Former pastor pleads guilty to sexual battery of child

GIBSON COUNTY, Tenn. — A former pastor at a Gibson County church pleaded guilty this week to aggravated sexual battery of a child.

Court documents show James Marcus, 72, pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated sexual battery of a child younger than 13 years old. As part of the plea agreement, Marcus will serve eight years in the Tennessee Department of Correction and must register as a sex offender for life.

Marcus entered the plea Monday, according to court documents.

Marcus served as a pastor at Fairview Church of Christ north of Milan.

He was arrested on the charges in May 2016 and admitted to investigators that he inappropriately touched a child over the course of four years until the victim was 10 years old, according to the Gibson County Sheriff’s Office.