Christianity Today: Pastor Caught in Child Sex Sting Accused of Asking Cops to Ditch Evidence

DIAMOND, Mo. — A mayor and pastor from a small Missouri town — who's facing charges of enticing a child over the Internet — is accused of trying to make the case go away.


Police say he placed a phone call to the investigating detective at home, and asked him to stop the case. The detective, Jim Murray, taped the call.

On the tape, Allen Kauffman is heard asking for mercy, and asking if the detective could "just take" the hard drive that was seized from Kauffman's home computer, and not do anything with the evidence.

Kauffman confirms that he made the phone call, but says he wasn't asking the detective to destroy evidence.

Kauffman was arrested Friday on four counts of felony enticement of a child. It was the result of a sting orchestrated by Murray, who was posing online as a teenager. Prosecutors say Kauffman believed he was communicating with a 13-year-old girl, and that he asked the girl for sex and for nude pictures.

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