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LaGrange police have arrested the pastor of a local church who is facing allegations of child molestation.

Russell Jon Tusing II, 44, was arrested and charged with sexual battery (FVA) and child molestation (FVA). According to Troup County Jail records, Tusing was booked into the jail on Friday.

According to LaGrange Police Public Information Officer Lt. Chris Pritchett, the charges stem back to a report made in February with allegations dating back to 2022 in regard to a 13-year-old female victim.

Pritchett confirmed that Tusing was the pastor of Sovereign Grace Church of LaGrange, though his name appears to have been removed from the staff leadership on the church’s website.

Multiple calls to the church went directly to voicemail. Tusing was named pastor of the church in August 2011, according to the church’s Facebook page.