Arkansas pastor convicted of having child porn in 2000 faces new charge of attempted coercion, enticement of minor

Timothy Lee Reddin, 67, of Fayetteville
Timothy Lee Reddin, 67, of Fayetteville

An Arkansas pastor and part-time college instructor was arrested last week after trying to meet with who he thought was a teenage boy, filings show.

Timothy Lee Reddin, 67, of Fayetteville faces one count of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, according to records filed Friday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas.

Reddin is listed as a pastor at Turner Creek Baptist Church in Springdale. He also worked as a part-time history instructor at Springdale-based Ecclesia College, according to a faculty directory.

On July 27, an undercover agent with the Department of Homeland Security received an “unprovoked private message” from someone with a username of “Lee" on a website. "Lee," later identified by authorities as Reddin, described himself as a “college teacher and a businessman.”

“I just wanna have fun… I like younger guys. But hell, at my age, that’s just about everybody,” Reddin wrote in his profile description. It added that he loved making new friends, "especially naked ones," court records show.

Arrangements were eventually made for "Lee" and the perceived teenager to meet in person Aug. 3 in Fayetteville. When Reddin arrived at the predetermined location, he was arrested, authorities said.

Records show Reddin was previously arrested and convicted in 2000 of possession of child pornography out of the Eastern District of Arkansas.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that Reddin pleaded guilty Sept. 8, 2000, to having 10 or more items depicting child porn on his computer, including at least one that involved a child younger then 12.

In December of that year, he was sentenced to 27 months in prison and required to register as a sex offender.

Reddin had spent 16 years as a pastor in Hot Springs Village and taught high school for three years in Heber Springs and McCrory, according to the newspaper. He also resigned in 1998 as director of missions for the Central Baptist Association in Benton after being confronted for child pornography on a computer.

In court, Reddin testified that his addiction was caused by sexual abuse he endured in his childhood between the ages of 10 and 15.

The pastor also told authorities in December 2000 that he exchanging emails with a teenage boy in Pulaski County after answering an online advertisement.

A call Wednesday morning to the listed number for Turner Street Baptist Church returned a message that it was disconnected or no longer in service. A request for comment from Ecclesia College was not immediately returned.

Reddin remained at the Washington County jail as of Wednesday afternoon, according to an online inmate roster.

Information for this article was contributed by Linda Satter of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

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