Coy Privette

Who is Coy Privette?

Coy Clarence Privette is a Baptist pastor, conservative activist, and politician in the U.S. state of North Carolina.

In 1976, Privette was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for Governor of North Carolina, losing in a primary runoff to David Flaherty. He later served four terms in the North Carolina House of Representatives. In 1992, he ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House of Representatives in North Carolina's 8th congressional district. Since 1998, Privette has been a county commissioner in Cabarrus County, North Carolina until 2010 when he did not seek re-election.

He is a longtime member of North Kannapolis Baptist Church, where he was pastor for 14 years and was later named pastor emeritus.

In 2007, Privette was charged with six counts of aiding and abetting prostitution. Privette then resigned as president of North Carolina's Christian Action League.

According to The Charlotte Observer:

The charges stem from a Kannapolis bank contacting police about a suspicious check written off Privette's checking account...the check investigation led detectives to Tiffany Denise Summers and "illegal activity" in Salisbury. Kannapolis called Rowan District Attorney William Kenerly, who asked the State Bureau of Investigation to investigate. Warrants issued by the SBI Thursday accuse Privette of paying Summers for sexual acts from May 4 through June 25 in a Salisbury hotel room. A witness listed on the warrants is a narcotics investigator for the Kannapolis Police Department. Summers was charged with six counts of prostitution, according to the warrants.... Summers has previous convictions of drug possession, prostitution and possessing stolen goods, according to court documents. Last month, Salisbury police officers picked her up near a hotel where rooms are rented by the hour. Salisbury officers have arrested her several times for drug activity, said Salisbury Police Chief Mark Wilhelm. In one case, court documents show Summers was found with a man's Wachovia teller card.