A 27-year-old former youth pastor who once held leadership roles at two Duncan congregations was booked on two counts of child sexual abuse after turning himself in to the sheriff's office. Andrew Benton was identified as a suspect by Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation special agents following a monthslong inquiry that began earlier this year.
According to KOKH, the Duncan Police Department first requested OSBI's help investigating allegations of child sexual abuse on March 4, 2026. Benton served as youth president for the Assembly of Our Lord Jesus Christ and as a youth pastor for Grace Chapel Pentecostal Church, the station reports. An arrest warrant for Benton was issued on August 6, 2026, and he ultimately turned himself in to the Stephens County Sheriff's Office.
Benton was booked on two counts of child sexual abuse.
A Visible Figure in Duncan's Faith Community
Benton was not a background figure in local religious life. Official meeting minutes from the City of Duncan show he served as Associate Pastor at Grace Chapel Pentecostal Church and delivered the invocation at a city council meeting in July 2023, placing him in a civic as well as ministerial role years before investigators opened their case.
Grace Chapel Pentecostal Church sits on Cherokee Road in Duncan and is an affiliated congregation of the Oklahoma District Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ, led by Pastor Eddie Jackson, per directory records from the Oklahoma District ALJC. The denominational directory situates Benton's church within a broader regional network, though it does not address the specific allegations against him.
How State and Local Investigators Built the Case
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation works with local law-enforcement partners.
In August, a Duncan Police Department training lieutenant was arrested and booked into the Stephens County Jail following a fatal hit-and-run, with independent state agencies brought in to lead that investigation.
What Oklahoma Law Says About the Charges
The elements of child sexual abuse under 21 O.S. § 843.5 are described in Oklahoma jury instructions.
According to jury instructions from the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, the elements under state law include a person responsible for a child's welfare.
Part of a Broader Pattern in Oklahoma
Benton's arrest follows a string of cases involving Oklahoma religious figures accused of sexual misconduct with minors. In November 2024, authorities arrested former Cleveland County pastor James McMillan on allegations of committing lewd acts with a minor under 16, a case that sent shockwaves through that local church community.
Those individual arrests sit within a much larger statewide and national enforcement push. Multi-agency law enforcement initiatives across Oklahoma contributed to federal and state crackdowns in 2025, including Operation Restore Justice, which resulted in more than 200 predator arrests and 115 child rescues nationwide.
As with any criminal case, the charges against Benton are accusations, not a determination of guilt.
