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ANYTHING ABOUT THE SHOOTING. A NORTHERN KENTUCKY PASTOR IS FACING SERIOUS CHARGES AND POSSIBLE PRISON TIME, ACCUSED OF SEXUALLY ABUSING A MINOR. ANTHONY BROOKS IS THE LEAD PASTOR AT JESUS HOUSE OF BELIEVERS WORSHIP CENTER, A SMALL CHURCH IN FLORENCE. WLWT NEWS 5’S JATARA MCGEE FILED THIS STORY, BEFORE HEADING TO COVER THE BREAKING FLOODING NEWS. JATARA: PASTOR ANTHONY BROOKS PREACHES FROM THIS STAGE EVERY SUNDAY. BOONE COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPUTIES SAY THAT COULD CHANGE AFTER HE ANSWERS TO SEX ABUSE CHARGES FILED AGAINST HIM. THE 48-YEAR-OLD PASTOR WAS INDICTED ON FIVE COUNTS SEXUAL ABUSE, ARRESTED EARLIER THIS MONTH, AND RELEASED ON A $5,000 CASH BOND A FEW DAYS LATER. THE VICTIM IN THIS CASE IS A JUVENILE GIRL WHOM DEPUTIES SAY CAME FORWARD AFTER APPROXIMATELY THREE YEARS OF ABUSE. >> IN ANY ONE OF THESE CASES, WHEN A VICTIM OF ABUSE COMES FORWARD, IT TAKES A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF COURAGE, AND WE BELIEVE THAT THAT WAS THE CASE HERE. JATARA: I SPOKE WITH LIEUTENANT PHILIP RIDGELL OVER THE PHONE. >> WE TREAT ALL OF THESE INVESTIGATIONS VERY SERIOUSLY. IN THIS CASE, OUR INVESTIGATOR DID A PHENOMENAL JOB OF GETTING TO THE BOTTOM OF IT AND KEEPING ANY EMOTIONS OUT OF IT, AND JUST TRYING TO LISTEN TO TRUTH, WHICH ULTIMATELY LED TO THE FIVE-COUNT INDICTMENT. JATARA: DEPUTIES SAY THE ALLEGED SEXUAL ABUSE HAPPENED AT A HOME IN BOONE COUNTY. THEY DON’T HAVE ANY EVIDENCE OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITY WHERE BROOKS PASTORED AT JESUS HOUSE OF BELIEVERS WORSHIP CENTER. DEPUTIES SAY THE ALLEGED ABUSE WAS ISOLATED. THEY’RE TAKING EXTRA STEPS TO PROTECT THE VICTIM’S IDENTITY. MOLLIE: BROOKS’ PRE-TRIAL IS SCHEDULED FOR APRIL 17. THE CHURCH IS STILL HOLDING SERVICES FOR THE TIME BEING. THE PROPERTY OWNERS WHO

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A Florence pastor is facing sexual abuse charges involving a minor. Anthony Brooks, 48, is charged with sexual abuse in the first degree. The victim of the alleged abuse is a juvenile girl. Deputies are not releasing her age, but say she came forward at the beginning of 2019. Brooks is the lead pastor at Jesus House of Believers Worship Center in Florence. The church rents space for worship services at a business on Mall Road in Florence. Investigators say the alleged abuse happened over the last three years, approximately. The alleged abuse happened at a home within Boone County limits but not in the city of Florence, according to deputies. They have no evidence suggesting any crimes were committed on the church property.Brooks was indicted by a grand jury in February and arrested in mid-March. He has since been released after spending four days in jail on a $5,000 cash bond."As far as we know, the only information that we're aware of is the one victim, and that is it. There has been nobody else that's come forward to us at this point," Lt. Philip Ridgell, with the Boone County Sheriff's Office, said.Ridgell urges any victims of sexual assault or abuse to come forward."We take all of these investigations very seriously. In this particular case, the investigator did a phenomenal job getting to the bottom of it and keeping the emotions out of it and just trying to listen to truth, which ultimately led to the five-count indictment," he said.Brooks posted the following from Scripture on his Facebook fan page Friday, teasing Sunday's sermon: "No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgement you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me." He ended the post writing, #THISISBIG #weneedourenemies #truthneedsnodefense."WLWT has been unsuccessful so far in reaching Brooks for comment. If convicted, he could spend several years in prison. His pretrial hearing is scheduled for April 17.