Ex-pastor’s sex-misconduct trial delayed

JONESBORO — A southern Illinois judge has pushed back until January the molestation trial of a former pastor who once guided fundraising efforts to restore southern Illinois’ towering Bald Knob Cross of Peace.

The (Carbondale) Southern Illinoisan reports that an attorney for 72-year-old Bill Vandergraph requested the later date during a hearing Monday in Jonesboro in Union County. A judge agreed, scheduling for Jan. 9 Vandergraph’s trial on counts of predatory sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

Vandergraph is accused of sexual misconduct with a 4-year-old child between January and April of last year.

He is free on bond and has pleaded not guilty.