Pastor Tackled By Father Who Allegedly Witnessed Him Grope His 9-Year-Old Son At A Bus Stop
It's a good thing they caught him.
Oklahoma City Police Department In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, a 9-year-old boy was touched inappropriately by 33-year-old Michael Coghill while waiting for his school bus.
According to the police report from the Oklahoma City Police Department, the “guy touched him on the back and he didn’t like the way it made him feel.”
In response to the allegations, the boy's father took matter into his own hands.
The boy’s father tackled the pastor upon allegedly witnessing an incident.
After being made aware of the situation, the boy’s father decided to conduct his own stakeout.
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“Yesterday, our adult that was made aware of the situation, actually stopped, retrieved a recording device, monitored at the bus stop, observed and viewed the suspect run past the bus stop, stop, come back, and then touch the juvenile,” Oklahoma police Sgt. Dillon Quirk told KFOR.
Upon identifying the man, the father ran up and tackled the minister to the ground, fracturing his skull and cracking his eye socket — leaving scratches and bruises all over his face.
The police report also said that the man has jogged past the bus stop multiple times and that he seemed to know when the kids would arrive every day.
Lisa Ward, a witness whose children also wait at the same bus stop every day, shared her disgust with News 9.
“There’s hardly any words that are camera appropriate. It’s just sickening,” she said. “Where do they just come out the woodworks and prey on children, and that he knew the time he would be there every day. That was the hardest part, the most disgusting part.”
She admitted that she had seen him jogging in the area before and that he was bloodied upon entering the police vehicle after being tackled to the ground.
“He was in the cop car, bloody. It was just gut-wrenching knowing he was even in that cop car across the street,” she said.
The pastor, Michael Coghill is facing charges for the alleged assault.
Considering he has allegedly done this multiple times, police are urging anyone with any information to come forward to help their investigation.
“If we have more victims, we encourage them if they know something, say something. Come forward,” Quirk said.
Coghill is facing a count of lewd/indecent acts to a child and is being held by Oklahoma City Police on a $50,000 bond.
The Lakehoma Church of Christ in Mustang, Oklahoma, where Coghill was a minister, issued a statement regarding his situation.
“Our church leadership has no tolerance for any type of abuse,” they said. “Safety is our highest priority for our community, congregation and especially our children. These past years we have made significant efforts to secure our children’s area providing the highest safety standards possible.”
They claimed to be “heartbroken” by the news and shocked as Coghill had no previous reports or claims against him along with a clean background check.
“The elders met tonight and determined it was in the best interest of all parties for Mike to be relieved from all duties. He will no longer be on staff at Lakehoma,” they added.
“Very shocking. Very, very shocking. I’m so grateful I‘m able to walk with my child every day to the bus stop,” Ward said, glad that they caught him.
Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Follow him on Twitter here.