A Florida pastor was arrested on Monday, March 4, after being accused of giving a teen girl alcohol and then sexually assaulting her after she fell unconscious. Monte Lavelle Chitty, 62, had been serving as pastor at First Baptist Church in Marathon.
According to jail records, Chitty faces charges of sexual battery, lewd and lascivious behavior, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that deputies were initially alerted via an anonymous caller, who said they had heard a girl tell an adult she had been raped.
Shortly after that, deputies received a second call, this time from Chitty.
The pastor told police that “he believed he was about to be accused of something and he wanted to get ahead of it.” He then claimed that the alleged victim, who is a 15-year-old girl, had been drinking and fell unconscious in the library of the church.
Chitty claimed that he helped the girl onto a couch “but did not touch her after that.”
The girl told deputies that Chitty gave her alcohol, and she believes Chitty may have added drugs to the drink. She said that she “immediately began to feel weak and lost consciousness.”
The girl said that she awoke to find Chitty molesting her.
“Further investigation by detectives revealed text messages between the victim and Chitty,” Herrin said. “In those messages, which were found on both his and her phones, Chitty made reference to having sexual relations with the girl while she was impaired.”
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Chitty, who “was a registered volunteer with the Sheriff’s Office” and “offered his services as a pastor,” was arrested at First Baptist Marathon early on Monday morning.
