Second person comes forward in sex-abuse case against Kentucky pastor on administrative leave

Pulaski County Sheriff Bobby Jones said on Tuesday, Oct. 6, that the investigation into Scott C. Hughes, 54, of Somerset, Kentucky, has widened after another person came forward. That person, now an adult, alleges conduct by Hughes in 2012 and 2013 outside Pulaski County. The sheriff said the report is being referred to the law-enforcement agency with jurisdiction, LEX18 reported.

Hughes is the pastor of Pleasant View Baptist Church in Waynesburg, in Lincoln County. He was arrested at his home on the night of Oct. 1. According to the sheriff's office, he is charged with second- and third-degree sodomy, first-degree sexual abuse and another offense. The charges relate to alleged sexual contact with people who were minors at the time, beginning in 2018 in Pulaski County. He was being held in the Pulaski County Detention Center on a $75,000 bond as of Oct. 6. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Monday, Oct. 12.

Pleasant View placed Hughes on administrative leave on Oct. 2. The church said he is "relieved of all duties until the investigation is complete." Sunrise Children's Services, a Kentucky Baptist child-care agency, said he worked in its adolescent alcohol and drug program in Bronston from May 2022 to June 2024 and that it checks references and backgrounds for all employees. Hughes previously served at Eubank Baptist Church and First Baptist Church of Bronston, according to LEX18 and The Roys Report.

"Investigations like this can take time, particularly when the alleged conduct occurred years ago, but every piece of information can be important," Jones said. He asked anyone with information to contact the sheriff's office.