An Arkansas pastor has been charged with possession of child pornography after a lengthy police investigation. A total of 70 counts were made against David Reynolds, who used to be the head of Cornerstone Bible Fellowship.
He was recently forced to leave the church due to his strong anti-LGBT agenda, which included passionate sermons about the sins of gay marriage and how all LGBT people will end up in hell.
Reynolds, 40, was arrested in May after authorities received a tip directing them to a social media account that allegedly belonged to the pastor. The account was being used to store pornographic material that featured children.
When questioned about looking at the material, Reynolds claimed he not done so deliberately. He had also informed the church in March that he was being investigated by the police, although he did not elaborate on the reason.
The church staff has cooperated with the authorities and expressed concern about the broken trust between the fellowship and its congregation. It will also conduct its own investigation to determine if other staff members were involved or affected by the actions of Reynolds. An attorney for the pastor stated that Reynolds has denied the claims against him and plans to strongly defend his reputation.
Reynolds is currently in jail under a $250,000 bond.