Ex-church worker charged with having sex with girl

A former employee at Lighthouse Baptist Church in Colorado Springs has been charged with having sex with an underage girl from the congregation.

Jon Scott Moore, 51, was arrested March 25 after an Ohio woman told police the pair began a sexual relationship when she was 16 years old and living with her parents in Colorado Springs.

Moore - formerly the assistant to Pastor James Carroll - is charged with sexual assault of a child while in a position of trust and promoting obscenity to a child, both felonies, court records show. He is free on a $10,000 bond and due to appear in court May 19.

Police say they tape-recorded a conversation in which Moore admitted to the relationship, Carroll said.

Colorado Springs police spokesman Sgt. Creighton Brandt declined to release the police report and said police do not discuss sex crimes involving juveniles.

Court records indicate the abuse started Oct. 28, 2004. The accuser said it continued until her family left the state in the summer of 2006, Carroll said.

The Gazette does not usually identify victims alleging sexual assault.

Moore's home phone number has been disconnected, and he could not be reached for comment.

He resigned without notice several days before his arrest. He had worked at Lighthouse Baptist for four years - scheduling church events, providing technical support and doing other odd jobs, Carroll said.

The allegations sent a shock wave through the congregation. Moore, married with three children, was friends with the parents of the accuser, and the two families sometimes went on outings together, Carroll said.

The accuser also used to date one of Moore's sons, he said.

Carroll said he is taking a neutral stance on the case until police complete their investigation.

He referred to a Bible verse noting there are two sides to every story.

"My opinion is, he would be one of the last men on Earth that I would expect would get involved in something like this," Carroll said. "But I've been in the ministry since 1976, and I've seen a lot of things."

Lighthouse Baptist Church was established in Colorado Springs in 1976. The congregation has about 250 members.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0366 or lance.benzel@gazette.com