NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A former Tennessee pastor accused of molesting several children while he was a Nashville church leader has pleaded not guilty at his first court appearance. The Tennessean reports a public defender accepted the case against Matthew Dennis Patterson and entered a not guilty plea on his behalf Wednesday. Nashville police arrested Patterson on March 8 in Pennsylvania, where he moved after resigning Sept. 24 from Nolensville Road Baptist Church.