A pastor of a church in Oklahoma City was arrested Wednesday, Sept. 22, after a man videotaped him inappropriately touching his 9-year-old son at a school bus stop, local police said.
According to police, the man who recorded Michael Eric Coghill abusing the boy confronted him and ended up beating him.
In the image distributed by the police, Coghill, 33, can be seen with severe injuries and bruises on his face.
According to the newspaper The Oklahoman, the subject ended up with a skull fracture and a broken eye socket.
Some media reported that the man who managed to record it was the father of one of Coghill's minor victims.
According to the local newspaper, Coghill was a discipleship minister for the Church of Christ-Lakehoma, in the city of Mustang, Oklahoma.
Following the incident, the church issued a statement lamenting what had happened and reported that Coghill was fired from his post.
A boy told the man who confronted Coghill that a man was jogging at the bus stop and touching young people while they were waiting for school transportation, The Oklahoman reported.
The witness told police that the boy told him that "the guy had touched him on the back and he didn't like the way it made him feel."
[
An audio reveals allegations of abuse of migrant children by the staff of a government shelter
]
The witness, whose identity was not disclosed, decided to park his vehicle near the bus stop on Wednesday.
He narrated that he saw the man trotting past the stop before the children arrived and then returned, when the children were waiting for the bus.
The man told police he saw Coghill and recorded him beginning to touch one of the children.
When Coghill tried to escape, the man stopped him and a confrontation ensued until he managed to hold him on the floor and called the police.
According to the Oklahoman report, the police took Coghill to a medical center where doctors informed him of the fractures, although the suspect did not need surgery and was transferred to the Oklahoma County jail.
They denounce a pedophile network that uses fake profiles on TikTok
Sept.
21, 202002: 36
Coghill was arrested on charges of lewd and indecent acts towards a child, police reported on their Facebook page.
The church where Coghill was pastor assured that he did not have a record for similar events.
“We were shocked to learn of this news through social media today.
Mike has a clean record and we have received no reports or complaints against him during his time at Lakehoma.
We will cooperate fully with the authorities when necessary, ”the church statement said.
