A retired Rhea County minister was indicted by the Rhea County Grand Jury Monday on two counts of rape and two counts of sexual battery.

A local home healthcare worker reported to Deputy David King on Jan. 11 that one of her special needs patients might have been sexually assaulted. King then notified Detective Rocky Potter, who investigates sex crimes for the county.

Potter met with the alleged victim, a 47-year-old woman, a couple of days later. The woman told Potter that a minister she had known for several years had visited her periodically to pray with her.

Early in January the minister called her, then came to her Dayton apartment and spent several hours with her praying. The woman said the minister told her she had a demon inside her, but that he could force the demon out of her by anointing her with oil and praying over her.

The woman said the minister told her to go in her bedroom, take off her clothes and lie down on the bed. She then said the minister came into her bedroom, spread oil on her and touched her sexually, Potter said.

After a few minutes, the minister told the woman to get dressed, and they spent more time in the living room praying together. The woman said the minister then told her there was one more thing she could to remove the demon and coerced her to perform a sex act on him, according to Potter.

During his investigation Potter found neighbors who could identify the minister's vehicle as having been at the woman's apartment for several hours on the day in question.

He also found a neighbor who said she went to the woman's door and knocked while the minister was there but said no one would come to the door. The victim later told this neighbor that the minister had done similar things to her a few months earlier, Potter said.

Based on evidence collected during his investigation, Potter presented the case to the Rhea County Grand Jury Monday for an original indictment, which it issued.

Cpl. Gregg Roberson arrested Rev. Jackie Buchanan Sr. on Monday based on the original indictment.

Buchanan, 62, of Wayne Lane, Evensville, is now retired but pastored several churches in Rhea County for more than 20 years.

He was released from the Rhea County Jail after posting a $15,000 bond. He will be bound over to Rhea County Circuit Court on Friday.

Potter said he is continuing to investigate the possibility that Buchanan may have been involved in other similar situations.

John Carpenter can be reached at jcarpenter@xtn.net.