THE SHEPHERD AND THE WOLF: A ST. THOMAS PASTOR’S DESCENT
BETRAYAL OF TRUST: Pastor Lawrence Turnbull, 65, of Estate Mandahl, was arrested on April 1, 2026, on federal and local charges involving the alleged sexual abuse of a minor under his care. Turnbull, a well-known youth leader and the pastor of St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church, allegedly exploited his mentorship role over a six-year period. He now faces a potential life sentence if convicted in federal court. (Photo: Facebook)
By JOHN McCARTHY / St. Croix Sun Staff Writer
ST. THOMAS— In the humid, salt-slicked hills of Estate Mandahl, trust is a currency more valuable than the dollar. For the small congregation of St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church, Lawrence Turnbull wasn’t just a man in a pulpit; he was the "Genuine Article"—a shepherd who had stayed behind to patch blue tarps after the 2017 hurricanes when others had fled for the mainland.
But federal authorities say the 65-year-old pastor was hiding a predatory darkness behind his "genuine" Baptist love.
On Wednesday, the "shepherd" was led away in handcuffs. United States Attorney Adam F. Sleeper announced a federal and local indictment against Turnbull that reads like a litany of betrayal: transportation of a minor for criminal sexual activity, coercion, and enticement.
According to court documents, Turnbull’s alleged "mentorship" was a six-year masterclass in grooming. He didn't just preach to the minor; he moved them through the physical geography of the island, allegedly using the privacy of his vehicle to transform a "father figure" role into something sinister.
A HISTORY OF SHADOWS
This isn't the first time Turnbull’s name has surfaced in the cold ledger of a courtroom. A 2016 affidavit once placed him at the center of a murder investigation, not as a suspect, but as a man who claimed to have "dropped off" two men the night of a killing in Anna’s Retreat. Back then, he was a witness—a pillar of the community helping detectives piece together the jagged edges of a crime.
Now, the tables have turned. The man who once spoke to the Baptist Press about the "spiritual component" of tragedy is facing a tragedy of his own making.
THE FEDERAL HAMMER
Assistant U.S. Attorney Rhonda Williams-Henry—no stranger to the territory’s most harrowing child exploitation cases—is leading the prosecution. The stakes are as high as the midday sun. If a jury finds that the pastor used his youth leader status to hunt instead of help, Turnbull is looking at a mandatory minimum of 10 years.
The maximum? Life in a federal cell.
For a man who spent his Sundays promising salvation, the legal reality is now entirely lacking in grace. Presumed innocent until proven guilty, Turnbull currently sits in the shadow of the Ron de Lugo Federal Building, waiting for a "“light of day" that the law may never grant him.
