Iowa pastor convicted on sex charges

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - An Iowa pastor who had been staying with a Kent County family was convicted in Iowa Friday for sexual exploitation.

The Daily Iowegian reports Patrick Edouard , the former pastor at the Covenant Reformed Church in Pella, Iowa, was found "not guilty on all three charges of sexual abuse, but found...guilty on all four of the sexual exploitation charges - including an additional charge of entering into a pattern/scheme/practice to engage in sexual exploitation as a counselor or therapist...The last charge came as a result of being found guilty of two or more of the original sexual exploitation by a counselor or therapist charges in which he violated law banning sex between people who provide 'mental health services' and those who come to seek guidance from them."

When the allegations surfaced in December 2010, the church promptly removed him as pastor. He and his wife moved to Byron Center, where they stayed with a family.

The father of that family posted Edouard's bond after his arrest.

He will be sentenced Oct. 19 and, the Daily Iowegian reports, faces up to nine years in prison.