Kernersville, N.C. – A local pastor has been charged with statutory rape and multiple counts of indecent liberties with a child, according to Forsyth County court records and an arrest warrant.
Brett Martin Kitko, 50, was arrested on August 19 and charged with one count of felony statutory rape of a child older than 6 and two counts of felony indecent liberties with a child. The charges stem from incidents that allegedly occurred in the early 2000s.
Authorities say Kitko, who was in his mid-20s at the time, engaged in sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl. He was released after posting a $300,000 bond and made his first appearance in Forsyth County District Court on Monday.
Background in Ministry and Theater
Kitko currently serves as senior pastor at Phoenix at Century Park Church in Kernersville, according to the church’s website. His biography notes that he grew up in rural Pennsylvania and has led several Triad-area congregations over the past two decades.
Before joining Phoenix at Century Park, Kitko worked as interim pastor at Goodwill Baptist Church in Kernersville and later spent 14 years as senior pastor at Antioch Baptist Church in Winston-Salem. He left Antioch around 2018 before taking on his current role.
Outside the pulpit, Kitko has long been active in North Carolina community theater. He founded The Dionysian Theatre in Winston-Salem in the late 1990s and has performed in multiple productions. He appeared in The Music Man at the Andy Griffith Playhouse in 2003 and was active in the High Point production of Big Fish in 2018.
Personal Life
Kitko married in 2003 and is the father of two teenagers, according to his church biography.
The investigation remains ongoing, and additional court proceedings are expected in the coming weeks.