Former youth pastor Austin Wray Perkins has been sentenced to 15 years behind bars after pleading guilty to child molestation and possession of child sex abuse material.
Perkins, 27, was one of seven suspects arrested in March 2022 as part of a larger operation involving the Floyd County Police Department in Georgia and the Secret Service Cyber Crimes Task Force.
Perkins had been a volunteer youth minister at Grace Fellowship Baptist Church in the rural town of Cave Spring. At the time of his arrest, the church had been without a lead pastor or any paid staff, and members of the congregation, which is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), expressed shock at Perkins’ actions.
“We fully support law enforcement in this investigation,” Georgia Baptist Mission Board Executive Director Thomas Hammond said following Perkins’ arrest. “Praying for them as they search out facts and take appropriate action.”
“The Georgia Baptist Mission Board has partnered with MinistrySafe for 10 years to provide training for awareness and prevention of these types of crimes,” Hammond went on to say, referencing the abuse prevention training used by many SBC churches and institutions. “We will continue to make training like this a top priority.”
Hammond added, “Let us join together in asking God to bring healing to these victims and their families.”
In addition to his 15-year sentence, Perkins was sentenced to 25 years probation.
Perkins was arrested after police discovered that he had been exploiting an underaged boy who was estranged from his family and had no other support. The child had been living with Perkins.
In a press conference following Perkins’ arrest, police said that he had been “coaching the child about how to act in videos and also engaging in acts of child molestation.”
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At the time of his arrest, Perkins was in possession of child sex abuse material.
