A pastor at a US megachurch has been given a standing ovation after admitting a 'sexual incident' with a teenage girl.
Highpoint Church pastor Andy Savage spoke to his congregation and asked for forgiveness after his victim brought up his past in a blog post.
Jules Woodson was 17 at the time of the incident, and accuses Savage of sexually assaulting her.
"It was dark outside," Ms Woodson wrote.
"As he was driving me toward my home, he passed the turn he should have made to go to my house. I asked him where he was going. I don't remember his exact response, but it was something along the lines of 'you'll see' or 'it's a surprise'."
He then allegedly exposed himself to her, touched her breasts and had her perform oral sex on him.
Ms Woodson told church leaders about the incident, but she says they covered it up. Following the #MeToo campaign she decided to take action again. She went public earlier this month accusing Savage of taking advantage of her.
In response, Savage spoke to his congregation and confessed.
"As a college student on staff at a church in Texas more than 20 years ago, I regretfully had a sexual incident with a female high school senior in the church," Savage said, according to CBS News.
However it's not enough for Ms Woodson, who accuses him of downplaying his actions.
"His apology isn't enough because number one, he's lying about how he handled it," Ms Woodson told Memphis's Action News 5.
"He never came to me, the church told him he couldn't talk to me and they told me I couldn't talk to him."
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