The charges against Williams are a third degree felony.
Williams was booked into Denton County Jail. He was released on a $10,000 bond Wednesday night.
Police say the alleged incident did not happen at the church, but at a private residence. When asked whose house, the officer declined to comment.
Captain Greg Wilkerson with the Corinth Police Department says Child Protective Services alerted officers about allegations of sexual abuse.
Wilkerson says officers followed up with the tip. Detectives also got their hands on a piece of recorded evidence which helped them get a warrant for an arrest.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
“We were actually able to obtain an audio recording of the actual event and after locating the victim and interviewing her, she was able to corroborate what we already had heard on the tape,” Wilkerson said.
Church members were shocked to hear the news of the arrest.
Tina Martin attends the Church of Corinth. She’s known Williams for more than four years, and she can’t believe the allegations against him.
“From what I know about Pastor Jeff Williams is that he is a God-fearing man who does everything to teach his congregation, his town and his people everything about God,” Martin said.
The Church of Corinth released the following official statement early Thursday morning:
"We have no knowledge of nor any reason to suspect any inappropriate behavior. We intend to and will fully investigate the allegations, and we will fully cooperate with the authorities. Our prayers go out to this family of our Church."
No additional information has been provided at this time.
NBC 5's Omar Villafranca contributed to this report.
