St. Francois County youth pastor pleads guilty to child molestation

A former youth pastor from Park Hills has plead guilty to sexual assault.

35-year-old Brian Cassidy appeared in St. Francois County court Friday and withdrew his original not-guilty plea, instead taking a plea deal to admit to felony child molestation.

The charges stem from a December 2017 report where a girl under the age of 17 alleged Cassidy had intercourse with her on 2 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 First Baptist Church in Bonne Terre at the time these incidents would have occurred.

Cassidy will be back in court Tuesday for charges he faces in Ste. Genevieve County.

His sentencing for the charges in St. Francois County will be April 3rd.