By bob mims

| The Salt Lake Tribune

A former Weber County youth pastor has pleaded guilty to two counts of rape as part of a plea bargain stemming from a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl in his flock.

Under terms of the plea agreement, Aaron Witcher — known locally as the rapping "Pastor Soulja" — will not face six other counts of first-degree felony rape, Witcher’s attorney, Gregory Smith, confirmed Thursday.

Photos

• 

	Join the Discussion
	Post a Comment

Witcher, 38, was booked into Weber County Jail in November. He is scheduled for sentencing on his guilty pleas March 23 before 2nd District Judge Ernie Jones in Ogden.

Witcher faces a prison term of 5 years to life on each of the counts, Smith said.

The charges stemmed from a Roy police investigation in which Witcher was alleged to have begun a sexual relationship with a teenage girl during the summer of 2010. The investigation began in early August, after a Roy police officer found the two in a parked car and became suspicious.

Under questioning, police said that the pair eventually acknowledged that their relationship was sexual.

Investigators also have said they were looking into other possible relationships between Witcher and underage girls. Smith declined Thursday to comment on that.

Specifically, detectives were looking into Witcher’s past pastoral assignments at New Pilgrim Baptist Church in southern Salt Lake County and more recently the Genesis Project church in Ogden. Investigators say Witcher had been asked to leave Genesis.

In September, Witcher moved to Roy to begin his Crosswalk Christian Training Center. One of those who left Genesis to join his new flock was the girl with whom he began the sexual relationship, police said.

Genesis Pastor Matt Roberts has previously confirmed that his church had fired Witcher for "behavior that was not becoming of a minister." Roberts declined to specify what led to the termination, though he said the behavior involved was not of a sexual nature.

Pastor Corey Hodges of New Pilgrim has said Witcher — who worked in evangelistic ministry, not with youth at his church — had left voluntarily in 2006 "to pursue other ministry opportunities." Hodges, too, said Witcher’s decision to leave New Pilgrim had nothing to do with sexual matters.