BENTONVILLE, ARKANSAS: A former Bentonville youth pastor has reportedly been sentenced to 60 years in prison after being charged with multiple sex-related crimes involving more than 30 victims. Keenan Hord, 33, who served as youth pastor at First Baptist Church of Bentonville, from 2018 to 2022, pleaded guilty to 13 in Benton County circuit court on February 24.
Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren ruled Hord to and to avoid contact with any of the victims or any children, according to the Democrat-Gazette. The former pastor is facing 60 years in prison and is eligible for parole in 15 years. Hord was first arrested in August 2022 when he was charged with and possessing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child. However, prosecutors later brought additional charges against him, including multiple first- and second-degree sexual assault offenses, according to .
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What are the allegations against Keenan Hord?
During the bond hearing, county prosecutors stated that there are potentially more than thirty victims, according to . Court documents noted that Hord, who also worked at Bellevue Baptist Church, engaged in “sexual intercourse or deviate sexual activity” with multiple minors in 2020 and 2021 when was employed “in a position of trust or authority over the victims.” As per , Bentonville Police seized multiple electronic devices from Hord’s residence during their investigation.
Bentonville Police Sgt Josh Woodham revealed that investigators examined a cellphone belonging to one of the victims that revealed a romantic and sexual relationship between Hord and the boy. He added that the boy exchanged more than 5000 texts with the suspect. The former pastor was arrested in 2022, just a few days after First Baptist Bentonville made a report to the Arkansas State Police child abuse hotline.
'We have been devastated'
“We have been devastated to learn that a former employee of our church has been credibly accused of abusing adolescents during his tenure at our church.,” First Baptist Bentonville said in a statement to at the time. “While these accusations did not come to light until after his employment ended, when we learned of them we immediately contacted our local authorities, made a report to the Arkansas Child Abuse Hotline, and continue to fully support the ongoing law enforcement investigation."
Following Hord’s sentencing, the church released another statement, “We are so proud of the courageous survivors and their families for coming forward and we are grateful to law enforcement for thoroughly investigating these crimes. We know that our Lord is the God of all comfort and we know that He is near to the broken-hearted. We have been honored to minister to and support these families as they heal. God is not neutral on the abuse of the innocent and we rest in His justice.”
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