Jeffrey Winston Forrest was a youth pastor at Pioneer Baptist Church in Abilene, Texas. In 1998, there were allegations against him for sexual abuse. Children’s Protective Services investigated but the police did not pursue as there were discrepancies between the child’s two interviews. He did not face justice for 23 more years.
That victim got to testify when Forrest was finally prosecuted in 2021. In 2011, an adult who had been abuse by Forrest since he was six years old until he was in 7th or 8th grade came forward. A new CPS investigation was opened, but nothing happened again.
He admitted the abuse to his wife who stayed with him, but then divorced him and said she needed sole custody because he molested children. There was another CPS investigation and while he had not molested his own children, they learned he had molested several people. He was arrested in 2015, but skipped on bail, fleeing to Mexico where he was finally arrested four years later.
He was convicted in April 2021. He was sentenced to 99 years in prison for two counts, running concurrently.
- Abilene Reporter News: Update: Jeffrey Forrest found guilty of child sexual assault charges
- The Cinemaholic: Where is Serial Child Abuser Jeffrey Forrest Now?
- Abilene Reporter News: Forrest given 99 years for each conviction of sexual assault of a child
