A pastor with 15 and a half years of service at his church was arrested on June 30 for sexual exploitation of a minor, 3rd degree.
Daniel “Dan” Keith Rabon, 62, was taken into custody by the Lexington County Sheriff’s Office. According to an affidavit sent to Baptist Press from the Attorney General’s office, Rabon had “over 26 or more image and video files of morphed images of identifiable minors engaged in sexual activity or in a state of sexually explicit nudity.”
A cell phone that was seized during the arrest and belonged to Rabon contained the files, according to the affidavit. The charges are based on the search of the phone, social media evidence and statements from Rabon and the victims.
According to Annual Church Profile reports, Rabon served bivocationally as the senior pastor at Taylor Street Baptist Church in Cayce, joining the church in January 2011. It is his only place of ministry recorded through ACP.
New South Carolina bill in effect
In May, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed South Carolina House Bill 4804 (H. 4804) into law. Backed with bipartisan support, the legislation expands criminal penalties for child sexual abuse material and digital child exploitation, such as morphed images.
A third-degree charge includes possession of a range of 26-250 images, punishable from 1 to 10 years in prison. Rabon was released on $125,000 bond and placed under GPS monitoring, according to news reports.
“We at Taylor Street Baptist Church are shocked and in disbelief at the current situation we have found our church family in,” the church said in a statement. “We are fully cooperating with the investigation and helping law enforcement in any way we can. At this time, the only knowledge or information we have is what is already known to the public.
“We were advised by law enforcement to remove our social media page to prevent further families from being targeted. We ask that all those who do to please pray for the victims and their families as well as the members of our congregation.”
If you are/have been a victim of sexual abuse or suspect sexual abuse by a pastor, staff member or member of a Southern Baptist church or entity, please reach out for help at sbcabuseprevention.com/helpline or call 833-611-HELP.
— Scott Barkley is chief national correspondent for Baptist Press.