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Jacob Coyle, a youth pastor at Averyville Baptist Church in East Peoria, Illinois, stands accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting a male church teenager.
The Journal Star reports:
Jacob Lee Coyle, 36, remained in custody Tuesday, one day after $100,000 bond was set on charges of criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
A Tazewell County prosecutor’s court affidavit stated Coyle, of Peoria, acknowledged committing the acts the affidavit described.
Coyle remained employed at Averyville Baptist Church as of Friday, when police interviewed and arrested him, the affidavit stated. The church’s pastor was unavailable for comment Tuesday.
The young man first told police in October that Coyle had sexual contact with him on “multiple occasions” over four years beginning in January 2006 when he was between ages 13 and 17, the affidavit stated.
He said that after joining the church on Spring Bay Road at age 12, he and other young parishioners worshipped on Sundays and took part in youth activities with the church’s “teen unit” led by Coyle, the affidavit stated.
The alleged victim said Coyle “began a frequent practice of ‘cracking’ or rubbing youths’ backs during youth program activities,” the affidavit stated.
By age 13, he’d developed a close friendship with Coyle, who often asked him to come to the church alone to help him with various projects, the young man said. Soon the back massages led to sexual activity, the young man said.
All of the encounters took place at the church, mostly in a guest bedroom known as the “prophet’s chambers,” except for one Coyle allegedly committed at a church camp, the man said.
The church’s website is currently offline. You can access their Facebook page here.
According to cached pages of the church’s website, Averyville Baptist is a:
…an Old-Fashioned, Independent, Fundamental, Premillennial, Bible-believing Baptist Church, like the Church your Grandparents attended, and like the Church your parents were raised in.
Jacob Coyle is the son of Averyville Baptist pastor David Coyle. Jacob graduated in 2004 from Averyville Baptist School. Typical of many IFB churches, Averyville Baptist is operated by the pastor and his family. Averyville Baptist formerly operated Fellowship Baptist College.
