Pastor accused of rape kills himself

ORLANDO, Fla. — Rev. Bryan Fulwider, a former Winter Park minister who was recently arrested on charges that he repeatedly raped a teenage girl while he was her pastor, was found dead Sunday evening at his Altamonte Springs home where he had killed himself, according to police.

Emergency crews were called to Fulwider’s home about 11:50 p.m. Sunday for a possible suicide. Fulwider was pronounced dead there, ASPD spokeswoman Michelle Sosa said.

Fulwider, 59, had been out on bail since Oct. 17. The former “Friends Talking Faith” co-host faced a slew of charges including sexual battery on a minor by a person in custodial authority. He could have faced life in prison, if convicted. He had pleaded not guilty.

The Medical Examiner’s Office for Seminole County ruled the death a suicide, its records show.

Prosecutors had described the case against Fulwider as “extremely strong,” pointing to an almost hourlong recorded call between Fulwider and his accuser, in which Fulwider admitted the woman was a victim and he was a predator in the “eyes of the law.”

In that controlled call, Winter Park Police Department detectives said they recorded Fulwider admitting to a “sexual relationship” with the victim for years when she was younger than 18.

“(T)here was never anything salacious or bad about it and you were always too damn mature for your own good and I have always loved you,” Fulwider told his accuser in the call, according to police. “It wasn’t like I was off hunting people. It was a connection.”