A South Carolina church has fired its pastor after it became widely known that he is a registered sex offender.
Church elders of Eternal Church in Fort Mill admitted that some of them knew Don Logan had been convicted of sexual misconduct with a 14-year-old. However, not all of the voting members of the board were informed prior to Logan being hired as the church’s pastor in 2014.
According to Indiana court records, Logan pleaded guilty to a felony charge of sexual misconduct with a minor as part of a plea agreement in 1997. He was sentenced to three years imprisonment, with an additional three years suspended pending his adherence to probation.
Logan was 29 years old at the time of the crime.
As part of the agreement, the court also ruled that Logan “relinquish his minister’s license, that he have no contact with any minor without adult supervision, and his type of employment is approved by the Court and Probation Department.”
The congregation had not been informed of Logan’s past, and some of the church’s elders did not become aware of Logan’s child sex crime until it was reported in the media.
According to Fort Mill Sun, church leaders told the congregation on Sunday (July 7) that Logan had been placed on leave in light of the revelation of his past crime, as well as for his health. Logan had previously undergone treatment for cancer.
During that service, Jacob Collins, the church’s pastor of growth, and Lorne James, a church elder, both expressed their hope that Logan would remain the church’s pastor.
Collins explained that Logan had pleaded guilty to a felony charge of sexual misconduct with a minor and was sentenced to three years imprisonment. Logan was released after 18 months.
“During his time in prison, Pastor Don had a profound encounter with Jesus, repented and was transformed,” Collins said.
While Logan had been required to register as a sex offender in Indiana, where the crime occurred, the requirement was only for a set number of years and had expired. However, Logan learned earlier this year that he was required by law to register in South Carolina.
“This information has triggered past wounds of abuse and eroded trust in church leadership,” Collins said.
James referred to the requirement that Logan register as a sex offender as “a scarlet letter.”
“We should have seen it coming. I am sorry that we did not. We should have been ready to make sure that if, at some point, if it does come up in the media, that it wasn’t such a surprise,” he said. “This inaction has been exploited by us not being proactive. It’s allowed Satan to have a foothold here. And I want that to end, and I want that to end now.”
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“It breaks my heart that the laws in this state are such that Don had to go and register with the state of South Carolina. I hate it. I don’t like what it has done to his family. I don’t like the way it has hurt my brother and sister, and to see it used against them,” James said. “This has always been fully adjudicated in the legal system. It was in public record. It was Don’s story to share.”
