STOVER, MO -- A mid-Missouri pastor is charged with sex crimes against children.
Prosecutors charged Travis Smith with 2nd degree child molestation and 2nd degree statutory rape.
Both cases involve girls who attended his church in Stover, Missouri.
According to court documents, a girl, 14, told officials in July that Smith, 40, touched her inappropriately. The minor said the incident happened at the end of May, right after she turned 14.
The girl told a detective she went with Smith and his daughter to Ivy Bend where they fished. The girl said Smith went to check on her fishing pole and put his hands on her chest.
The teen told a detective later in the night she was lying in a bedroom when Smith came in touched her inside her shorts.
Smith faces 2nd degree molestation in this case.
The detective said these allegations reminded him of previous accusations against Smith that were made in 2008. That prompted the detective to review the previous case.
He interviewed the woman who made those allegations. She’s now of legal age. She told him she had a sexual relationship with Smith, which started when she was 15 years old. Smith was 33 at the time.
She said their relationship lasted from July 2004 through July 2007.
According to court documents, the woman told the detective she knew the relationship was wrong. She said Smith was the pastor at her church, he was much older than her, and he was married.
The woman said their relationship began when Smith helped her with past family issues. She told the detective his positive comments turned into sexual ones.
The woman told the detective she had sex with Smith in several places, including his church in Stover.
The woman said Smith had affairs with many females, both older and younger. She also said she wanted something to be done so this didn’t happen to anyone else.
Prosecutors charged Smith with 2nd degree statutory rape in this case.
Officials say Smith turned himself in.
He was released after posting a $50,000 cash-only bond.
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