A former Kentucky megachurch pastor was sentenced June 4 to 13 years in prison after pleading guilty March 23 to multiple sex crimes involving a girl who attended the Lexington church.

Former LexCity Church executive pastor Zachary King, 48, was sentenced in Fayette Circuit Court, according to WKYT-TV 21, a CBS affiliate. Under the plea agreement, King also must register as a lifetime sex offender and must not contact the victim.

The case centered on abuse that authorities said began when the victim was 15 and continued for about 18 months.

King pleaded guilty to seven felonies: first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy, procuring or promoting the use of a minor by electronic means, first-degree unlawful transaction with a minor, third-degree rape, third-degree sodomy and first-degree sexual abuse.

WKYT reported court documents said King restrained the victim on one occasion and raped and sodomized her. He later contacted the victim for additional meetings where other assaults took place.

The Roys Report (RR), citing state officials, reported that King told investigators in 2024 he had sexual intercourse with the girl at her home, at his home and at LexCity Church, where he worked. 

RR also reported that King confessed to using Snapchat and WhatsApp to exchange sexually explicit images with the girl. 

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said after the guilty plea, “This so-called pastor’s abuse of his position of spiritual trust to prey on a young victim was heartbreaking. We are sending this predator to prison to protect more Kentuckians from horrific abuse.”

King had resigned from his pastoral role after church staff confronted him in 2024 and reported the suspected abuse to Lexington police, leading to his arrest, media reports said.

The criminal case helped trigger the collapse of LexCity Church, a once-large Lexington congregation that announced in July 2024 it would permanently cease ministry. 

According to ABC affiliate WTVQ-TV 36, church leaders issued a statement at the time, saying “Through thoughtful prayer and heartfelt tears, the leadership team of Lexington City Church has voted to permanently cease our ministry.”

The statement added: “Due to the continued effects of the financial situation our church inherited several years ago and the impact of the ongoing investigation of a former staff member, we have lost the ability to remain financially viable and fulfill our God-given mission.” 

LexCity also said then that its “hearts are broken for those who have been hurt and are hurting,” and that it would continue to cooperate fully with the investigation. 

Before his arrest, King had worked in evangelical churches for nearly two decades. His employers included Life.Church and The MET Church in Houston, as RR previously reported. 

At the time of the guilty plea, RR quoted Coleman calling the crimes “heartbreaking.” 

“We are sending this predator to prison,” Coleman said, “to protect more Kentuckians from horrific abuse.”

WKYT reported in March that King’s recommended sentence under the plea deal was 13 years.

Mark A. Kellner is a reporter based in Mesquite, Nevada. He most recently covered statewide elections for the New York Post and was for three years the Faith & Family Reporter for The Washington Times. Mark is a graduate of the University of the Cumberlands and also attended Boston University’s College of Communication.