JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A trial date of Jan. 23, 2023, was set Wednesday for Paul Dyal, a former pastor of a Jacksonville church who’s charged with capital sexual battery.
At the last bond hearing, Dyal’s defense lawyer told the judge that he expected the case would take more than a year to get to trial.
On Tuesday, News4JAX reported that a judge denied a third request for a pretrial release of Dyal.
In her order, the judge said that Dyal’s health issues are not an emergency and that he is getting adequate medical care at the jail.
Dyal, who was a pastor of the Jacksonville Assembly of the Body of Christ on Old Kings Road North, was arrested in March during a coordinated raid on the church.
“The investigation revealed both long-term sexual and physical abuse of minors in the church spanning a period of over thirty years,” the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said in its original news release.
JSO said the investigation began in September 2020 after it received a tip.