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Former Fallen Timbers Church pastor gets up to 6 years for sex crimes

By Susy Kelly skelly@heraldstandard.Com 4 min read
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A former pastor of a Springhill Township church was determined to be a sexually violent predator and will spend up to 6 years behind bars for the sexual assault of three girls.

Ray Scott Teets, 66, of Uniontown, represented by attorney Jeremy Davis, pleaded no contest in July to 13 counts of corruption of minors, five counts of indecent assault, three counts of attempted indecent assault, three counts of stalking, and three counts of defiant trespass, in exchange for a three-to-six-year sentence.

As ordered by Fayette County Senior Judge Gerald R. Solomon, Herbert Hays of the state Sexual Offenders Assessment Board evaluated Teets and found that he meets the criteria to be classified a sexually violent predator. As such, Teets has a lifetime duty to report to an approved registration site quarterly.

Police said Teets began having sexual encounters with young girls beginning in June 1999, some of whom he met in his role as the pastor at Fallen Timbers Community Church.

“I feel Scott should be in jail for the rest of his life,” said one of the victims at Friday’s sentencing hearing. “I think if he gets out of jail again, he’s just going to hurt someone else.”

The Herald-Standard does not identify victims of sexual assault.

“I think that Scott doesn’t care about the laws, “she said. “I only think that because he keeps doing the same thing over and over again. Scott doesn’t care about other people, he just uses that excuse to get kids away from their parents.”

The girl’s parents both addressed the court as well. Her stepfather spoke emotionally about the effects the crimes have had on his family, as the girl hid her face in her mother’s embrace.

“I have learned that I cannot trust the community,” the stepfather said. “This thing that attacked my daughter and others’ daughters does not have a right to be free. I hope he spends an eternity in hell.”

The girl’s mother spoke as well. “I’m furious with the defendant for taking my daughter’s innocence,” she said. “Do I think three to six years is enough? Absolutely not.”

She told the court that the plea agreement was arranged without her consultation, and Solomon asked District Attorney Jack R. Heneks Jr. to address that claim.

Heneks said he did sit down with the families of victims after the plea was agreed upon by his office and the defense. He said he explained that the sentences being offered fell within the aggravated, or highest, range of the guidelines, and that while the victims’ families were not comfortable with the length of the sentence, he thought they understood why that was the conclusion that was reached.

Solomon told the families that, as a parent and grandparent, he could only imagine their pain and suffering. If he were in their position, he said, he “wouldn’t want the perpetrator to ever see the light of day.”

However, he said, “The court has some discretion in sentencing, but we must follow the guidelines set forth by the legislature. It doesn’t alleviate the pain and suffering, but it’s the maximum amount we can do in a situation like this.”

“My recommendation to you is to accept (the plea bargain) with reluctance and bitterness, but accept it,” Solomon said, explaining that if he were to reject the plea offer, the case would go to trial and the victims would likely have to testify. The end result, he noted, could be less jail time, or possibly acquittal.

Teets had nothing to say when the judge asked him if he wished to make a statement before the sentence was imposed, and he declined comment outside the courtroom as well.

Police filed two cases against Teets.

In one case, they said Teets made inappropriate contact with a girl when she was 7 or 8 years old in 1999 or 2000 at Fallen Timbers Community Church.

In the second case, police alleged Teets sexually assaulted two girls at various times when they were between the ages of 7 and 13 years old at locations in Georges Township. Those encounters occurred between December 2005 and September, police said.

At one point in 2006, the inappropriate behavior was witnessed by an adult, who ordered Teets from the location; however, he made several additional trips to see the children and engaged in similar behavior over the coming years, police alleged.

Charges in the third case stemmed from an improper relationship Teets had with an 11-year-old girl in November while he was a pastor at the same church.

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