North Carolina 'pedophile' pastor charged with 115 sex attacks against children as young as four
ELKIN, NORTH CAROLINA: Wilkes County in North Carolina was shaken when news of one of their town's pastor being a pedophile made headlines.
Rodney Luffman, the pastor of Open Arms Outreach Ministries, a non-denominational church in Elkin, North Carolina, was arrested on Thursday, January 24, and charged with more than 100 felony sex offenses.
Luffman was arrested without any incident from his home by Detective Amanda Boyd, of the Wilkes County Sheriff's Office. She revealed that the offenses have been committed over a span of 15 years, according to a Time report.
The Sheriff's office also revealed that the offenses took place between 2000- 2015. The 58-year-old pastor has been charged with 115 felony sex charges, of which 80 are on the counts of indecent liberties and 35 counts of sexual offenses.
The youngest victim was four-years-old, while the oldest victim was 16. On January 16, Luffman posted on Facebook saying that he would prove his innocence in the court.
He wrote, "When you start hearing things that you can't possibly believe I'd do, don't believe it, I'll prove myself innocent in court. Please pray for me'." The post garnered a mixed response from his followers.
While few came out in support of him, many others began recounting incidents of the pastor's indecent behavior. A woman commented, "You are as guilty as sin. Hope you got in jail. You were always trying to touch little girls and hug them when we went to your church. Thank God my husband finally listened to me."
One person wrote, "So sad to hear that innocent children were abused by what they thought was a man of God," while another said, "$1 million dollar bail says the judge believes you possibly DID DO IT and that you're a flight risk."
The user continued, "115 FELONY COUNTS means you and your attorney are going to be very, very busy trying to prove your innocence. It's not ONE felony count. It's ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTEEN COUNTS. This isn't one accusation. It's a LOT of accusations."
"Looks like you'll be preaching for 'Him' in the direction of incarceration. Praise the Holy Name of Jesus Christ that these children can ever forgive you," expressed the commenter.
Luffman is currently being held in jail on a $1 million bail. His court date hasn't been set yet.