Gaston County associate pastor accused of getting teen drunk, facing child sex charges
GASTON COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- A Gaston County associate pastor was arrested Saturday after being accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old, police said.
ABC-affiliate WSOC reports, 24-year-old Nicholas Martin was charged with four counts of indecent liberties with a child, one count of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile and one count of indecent exposure.
Officials said Martin committed several crimes involving the teen from Oct. 2018 until Sept. 2019.
Arrest warrants retrieved by WSOC says Martin got the 14-year-old drunk before abusing the victim.
Police say Martin was the associate pastor of the North Belmont Church of God and he lived next to the church.
Neighbors who lived around the church said they were shocked and terrified.
"I cannot trust anybody," resident Monette Almond told WSOC. "And this is supposed to be somebody you can trust, you know. It's just mind-boggling."
Martin is being held under a $1 million bond.
