By Nathan Duke
A longtime Bayside pastor is expected to be indicted in Queens later this month on rape charges in an alleged incident involving an underage girl, a law enforcement source said. He is also facing a jury trial in a separate assault case in Connecticut.
Phillip Joubert, 48, of Norwalk, Conn., has pleaded not guilty in both cases. But a law enforcement source said he will be indicted on first- and second-degree rape charges during his next court appearance on May 24 at the Kew Gardens Courthouse.
Joubert, who has been pastor of Bayside’s Community Baptist Church for years, is currently free on bail, the spokeswoman said.
He was arraigned Nov. 25 before Queens Criminal Court Judge Lenora Gerald following two alleged rape incidents involving an underage girl that took place between July 25 and Aug. 2, a spokeswoman for Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.
The law enforcement source said Joubert had been arrested in late November at an unspecified Queens airport after having arrived from an overseas trip. If convicted in the Queens case, he could face up to 25 years in prison, the DA’s spokeswoman said.
The pastor will also go before a jury in a Connecticut case in which he has been charged with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, and risk of injury to a child, a felony, according to court records from Connecticut’s Judicial Branch.
Joubert had been arrested Dec. 31 and pleaded not guilty to both charges, court records show. He will now return to court in Connecticut June 3.
The alleged assault took place Nov. 14 at his home in Norwalk, Conn., court records show. Police from that city allege Joubert struck a 13-year-old girl in the face and punched her several times in the torso after he came home to find his apartment messy.
Richard Benson, Joubert’s Queens lawyer, could not be reached for comment.
The defendant is listed as the pastor on a sign in front of the Community Baptist Church, at 46-19 206th St. in Bayside. He is also listed as pastor on the Web site of Norwalk’s New Light Missionary Baptist Church.
Neighbors of the church have said they were aware of the pastor’s arrest, but did not want to comment or be identified.
Reach reporter Nathan Duke by e-mail at nduke@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.
