Independence pastor pleads guilty to child molestation charges, sentenced to prison
An Independence pastor was sentenced to 10 years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to child molestation charges.
In a plea agreement and sentencing document filed Monday in Jackson County court, former pastor Virgil Marsh pleaded guilty to one count each of second-degree statutory sodomy and first-degree child molestation for incidents that occurred in June 2015 and January 2014.
Initially, Marsh was also charged with one count each of first-degree statutory sodomy, attempted first-degree statutory sodomy and first-degree child molestation, according to a Jackson County court document. Those charges were dismissed as part of Marsh’s plea deal.
On May 9, 2023, Independence police officers responded to Marsh’s residence on reports of a past sex offense from 2011, according to a probable cause statement in support of Marsh’s arrest.
The detective writing the probable cause statement reported a victim told officers over the phone that in 2011, when she was under the age of 14, she would stay over at Marsh’s residence. Marsh was her pastor at a church in Independence.
The victim told officers that while she was at the residence, Marsh would kiss her and touch her inappropriately, according to the probable cause statements. The victim said the incidents occurred “consistently.”
The probable cause statement reveals that at one point, the victim contacted someone who lived in the residence with Marsh and alerted them to Marsh’s actions. The victim had a meeting with her parents, Marsh and the other person in the residence, in which Marsh apologized for his actions and “began to cry.”
However, the probable cause statement claims the alleged incidents continued until the victim was older than 14, but under 18 years old. The victim told officers she had spoken with another person at Marsh’s church who claimed similar incidents had happened to them.
On May 11, 2023, officers contacted a second victim, according to the probable cause statement. That victim alleged Marsh did similar things to them between the ages of 8 and 9.
Marsh was apprehended outside his residence on Dec. 5, 2023, after a felony stop was issued for him, according to the probable cause statement.
In an interview with police, Marsh admitted that he had inappropriately touched the first victim while they were asleep in his spare bedroom, and that he had “gone too far,” according to the probable cause statement.
The probable cause statement states that Marsh denied inappropriately touching the second victim, but that he did admit to kissing them “on the mouth only harmlessly.”
In the interview, Marsh allegedly advised officers that he had “asked for forgiveness from God, and he is no longer the man who had previously done things to the victims.”
This story was originally published September 30, 2025 at 4:39 PM.
