A Louisiana pastor has been charged with raping a child, only weeks after leaving his church and fleeing the state.
Shane Phillip Wiggins was apprehended by police in Texas earlier this month after a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was wanted for first-degree rape and molestation of a child.
According to Morgan City Police, in December, deputies received a complaint from a mother of a child accusing Wiggins of inappropriate behavior with the juvenile stemming from an incident in the previous few years.
Throughout the investigation, officers spoke with the victim and several witnesses, but Wiggins refused to be interviewed. A judge later issued a warrant for his arrest, but detectives discovered he had relocated and was no longer reachable by phone.
According to Chris Holloway, senior pastor of Little Pass Baptist Church, Wiggins abandoned Baldwin Baptist Mission Church on the first Sunday of February.
“Shane left town around the first of February,” Holloway told the outlet in an email. “My last conversation with him was on Jan. 28, 2025.” He stated that Wiggins had previously served as pastor of the Baldwin Baptist Mission Church prior to 2011, and had returned in 2015.
Following a collaboration with Texas police, Wiggins was apprehended in Paris, Texas, where he was served with the arrest warrant and arrested.
Wiggins was then transported to Lamar County jail, where he is awaiting extradition proceedings.
In his email to the Baptist Press, Holloway added: “We at Little Pass condemn Shane Wiggins’ alleged crimes and wholeheartedly pray for the victim and his family. We trust that God will heal and restore them.
“We pray as well for Shane Wiggins and his family – praying for a genuine repentance to capture his heart.”