FIRST ON 3: Former Brunswick pastor pleads guilty to child sex offense

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A former Brunswick County minister will spend 12 to 15 years in prison following a plea deal on child sex offense charges.

Joseph Robert Hall pleaded guilty Monday morning to statutory rape charges. The incidents happened in the mid to late 1990s, but the crimes were not reported until 2014.

“I’ll tell you that it’s been a difficult thing for her. It’s something that she’s had to bear for quite sometime. I’d just like to note that Mr. Hall’s position in the church was a position of trust and he abused that. It’s going to leave scars beyond Hall’s prison sentence,” Assistant District Attorney Chris Thomas said.

Hall told authorities that he didn’t have intercourse with the victim until he felt she was age appropriate.

“He indicated that he in fact had a relationship beginning when she was 12, but did not have intercourse or sex with her while she was 12 or 13, but they just discussed sex. He explained that the sexual relationship started when she was 14 years old, because he thought that was the age of consent and it stopped when she was 16 years old,” Thomas said.

Hall was originally charged with four counts of indecent liberties and 11 counts of statutory sex offense in Brunswick County. Hall was currently living in Gaston County when the arrest happened. He was the ministry leader of a men’s group at Restoring Hope Foursquare Church in Dallas.

Thomas said the victim wants to move on, now the case is over.

“The victim desires no further contact with him or anyone on his behalf ever again.”

As a condition of his sentence, Hall will have to register as a sex offender for a period of 30 years.