17 November 2019 | Daniel Houston Shafer, 77, the pastor of an Adventist supporting ministry who was accused last year of molesting a minor in Harrison County, West Virginia, has been acquitted.

The Exponent Telegram reported that after a less-than-two-day trial, a Harrison County jury returned a not guilty verdict on Wednesday, November 13, for the charge of first degree sexual abuse.

The pastor had maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings. His attorney, Tom Dyer, who had called the reliability of the accuser into question, said that the pastor and his family “feel completely vindicated by the jury’s verdict.”

Dyer added, “There’s just a great sense of relief that it’s all over.”

Shafer pastored Highway for the Remnant Ministries in Elk Creek, Virginia. He was credited with the baptism of the Amish family that featured prominently at the 2018 Annual Council meetings at the General Conference offices of the Adventist denomination.

Shafer has presented widely within the denomination, speaking at seminars, camp meetings and the Adventist Laymen’s Services & Industries (ASI) convention.

Read the 11 December 2018 Adventist Today article announcing Daniel Houston Shafer’s arrest here. 

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