VA Pastor Arrested On 30 Felony Child Sex Charges

Richmond’s ABC affiliate reports:

A former pastor of an independent Baptist church in the town of Warsaw in Richmond County is facing 30 felony charges relating to multiple incidents the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office alleges occurred at the church between 1981 and 1997.

Albert Benjamin Wharton, 86, of South Carolina, was arrested in South Carolina at 8:42 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 8 by investigators from the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, and South Carolina’s Pickens County Sheriff’s Department.

Wharton was charged with 22 felony counts of taking indecent liberties with a child under the age of 13 while in a custodial position and eight felony counts of aggravated sexual assault.

Read the full article. Per the source, Wharton has also served as pastor at churches in South Carolina, Alabama, and Florida.

THIS JUST IN: Former Virginia pastor facing 30 felony charges including indecent liberties with a child, aggravated sexual assault https://t.co/EyRuu093xr #Virginia

— 8News WRIC Richmond (@8NEWS) December 19, 2023