Pastor of Baptist church in Lynchburg accused of sexual assault

LYNCHBURG, Va. ( WFXR ) – A pastor at a Baptist church in Lynchburg is accused of sexually assaulting a woman earlier this year.

According to court documents, the woman told police Garrett Harmon approached her at a restaurant in August, then forced her into his car and took her to a home in Madison Heights.

She told police he sexually assaulted her, then drove her back to Lynchburg.

Investigators used "surveillance video" to identify the car, which turned out to be a rental.

That led them to Harmon, and police say the victim then picked him out of a photo lineup. Harmon is now charged with felony rape.

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Court documents list Harmon's occupation as pastor at "First Baptist Church of South Lynchburg."

That church's Facebook posts show Harmon presided over services as recently as the last weekend of October.

His trial in Amherst County court is set for late January.

WFXR News has reached out to both the church and Harmon's attorney but has not gotten a response yet.

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