August 8, 2023
By: Dwayne Page
A local clergyman indicted two weeks ago in a child sex crime made his first court appearance Monday, August 7.
James Michael Carpenter accompanied by his attorney Jeff Cherry of Lebanon appeared before Judge Wesley Bray in DeKalb County Criminal Court for arraignment. He entered a not guilty plea to the indictment and will be back in court on November 7. Bond for Carpenter was set at $75,000 and he was ordered to surrender his passport and instructed not to leave the state. Carpenter had been held without bond since his arrest.
Carpenter has pastored or been involved in several local churches and has reportedly participated in ministry mission trips over the years.
The victim in this case was 4 years old at the time of the alleged first offense.
According to the indictment, Carpenter “on or about April 17, 2015 to April 17, 2017 in DeKalb County and before the finding of this indictment did unlawfully make sexual contact with a minor child less than 13 years of age in violation of state law”.