NC Pastor Gets 8 To 14 Years On Child Sex Charges

Asheville’s ABC affiliate reports:

A former pastor of a church in Black Mountain has pleaded guilty after being accused of sexual offense with a minor. District Attorney Todd Williams said Trent Brandon Holbert, formerly the pastor of The Ridge Church in Black Mountain, pled guilty Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023, to felony attempted statutory sexual offense.

The minor was a 15-year-old girl. Per the plea agreement, Judge Sharon Tracey Barrett sentenced Holbert to serve 94-173 months (7.8 to 14.4 years) in a North Carolina prison. Warrants alleged Holbert groomed the teen by first befriending her parents who joined The Ridge Church.

Read the full article. Hobert resigned as the church’s head pastor after his first court appearance following his arrest.

JUST IN: Former church pastor Trent Brandon Holbert pled guilty Wednesday afternoon to felony attempted statutory sexual offenses with a 15-year-old girl, Buncombe County District Attorney Todd Williams said. https://t.co/bRRp561n4U

— WLOS (@WLOS_13) January 25, 2023

Former pastor Trent Brandon Holbert, a Republican, filed false child neglect claims against the parents of a child he was sexually abusing to pressure them to sign over parental rights to him.

— jerome cylin (@jeromecylin) June 16, 2022