Johnston County pastor already in jail charged after pornographic images found

JOHNSTON COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- A Johnston County pastor already behind bars for child sex crimes is accused of sexually exploiting a minor after lewd pictures were found on his electronic devices.

On Friday, the Johnston County Sheriff's Office revealed their investigators found six pornographic images after seizing Stephen Arthur Morris' devices.

Morris was a pastor at Oliver's Grove Baptist Church in Four Oaks. Court documents showed Morris was accused of statutory rape with a 13-year-old between June 2013 and June 2014.

The sheriff's office first began investigating Morris when a woman, then 18, came forward in June 2019 to say Morris sexually assaulted her when she was as young as 13. Morris was arrested in July 2019.

Two other adults came forward after the arrest to tell authorities Morris tried to exploit them when they were younger than 18 years old. Morris was charged again in Oct. 2019.

On Friday, Morris was charged with six counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. Morris was being held in the Johnston County Jail, previously under a $600,000 bond. He then received an additional bond of $200,000 for the warrants served Friday.