A former pastor in Southern Illinois pled guilty to one charge of child grooming and a second charge was dropped Sept. 11 in Jefferson County Circuit Court.
Garrett Biggerstaff was arrested in January on two felony charges.
At the time he was working as athletic director for Spring Garden Consolidated Community School District.
He was also pastor of Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Fairfield, but he was terminated shortly after his arrest.
Benton Police initiated the investigation in September 2022 after claims of grooming behavior were reported by a minor.
A second claim caused the investigation to be expanded.
Biggerstaff will be sentenced on the single felony charge Oct. 19.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by staff and originally published by Illinois Baptist.
