Memphis pastor who admitted to 'sexual incident' with teen says encounter was 'consensual'

Pastor Andy Savage appears in a screen capture of a video from Highpoint Memphis Church. | YouTube/Highpoint Church

Pastor Andy Savage, who recently admitted to a "sexual incident" involving a teenager, has insisted that the encounter was consensual as he announced that he is taking a leave of absence to allow an independent audit of his ministry.

During a Sunday service at Highpoint Memphis Church earlier this month, Savage confessed to a sexual encounter in 1998 with then-17-year-old Jules Woodson when he served as a youth minister at Woodlands Parkway Baptist Church outside Houston, Texas.

Highpoint drew controversy when it broke into 25 seconds of applause after Savage confessed to the incident and asked for forgiveness.

In an interview with conservative radio host Ben Ferguson on Thursday, Savage claimed that Woodson had lied about the nature of the incident and insisted that the encounter was consensual.

"The atmosphere was very flirtatious. That flirtatious environment continued to move forward, which led to us making out, some heavy petting. It was a very mutual, spontaneous, physical moment. Our hormones were obviously very much in that moment, and she performed oral sex," the pastor said.

Chris Conlee, Highpoint's lead pastor, announced on Thursday that the church has issued a leave of absence for Savage to begin immediately. He noted that the church has asked "a qualified, independent, third-party organization to do a full audit of our church processes and Andy's ministry."

In a statement, Conlee said that the church will continue to support Savage and noted that the leave of absence was a mutual decision.

Woodson alleged in a blog post that Savage coerced her into performing oral sex on him when he drove her home from his Woodlands church.

"I was scared and embarrassed, but I did it. I remember feeling that this must mean that Andy loved me. He then asked me to unbutton my shirt. I did. He started touching over my bra and then lifted my bra up and began touching my breasts," she wrote.

Savage, who was 22 at the time, said that the encounter was "dealt with in Texas 20 years ago," but the incident has been recently been "presented to a wider audience."

Woodson had reported the incident to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children last week, but the Montgomery County District Attorney said that they cannot prosecute because the statute of limitations has run out.

When asked about what she thought about Savage's apology, Woodson told CNN through victim advocate Amy Smith that it was "disgusting." She stated on her blog that she is hoping that her decision to come forward would help her to "get closure and healing." She also expressed hope that her story might have a positive impact on others and it would help effect change in how such incidents are dealt with within the church.