Pastor of Philly Church Charged With Sexually Assaulting 3 Young People

A pastor of a Philadelphia-based church has been charged with sexually assaulting three young people, raping one.

Mark Hatcher has been jailed without bail because he is a "danger to the community," according to court records.

Hatcher faced a judge in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Wednesday on 29 charges including sex assault, rape, sex assault of a minor and multiple counts of indecent assault of a minor.

Hatcher, 59, is the pastor of Holy Ghost Headquarters, which operates out of the Met Philadelphia. He is also an author who uses the title "Apostle" on his church's website and social media pages.

A criminal complaint filed Tuesday in Montgomery County by Whitpain Township police detectives lays out sex assault allegations from two family members and a member of Hatcher's church dating as far back as 2000.

He was first investigated for sexual assault by Philadelphia Police Special Victims Unit in 2008, according to the criminal complaint.

NBC10 reached out to Philadelphia police to find out what came of those allegations at the time. Police have not responded.

Police more recently began investigating Hatcher, who lives in Blue Bell, Montgomery County, in January when two now-adult family members came forward to say that Hatcher had sexually assaulted them when they were children, the criminal complaint said.

The church has not answered a phone call seeking comment and an email address listed on the church's website wasn't working Thursday.

NBC10 obtained a statement from R. Emmett Madden, Hatcher's attorney:

"These are unsubstantiated allegations with no proof," Madden wrote. "He is looking forward to his day in court and has the support of his family and community."