In packed courtroom: Victims provide details of indecency allegations against pastor
Three women who say they were molested by a Wichita Falls preacher when they were children took the stand Thursday in 78th District Court.
They testified against Ronnie Allen Killingsworth, 78, longtime pastor of Rephidim Church. He is on trial on six counts of indecency with a child in connection with three former members of his church.
Before a packed courtroom, one victim testified she was 5 years old when she went into Killingsworth’s office, and he sat her on his lap.
She said she asked him how babies happen, and he touched her sexually.
The woman testified Killingsworth favored her because of her high intelligence. But after she asked him a question he couldn’t answer, he shut her out. She said she never told her mother about the incidents because she was too embarrassed.
She and her parents eventually left the church.
Another woman testified Killingsworth took her into his office and tried to kiss her in what she described as an “open mouth” kiss.
She testified Killingsworth touched her sexually and showed her pornographic images.
The woman told the jury she had “acted out” sexually when she was a child and once told some other children she had a “crush” on Killingsworth.
She told the jury that memories of what Killingsworth did still bring on panic attacks. She didn’t talk about the incidents because she was scared.
The woman left the church in 2015.
“I wanted to live a normal life,” she said.
A third victim who is now in her 30s testified that when she was about 6 years old, she started going to the church with her mother. She said she was not a well-behaved child. When she was about 11, Killingsworth took her into his office and yelled at her, grabbed by the shoulder and touched her sexually.
The woman testified that Killingsworth told her she was a liar, and nobody would believe her if she told what happened.
She said when she told her mother about the incident, her mother hit her in the face so hard it left a scar.
All the witnesses said sexual topics were discussed in the presence of children at the church. They described fortifications at the church that included guns.
Others on the stand Thursday included the mother of one of the alleged victims, the stepfather of another and the aunt of yet another. All had attended or been members of Rephidim Church.
They testified Killingsworth had proclaimed “rapture” — the end of days — would occur at the Y2K millennium and they built cabins for themselves in the country.
When it didn’t happen, they told the jury that he kept setting future dates for rapture that also proved false.
One tearful woman recalled leaving messages for her son because the congregation was taught the adults would ascend during rapture, but their children would be left behind.
Another testified she was shunned by the congregation when she missed services to be with her dying parents.
Defense attorneys Ron Poole and Chuck Smith quizzed the witnesses about inconsistent memories they had of interviews done with Texas Rangers.
Jake Weaver, a special investigator with the Texas Department of Public Safety and former Ranger, was last on the stand Thursday.
He told the jury he conducted interviews with the victims and other witnesses. He said from what he heard, the church “seemed like a cult.”
He testified he got a call from Allen Killingsworth, the defendant’s son and a detective with the Wichita Falls Police Department, asking about the investigation. Weaver said he did not provide information.
He is scheduled to resume testimony Friday.
Bill Vasser and Davye Jo Estes of the Tarrant County District Attorney's office were appointed to prosecute the case because of the possible conflict of Allen Killingsworth's employment.
Ronnie Killingsworth has pleaded not guilty. Anyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless convicted in a court of law.
If convicted, he could face 20 years in prison on each of the charges. He is free from jail on $150,000 bail.
More: Prosecutor: Preacher accused of child sex crimes is a "charismatic cult leader"
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This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: In court: Victims provide details of indecency allegations against pastor
