Four Oaks pastor arrested in child sex crimes faces new charges
A Four Oaks minister first arrested in connection with child sex crimes in July faces new charges involving pornographic images.
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On Friday, the Johnston County Sheriff's Office charged Stephen Arthur Morris, who is in his 60s, with six counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor after six pornographic images of unidentified children were discovered on his computer.
Morris was first reported in June 2019 when an 18-year-old woman claimed she was sexually assaulted by Morris when she was 13. Morris had been her pastor at Oliver’s Grove Baptist Church in Four Oaks at the time, she said.
Morris was arrested in July on five counts each of statutory rape or sex offense and indecent liberties with a child. He was charged with additional crimes in October when two more adults came forward claiming Morris exploited them when they were younger.
When Morris was arrested, several computers and electronic storage devices were seized, and investigators obtained a search warrant to find the pornographic images.
Morris was already being held in the Johnston County Jail under a $600,000 bond. He received an additional bond of $200,000 for his most recent charges.
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