Married Kentucky pastor arrested on child sex charges for relationship with minor that he claims was 'consensual'

A Kentucky pastor has been arrested on child sex charges for having an illicit relationship with a minor that he claims was 'consensual.'

Zachary King, 47, the former pastor at LexCity Church in Lexington, was arrested on Monday on charges of rape, sodomy and sexual abuse, according to an arrest citation, according to Fox56 News. 

King, who is married, told a detective from the Lexington Police Department that the relationship with the 15-year-old started in January 2023 that lasted until April 2024. 

He confessed to the sex crimes telling authorities that he had 'sexual intercourse in the minor's home, at his residence, and at the church where he was a former pastor,' Lex 18 News reported.

 He communicated with the teen through Snapchat and WhatsApp, and would 'receive sexually explicit images' from her on the social platform.

Zachary King, a pastor at LexCity Church in Lexington, told detectives he started the relationship with the fifteen-year-old in January 2023 that lasted until April 2023

After members of the Lexington City Church confronted him about the allegations, he resigned from his position, as per the citation

King is pictured smiling during the baptism of a member of the church 

After members of the church confronted him about the allegations, he resigned from his position, as per the citation.  

He is scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday.

King told the podcast Off the Record hosted by Pastor Brian Classen about his relationship with his wife back in February 2022. 

He revealed: 'At times, where I am frustrated and my needs are not being met - and annoyed by things I shouldn't be annoyed by - is when my wife and I are disconnected and we haven't talked about it and we just kind of let it sit.

'We become really good co-parents and roommates in those seasons - where it's like we just got to get the kids to the next place and get through the next day, almost like surviving until you can go to bed.

'So things that wouldn't never really bother me normally you are treating the symptoms, but you are not treating the root of the problem and I just have to sit there and pray and ask the Lord to reveal the root - typically it's me - my frustration is actually something I'm not doing - so it is really not you it's me in this scenario.'

He also said of his marriage: 'I actually find I am guilty of not just comparing your partner to someone else, but comparing them to the former them.'

Last week, megachurch Pastor Robert Morris, 62, the founder and senior pastor of Gateway Church in Southlake - one of the largest megachurches in the country - was accused of sexually abusing former family friend Cindy Clemishire in the 1980s, when she was just 12 years old.

Clemishire, now 54, finally went public with her allegations in a blog post on The Wartburg Watch - a website dedicated to exposing abuse in churches.

He was reported to have once asked his accuser how much it would cost to silence, her, a phone transcript revealed.