Evansville youth minister accused of sex crimes with children ages 12-16
CAMDEN, Tenn. (WISH) — An Evansville, Indiana, youth minister has been arrested in Tennessee in connection with sex crimes involving children, a district attorney said.
Joshua Burton Henley, 32, of Newburg, Indiana, was booked into the Benton County Jail in Camden, Tennessee, and was being held Tuesday on a $500,000 bond, according to a Facebook post from Matthew Stowe, the district attorney for five Tennessee counties in the 24th Judicial District.
Henley will face arraignment Wednesday morning on a count of aggravated sexual battery, and three counts of statutory rape by an authority figure. Henley’s attorney has filed a motion to reduce the bond.
The “multiple victims” of Henley in three states ranged from age 12-16, the district attorney said. The Facebook post did not say when the sex crimes happened but noted sex crimes involving children have increased during the coronavirus pandemic, which began in March 2020.
Henley works as a youth minister at Washington Avenue Church of Christ in Evansville, the district attorney said. Formerly, he was pastor at Holladay Community Church and an unpaid, volunteer girls basketball coach at Holladay Primary School; both facilities are in Holladay, Tennessee.
“Law enforcement believes there may be additional victims who have not yet been identified,” the Facebook post said. “Anyone who may have any additional information concerning this case is urged to contact investigators at the Benton County Sheriff’s Department at 731-584-4632.”
The FBI and Tennessee authorities were among those that investigated the case.
