GREENSBURG, Ind. - An Indiana minister has been arrested, accused of sodomy and sexual abuse against a child under 12 years of age. Duncan Aker, Jr. is now the pastor at Greensburg Christian Church. But the sex charges stem from his last calling as a minister in Vanceburg, Kentucky.
In Greensburg, neighbors and church members expressed shock, disbelief and anger at the news. Many say 63-year-old Duncan Aker was more than a minister.
Debbie Powers and her mom live next door to Aker and his wife.
"He's just a nice neighborhood man from the time he moved in the neighborhood," Powers said. "He mowed lawns, helped with gardening and helped carry in groceries."
Powers' mom, Colleen Hawkins, attended church at Greensburg Christian, where Aker serves as pastor. Now, they've learned he's accused of violating a child.
"He is a nice man. I'm not going to believe this until somebody can prove it to me," Hawkins said.
"I just can't believe he'd be involved in something like that ," Powers added. "It must be a mistake."
Greensburg Police say they arrested Aker on May 3 on warrant out of Kentucky. They jailed him in Greensburg, then extradited him south.
Aker was a minister in Vanceburg, Kentucky before moving to Indiana. Kentucky State Police have been investigating him for four months.
A grand jury indictment alleges Aker sexually abused a child in Kentucky multiple times between 2007 and 2010. The indictment alleges the abuse occurred in Aker's car, his home, even inside the Vanceburg church where he preached.
"It makes me angry. Very angry," said Rhonda Rigby, who attended Aker's current church in Greensburg, but only for a month.
"I just started getting some bad vibes," Rigby explained. "I watched him with kids. They seemed to like him, but he said that he always made sure that he was out in the open with them. I kind of...that made me suspicious of, why, if you're not guilty, then why do you even have to say that?"
Rigby says she just didn't feel right around this minister. Still, the alleged crimes against a child, especially inside a church, disturbed and surprised her.
"Oh my lord! It's just really shocking! I mean...now I know what my bad vibes were about," Rigby said.
Eyewitness News went to Duncan Aker's home. His wife answered the door, but refused to talk about the allegations. Her husband remains in a Kentucky jail on $200,000 bond.
Greensburg Police say Aker is not being investigated for any crimes in Indiana. He's due in a Kentucky court on the felony sex charges there on Friday.
