20 Years in Prison for Former Youth Pastor from Park Hills

(Farmington) A former youth pastor from Park Hills pleaded guilty to first degree statutory rape Tuesday in St. Francois County court.

35-year-old Brian Cassidy was given 10 years in prison for this case.

The charges stem from a December 2017 incident where a girl under the age of 17 said Cassidy had intercourse with her on two separate occasions and had touched her inappropriately in multiple instances.

She also stated another 15-year-old had a sexual relationship with Cassidy and provided screenshots of Facebook messages showing she was going to blackmail him.

Cassidy was the youth pastor at the First Baptist Church in East Bonne Terre at the time these incidents would have occurred.

In January of this year, Cassidy pleaded guilty to first degree child molestation from a 2014 incident.

He was also given 10 years for that charge Tuesday.

The sentences for Cassidy will run consecutively, 20 years of prison in all.