Man faces judge 16 years after alleged rape

ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. — A former youth pastor at a Kannapolis church is locked up and accused of raping a teenager 16 years ago.

Police arrested Michael Jolly Thursday night.

Detectives said his accuser came forward a few months ago to report the sex crimes that he said happened in 1998.

Detectives won't say why the man waited so long to come forward.

The accuser said he was just 15 years old when Jolly made him watch pornography and raped him.

For at least four years, Jolly worked as a co-youth pastor at Unity United Methodist Church, in Kannapolis. But that quickly changed when the Rev. Tim Whittington learned detectives were investigating him.

"We're pretty sick at the stomach over this," Whittington said. "I don't know where it's going to head."

Whittington removed Jolly from his duties after deputies came to him in August.

The accuser went to deputies that same month, claiming Jolly showed him pornography and raped him between March and June 1998.

The accuser said he met Jolly at a church, but neither deputies nor Whittington would say if they met at Unity United Methodist.

"I'm not going to answer that," Whittington said.

The pastor said he's never received any complaints about Jolly, and he removed him as a precaution.

"We done what we need to do at the church to make sure our young people are safe and our children are safe, regardless of whether he's innocent or guilty," Whittington said.

The accuser also said Jolly worked with Future Farmers of America and as a volunteer school bus driver for Rowan County Schools.

Detectives said there could be other accusers.

"A lot of hearts are broken; a lot of people are shocked," Whittington said.

Jolly's elderly mother said she does not believe her son is guilty of the charges. Jolly will appear in court in December.