UPDATED::Sunday school teacher accused of molesting girls at Johnston church :: WRAL.com

UPDATE::  Bond lowered for Sunday school teacher accused of molesting girls at Johnston church 

A judge on Thursday lowered the bond for a Johnston County man being held on charges that he molested members of a Benson church where he served as a Sunday school teacher.

The bail for Jonathan Young, 34, of Benson, was lowered from $1 million to $400,000. Young faces six charges of first-degree rape of a child, three charges of statutory rape, two charges of first-degree sexual offense and two charges of indecent liberties with a child.

UPDATE::  'It's definitely a cult,' says ex-Johnston church member where Sunday school teacher was arrested

"There's this culture of fear and you have to obey the ultimate leader and authority," said Cherith Roberson, 32, a former church member. "And it starts from the beginning."

Roberson's family joined when she was 7 years old.

"It was taught, it was preached about, that you break a child's spirit. And you do that by whatever means necessary," she said.

Her little sister, Beka Foust, was just 5 years old.

"I knew this was not normal," Foust said. "I didn't know what normal was."

The sisters said all the children attended school at church. They said they were told what to wear, what to believe, and were not allowed contact with anyone on the outside.

"You were ostracized from everybody else," Foust said.

And they said there were serious consequences for breaking rules. 

A Johnston County man was being held Tuesday under a $1 million bond in connection with charges that he molested members of a Benson church where he served as a Sunday school teacher.

Jonathan Young, 34, of Benson, was being held Tuesday at the Johnston County Jail, where he is facing several charges, including six charges of first-degree rape of a child, three charges of statutory rape, two charges of first-degree sexual offense and two charges of indecent liberties with a child, said Johnston County sheriff's Capt. Jeff Caldwell.
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Pastor Young** said he first heard about the allegations in 2014 from the sheriff's office, but no charges were filed at that time.

 "The investigation was dropped as far as I know," Durwood Young said. "That's the way I understand it."

Sunday school teacher accused of molesting girls at Johnston church :: WRAL.com

**Great uncle to the perp Jonathan Young.