Zachary King, pastor at multiple megachurches including LexCity in Kentucky has been charged with rape and sexual abuse of a minor.
The 47-year-old was arrested on Monday.
According to the office of Attorney General of Kentucky, Russell Coleman, King was booked in the Fayette County Detention Center and charged with several offences including rape, sexual assault and procuring or promoting use of minor by electronic means.
King has reportedly resigned from Lexington City Church after members confronted him about the allegations.
At his arraignment on Tuesday, despite his lawyer asking for a $50,000 bond for his release the judge ordered it be $250,000 which he will have to pay 10% of.
Local news site Lex18.com reported that King confessed in an interview with Coleman’s office that he "engaged in a sexual relationship with a minor over the course of the last year and a half", adding that it had begun when she was 15 in January 2023 and carried on until April 2024.
He also reportedly confirmed that the sexual relationship had taken place in the minor's home, at his own residence, and at the church where he was a former pastor.
A Fox56 report said King confessed to communicating with the teenage girl through Snapchat and WhatsApp to arrange meetups and receive explicit photos.
He also reportedly admitted to picking her up from her home and driving to have sex in his car.
During his role at LexCity Church King had significant experience serving in youth ministry, including at Craig Groeschel’s Life.Church and Metropolitan Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, where he spent more than eight years.
A megachurch is widely considered to be a church which receives over 10,000 weekly attendants.
In a statement on their website the church said they would be cancelling this week's service in order "to determine the next steps" adding that "the leadership of LexCity Church is deeply grieved at the pain and hurt caused by a former staff member’s alleged actions, which affect so many in so many ways. Our hearts and prayers go out to the victim, their families, and those wounded by this."