FARMINGTON – The District Attorney’s Office confirmed Friday that a charge of attempted unlawful sexual contact against a former pastor from Wilton has been dismissed. The trial of Alton J. Walston, 81, was scheduled to begin Monday.

Assistant District Attorney Andrew Robinson said information was provided to his office that convinced him the case against Walston could not be successfully prosecuted because there was not enough evidence. He declined to elaborate on the information he received.

Walston was indicted last November on the felony charge in connection with an incident at The First Apostolic Church in the spring of 2006. According to a sheriff’s affidavit filed in Franklin County Superior Court, Walston attempted to touch an 11-year-old boy’s genitals while praying with him.

Walston denied it, arresting officer David St. Laurent said.

“We knew that he never did that thing,” said Sharon Walston, who spoke for her husband Friday. “We’ve been trusting the Lord to bring it to an end.”

It is the second time Alton Walston has faced a sex-related charge. In 2004, he was accused of unlawful sexual contact with a teenage girl staying at his home overnight while his wife was away, according to a police affidavit. A warrant for his arrest was issued and he was taken into custody in early 2005 after he returned to Maine from California, where he was visiting his ill daughter, according to court records.

The felony charge was dismissed, and he was convicted of unlawful sexual touching, a misdemeanor, and given a 364-day suspended sentence and placed on probation for a year, Laurent said.

Walston resigned his position as co-pastor after the charge was made.

He was not required to register with the state as a sex offender, St. Laurent said, because he agreed to plead guilty to the lesser charge.

Speaking of the latest charge, Sharon Walston, the current pastor of First Apostolic, said the couple had refrained from speaking to the media in order to let the facts speak for themselves.

“We’ve gone about our business, holding our heads up because we knew it was false,” she said.

“We’d like to thank our friends and neighbors for not believing the lies told against him and believing in him. The people who knew him knew it wasn’t true.”