Sheriff Duane Dillon said. Last week, David King's defense attorneys filed motions asking for a change of venue and requested he be tried separately from Nathan King. All three have pleaded innocent. Lawyers for King and Bates have refused to comment. Since the arrest, Dillon says at least eight people from Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi have come forward, alleging sexual abuse by David King and church followers.
Some allegations date back decades.
But Prosecutor Dunn Lampton called it a cult-like group, with the elder King as its patriarch. He can tell them to do anything and they'll do it,'' said lawyer Conrad Mord, who has handled three previous cases involving the church. David King was born in the Walthall County farming community and returned 23 years ago as a preacher with a large family and followers. About 35 people now live on the church grounds, a 58-acre compound with a large house and a scattering of mobile homes flanked by elm and magnolia trees. The church basement doubles as a school for the children.