Former pastor at Monroe church charged with crimes in Ohio

The Monroe News
·1 min read
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A former Monroe pastor is facing criminal charges in Ohio.

Robert Auxter, 75, of Monroe, who had been a pastor and a deacon at Monroe’s Grace Lutheran Church, is charged with two felony counts of gross sexual imposition by the Ottawa Common Pleas Court of Ottawa County in Port Clinton, Ohio.

Auxter was charged Nov. 21 and had an initial arraignment Nov. 28. According to court documents, he is charged with having sexual contact with a person younger than age 13 between March 1 and 31, 2022, in Ottawa County, Ohio. The second charge of gross sexual imposition is for sexual contact with a person less than age 13 between June 1 and Aug. 31, 2022, in Ottawa County.

Auxter’s pretrial hearings have been set for Dec. 28 and Jan. 18. A jury trial is set for Jan. 31.

According to Monroe News archives, Auxter was a deacon at the church in 2018. Most recently, he was identified as a pastor at Grace. He left church leadership a couple of months ago.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Former pastor at Monroe church charged with crimes