Chattanooga man accused of showing porn video to kid in church

CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee(WDEF) – Police say a 4-year old boy viewed more than church service thanks to a man with a cellphone.

Mark Wilson, 40, of Chattanooga was charged with sexual exploitation of a minor after he reportedly showed porn videos to a child during church service.

It happened Sunday evening during a special service for Chattanooga’s homeless inside the First Centinary United Methodist Church.

"Such a crime as this is zero tolerance. This person will not be allowed back on this site to participate in anything during the life of this church," said Senior Minister Doug Fairbanks.

According to police, the boy was sitting between his parents and Wilson. At some point, the boy’s mother leaned over and reportedly saw Wilson showing X-rated videos on a smart phone to her child. 

According to the arrest report, a video of a naked woman bending over is what was being shown to the 4-year old.

The mother reportedly grabbed her son, walked away and told her husband about the video Wilson was showing their son.

Both parents reported the incident to church staff who immediately walked up behind Wilson and caught him viewing an X-rated movie showing multiple naked women. Wilson was immediately kicked out of the building and police were soon notified.

"Well I couldn’t be more proud of them for doing the right thing and reacting immediately and taking care of it," Fairbanks said.

Several homeless people at the church who knew Wilson reportedly told police that Wilson was also homeless and lived under an overpass near the 2400 block of Chestnut Street.

Later in the evening, police found Wilson at the underpass and took him into custody. While searching Wilson, police found two cell phones in his possession.

Wilson reportedly confessed to officers about using one of his cell phones for porn.

A judge set Wilson’s bond at $10,000.

Wilson is no stranger to trouble. In 2012, he was convicted on drug charges. In 2011, Wilson was convicted of theft and ordered to stay out of Walmart.

As for the boy and his mother, Minister Fairbanks said his church will offer the two of them professional counseling.

"I think anytime something this heinous happens; any where, we as a society need to do everything we can possibly do to help people face it, deal with it and move beyond it," Fairbanks said.