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High-profile Florida pastor charged with sexual assault in Tennessee

Posted at 8:25 PM, Feb 20, 2018
and last updated 2018-02-21 07:37:07-05

A high-profile church pastor was charged with sexually assaulting two young sisters while he was in Murfreesboro, Tennessee for a religious conference.

Florida pastor David Rowan was arrested there Tuesday. He's was indicted on rape, unlawful sexual contact and sexual battery by an authority figure.

The arrest stemmed from an alleged incident here in Middle Tennessee back in 2014. Rowan was a guest speaker at a religious convention in Murfreesboro.

Sex crimes detectives said he convinced the parents of two girls to let him take them to lunch. The family was seeking spiritual guidance from Rowan and trusted him.

Police said he brought the 14 and 15-year-old sisters to a local hotel where he took advantage of the situation and molested them.

Rowan is a well-known pastor in Milton, Florida, not far from Pensacola. 

He was held in the Santa Rosa County Jail before being brought back to Tennessee in the next two weeks to face charges.

Scripps station WTVF in Nashville reached out to Faith Baptist Church in Florida. The staff there declined to comment.