Thorton Tedder, the owner of ChurchTrac, reportedly recalled to investigators that the alleged victim spent a considerable amount of time in Trent’s office while Trent worked there. Tedder expressed that he thought it was strange that Trent would spend so much time with the alleged victim but that he never observed any inappropriate touching and didn’t think of it any further at the time.
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Trent was terminated from ChurchTrac in 2021 when police investigators came to the ChurchTrac office for a separate matter involving a possible explicit image of a child that was tracked to a ChurchTrac computer IP address connected to Trent.
No charges were brought against Trent at that time.
In a statement, Hillcrest Baptist Church said, “We are aware of the recent news regarding charges involving a former employee. The situation is deeply concerning and grieves our hearts.”
“First and foremost, our prayers and concern are with those affected,” the church said. “We are committed to supporting those involved with compassion, care, and respect for their privacy.”
“We take matters like this seriously. The individual is no longer associated with our church and has not been since 2018,” the statement added. “We are fully cooperating with the authorities as they conduct their investigation, and we remain committed to integrity, safety, and accountability in our ministry.”
Trent was taken into custody on April 12. He is currently out on bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on May 5.
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More charges could be brought against Trent. The investigation is ongoing.
