Oct. 16 -- An Inola pastor is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 26 after being convicted of raping and inappropriately touching young girls.
A Rogers County jury found Roy Shoop, 60, guilty Oct. 9 and recommended he spend 35 years in prison and pay $30,000 in fines.
"Roy Shoop will die in a cage," said Rogers County Sheriff Scott Walton.
The woman who answered the church's phone Thursday said the church would not comment at this time.
Shoop and his wife, Diana, trained kids for rodeo events, according to court documents. Prosecutors say that between 2018 and 2020, he preyed on each of his three young victims while they were at his residence, working with his horses and taking barrel racing lessons.
None of the three girls knew one another, according to court documents. They were all between 12 and 15 years old when Shoop victimized them.
The first two victims reported Shoop had inappropriately touched them on their buttocks, thighs and groin areas. The third reported Shoop penetrated her twice with his fingers.
Walton said Shoop is a "pissant predator" who used his pulpit to harm children.
"I think there's a special place in hell for people like him that condition and groom these girls and take advantage of them and change their lives forever," Walton said. "We booked him into the Rogers County jail [Wednesday] -- the devil himself -- so he won't victimize anybody else around here."
Walton lives in Inola. He said though Inola is a good community, the people who supported Shoop until the end had developed a cult-like mindset.
Prosecutors from District Attorney Matt Ballard's office handled the case. Spokesperson Michelle Lowry said she was glad the jury returned a guilty verdict because it shows victims that law enforcement will deliver them justice.
"It's been a very long road for these little girls that were victims," Lowry said. "Hopefully this will encourage other victims to know that law enforcement will believe them, that juries will believe them, because it's so common for especially child victims of sexual abuse to not disclose for years or even into adulthood or never disclose."