Jacksonville-Area Pastor Accused Of Sending Explicit Text Message

JACKSONVILLE, FL. (AP) – A church pastor surrendered to police after he was accused of sending sexually explicit text messages to the teen daughter of a congregant, authorities said.

Darrell Gilyard, 45, turned himself in to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office with his attorney Monday, an arrest report said.

Gilyard was charged with lewd and lascivious conduct and was released from jail on $5,000 bail later that day.

Gilyard resigned as pastor of the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church earlier this month. He also resigned an appointment to a committee aimed at reducing violent crime in Jacksonville.

A mother filed a report with the sheriff’s office on Nov. 29, alleging that she found obscene text messages on her 14-year-old daughter’s cell phone in October from a number belonging to Gilyard.

The mother said she didn’t notify authorities for a month because church deacons had told her they would handle the matter. The arrest report accused Gilyard of soliciting the teen “to commit a lewd act by sending her lewd text messages and requesting for her to send him lewd text messages back.”

Gilyard’s attorney, Hank Coxe, called him a committed community servant who’s worked hard to build the church, improve neighborhoods and help at-risk youths. Coxe said Gilyard appreciates the support he has received from his family and others, and that he has sought professional help.

It is the second time accusations of sexual misconduct kept Gilyard from preaching. In 1991, he resigned his post at Victory Baptist Church near Dallas after reports he slept with church members came to light.

Shiloh is a fast-growing church that televises its services and boasts a membership of at least 7,000, according to its Web site. Gilyard had been there for 14 years. Messages left on two different church voicemails were not immediately returned Tuesday.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)