Former youth pastor charged with child rape

LONGVIEW, Wash. - A former youth minister at Calvary Chapel is accused of abusing one of the girls he was supposed to help guide.

Michael Louis Anthony, 43, is charged with having a sexual relationship with a then 15-year-old girl and is currently in jail.

One place police allege Anthony had sex with the girl is in the lobby of the chapel, and they say the sexual encounters started in September 2008 and continued until earlier this month.

Police said the victim told them that she had sex with Anthony at least 200 times.

Anthony was caught at Gerhart Gardens Park in Longview when a police officer walked up on him and the victim in a parked car. She was partially unclothed and Anthony had no shirt on.

According to court documents, Anthony eventually “confessed he was in a sexual relationship” with the underage victim and that her “parents were aware of the relationship”.

A woman who answered the door at Anthony’s home in Longview Wednesday said that the family is devastated and didn’t want to talk about what happened.

 The Calvary Chapel dismissed Anthony back in September so he and his wife could work on their marriage, according to court documents.

The couple has two children.

The church pastor didn’t respond to a request for comment.