An Oklahoma minster was arrested for inappropriately touching a child at a bus stop after the victim’s parents caught him in the act.
Police said Michael Coghill, 33, a church discipleship minister at Lakehoma Church of Christ, was videoed touching a nine-year-old boy inappropriately at a bus stop. https://t.co/q2Qjhh32ug
— News 4 San Antonio (@News4SA) September 24, 2021
The father of the victim explained to Oklahoma City Police that his child spoke of a jogger that would frequently come by the bus stop each morning and inappropriately touch the kids.
It was after hearing this that the father decided to park his car near the bus stop on this past Wednesday to confirm what his child explained to him. Soon after arriving, he claimed to have seen 33-year-old Michael Eric Coghill, who was known as a discipleship minister at Lakehoma Church of Christ.
Police stated that the father observed Coghill do a lap around the bus stop after the children had arrived, and as he watched from his car, the minister stopped jogging and began to touch one of the children.
The victim’s father has also filmed the encounter and was quick to confront Coghill about touching the child, to which Coghill attempted to flee however was physically restrained by the father. While waiting for police to arrive, the father was said to have tackled, fought, and subdued Coghill.
Police were told by the father that his child had said “the guy had touched him on the back and he don’t like they way it made him feel.”
Following their arrival, police conducted an investigation of the scene, which included viewing the video that the father recorded of Coghill. The police report detailed Coghill’s arrest on a complaint of lewd/indecent acts towards a minor/child and the incident soon made its way on social media, specifically the Oklahoma City Police Department’s Facebook page.
Nearby residents living close to the site of the incident were said to have still been in shock the day after police were seen on the intersection between Southwest 36th St and County Line Rd.
Eye witnesses made statements to the news outlets; one individual in particular, named Lisa Ward stated “There’s hardly any words that are camera appropriate.” “It’s just sickening,” she exclaimed.
This eye witness explained that her daughters also wait at the exact same bus stop where the 9-year-old boy was victimized by Coghill.
The police report revealed that Coghill, in fact, lives in a community nearby where the incident took place, “I just thought he was a runner in the neighborhood,” Ward stated.
“He knew the time he would be there every day,” Ward continued. “That was the hardest part, the most disgusting part.”
It’s said that Coghill was transported to Southwest Medical center by an officer to check out his injuries. Doctors determined that while Coghill had suffered a skull fracture and cracked orbital socket on the left side of his face, he did not require surgery and was immediately transported to the Oklahoma County Jail and booked without incident.
Lakehoma Church of Christ issued the following statement on its Facebook page in response to the incident:
“We were heartbroken to learn of the incident that occurred yesterday morning involving Mike Coghill, our discipleship minister. And we were shocked to learn this news through social media today. Mike has a clean background check, and we have received no reports or claims against him during his tenure at Lakehoma. Our hearts go out to the family and the child involved in the incident. We would encourage everyone to pray for this family during a very difficult time in their lives.”
Sources: Trendingpolitics, Arklatexhomepage, Okcfox
