Charges dropped against Granby pastor

Charges have been dropped against a Granby pastor accused of molesting two members of his congregation while they were underage.

While a case review hearing was originally set for this afternoon, 17 child sexual abuse charges against George Otis Johnston, 66, of Granby were dropped Monday, according to Newton County Assistant Prosecutor Bill Dobbs. The review was to have taken place in Vernon County Circuit Court, where the case was moved from Newton County on a change of venue.

“After we did substantial discovery and reviewed all of the evidence and spoke with the victims, we just believe at this time, it was most appropriate to dismiss the pending charges,” Dobbs said. “There has been some additional information come forward in which some of the witnesses we believed would offer corroborating testimony either recanted their story or did not confirm what we had been told. Because of that, we believe prosecuting the case is not viable.”

Dobbs added at the present time, there are no plans to refile any of the charges.

Johnston faced 17 felony child sexual abuse counts in Newton County, including nine counts of first degree statutory sodomy, a Class A felony; six Class C felony charges of second-degree statutory sodomy; and two Class C felony counts of first-degree child molestation.

In the summer of 2006, two women testified Johnston had molested them as children while they attended his church, Grandview Valley Independent Baptist Church. One woman said the abuse began when she was a child and continued until she left the church compound shortly after her 17^th birthday. When she was older, the woman testified, the pastor told her he was ordained by God and it would tarnish her if she slept with another man. But if she slept with him, she would remain pure. She said she did not have sexual intercourse with the pastor.

Her older sister said Johnston also molested her, with some of the alleged incidents happening while he was supposed to be tutoring her in algebra. The older sibling said she considered the pastor to be her grandfather because, although the two are not related, he was the community’s spiritual leader.

Dobbs said he has spoken with the two women, and while they stick by their testimony, they concur with the decision to drop the charges.

“This was a very complex case, and it continues to be a very complex case,” Dobbs said. “But you get to a point when it reaches a point of diminishing returns.”

Johnston was one of six area church leaders who were charged with child sexual abuse a few years ago. Others who were charged were Johnston’s nephew, Raymond Lambert; Lambert’s wife, Patty; her brothers Tom and Paul Epling, and Tom Epling’s wife, Laura. Raymond Lambert pastored the Grand Valley Independent Baptist Church located near Powell, while the Epling brothers were deacons in the church. The Epling brothers and Patty Lambert are the children of church founder Cecil Epling, who died as a result of injuries suffered in a traffic accident in 1982. Cecil Epling was also the stepfather of Raymond Lambert, making Lambert and his wife, as well as the Epling brothers, step-siblings. Johnston’s church was an offshoot of the McDonald County church.

The Lamberts and the Epling brothers were accused of child sexual abuse charges stemming from incidents that allegedly occurred between 1977 and 2004. But charges against all five were dropped by Prosecuting Attorney Janice Durbin in 2008. In a statement at the time, Durbin said because of “incessant publicity” in the case, the victims were forced to decide “that they can no longer subject themselves or their families to the ongoing scrutiny and pressures of a very public proceeding.”

“Victim testimony is crucial and necessary to prosecute cases such as these,” the statement read. “Therefore, after consultation and discussion with the victims, the state has agreed to dismiss the charges.”

Earlier that year, Durbin decided to drop the charges against Laura Epling, citing reluctance of victims to testify as the reason.