A former Park County ministry leader accused of sexual assault on a child is set to appear in court on Monday.
58-year-old Torin Smith is accused of sexually assaulting several children over the course of about five years. He was one of the leaders of Praise Mountain Ministries near Florissant. The attacks he is accused of possibly took place between 2008 and 2013.
A judge is expected to clarify Smith’s bond amount during the court appearance. Smith is currently out of jail. At the request of the defense attorney, an evidentiary hearing is also expected to be held.
Smith’s wife is also making a court appearance. Court documents show that Rena Smith sent several emails to one of the accusers, asking that they retract their statement to law enforcement officers for the sake of the family and the ministry. She is not facing any charges of sexual assault, however, she is charged with accessory to a crime, intimidating and tampering with a witness.
Heavily redacted court documents detail a pattern of abuse that, according to at least one victim, gradually became more intense over time. One victim is quoted as telling detectives, "He made me fearful of telling anyone.
Both Torin and Rena were said to run a home school group for children at the ministry. When News 5 called the ministry, the person who answered said Torin never had any affiliation with them.
