Co. pastor killed by train was arrested week prior for sex crime

Authorities say a man killed when he was struck by a train was a 62-year-old pastor who was arrested about a week earlier on suspicion of unlawful sexual contact.

The Weld County Coroner on Sunday identified the man as Paul Stephen Wakefield of Gilcrest.

It says Wakefield was on foot when a southbound train struck him about noon Friday on the tracks along U.S. 85 in Weld County.

The Greeley Tribune reports that Wakefield, a pastor at Gilcrest Baptist Church, was arrested Jan. 3 following a Windsor Police Department investigation.

In addition to unlawful sexual contact, a misdemeanor, Wakefield was booked into the Weld County Jail on suspicion of committing a crime against an at-risk person, a felony. He released on bail.