North Myrtle Beach youth pastor arrested in sex sting involving children near Charleston
A youth minister at a North Myrtle Beach church was arrested near Charleston for child sex crimes.
Jacob Ouellette was charged with criminal solicitation of a minor and attempted criminal sexual conduct with a minor following a Mount Pleasant police operation intended to arrest people who wanted to meet with children for sexual acts. Ouellette, 24, was one of eight people arrested earlier this month, authorities said.
Ouellette went to Mount Pleasant to have sex with a child who he believed was 14 years old, according to his arrest warrant. He started an online conversation with someone he thought was a teenager. Ouellette lied about his age and said he wanted to have sex with them until they were “senseless,” the warrant said.
He also told the perceived child what “dom” meant and asked if they would like that or “something softer,” according to the warrant. The term is used to refer to the dominate person in a sexual relationship. He agreed to meet at a location near Chuck Dawley Boulevard around midnight to pick the child up. Ouellette arrived and was identified by police.
Ouellette worked as the youth ministry director at Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church in North Myrtle Beach. He also worked at Holy Trinity Catholic School in North Myrtle Beach, according to a news release from the church.
Our Lady Star officials placed Ouellette on administrative leave, which prohibits him from participating in church or school activities, the news release said.
Ouellette has been working at the church since 2019. He volunteered at Holy Trinity Catholic School from 2016 to 2018 before being hired in October 2018. Ouellette also volunteered at St. Andrew Catholic School for several months in 2019, according to the church’s news release.
Ouellette passed a criminal history screening, signed the diocesan required code-of-conduct, signed an acknowledgment of the diocese’s policy concerning allegations of sexual misconduct and completed sex abuse prevention training before he was allowed to work with diocesan youth, the church said.
Mount Pleasant Police Chief Carl Ritchie held a press conference earlier this month after the completion of “Operation Playground.” He told local media that the four day operation targeted individuals who sought to engage juveniles under the age of consent in sexually explicit online communication with the intent to arrange a meeting for sex.
The church posted information for people with information about possible sexual abuse with minors by church personnel and is asking them to notify police.
This story was originally published November 23, 2020 at 4:06 PM.
