Alabama pastor jailed on child sex charge involving 7-year-old girl

Alabama pastor jailed on child sex charge involving 7-year-old girl

A pastor at an east Jefferson County church is in jail on a child sex charge.

The Rev. Kenneth Harold Daniel, pastor at First Baptist Church of Chalkville, is charged with facilitating solicitation of unlawful sexual conduct with a child, jail records show.

The 64-year-old suspect was booked into the Blount County Jail on the felony charge Wednesday at 11:38 p.m.

According to charging documents against Daniel, the alleged crimes took place between January 2020 and earlier this month.

A 7-year-old victim told her grandfather that Daniel had been sexually abusing her. The girl reported that Daniel had touched her numerous times on her private parts and that it had happened at his residence, a pool party and at the church.

The victim and her grandfather live in Blount County. Daniel lives in Alabaster.

“Daniel contacted the grandfather by phone for arrangements to bring the victim to the locations of disclosed sexual abuse,’’ records state. Daniel also provided the grandfather with directions to those locations.

Daniel remained in the Blount County Jail Thursday night. Church officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the pastor’s arrest.