Lisa Marchesoni
Posted: Thursday, May 14, 2009 3:19 pm

Two 12-year-old boys testified Thursday about sexual contact allegedly performed on them by a church youth volunteer.

Volunteer Matthew Maurice Jernigan, 24, of 136 Trailside Drive off Appomattox Drive in the Walter Hill community, was charged April 3 with molesting the young boys who attended Heartland Baptist Church on East Jefferson Pike with him.

Sheriff’s Detective Jim Tramel charged Jernigan with two counts of child rape, two counts of aggravated sexual battery and two counts of aggravated sexual battery by an authority figure.

General Sessions Court Judge David Loughry heard testimony from the two boys and Tramel during a preliminary hearing Thursday.

Loughry dismissed the two counts of sexual battery by an authority figure and advanced the remaining charges to grand jurors for a possible indictment.

Jernigan is being held in Rutherford County Adult Detention Center.

Loughry lowered bond from $500,000 to $200,000.