Married Texas pastor gave teen drugs at church then raped her multiple times, police say
A married Texas pastor who claims he was only counseling a 15-year-old girl and her family is now in jail after police say he groomed her, gave her methamphetamines and then raped her multiple times in the last month, including at church. The teenager was hospitalized after her most recent encounter.
Brian Pounds, 45, who was listed as the lead pastor at First Assembly of God in Vernon along with his wife, Amy, has been charged with sexual assault of a child and delivery of a controlled substance to a child, according to his redacted arrest warrant.
Police say they first spoke with the teenager’s mother on July 1 while she was searching for her daughter at a motel. Pounds, who was present at the motel, told an officer that he was at the motel to help get a room for a person in need. That room had reportedly been rented in the name of First Assembly of God.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
The girl was later discovered at a nearby Walmart by her mother who took her to the Vernon Police Department. During an interview with officers that day, the teenager revealed that she had been having sex with the pastor and smoking methamphetamine at the motel. She also said she had been having sex with the pastor for about a month since he first initiated sexual contact with her at his church when he was supposed to be counseling her.
The teenager was taken to United Regional Health Care in Wichita Falls where she was “admitted to the hospital with medical complications from smoking methamphetamine.”
Five days later she gave police additional details about her contact with the pastor during a forensic interview.
“Pounds began the grooming process by getting Jane Doe a job cleaning houses for elderly people. Pounds then began to meet Jane Doe at his church ... in Vernon. Pounds started offering Jane Doe methamphetamine at the church. Pounds continued to meet with Jane Doe at the church for what Jane Doe described as counseling. Jane Doe said Pounds would offer her methamphetamine while at the church,” the affidavit said.
The teenager went on to describe two sexual encounters with Pounds at the church.
She revealed that the day her mother caught her at the motel the pastor gave her drugs before having sex with her again and choked her during the act.
“Pounds gave her methamphetamine to smoke and get high. Jane Doe said Pounds had sex with her [redacted] at the [redacted] Jane Doe said during the course of having sexual intercourse Pounds placed both hands on her neck and choked her,” the affidavit said.
Calls made to Vernon First Assembly of God by The Christian Post on Thursday went unanswered. On their website, the church states they are committed to discovering what it means to represent God on Earth.
“We believe the church is made up of all believers and expressed through various local bodies of worship. Our active participation in a body of believers gives evidence to our commitment to the discovery of what it means to be Christ's body on the earth,” the church said.
Pounds was booked into the Wichita County Jail on July 16 for sexual assault and delivery of a controlled substance. His bail was set at $200,000.
