A police chief told the Clarion Ledger on Thursday that a Copiah County pastor was arrested Tuesday for multiple sex-related crimes, including statutory rape and unnatural intercourse.
The Crystal Springs Police Department identified the man as Christopher Willett, a pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Crystal Springs — a town with a population of fewer than 5,000 about 30 minutes south of Jackson. Willett’s age was not immediately provided.
Crystal Springs Police Chief Robert Thomas said a female victim came to the police station with a psychologist, who is a family-friend of the victim, on the evening of Friday, March 7. Thomas said the victim told officers she was being molested by Willett. Thomas told the Clarion Ledger the alleged crime began when the victim was 15 years old, and the victim is now 19 years old.
Thomas said officers took the victim’s statement and began an investigation into the alleged incident the next morning. According to Thomas, police executed search warrants on various forms of properties: vehicles, laptops, cell phones and Willett’s house.
Thomas said officers then conducted an interview with the victim on Monday for about 1 hour and 30 minutes in which she disclosed more details of the abuse. Soon after, police filed charges against Willett.
Thomas said Willett faces charges of statutory rape, sexual battery, unnatural intercourse, computer luring of a person and child pornography. Thomas said Willett could face two additional charges in connection to the case.
“This is only accusations. He is not proven guilty of any of this, but the evidence we have against him is pretty substantial,” Thomas told the Clarion Ledger via phone call.
Christopher Willett, pastor of Crystal Springs Presbyterian Church, has bee arrested on charges of sex crimes.
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Thomas said police arrested Willett on Tuesday by asking him to come to City Hall under the pretense of discussing other matters. This approach was deemed necessary for safety precautions due to Willett’s known possession of firearms in his home.
“There was no fight, no refusal (or) no struggle. We put the handcuffs on him, brought him to the police department and put him in the interrogation room where he refused to talk,” Thomas said.
Willett is being held in the Copiah County Jail with no bond.
The Clarion Ledger reached out to the church to ask if Willett is still employed but did not receive a response before this publication. A voicemail box explained the church’s office is closed on Fridays.
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Willett’s biography on the church’s website reads as follows:
“Chris is an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). Before moving to Crystal Springs to become the Senior Pastor in October of 2020, he held the offices of Pastoral Intern and Assistant Pastor at Pinewood Presbyterian Church in Middleburg, Florida for 5 years. He then served as the Senior/Solo Pastor of Columbia Presbyterian Church in Columbia, Mississippi for 3 years.
“Chris served in the U.S. Air Force as a Weather Forecaster and earned a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies (Humanities, Communication, and Business Management) from New York Institute of Technology and obtained his Master’s of Divinity at Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando. In 2000 he married his wife, Jennifer, and they have one daughter, Lindsay.
“When he is not studying for and writing sermons, planning ministries, or working around the church and home, he enjoys watching shows with his wife, playing board games and video games with his daughter, reading (fiction, comics, and non-fiction), all things Star Wars, and being a Stormtrooper.”
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Crystal Springs MS pastor Christopher Willett charge with statutory rape
