Ministerial leader arrested on child sex charges pleads not guilty in Grant Parish

Melissa Gregory, Alexandria Town Talk
·2 min read
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Grant Parish Sheriff Steven McCain talks about the arrest of Daryl Ray Stagg during a June 12 press conference while standing with Rapides Sheriff Mark Wood (left) and Union Parish Sheriff Dusty Gates (right). Stagg was arraigned on formal charges on Aug. 11.
Grant Parish Sheriff Steven McCain talks about the arrest of Daryl Ray Stagg during a June 12 press conference while standing with Rapides Sheriff Mark Wood (left) and Union Parish Sheriff Dusty Gates (right). Stagg was arraigned on formal charges on Aug. 11.

Daryl Ray Stagg, a ministerial leader arrested in June on child sex charges, has pleaded not guilty to formal charges in Grant Parish.

Stagg, who turns 61 on Aug. 23, was formally charged with four counts of aggravated crime against nature and three counts of sexual battery. He was arraigned on Aug. 11, and Pineville attorney George Higgins III enrolled as his defense attorney, according to online Grant Parish Clerk of Court records.

A pretrial conference has been set for Oct. 5, while his trial was set for Dec. 11.

Grant Parish Assistant District Attorney Renee Nugent is prosecuting the case.

After Stagg's June 8 arrest, Grant Parish Sheriff Steven McCain held a news conference with the sheriffs of Rapides and Union parishes, Mark Wood and Dusty Gates, to issue a call for other potential victims to contact them.

Nothing additional has developed from that, according to McCain.

Stagg was arrested on charges in Union Parish, too. The Grant Parish charges stem from a report initially made to Rapides officials.

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McCain said evidence they had led him to believe there could be other victims locally or in other states where Stagg had worked as a church leader. At the time, McCain said that included Wisconsin, but Stagg also has worked in Minnesota, Missouri and the Chicago area.

"From my experience in law enforcement, somebody doesn't develop this behavior at the age of 60 years old," he said.

Stagg was arrested in both Grant and Union parishes on charges of oral sexual battery, first-degree rape, aggravated crimes against nature and indecent behavior with juveniles — three counts on each charge in Grant and one count on each in Union.

Stagg worked since 2018 as an associational mission strategist with the Baptist Mission Center, which includes the Big Creek Association and the CenLa Association. There are about 92 churches and ministries included between the two groups.

Sheriff Gates was in court Tuesday morning, and a message left for him at his Farmerville office wasn't immediately returned.

This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Baptist ministerial leader facing child sex charges pleads not guilty