Timothy Clinton Pruitt
On Wednesday, Timothy Clinton Pruitt Sr., 72, of Sherwood Forest Drive, North Wilkesboro, pleaded guilty to three counts each of first-degree statutory sex offense, indecent liberties with a child and sexual act by a substitute parent or custodian. First-degree statutory sex offense is charged when the victim is under age 13.
Judge R. Stuart Albright of Greensboro, presiding in Wilkes Superior Court, also ordered that Pruitt permanently have no contact with the victim and that he register as a sex offender for 30 years.
Pruitt was charged with showing pornography to a juvenile female and “pressing against the victim’s clothes, including sometimes underwear, over her genital area with a vibrating device and-or his fingers.” The offenses occurred on multiple occasions in Pruitt’s home between Januaary 1, 2020, and April 16, 2023 according to court documents.
When investigators asked Pruitt about the pornography, Pruitt’s response was that “it depends on what you call pornography.”
Pruitt was a preacher at two churches, Peace Haven Baptist Church and then as founding pastor of Journey of Grace Baptist Church, for a total of 47 years.
Wilkes Journal Patriot
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