Stephen Arthur Morris was the pastor of Oliver’s Grove Baptist Church, a Southern Baptist conservative church. In July 2019, he was arrested and charged with raping a thirteen-year-old girl who attended his church. She reported this when she was eighteen. In October 2019, two additional women came forward to report his attempts to abuse them when they were minors. In 2020, they also charged him with possessing child sexual abuse materials after searching his electronics.
In January 2021, he pleaded guilty in a plea deal. He was sentenced from ten to seventeen years in prison after pleading guilty to 32 criminal charges. Stephen Arthur Morris pleaded to 11 counts of Attempted Statutory Sex Offense, 13 counts of Taking Indecent Liberties with a Child, 6 counts of Second Degree Exploitation of a Child, one count of Attempted First Degree Sexual Exploitation of a Minor and one count of Solicitation to Commit First Degree Sexual Exploitation of a Minor.
In 2023, he was brought back to Johnston County to get indicted on four counts of taking indecent liberties with a child and one count of first-degree sex offense with a minor. The alleged victim is a family member.
- ABC 11: Pastor committed sex crimes against 13-year-old, Johnston County deputies say
- ABC 11: Johnston County pastor already in jail charged after pornographic images found
- The Johnston County Reporter: Former Pastor Sentenced To Prison
- The Johnston County Reporter: Convicted Sex Offender, Former Pastor, Facing New Charges
11 Jul 2019, Thu · Page A2
