Man sexually assaulted children for years at the church he went to, NC cops say

A man is accused of committing multiple child sex offenses at the Johnston County church where he was a member, the sheriff’s office said Tuesday.

Jonathan Young, 34, of Benson was arrested Sunday and charged with six counts of first-degree rape of a child, three counts of statutory rape and two counts each of first-degree sexual offense and indecent liberties with a child.

Young remained in the Johnston County Jail under $1 million bond Tuesday.

Two female victims reported the offenses occurred at Firstborn Baptist Church in Benson, according to Capt. Jeff Caldwell.

The offenses were first reported in 2014 but "go back years," Caldwell said.

"When someone comes forward with something from 10 years ago, obviously we wouldn’t have the same physical evidence we would with someone who just came forward hours ago," he said.

One of the victims, who is now 19, told investigators she was assaulted between the ages of 7 and 15.

“This is not an investigation where someone came to us and said our child was sexually assaulted yesterday,” Caldwell said.

Caldwell said there could potentially be more victims but that none have come forward. The investigation is ongoing, he said.

This story was originally published July 3, 2018 at 1:28 PM.