A Marathon pastor who authorities said was on the run after his arrest last month for allegedly sexually battering a teen girl has been taken into custody in Texas Friday, officials said.
Monte LaVelle Chitty, 62, was arrested around 5 p.m. in Woodville, Texas, Monroe County Sheriff's Office officials said.
Chitty reportedly approached a Texas church group that was working with the homeless. A church member there contacted law enforcement, and he was taken into custody, officials said.
A photo released by the sheriff's office showed Chitty in custody in a law enforcement vehicle.
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Monroe deputies had arrested Chitty, a pastor at First Baptist Church, last month on charges of sexual battery, lewd and lascivious behavior, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
An investigation began after an anonymous caller reported overhearing a girl telling another adult that she had been raped, authorities said.
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The victim, a 15-year-old girl, told detectives Chitty gave her alcohol that she believed might have been spiked because she immediately began to feel weak and passed out after drinking it, deputies said. When she woke up, she found Chitty was sexually molesting her.
Chitty had called authorities beforehand because "he believed he was about to be accused of something and he wanted to get ahead of it," deputies said. He said a young girl at his church had been drinking, so he helped her lie down on a couch in the church's library and claimed he did not touch her after that.
Detectives later found text messages between the victim and Chitty where Chitty allegedly talked about having sexual relations with the girl while she was impaired.
Chitty, who had also been a registered volunteer with the Monroe County Sheriff's Office as a pastor, was being held on a $1.3 million bond, officials said.
