Kentucky megachurch pastor Zachary, a pastor with “significant experience serving in youth ministry,” has been charged with the rape and sexual abuse of a minor. According to a press release from the office of the Attorney General of Kentucky, King, 47, was also charged with the unlawful use of electronics to engage in sexual acts with a minor. King is a pastor with “significant experience serving in youth ministry” at multiple megachurches, including LexCity Church in Lexington, Kentucky, where he preached about three months ago and also resigned as executive pastor.
King is currently being held in the Fayette County Detention Center and charged with first-and second-degree rape, as well as first-and second-degree sodomy, per a report from Lex18. During his arraignment on Tuesday, King’s attorney asked Judge John Tackett to set his bond at $50,000, which would allow him to pay $5,000 or 10% of the bond to be released. The judge, however, set the pastor’s bond at $250,000.
According to Lex18, King’s arrest citation revealed that he confessed in an interview with Coleman’s office that he “engaged in a sexual relationship with a minor over the course of the last year and a half.”
As reported by The Christian Post, the megachurch pastor also confessed that he had “sexual intercourse with the minor starting at age 15 in January 2023, continuing until April 2024.” He added he had “sexual intercourse in the minor’s home, at his residence, and at the church where he was a former pastor.”
In a Fox56 report, King confessed to communicating with the teenage girl through Snapchat and WhatsApp, including arranging meetups and receiving explicit photos. At one point, he even picked up the girl from her home and would drive up the road to have sex in his car.
After being confronted by the congregation, King reportedly resigned from LexCity Church.
