MARATHON, Fla. – A South Florida pastor accused of sexually battering a 15-year-old girl in his church became a wanted man Monday after skipping out on scheduled court hearings. He’s believed to be on the run.
Monte Chitty, the 62-year-old pastor of First Baptist Marathon, had been released on a $75,000 bond soon after his March arrest.
Prosecutors say Chitty, who was supposed to be arraigned Monday, fled in a white van with out-of-state plates and is no longer believed to be in the Florida Keys.
“Our understanding is that he’s already on the road and he’s left the state of Florida,” Monroe County State Attorney Dennis Ward told Local 10 News on Monday.
Deputies arrested Chitty on March 4 after they said he plied the teenager with alcohol, which she suspected had been “spiked” with something else, and said she passed out on a church library couch and later woke up to Chitty performing oral sex on her.
After the incident was reported to law enforcement — with Chitty himself accused of calling the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office in an attempt to “get ahead” of the allegations — deputies said they found a series of graphic text messages on both the victim’s phone and his.
According to an arrest report, in the text messages, using a cat emoji, Chitty first complimented the girl’s genitals.
“I prefer you pass out after I play not before,” deputies say the pastor then texted her. “You can’t even remember what I did.”
Prosecutors said he also texted her, “Do you remember your orgasm?”
“The crime he committed is very disgusting, to tell you the truth,” Ward said.
During Monday’s court hearing, the Monroe County State Attorney’s Office asked the judge to revoke Chitty’s bond.
In Monday afternoon’s hearing, a Monroe County Sheriff’s Office investigator took the stand.
Detective Chris Vanhoose told the judge that in addition to the text messages sent to the victim, investigators also probed Chitty’s web search history.
One search, they said, was “how to make sex for a virgin less painful.”
Another alleged search was about the combination of Ritalin and alcohol; Vanhoose said the victim was known to take Ritalin.
Recorded jail telephone calls also gave the detective cause for concern.
He said Chitty told his wife not to pay any bills and to have a yard sale to earn cash and said it raised a red flag that the clergyman would leave the Keys.
In court, the lead detective said the clergyman has lived in 25 states where he’s worked in churches and may have places to hide out; Ward echoed those concerns.
“This guy’s a former cop from Alaska and a preacher and he violated a 15-year-old girl,” Ward said. “So I’m concerned about everybody in this guy’s path.”
A group of parishioners showed up to Monday’s court hearing.
“He’s let a lot of people down — not only his family but his church family also,” one parishioner, who said she also knows the victim, said of Chitty.
The teen is “day to day,” the parishioner said.
In addition to a charge of sexual battery on a minor, Chitty is facing counts of lewd and lascivious conduct and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
On Monday, the judge upped Chitty’s bond to $1.3 million and issued a warrant for his arrest.
“Our concern is not only for this community, but where’s this guy going to go?” Ward asked. “We want to get this guy and we will bring him into custody.”
Anyone with information on Chitty’s whereabouts is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.