Ronald Howard
A former North Georgia youth pastor went to church and volunteered with a teenage girl, who recently complained to police that he fondled her several times over a two-year period, authorities said.
Police arrested 38-year-old Ronald Howard on Monday, charging him with one count of child molestation, stemming from an incident in 2009, said Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson.
Howard was released from Walker County Jail, but couldn’t be reached for comment.
The investigation was opened after a LaFayette High School student complained to the principal that she had been touched inappropriately, kissed and groped on several occasions by Howard, a police report shows.
In January, the teenager told police that Howard started talking with her in 2009 when she was 15 and they both volunteered with an organization, a police report states. Howard’s wife, son and daughter volunteered with the same group, the report said.