A former Alabama Baptist music minister shot and killed himself April 3 after being charged recently with sexually abusing an 11-year-old girl.
Stephen Lyle "Steve" Whittaker, who served as part-time pastor of Beaver Creek Baptist Church, Baker, Fla., was charged March 12 with felony sexual abuse and released on $5,000 bond until his trial, according to The Mobile Press-Register.
Whittaker, 40, had been working in Evergreen for a few days and living in a travel trailer in his father’s yard for about a week. His father and sister heard the gunshot and found Whittaker in the trailer, along with a note with his wishes for his funeral and burial, according to the Press-Register.
"It’s very much a tragedy. We’ve had a lot of phone calls … with people wondering, ‘Is that the Steve we know?’" said Pat Andrews, director of missions for Escambia Baptist Association.
Despite serving in Florida, Whittaker’s home was in Brewton. He had also served as music director in "two or three" of the association’s churches, Andrews said.
One of those churches was in the process of considering calling him back when the news about the abuse came out, Andrews added.
Whittaker was accused of fondling the girl, according to Brewton Police Sgt. Eric Suarez. The girl’s mother called police after her daughter told schoolmates she had been repeatedly abused by Whittaker, the Press-Register reported.
Suarez said Whittaker did surrender at the police station and "after a brief interview admitted touching the child several times," but Whittaker said the touching was accidental and "happened as they were playing."
"I guess it was all just too much for him to bear," said Conecuh County Sheriff Edwin Booker, who responded to the scene of the suicide. (TAB)
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