A youth leader at an Evangelical megachurch in west-central Texas has been arrested and charged with child pornography, authorities said.
Charles Goff, who served as a youth volunteer at the Beltway Park Church in Abilene for approximately three years, reportedly told a member of the church he was struggling with his desire to watch child pornography — specifically videos of teen girls between the ages of 14 and 15.
The unnamed church member then contacted Abilene Police, according to local station KTXS.
During an investigation, Goff reportedly admitted to using multiple social media platforms to ask teenage girls for nude pictures and videos.
Investigators also found three graphic videos of underage teens on Goff’s cellphone, KBRC reported citing documents filed in court.
Goff was arrested Wednesday and charged with possession of child pornography. He was then booked into the Taylor County Jail, where he’s being held on a $100,000 bond.
David McQueen, Beltway’s lead pastor, said in a statement sent to the community Wednesday night that church officials were first made aware of “a serious matter” involving a now-former-volunteer in June 2024.
Without mentioning Goff’s name, McQueen said that “a former volunteer with our youth ministry confessed to soliciting inappropriate photos and videos of minors online.”
Authorities were notified “immediately,” McQueen said, adding that “currently there’s no indication that any minors from our church were involved in any inappropriate activity” with Goff.
According to the pastor, Goff passed a background check on two different occasions, as part of the church’s “normal safety protocol.” Once in 2022, before he became “an active volunteer,” and then again in 2024, “as part of our standard volunteer protocol,” McQueen said.
Beltway Park Church, a multi-site church affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, has a weekly in-person attendance of nearly 4,900 people, with another 3,600 people attending its services online.
More than 2,500 kids, from 8 weeks to 5th grade, are ministered to every week, and about 280 teens from 6th to 12th grades attend the church’s Wednesday night activities.
According to the church, it is “God’s design that sexual relationships be strictly heterosexual, and that all expressions of sexuality be reserved for a marriage relationship between a man and a woman.”