70-year-old Pastor jailed for molesting own grandchildren

oge okonkwo

January 27, 2015 5:25 PM

Pastor Roy Harriger was found guilty of two counts of coercive criminal sexual conduct with a child after the jurors announced their verdict

A jury has found a 70-year-old pastor guilty of molesting his own grandchildren over twelve years ago.

Roy Harriger was found guilty of two counts of coercive criminal sexual conduct with a child after the jurors announced their verdict, which was received with tears in a crowded courtroom in Orleans County, New York.

Pastor Harriger is accused of molesting two of his own grand kids about 12 years ago while serving as pastor of the Wesleyan Church in Lyndonville.

After he was arrested last year, up to fifteen people came forward saying that the pastor touched them sexually as children.

But the case couldn't be prosecuted because the statute of limitations had passed.

One family member said, “I thought of him as my father. The only dad I knew. And for him to do this to my kids killed me because I couldn’t believe that a man who was supposed to be a man of God would do this, to anybody.

So I just thank whoever is up there, putting him away for good, where he needs to go. I want my kids to enjoy the rest of their lives knowing that he’s in jail.”

oge okonkwo