West side church’s former pastor charged with first-degree sexual assault of a child

According to the Wisconsin State Journal, Robert C. Stine, 60, of Middleton, the former pastor of Midvale Baptist Church on the west side, on Thursday was charged with two counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child. The charges stem from alleged incidents about four years ago, in which a girl who was about 10 at the time said he touched her inappropriately during a day care held at the church.

Stine is scheduled to appear in Dane County Circuit Court on Aug. 24. State regulators revoked the license of the day care, Kid’s Best Child Care, on June 30 after the girl’s mother reported the alleged abuse to police on Apr. 21.

Stine’s attorney, Chris Van Wagner, stated Thursday that Stine denies he did anything wrong and is looking forward to clearing his name. A letter to Stine from the state Bureau of Early Care Regulation cited “credible evidence” that Stine was the subject of an investigation involving child sexual abuse and that charges had been referred to the Dane County District Attorney’s Office.

Stine had been pastor at Midvale since August 2007. He had also led churches in Iowa and Texas and led the Baptist Student Union at UW–Madison.