NEW BOSTON, Texas: A jury was chosen and trial began Monday in the case of a Texarkana, Ark., pastor accused of using his position to sexually abuse young girls.
Logan Wesley III, 56, is charged with 18 felonies involving three different women who claim they were assaulted by Wesley. The trial is being conducted at the New Boston High School auditorium to allow for greater social distancing because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
First Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp told the jury in opening statements that the evidence is going to be “much worse than you can imagine” and told the jury Wesley used his position as a church pastor to sexually abuse girls, one of whom is a relative, beginning in the 1990s.
Texarkana attorney Josh Potter, who is representing Wesley, asked the jury to listen carefully to the evidence and wait to form an opinion until all witnesses have testified.
Wesley is accused of sexually abusing at least one family member when she was a child and of abusing other girls he gained access to through his position as pastor of Trinity Temple Church of God in Christ in Texarkana, Ark. Some of the allegations against Wesley accuse him of molesting girls on church buses while parked at public parks in Texarkana, Texas.
Testimony is expected to continue Tuesday at the New Boston High School auditorium. 202nd District Judge John Tidwell is presiding over the trial.
Wesley faces the possibility of multiple life sentences if convicted.
