US: Baptist church leader arrested after trying to have sex with dog
A Baptist church leader has been arrested after allegedly attempting to solicit sex with a dog.
According to reports, 56-year-old Jerald L Hill, who was President of the Windermere Baptist Conference Centre in Missouri, posted messages on Craigslist seeking dogs and other animals to have sex with.
He was arrested in Boone County on Tuesday on suspicion of attempted unlawful sex with an animal, after police received a tip about the posting.
A police spokesperson confirmed to the Columbia Tribune that one of the animals he had sought to have sex with was a dog, but declined to name other species.
Hill was released from jail on a $1,000 (£600) bond.
Tracy Perkins of Boone County Sheriff’s Department said in a release that a detective had exchanged emails with Hill, setting up a sting by offering a dog he could have sex with.
Hill made arrangements to travel to Columbia, and was arrested without incident when he arrived.
Arthur Mallory, Chairman of the Baptist Conference Center, said: “The board is very supportive of him and grateful for his work at Windermere.
“We are concerned for the well-being of Jerry…and we are also concerned with the well-being of Windermere.
“Windermere will continue to function in a good way. It is a significant piece of God’s kingdom’s work.”
In June, the Southern Baptist Convention – the largest Protestant church in the US – elected a leader who believes that homosexuality is a “con job” conceived by Satan.
