Story - The Meade County Messenger


Vol. 119. No.9	MARCH 3 , 2010

Pastor appears in district court

Waives right to prelim hearing,
remains out of jail on bond

Marion Barnes, accused of five counts of sexual abuse, appeared in District Court Feb. 24, where he waived his right to a preliminary hearing.

Barnes was arrested on Feb. 15, accused of two counts of sexual abuse, 3rd degree and three counts of sexual abuse, 1st degree against a minor.

The abuse is alleged to have been ongoing for at least three years and occurred in his Ekron home with his then-minor niece.

Barnes was the senior pastor of Glad Tidings Christian Center in Brandenburg.

He arrived in court shortly before 1 p.m. with his wife Cheryl, who was greeted with hugs from some of the approximately dozen people there to support them.

His accuser, Alexandria Owens, sat on the opposite side of the courtroom with her lawyer and three other people.

The court also ordered that Barnes could remain out of jail on a $10,000 bond, and issued an order of protection requiring him to have no contact with the victim.

The case was set to be presented to the next session of the Meade County Grand Jury, March 8.

Typically, a grand jury is a panel of citizens that hear evidence in a closed session to determine if there is enough evidence to proceed with a full trial.

He was ordered to have no public offenses, alcohol, illegal drugs, must stay 500 feet away from the victim, and cannot have any contact with children under 18 or be in an establishment where children are present.

Another child under their supervision, age 11, is now staying with her father in Louisville.
According to Terri Karnes, a spokeswoman for the church, the alleged abuse did not happen on church property.

“Glad Tidings and all its members are requesting the community to pray for our church and all those involved,” she said in a statement.

Barnes’ minister license has since been suspended by the Assemblies of God Church, and the Glad Tidings website was not available soon after.

Barnes was installed as a senior pastor there Jan. 15, 2006.

The Barnes began attending Glad Tidings in 1988 and served as associate pastors there from 1991 to 1996.

They then moved to Louisville, where Barnes assumed the pastorate of New Hope World Outreach Center in the Portland area.

There, they helped to organize the River City Love Squad, which conducted outreach to homeless people.

Barnes has also served as chairman of the Meade County Clothes Closet’s board of directors.
It is unclear from reports why the Barnes’ had custody of the two girls or when the victim moved out of their home.

According to the police report, the alleged offenses occurred over a span of three years, with the most recent occurring Feb. 8.

Other offense dates are said to have occurred on May 16, 2008, Sept. 25, 2008, Jan. 7, 2009, and Nov. 25, 2009.

The police report says the abuse happened “on average one to two times a week for three years. The victim told us typically if she wanted to go to the movies for example or to do something, the perp would make her sit with him while he masturbated.” It went on to describe touching of the victim’s body that was sexual in nature.

Neither party could be reached for comment.

Barnes is expected in court Wednesday, Feb. 24.

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