A longtime Kansas pastor is being held on $750,000 bond, after prosecutors charged him with four felonies, including two aggravated-incest counts involving a minor relative.
Wade Booth, 70, pastor of First Baptist Church in Pleasanton, Kansas, was arrested and booked into custody Aug. 31, KCTV Ch. 5, a CBS affiliate, reported.
A Linn County District Court arrest warrant initially filed Sept. 1 set Booth’s bond at $750,000. Court records show the warrant was executed after his arrest.
The criminal complaint charges Booth with aggravated incest involving “intercourse with a child” between ages 16 and 17. It alleges the conduct occurred between Jan. 1 and July 31 in Linn County.
The complaint alleges the minor was known to Booth to be his biological, step or adoptive child. The charge is a severity level 3 felony under Kansas law.
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Prosecutors also charged Booth with “unlawful sexual relations,” involving a student age 16 or older. The complaint identifies the school as “Booth Homeschool.”
That count alleges Booth engaged in “consensual sexual intercourse” with a student enrolled where he was employed while serving as a teacher or other person in authority.
According to abuse experts, children cannot give consent because of their age and the power differential between them and an adult. However, Kansas defines the age of consent as 14.
A third count charges Booth with aggravated intimidation of a witness or victim younger than 18. Prosecutors allege Booth attempted to prevent or dissuade the minor from acting in the case.
The complaint says the alleged conduct was undertaken with intent to “vex, annoy, harm, or injure” or interfere with the orderly administration of justice.
The fourth count charges aggravated incest, involving fondling of a relative between ages 16 and 17. It is classified as a “severity level 7” felony.
The charging document identifies the alleged victim only by initials and year of birth. Roys Report (RR) does not name minor abuse victims.
The most serious charge, “aggravated incest involving intercourse,” carries a listed prison range of 55 to 247 months and a fine of up to $300,000.
The unlawful-sexual-relations count carries a listed range of 31 to 136 months. The witness-intimidation count carries 17 to 46 months, and the second incest count carries 11 to 34 months.
The charges are allegations. The court documents reviewed by RR do not indicate that Booth has entered a plea.
KCTV reported Booth has led First Baptist Church since 2007. The station described him as a longtime pastor whose ministry has included work in Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas.
The church’s website says Booth graduated from Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Missouri, in 1981, and served two mission churches, then pastored in Harper, Kansas, for 12 years.
According to the church biography, Booth later worked as a missionary church planter in Oklahoma. He and his wife planted two churches there from 1997 through 2005.
The biography says Booth came to Pleasanton in 2007 to pastor First Baptist Church and “is still preaching today.” The church website continued to identify him as pastor on Wednesday.
RR has contacted the church for comment but did not immediately hear back.
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.
3 Responses
I am just wondering why the guy is smiling? The guy’s life as he knows it is over and his perverted acts will follow his victims for life. Sad to think he felt entitled to stand behind any pulpit.
Maybe, just maybe, he’s smiling because he belives that US Pottersville culture & Christian affiliated shameless culture will simply give him another opportunity one day to plant another “church” here, there or anywhere. Maybe 🤔
Disgusting, evil man…I checked and believe in the state of Kansas the age of consent is 16 and must be non coerced or manipulated. Which of course he did to the 14 year old girl! Really doesn’t matter if she was 14 or 16 he still raped an innocent child in his care whom he groomed . Sadly, he was a predator who likely chose his ” profession” so to find his victims. Considering his age, 70, there’s likely other victims scattered throughout his “ministry years.