Accuser of Cowboy Way Church pastor speaks out

Jacob Thibodeaux kept the encounter secret for almost a decade.

Even when news broke that Dan Haby, pastor of the Cowboy Way Church in Alvarado, was arrested on accusations that he molested a teen years ago, Thibodeaux, 25, wrestled with whether he should come forward, feeling “it would be a betrayal of someone I cared deeply for.”

“In a battle amongst myself, I was totally convinced that I just absolutely couldn’t do such a thing to Dan, whether he was right or wrong,” said Thibodeaux, of Burleson. “I was completely ready to forgive him for everything he had done. Then I thought of my two beautiful little girls. I thought about what would happen if it were them in my place, how I would feel, how I would react.”

After reaching out to and receiving encouragement from relatives of the first alleged victim, Thibodeaux said, he finally shared his story with Fort Worth police, leading to a second charge against Haby of indecency with a child/fondling.

It would not be the last.

Last month, after an investigation by Burleson police into a third man’s allegation, the Johnson County district attorney’s office charged Haby with indecency with a child.

The man reported to Johnson County sheriff’s investigators in late August that Haby, whom he considered a friend and mentor, had inappropriately touched him when he was 16, according to a Sheriff’s Department incident report. Johnson County forwarded the case to Burleson after learning that two of the alleged incidents occurred there.

Burleson police said that while one of the incidents did not appear to rise to the level of a crime, investigators filed charges in connection with an encounter at a Pizza Hut believed to have occurred in 2006 or 2007.

Thibodeaux said he was worried that there could be more victims, so he went public with his story, giving up the anonymity customary in such cases.

“I decided it’s time for someone to come out to show others who may be victims and who are scared or embarrassed that they aren’t alone,” Thibodeaux said. “I receive no reward for this, and I’ll probably be shamed by members of the church more so than being applauded, which I’m fine with.”

In an emailed statement, Haby’s attorney, Mark Daniel, said: “These accusations, and the source of the accusations, have no basis in fact. We will be prepared to defend against them at the appropriate time.”

Haby has not delivered sermons since his first arrest, but it’s unclear whether he has been removed as pastor.

The church’s website is down.

Leigh Williams, children’s pastor at the church, declined to answer questions Tuesday and forwarded a message from the Star-Telegram to church board members. They did not respond.

‘I knew I felt uncomfortable’

Thibodeaux was a junior in high school when his girlfriend introduced him to Haby. Though Thibodeaux never became a member, he said, he often attended the Cowboy Way Church and grew close to the pastor.

About six months after the introduction, Thibodeaux said, the two went out for dinner. Afterward, Haby said he needed to stop by his old house.

“He said he had to go pick up some mail or something like that, and he asked if I wanted to come in,” Thibodeaux said.

Haby was apparently moving out of the Fort Worth house, which had no furniture, Thibodeaux said.

Haby led him to a back room that held only a mirror, lay down on the floor and pulled the teen down to sit next to him, Thibodeaux said.

“He just started talking to me about my sexual encounters with my girlfriend, about how many times I masturbated a week — just real awkward conversation,” Thibodeaux said.

He said Haby told him that he needed to figure out what he was going to do with his life and encouraged the teen to take off his shirt and look in the mirror.

Thibodeaux declined to take off his shirt. He said that before he left the house, Haby hugged him for a long time and kissed him on the mouth.

Thibodeaux said he was too young to realize that what had taken place might constitute a crime.

“I knew I felt uncomfortable with the things that had happened. It all just happened so fast,” he said. “I realized it was traumatic for me when I tried to push the memories to the back of my mind. I didn’t feel sexually assaulted, just uncomfortable.

“I thought that maybe, seeing that Dan was the only preacher I’d been associated with my entire life, that it was normal, I suppose, to express so much concern towards my well-being.”

Thibodeaux said he believes he was targeted because of his strained relationship with his father.

Haby “likes to play the fatherly role,” Thibodeaux said. “He tries to play father for those people who don’t have very good fathers and tries to make them feel comfortable around him.”

‘A sense of betrayal’

After the encounter, Thibodeaux said, he maintained his friendship with Haby but made sure they were never alone again.

When Thibodeaux was sentenced to prison in a burglary case, Haby wrote him regularly, he said.

“I’ve talked to him since I’ve been out,” Thibodeaux said. “We had a pretty good friendship going.”

After going to the police, Thibodeaux said, he felt so guilty that he sent Haby’s wife a message on Facebook asking her to tell Haby that he was sorry.

“I had to talk to a detective today. Hardest thing I’ve ever had to do Melanie,” he wrote. “And I’m sorry. I just need him to know that.”

Thibodeaux said he has come to grips with having to report the encounter. He has heard people say that he and the other accusers are motivated by anger, money or a desire for publicity. But he said that’s simply not true.

“I found him to be a charming and lovable guy,” he said. “He knows almost everything about me. I’ve confided some of my darkest secrets with him. I trusted him, and with my actions, I feel a sense of betrayal deep in my heart. But my feelings for Dan don’t turn the wrong into right.”

Thibodeaux said he’d like to see Haby get help.

“I’m not doing this to hurt Dan or condemn the Cowboy Way Church,” Thibodeaux said. “I find Dan to have a huge heart, but a perverse mind. And if anything, I want him to get help to be the man of God his followers need him to be.”

This story was originally published November 28, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Accuser of Cowboy Way Church pastor speaks out."