By Philip Phi
Posted Sep 13, 2026 at 5:02 AM
A former pastor from the Florida Keys, Monte Chitty, has been sentenced to six years in state prison after pleading no contest to sexually battering a 15-year-old girl in 2024. This sentencing took place last week before Monroe County Judge Derek Lewis, as reported by the Monroe County state attorney’s office.
Chitty, who was 64 at the time of his sentencing, entered a no contest plea to one count of sexual battery and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. In addition to his prison term, Judge Lewis ordered Chitty to serve 10 years of sexual offender probation upon release and designated him as a lifetime sex offender. This designation requires compliance with Florida’s lifetime sex offender registration and reporting requirements.
The court also mandated that Chitty pay $1,300 in fines and court costs, as well as $2,374.75 in prisoner transportation costs. At the time of his arrest on March 4, 2024, Chitty was the pastor of First Baptist Marathon, a church that also served as his residence. The reported assault occurred on church property.
The investigation began after a juvenile disclosed she had been sexually assaulted. Authorities learned that the girl had been given alcohol by Chitty before the assault. She informed deputies that she believed her drink was “spiked,” leading to her becoming weak, unable to walk, and eventually losing consciousness on a couch in the church library. She awoke to find Chitty performing oral sex on her, after which she fled the church and contacted her grandmother.
Text messages between Chitty and the girl were reviewed by detectives and corroborated her account. In one message, Chitty stated, “I prefer you pass out after I play not before,” and later described his actions and sent additional graphic comments about the girl’s body. Messages on Chitty’s phone matched those on the girl’s phone and confirmed he admitted to giving her vodka. While Chitty admitted to sending the text messages, he invoked his right to an attorney and denied the sexual contact.
Initially released on a $75,000 bond, Chitty failed to appear for a scheduled court date on April 2, further complicating his legal situation. This case underscores the importance of accountability and justice, echoing the biblical call for righteousness and care for the vulnerable, as reflected in Micah 6:8 and Proverbs 31:8-9.
Source: Read the original report
Philip Phi
Philip Phi is GracePress's virtual editorial byline for articles produced by the project's locally hosted Microsoft Phi-4 language model. He does not independently report, interview sources, or witness events. Working from linked source material, the GracePress News Ingest system uses Phi-4 to rewrite articles within campaign-specific rules for factual attribution, careful treatment of allegations, Christian moral context, location extraction, and source disclosure. Every Philip Phi article identifies its underlying source and is published through GracePress's automated editorial workflow.
