UPDATED: Pastor Pleads Guilty To Sex Charges Involving Teen Parishioner:

The pastor of a small church Newton County church has pleaded guilty to sex charges involving teenage parishioners.

50-year-old Randall D. "Danny" Russell of Neosho entered the pleas to first-degree child molestation and sexual exploitation of a minor yesterday (03-10-09.)

Russell testified that he engaged in sexual relations with a girl who was younger than 14 between November 1996 and March 1997.

At Russell's preliminary hearing a woman testified that the Acts II Church pastor raped, molested and sodomized her when she was 16.....telling her the sexual encounters were to please God.

Russell also admitted that he took sexual photographs of a girl younger than 18 in September 2004.

In exchange for the plea, prosecutors will drop 18 other sex related felony charges against the self anointed church leader.

Russell is scheduled to be sentenced April 21 in McDonald County where the case was moved on a change of venue.

UPDATE (04-21-09):

The self appointed pastor of a small southwest Missouri church has been sentenced to two 15 year prison terms for molesting teen parishioners in his church.

50-year-old Randall "Danny" Russell of Neosho pleaded guilty to first-degree child molestation and sexual exploitation of a minor last month in a plea deal with prosecutors.

Three women testified against the Acts II preacher's preliminary hearing in June that Russell either raped, molested or sodomized them when they were minors.

One of them said that Russell told her the sex acts were to please God.

As part of the plea agreement prosecutors dropped 18 other sex related charges that Russell was facing.

Russell was sentenced to the two 15 year concurrent (at the same time) terms in McDonald County were the case was moved on a change of venue.

https://www.courts.mo.gov/casenet/cases/searchCases.do
08NW-CR00862-02 - ST V RANDALL D RUSSELL
08NW-CR01489-02 - ST V RANDALL D RUSSELL