Conservative Christian pastor arrested for child rape after allegedly grooming underage girl
A 27-year-old right-wing youth pastor from Arlington, Washington has been charged with two counts of third-degree child rape for allegedly sexually abusing a girl who at the time was just 15 years old.
The Everett Herald reports that prosecutors are alleging that Kendal Kippen met a 15-year-old girl at a youth group in 2017, when Kippen was at the time 22 years old.
The two became friends and exchanged contact information, which the girl told prosecutors flattered her at the time. The girl also said that she felt comfortable exchanging her information with Kippen because he was a church leader, which she figured meant he would not take advantage of his position.
The pair's relationship eventually grew to be sexual in nature, however, and prosecutors allege that Kippen repeatedly urged her to not tell anyone about their relationship until she turned 16 years old, which is the legal age of consent in Washington.
Additionally, it appears that the 15-year-old girl wasn't the only member of the church who drew Kippen's attentions, as an anonymous tipster called police in 2020 to report that he had been having "inappropriate relations" with multiple young congregants.
“The caller was concerned because it appeared the leaders of the church, which included the defendant’s father, were attempting to handle the situation without involving law enforcement," prosecutors allege.
Kippen's Twitter account shows that he frequently retweets messages from prominent conservatives such as Ben Shapiro. His pinned tweet reads, "I believe the greatest threat to America is the deterioration of the family unit. Until family is restored, we will be hard pressed to heal a hurting nation."