| BRYAN, Texas (BP)--A minister from Prestonwood Baptist Church has been arrested in a sting operation for soliciting sex with a minor. Joe Barron, 52, a minister to married adults at the Dallas-area church, was arrested May 15 in Bryan, Texas. Barron had made a three-hour drive to Bryan to have sex with a girl he thought was 13 but, instead, was a police officer he had been chatting with online in a sting operation, according to The Eagle, a local newspaper for the Bryan-College Station area. Mike Buster, executive pastor at Prestonwood, issued a two-sentence statement to the media May 16, noting, "We are disturbed and saddened by the reports we have heard and we are praying for the Barron family. We are fully cooperating with the police in their investigation." Barron had been on Prestonwood's staff for 18 months. As of Friday afternoon, Barron was still being held at the Brazos County Detention Center in Bryan on $7,000 bail, charged with online solicitation of a minor. If convicted for the second-degree felony, he could face up to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, The Eagle reported. The Eagle stated that Barron had counseled married couples at Prestonwood and was to lead a mission trip to Colombia, South America, in August. On May 16, however, Barron's information had been removed from Prestonwood's website. Compiled by Baptist Press editor Art Toalston. Copyright (c) 2008 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press www.BPNews.net |