MESQUITE, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – A Mesquite Youth Pastor is facing allegations of child sexual assault spanning eight years.
Connor “Jesse” Penny, 32, was arrested on April 5 after the Mesquite Police Department received a report of a delayed sexual assault of a child.
Investigators said Penny, who was working as the Youth Pastor at the Inspiration Church, formerly known as Mimosa Lane Baptist Church, had sexual contact with a female under the age of 17 years of age multiple times between 2015 and 2018.
Penny’s previous employers include the Mesquite Independent School District and the City of Mesquite where he worked as a Teacher’s Aide and a counselor through the Recreational After School Program (RASP).
Since his arrest, additional victims have made outcries of abuse by Penny happening between 2013 and 2021 with arrest warrants also obtained.
Penny is currently being held in the Dallas County Jail on a $2.5 million dollar bond for one count each of continuous sexual abuse of a child, aggravated sexual assault of a child and indecency with a child.
If anyone has information regarding Penny that may be beneficial to the investigation or was a victim of abuse, please contact the Mesquite Police Department at 972-285-6336 ext. 0 or Detective Christopherson at lchristo@mesquitepolice.org.