Case of NH man charged with sexually assaulting teen church member heads to grand jury

NH church sex assault case headed to grand jury

CONCORD, N.H. — The case of a New Hampshire man accused of sexually assaulting and impregnating a 15-year-old fellow church member a decade ago is headed to a grand jury.

Fifty-one-year-old Ernest Willis of Gilford waived his probable cause hearing Wednesday on aggravated and felonious sexual assault charges in connection with the alleged assaults in 1997 against the teen who used to baby-sit his children. He remains free on bail while awaiting a decision on indictment from the grand jury.

Then-leaders of Concord’s Trinity Baptist Church arranged for the girl to live with a Baptist family in Colorado and put her baby up for adoption. Police said they were unable to make an arrest at the time because they couldn’t find the girl, who is now 28 and living in Arizona.