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Former pastor arrested on sex assault charges

2012-02-02T11:28:00.000-08:00

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - A well known former Kalamazoo pastor has been arrested and charged with sexually assaulting children.

Milton Wells appeared in court in Kalamazoo County on Tuesday. The 62-year-old former pastor is charged with two counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct and eight counts of second degree CSC.

What we know from court records is that there are two victims involved. According to family of the alleged victims, both girls were under twelve years old at the time.

The charges come from incidents that happened between January and July of 2010. Wells has been ordered to stay away from anyone under 18 and his bond was set at $10,000.

It was in July we first told you Wells was under investigation by the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office.

He is well known for his service to the community. Along with being Pastor at Open Door Ministries, he has been the President of the Commission on Homeless and the Director of the Michigan Prisoner Reentry Initiative in Kalamazoo.

Last year when the investigation started he resigned or took a leave of absence from all of those positions.

Former church volunteer charged with sexual assault

2012-02-01T10:52:00.000-08:00

A former Calgary church volunteer has been arrested and charged with molesting teenage boys in incidents dating back as far as 1981.

Police laid charges against 58 year old Russell Rodman on Tuesday and his son said the charges are only the latest step in a difficult process.

"He came to me actually and told me this was what was going on and he needed help," said Greg Rodman.
Rodman's family and church then urged him to turn himself in to police.

In 1981, Rodman was a volunteer leader at at least one Calgary Baptist church.

Police say that's when Rodman first started molesting boys – they say three boys were involved, aged 11 to 14 years old.

The boys were assaults at various times over the next 14 year at Rodman's home.

Police say the victims are showing a lot of courage in speaking out. "It's been a difficult road for the victims," says Det. Stephen Johnson.

Johnson adds that it might take some time for other victims to come forward.

Rodman is a current member of the Bridgeland Baptist Fellowship church and the current pastor says the church alerted members when the allegations came out.

Rodman was quickly removed from any kind of leadership roles as soon as they came to light, says Pastor Joel Gordon.

Russell Rodman is charged with two counts of sexual assault and one count each of gross indecency, indecent exposure to a person under 14 and sexual contact with a youth by a person in authority.

He is expected to appear in court on February 10.

2012-01-28T19:09:00.001-08:00

Popes Gone Wild: What the Catholic Church Would Rather You Forget

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By Theophanes

Pope Alexander VI

The man pictured above is the poster boy for Catholic debauchery. His name was Pope Alexander VI. He wasn't the first, nor the last, of a string of simply sinful popes. In fact if he had a trading card the back might read something like this:
"Achievements: Successfully started the world's first recorded crime family, sired at least four bastard children, hosted orgies within the walls of the Vatican, and shunned the poor in favor of flamboyant decadence.
Good Qualities: Severe loyalty to kith and kin (even to the point of almost plunging Italy into all out war just so his bastard children could have the life he wanted for them. Awe.)
Scandals: Still being accused of breaking up his daughter's marriage in favor if an incestuous relationship with himself, whispered to be involved in a few choice assassinations, and oh yes, there was that whole mistress and string of wild Vatican orgy parties...
God's Judgment: Death by slow intestinal bleeding."
Charming guy that pope Alexander VI. Rumor has it his entire bastard clan were murderous and drunk on power. And so the love spread, long after his death. Just the fact he wasn't stabbed or poisoned is a small miracle in itself. I'm just using him to illustrate a point. The papacy is full of scandals, rife for the pages of Catholic Inquirer.

More Papal Oopsies

Pope Stephen VI was probably the perpetrator of the most bizarre event in papal history. After being elected to be pope he had his predecessor exhumed from his grave, brought into court, and tried for various crimes. The corpse was unsurprisingly found guilty as sin and his three blessing fingers were hacked off as punishment. He was then reburied before he was dug up once again in order to be thrown into the Tiber. Forgiveness anyone?
Pope John XII didn't even have a good start. He was said to have been born to a fourteen year old mother, sired by a man who was both his father and grandfather. Never one to shun tradition he continued this Oedipal cycle of dysfunction and also took his mother on as a lover. He was only eighteen when he became pope and only twenty-seven when he left it, by way of death. Rumor has it he was murdered during a jealous rage when the husband of one of his mistresses walked in on them in bed. This would indeed be a fitting end to a pope who was such a womanizer he was have said to have violated virgins and widows alike and had so many women filing in and out of the Vatican that everyone said it had been turned into a brothel. Sex wasn't his only downfall though; he was rumored to have murdered several people and was fond of hacking off his enemies limbs. Far from being a saint I think this pope was trying to reach a new record of depravity.
Pope Benedict IX: Depending on what sources you believe Pope Benedict IX was given the papacy anywhere between eleven and twenty years of age. St. Peter Damian accused him of routinely screwing other men and his four legged friends amongst other crimes. Apparently that wasn't even scratching the surface when it came to grievances thrust into his direction. Bishop Benno of Piacenza accused him of committing, "many vile adulteries and murders."^{He was also accused of rape and murder by his eventual successor before he decided to be the first and only pope to bring the free market to the papacy, selling his position to his Godfather John Gratian.}
Pope Boniface VIII decided to take the free market a bit further and was accused of simony (that's accepting cash for appointing religious positions) in Dante's infamous Divine Comedy. Though he was alive at the time he showed an uncharacteristic apathy and didn't order Dante tortured, maimed, or killed. Lucky Dante!
Pope Urban II cowed France into attacking the Muslim world, throwing the region into five hundred years of religious warfare, which as you can see by the current day turned out remarkably well...
Pope Urban VI is best remembered for his gratuitously violent nature. Like any true psychopath he was said to have complained when his enemies didn't "scream loud enough" under torture. God apparently likes screaming more then He likes hymns.
Pope John XXII was the first to persecute "witches." Although he was the richest man in the entire world at the time he was still not happy with his lot in life. He deemed that all the "witches" and "heretics" could be accused after death and that all their land should be seized.
Pope Sixtus IV authorized the Spanish Inquisition and all it's various forms of torture to gently convince the Jews, Moors, and Heretics that Catholic love and compassion were the way to God. While all this was going on it's rumored that Pope Sixtus IV was busy fathering children with his eldest sister and carrying on several bisexual relationships. Not surprisingly he was also said to have suffered from syphilis. God's wrath? Maybe for him.
Pope Gregory XII burned John Huss of Bohemia at the stake after declaring his safety from such a fate. His crime? He spoke out against papal corruption. The pope's response? "When dealing with heretics, one is not obligated to keep his word."
Pope John XXIII reigned for five years (1410-1415) before he pissed off so many other Catholics that he was striped of his title and declared anti-pope. So what was so bad about this mobsteresque pope? For one he decided to terrorize the students at the University of Bologna by demanding they pay a price to be protected from violent thugs who just happened to be under his order. That's not what earned him his anti-pope title though, that had to be credited to the accusations of murder, rape, sodomy, incest, and piracy.
Pope Urban XIII struck up a friendship with a young Galileo which is probably what spared his life later on when the pope tried him for heresy. Galileo was sentenced to life imprisonment which was later changed into house arrest. He died nine years later still under house arrest for claiming that a spherical earth revolved around the sun. This decree of heresy was not lifted until 350 years later.
Pius XII reputation comes from his lack of action rather then from anything he did personally. He was the pope during Hitler's reign of terror and didn't so much as speak one direct harsh word about the man who was slaughtering millions. Hitler was Catholic after all and never antagonized the papacy (which is apparently the one way to get excommunicated.) His continuing refusal to say anything against the Nazi party lasted throughout the war with lame excuses being put forth behind the reasoning as to why this was. He claimed he would not decry any individual atrocities publicly and when faced with the Holocaust he merely claimed there wasn't enough evidence it was actually happening. Perhaps he was afraid of pissing off a people who could easily kill him. But then again, for someone who is supposed to be the closest man to God his moral senses should have outweighed any thought of self-preservation. After all Jesus didn't seem particularly keen on pussyfooting around the corrupt people of his era. Catholicism and Christianity love martyrs!
Pope John Paul II, our current pope, was also part of Hitler's Youth. This would probably disqualify him for political positions if he went that route instead of the papacy. Though he's publicly condemned all forms of birth control and gay marriage, his only reaction to the pedophile priest scandals was merely to issue a feeble apology for 2000 years worth of pedophile church swapping, record burying, and secret payoffs to families for not denouncing the church publicly. He never condemned the behavior and only started defrocking priests when the masses started to put intense pressure on him to do so. Even so not that many priests were let go compared to what are likely out there. Apparently pedophilia is a more forgivable sin then birth control.

Conclusion

I have merely listed a few personalities in this article. If you dig deep enough you could probably find incriminating accusations about most of the popes to serve through history, even the first, St Peter. St Peter was a known misogynist, even going so far as to drive Mary Magdala (of whose influence Jesus himself was fond of) out of Rome. He is largely credited with starting the movement in Christianity not to allow women positions of religious power (as they were seen at almost the same frequency as men in the first four centuries of Christianity's existence.) Though Peter did have a wife he was quoted as having harsh feelings even towards marriage, leading some to suspect he may have been gay. Of course this theory is denounced by the Catholic Church and is still floating around the outskirts of Biblical Theory but it's gaining in popularity. In the end I fail to see how any of the men ever elected pope could possibly be closer to God then the rest of the human population when their short comings are so pathetically enormous. Very few of them seem to have any idea what Jesus was talking about with the whole love, compassion, and forgiveness thing and between them all they've probably violated every commandment.

2012-01-26T10:55:00.000-08:00

A Bartow pastor was among four men arrested Wednesday in a sex sting at Peace River Park.

The men solicited sex from undercover male detectives, and in some cases, exposed themselves in the park on State Road 640 near Bartow, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

The suspects included Matthew Preston Clark, 33, of 1230 S. McAdoo Ave. in Bartow. Deputies said he told them he is married and serves as senior pastor of Blessed Assurance Temple in Bartow.

Towson priest arrested for indecent exposure

2012-01-23T11:47:00.000-08:00

ABINGDON, Md. - A priest at a Towson Catholic church has been charged with indecent exposure for exposing himself at a Harford County porn shop.

According to a police report, Mark Stewart Bullock, an associate pastor at Immaculate Conception Church, was arrested on January 16 ^th at the Bush River Book Store in Abingdon on charges of indecent exposure and disorderly conduct.

A police spokesperson said that at around 11:40 p.m. deputies found Bullock in a theater at the back of the store sitting on a couch with no underwear on and his pants down. Police said he was sitting in an area where the public could see him. Bullock was advised to get dressed and was arrested for indecent exposure and disorderly conduct.

Bullock was taken to the Harford County Detention Center for processing.

The Harford County Sherriff’s office said it regularly conducts spots checks of the bookstore to ensure there is no improper conduct occurring. In recent days the neighborhood association reported increased traffic at the bookstore.

Police said there were several arrests at the Bush River Bookstore last week in addition to the arrest of Bullock.

Pompano Beach youth pastor arrested on molestation charge

2012-01-20T10:41:00.000-08:00

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. -- Fort Lauderdale Police arrested a youth pastor accused of groping a girl under 12 years old, luring her into his home with food and molesting her when she came inside.

Police report that on Jan. 15, Raymond Vincent, 41, lured the girl inside his residence and groped her. She also told police Vincent had molested her two times in 2011.

Vincent told detectives that he is a youth pastor at a church in Pompano Beach, which has police concerned there may be more victims.

Investigators are urging anyone whose children may have had inappropriate contact with Vincent to contact Detective Felicia Barnwell at 954-828-5533 or Detective Lorette Innocent-Doles 954-828-5137. They are also asking for the help of the public in identifying the church where Vincent is a youth pastor.

Ex-church youth leader gets probation in sex assaults

2011-12-22T10:28:00.001-08:00

MEDIA COURTHOUSE — A former church youth group leader pleaded no contest to three counts of indecent assault against female church group members, for which he received six years of county probation.

Adam Donald Shorey, 23, of the 1400 block of Cooper Circle, West Chester, was arrested earlier this year after Pennsylvania State Police interviewed several victims and other members of the Grace Fellowship Church, then located in Newtown Township.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, five victims filed a report with state police claiming Shorey had sexually assaulted them between November 2005 and January 2009. Shorey was the church’s youth group leader at the time of the assaults. All involved female juveniles.

“I am truly and deeply remorseful for pain I have caused, for decisions I made that hurt others,” Shorey told Judge Barry Dozor. “It was never my intention to hurt others, but I fully realize the ways that it has. I seek now simply to live a life as a faithful husband and father and son and worker. I do not believe I am a threat to people going forward. I do not believe that I am someone who will hurt people.”

The father of two victims told the judge Shorey’s actions had “devastated” his family and “brought a degree of anguish into our lives that has been unparalleled.”

“With cowardice and cunning, he betrayed my entire family,” the man said. “While he allowed me to commend him publically for his attempts to serve our church community, he engaged in the sexual assault of my girls and their friends. … I do not believe this man has been truthful to his family or to himself. I do think Adam has only his selfish interest in view with his plea today. I do believe it is likely he will continue to harm other women in the future.”

Assistant District Attorney Michael Galantino also read letters from victims and their family members similarly describing devastating impacts and fractured relationships.

“To think that I will never know what my life would have been like without all of this makes me sick,” said one victim wrote. “To think that someone who was supposed to protect us and be a Godly influence could ever do that to someone leaves me speechless. The fact of the matter is I have seen my entire family crumble to pieces by the actions of this one man.”

Dozor said the plea deal was a very charitable one, calling Shorey’s conduct indecent, shameful, and a violation of the children’s dignity and self-esteem.

“What will cause you to deserve this charity is measured by the quality of your life in the future,” he told Shorey. “Your words are empty to me. You need to put your words into actions, and the best way you could provide some relief, if that’s possible at all, is to have a life of value.”

Auburndale youth pastor arrested Monday

2011-12-18T10:37:00.001-08:00

A 25-year-old youth ministry leader at an Auburndale church is facing lewd molestation charges.

Lakeland Police arrested Darryl Leonard Taylor, Jr. Monday night.

According to police, the investigation began on November 14, 2011, when a father contacted police to report his child had been sexually molested by Taylor.

Police say the victim had revealed to an elder at the church that he had been molested by Taylor and the elder contacted the child's father.

Police say an investigation revealed three other victims.

Fourth pastor arrested in one week on child sex charges in Polk County

2011-12-18T10:33:00.000-08:00

LAKELAND --
A Polk County church pastor arrested on five counts of sexual battery on a child will remain in custody.
Polk County Sheriff's detectives arrested Winter Haven resident Arnold Mathis, 40, on Saturday.

Mathis has a court-appointed attorney. He was scheduled to have a first appearance Sunday morning but they opted to have a bond hearing later in the week.

It's the fourth time in one week a church pastor has been arrested and charged with one or more child sex-related crimes in Polk County.

Mathis is a current assistant pastor at Higher Praise Ministries, in Lake Wales, but officials said the incident happened in 2005 while he was the senior pastor at Saint City Power and Praise Ministries, in Winter Haven.

According to officials, Mathis met the victim at a basketball game and turned into a mentor to the child.

Detectives said Mathis approached the boy and offered financial help, including offering to buy new shoes.

The victim did not have a father figure in his life and felt that Mathis was trying to be a mentor.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Mathis wasn't what he seemed: "He's a monster."
Judd said monster truly describes Mathis.

"Arnold Mathis was the master of grooming. He had grooming children down to an art," Judd said.

Victim comes forward

Detectives said the victim contacted PCSO deputies Friday and advised them of the alleged sexual battery incidents from 6 years ago.

The victim said the alleged abuse occured in Mathis' home and other places.

According to an arrest report, then 34-year-old Mathis met the victim at a local park, took him to his home and engaged in oral sex with the 14-year-old boy.

After the alleged incident was over, Mathis allegedly gave the victim a $100 bill and told him to buy a prepaid phone to allow the two to communicate.

Over the the next two months, Mathis is accused of engaging the victim in more sexual activity, and providing more gifts and money.

Officials said the incident occurred seven years ago, when the victim was a 14-year-old. The victim is now 21.

"Children are not safe around him," Judd said.

Suspect's current church head pastor speaks

The head pastor of Mathis' current church, Harold Lonton, said Mathis is, in fact, an associate pastor at the church.

Lanton would not say if Mathis is a youth pastor or if they have any prior knowledge of Mathis' sexual offenses.

Lanton said Mathis was a volunteer and was not in a paid position.

He said the church never had any problems with Mathis.

History of sexual abuse

Mathis was arrested by Polk County Sheriff's deputies in August 2004 and in January 2011 for failure to register as a sex offender.

Mathis was required to register as a sexual offender after a 1997 Leon County conviction. He served 4 years for the crime.

Judd said "the shock of this investigation is, he's already a sex offender, he's already been to prison and he's still a youth pastor or associate pastor? That's terrible."

Minister arrests shock residents

2011-12-16T09:30:00.000-08:00

MULBERRY - Two former youth ministers in Polk County made their first court appearances Thursday morning.

Ricardo Navarro, 28; and Edward Demoreta, 30, are both accused of having sex with the same underage girl.

Deputies say the abuse started when she was 13 years old, and she's now getting counseling.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd laid out the stories at a press conference Wednesday.

His remarks and two arrest affidavits tell the story of two youth ministers who investigators say preyed on the same teenage girl over the course of two years -- all of which came to light in the past couple of weeks.

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According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, the incidents happened at different times over the course of two years, and neither man knew the other was also abusing the girl.

Ricardo Navarro, 28, is accused of sexually abusing the girl in an incident in December of 2010.

Navarro was the youth pastor at First Assembly of God Church in Mulberry, where the girl attended.

The victim told investigators Navarro fondled her, according to an arrest report provided by the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

Then, from November 27th through the 30th of this year, investigators say Navarro sent the victim text messages asking her to send him naked pictures of herself.

Polk Sheriff Grady Judd said the girl called the sheriff's office to report Navarro.

According to the arrest report, Navarro admitted to the texts. He was arrested Tuesday night, and charged with lewd and lascivious behavior with a victim 12 to 16 years old; and enticing a child to distribute computer porn.

******
According to the sheriff's office, Navarro was let go as youth pastor at the church about a year ago when new head pastor Lee Thomas came in and brought new staff members with him.

One of those staffers was 30-year-old youth pastor Edward Demoreta.

Demoreta was also a teacher at Mulberry Middle School. That's where investigators say he began having sexual encounters with the victim in 2009.

An arrest affidavit says the girl performed a sex act on Demoreta on three separate occasions: during an after-school tutoring session in his classroom, while driving her from school to church and also in the church parking lot.

According to Sheriff Judd, rumors began circulating around the church that Demoreta was engaging inappropriate conduct with a minor.

Judd said Pastor Thomas confronted Demoreta, and he confessed.

Thomas suspended him and contacted the sheriff's office within 24 hours, according to Sheriff Judd.
"The current head pastor at First Assembly of God is a hero," Judd said.

Demoreta was also arrested Tuesday night and charged with three counts of lewd battery, which are all second-degree felonies.

"We're talking about people who all knew better, but they chose to ignore what was right, to do what was wrong," Judd said.

**********
Demoreta and Navarro are both being held in Polk County jail with no bond.

Demoreta and Navarro live close to each other in adjacent neighborhoods. Neighbors of both men were stunned at the news.

"Oh my gosh, you've got to be kidding me," one man who did not want to be identified, shaking his head, out of breath, and then dropping to the ground.

Alex Perez lives just two houses away from Demoreta, and said he installed Demoreta's heating and cooling system a year ago.

Perez and his wife have a boy and three girls of their own. He was greatly concerned when he heard the news and said they guard their children all the time.

"We don't let them ride bikes unless we're with them, or go anywhere in a neighbor's home,
nothing like that," said Perez. "Even your 13 year old?," we asked. "No, yeah," he said. "Even her. She's with us all the time."

Youth pastor arrested

2011-12-15T10:24:00.000-08:00

The Polk County Sheriff's Office arrested two former youth pastors and the head football coach at Lakeland's George Jenkins High School on sex-related charges against children.

Matt Thompson, 30, was arrested Wednesday morning and charged with having sex with a 17-year-old female student, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said at a press conference. Judd said Thompson had sex with the girl at least three times.

Judd said he received a call suggesting he investigate a claim that Thompson, commonly referred to as "The Dude," was performing sexual acts with students. An investigation determined that he was flirting with a 17-year-old student and on at least three occasions, he invited her to his residence. At least twice, Judd said the investigation revealed, Thompson engaged in sexual conduct with the student.

Polk County investigators say they have recorded conversations in which he admitted to having sex with a minor.

During the time that he was flirting with the student, Thompson allegedly was heard saying, "if you tell anyone, I will lose my job. If you tell anyone, I will go to jail."

Judd added, "I can't speak for his job, but I can tell you he's going to jail. And he's going to jail for a first-degree felony."

According to Judd, there were rumors that Thompson may have had sex with other children. Those rumors have not been confirmed.

"If there are other victims of this head football coach who was in a position of authority and power, we want to know about it so we can make sure he's brought to justice on those charges as well," Judd said.

Police: Youth ministry leader molests boy

2011-12-15T10:19:00.000-08:00

MESA, AZ (KPHO) -
A Valley youth ministry leader accused of molesting a boy at a church summer camp has been placed on administrative leave by his employer.

Phoenix Collegiate Academy, where Brown said he has worked full time since October, made the announcement Thursday morning.

Jasmine Brown was arrested Tuesday, according to Mesa police. At the time of the alleged molestation, Brown worked as a youth leader at their church, Family of God Christian Fellowship in Apache Junction.

The boy's relatives reported the incident to Mesa police Monday evening.

The victim told sex crime detectives that Brown had "touched him inappropriately on two occasions," police said.

During interviews with investigators, detectives said they learned Brown and the boy spent many nights together during the summer camp.

Brown told detectives he has worked as a teacher's aide since October 2011 at Phoenix Collegiate Academy. He said he works with special-needs children. Before then, Brown said he worked at the Roosevelt School District.

Brown was booked into jail on two counts of sexual conduct with a minor and three counts of child molestation.

Churchill pastor charged with possessing child porn

2011-12-11T09:42:00.000-08:00

The pastor of St. John Fisher Church in Churchill was arrested Saturday on a charge of possessing child pornography after investigating detectives said he admitted using his computer in the church rectory to view at least 100 images of boys.

The Rev. Bartley A. Sorensen, 62, was arraigned on the third-degree felony early Saturday afternoon in Pittsburgh Municipal Court. District Judge Tara Smith set bail at $100,000 and required Father Sorensen to undergo an evaluation by the Allegheny County Behavioral Clinic and prohibited him from using electronic equipment.

The Rev. Ronald Lengwin, spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, said in a statement that when diocesan officials learned of a report from a church employee of what she viewed as criminal behavior by Father Sorensen, they immediately contacted police and removed Father Sorensen from active ministry and placed him on administrative leave.

"There were no previous allegations against him," Father Lengwin said in an interview.

The criminal investigation of Father Sorensen began Friday when Monica Fisher, an office employee at St. John Fisher Church, contacted the Catholic Child Abuse Hotline in regard to what she witnessed that morning in the rectory of the church at 33 Lewin Lane.

According to an affidavit supporting the arrest, she told Detective Lynn Havelka of the Allegheny County district attorney's office that she called authorities after she saw Father Sorensen in front of a computer monitor with an image of a boy of from 5 to 10 years old, naked from the waist down, with the words "Hottie Boys" across the top of the screen, the affidavit said.

Detective Havelka obtained a search warrant and served it along with Allegheny County Detective Tim Haney. Father Sorensen arrived shortly after the detectives executed the warrant and he admitted to them during an interview that he possessed and viewed at least 100 images of child pornography consisting of prepubescent males.

Detective Haney performed a forensic review of the computer's hard drive and found several still-image files depicting prepubescent males either posed naked or engaged in sexual activity with other boys or with men.

Father Sorensen, who celebrated the 35th anniversary of his ordination in October, had most recently been assigned at St. Anne Church in Castle Shannon for nine months. From 2004 until he was assigned to St. Anne, Father Sorensen was the chaplain at West Penn Hospital. From 1999 to 2003, he was pastor at St. Victor Church in West Deer. He took a year's sabbatical for personal reasons in 2003, Father Lengwin said.

"The viewing of pornographic images involving children is a disturbing and criminal act," Father Lengwin said in the prepared statement. "The Diocese of Pittsburgh is cooperating to the fullest extent in the investigation of this incident. Please keep in your prayers all victims of the tragedy of sexual abuse."

A preliminary hearing was set for 10 a.m. Dec. 19 before Penn Hills District Judge Leonard J. Hromyak.

Rio Linda pastor found guilty of molesting young girls

2011-12-09T10:02:00.000-08:00

RIO LINDA - A Rio Linda pastor accused of molesting young girls who were living with him has been found guilty.

On Thursday, Tom Daniels was found guilty on 11 out of 12 counts. He was found not guilty on count 5. This count was in regards to a 10-year-old victim in a bathroom. However, he was found guilty on two other counts with that same young girl.

"I'm very happy for the girls," said Deputy District Attorney, Kimberly Macy, who declined to comment further on the verdict.

Daniels' attorney said he planned to appeal.

"We've called dozens of people who testified on his behalf, who were in his home and never saw anything," said defense attorney, Mike Chastaine.

"It boiled down to the girls' word against all of these other people."

Daniels, 48, was a pastor of First Baptist Church of Rio Linda and a foster parent. He was arrested by Citrus Heights police Dec. 9, 2010 and was charged with multiple counts of child molestation and sexual contact with a child under 14 years old that occurred from 2002-2007.

Four of the victims, ages 6-8, were placed in Daniels' home in a "respite care" program. The girls' adoptive parents claimed they had behavioral problems, which included lying. Macy said this made them perfect victims for Daniels.

A fifth victim was a five year-old girl who attended Daniels' wife's daycare services.
Daniels will be sentenced on January 13th. Each conviction of child molestation carries a 15 year to life sentence.

Former church youth leader pleads guilty to molestation

2011-12-09T09:28:00.000-08:00

A former volunteer youth leader at a Vancouver church pleaded guilty Thursday to sexually abusing two teenage boys during private devotions last year.

Jason L. Wolk, 26, of Vancouver pleaded guilty to indecent liberties and two counts of third-degree child molestation.

He will be sentenced Jan. 6, once a corrections officer completes a presentence investigation report.

Under the state’s sentencing guidelines, Wolk faces a sentence of between four years and nine months and six years and four months in prison. However, Wolk’s defense attorney, Jon McMullen, is free to ask for the Special Sex Offender Sentencing Alternative, which allows offenders to undergo therapy on their own dime and receive a lesser sentence.

Wolk, who was not in custody at his hearing, was ordered to be held without bail after he entered his plea.

Wolk was arrested last spring after the teens disclosed that the volunteer at Vancouver Wesleyan Church molested them during private devotions designed to help with their “Christian life walk.” At least one instance occurred on a camping trip in Klickitat County; Wolk’s indecent liberties charge relates to that event. Other incidents took place in Wolk’s home, police said.

The 15-year-old told detectives he and Wolk read while lying on his bed with Wolk’s arm around the boy’s shoulders, according to court documents. On at least one occasion, the teen said that Wolk made him strip down to his boxers and lie in bed with him. The molestation took place at that time.

McMullen said the guilty plea resolves all the allegations, including the Klickitat County instance. In addition to the sentence, Wolk will have to be a registered sex offender for 15 years.

Pastor charged in sex case

2011-12-02T09:28:00.000-08:00

HUMESTON — On Monday, November 28^th, Lynn Allen Roberts, 67, of Derby, Iowa, was arrested in Humeston on a Wayne County arrest warrant for Sexual Abuse in the 2^nd Degree, a class B felony, according to a press release sent by the Wayne County Sheriff's Office Friday morning.

The charges stem from an ongoing investigation that was reported in February of 2011. Roberts is accused of sexually abusing a nine year old child on the property of the New Life Full Gospel Church in Humeston, Iowa.

Roberts is currently being held in the Wayne County Jail on a cash bond of $50,000.

Assisting the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office in this investigation were the Lucas County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa Department of Human Services, the Wayne County Attorney’s Office and the Lucas County Attorney’s Office.

A criminal charge is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.

OC Pastor/Soccer Coach Arrested on Child Sex Charges

2011-11-29T10:08:00.000-08:00

WESTMINSTER, Calif -- A church pastor and part time soccer coach is facing 30-years to life in prison after being charged molesting an 8-year-old girl and possessing thousands of images of child pornography.

Christopher Raymond Olague, 39, of Westminster was a pastor at Refuge Southland Church in Buena Park and a soccer coach for the American Youth Soccer Organization.

He is accused of picking up an 8-year-old girl from her home for a play date with his children, but instead prosecutors say Olague molested her in a grocery store parking lot

Olague gave her $40 and instructed her not to tell the police before he drove her back to her parents, according to a news release from the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

The girl immediately told her mother about the incident, and the mother contacted the Huntington Beach Police Department.

During their investigation, detectives say they found thousands of images of child pornography on the defendant's computer including those of a 6-year-old relative.

Olague was charged specifically with two counts of lewd acts on a child under 14, kidnapping for child molest, attempting to dissuade a witness, using a minor for sex acts, and possession and control of child pornography, plus sentencing enhancements for kidnapping in the commission of a sexual assault and lewd acts against multiple victims.

He is being held on $1 million bail.

Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Huntington Beach detective Kevin Johnson at 714-960-8834, detective Mike Szyperski at 714-536-5988 or Supervising District Attorney Investigator Lou Gutierrez at 714 347-8794.

Ex-DeBary pastor charged in bathroom sex sting

2011-11-23T10:55:00.000-08:00

A retired Catholic priest and former pastor at a DeBary church is one of six men who were arrested in a Holly Hill bathroom sex sting last week, authorities confirmed.

Paige Blakely, 61, was charged Nov. 17 with misdemeanor indecent exposure during an operation conducted by the Holly Hill Police Department at Ross Point Park, off Riverside Drive.

According to an arrest affidavit, Blakely arrived at the park and then went into the men's bathroom and was followed by an undercover police officer who pretended to wash his hands.

Blakely, who lives in New Smyrna Beach, first went to a urinal and then approached the officer and "glanced at my groin area a few times," the officer wrote in the affidavit.

Moments later, Blakely pulled out his genitals and shook them at the officer, who then identified himself, according to the affidavit.

After being placed under arrest, Blakely told authorities he was only trying to "experience what it was like" and was trying to get a "thrill" and was familiar with "cruising" or searching for a sexual partner in a public place, authorities said.

Blakely was charged and released at the park.

The Daytona Beach News-Journal later received an anonymous tip that Blakely was a retired priest and had worked under the Diocese of Orlando.

When contacted Tuesday, the Catholic organization released this in an email statement:

"Father Paige Blakely, a retired priest of the Diocese of Orlando, notified Bishop John Noonan that he received a summons from the Holly Hill Police Department for a misdemeanor allegation regarding indecent exposure," wrote Carol Brinati, the organization's chancellor of administration.

"Bishop Noonan removed (Blakely's) faculties pending the outcome of the police investigation."

Brinati later wrote Blakely was a pastor at St. Ann's Catholic Church in DeBary and left in 2007 under good standing to take a position on the organization's tribunal, which traditionally handles annulments.

He later retired as a priest in good standing, Brinati wrote.

A man who answered Blakely's phone number listed on the affidavit said it was a wrong number and hung up.

Ky. youth pastor faces abuse charges

2011-11-20T09:59:00.000-08:00

A former youth minister at Hyland Baptist Church was charged Friday with two counts of first-degree sexual abuse involving two juveniles who were members of the church.

John H. Brothers Jr., 42, was lodged at the Henderson County Detention Center.

Henderson Police Detective Shannon Troutman arrested Brothers on Friday evening after he returned to his local residence in the 600 block of Jihan Court to gather the rest of his belongings. Brothers resigned from the church about a month ago and moved to West Monroe, La. His parents reside in Louisiana.

"One of the reasons that he gave me that he resigned was because of the ensuing allegations," Troutman said. "Originally one of the juveniles went to the police at the request of one of the deacons. The deacons of the church have cooperated greatly and have helped out a bunch with the investigation."

Troutman said Brothers moved to Louisiana just a couple days after he was confronted by the deacons of the church, which was around Oct. 8.

Brothers had been youth minister at Hyland Baptist since the summer of 2008.

Troutman said the sexual abuse occurred about five months ago. The two juveniles, whose genders and ages were not disclosed, were allegedly sexually abused in various places at various times and not on the church property. Troutman said the incidents occurred more than once with each juvenile, and mostly occurred in Brothers' vehicle.

"The parents felt that they could trust their kids with the youth minister," Troutman said.

Troutman said the church runs a background check on everyone that it employs.

"I don't believe Mr. Brothers believes he's done anything wrong, so he's ready to plead his case in court," Troutman said.

Girl identifies Rio Linda pastor in court as molester

2011-11-15T11:07:00.000-08:00

Her voice came across small and almost inaudible, but the 12-year-old girl who took the stand Monday as the first witness against a preacher charged with child molestation did not hesitate for a second.

"Tom" did it, the girl said, when Deputy District Attorney Kimberly Macy asked her who crept into her bedroom and touched her in a bad way while she napped six years ago in the home of the soon-to-be pastor of the Rio Linda First Baptist Church.

Some details have varied from account to account to her testimony in Sacramento Superior Court, but the focus of the girl's accusation for six years has remained squarely on Tommy Gene Daniels, the 49-year-old pastor named in a 12-count complaint as having molested five girls.

Pastor from Springfield arrested in Texas

2011-11-10T09:20:00.000-08:00

A Texas youth pastor who previously lived in Springfield has been arrested and charged with having sex with a teenager.

Chad Foster, 32, of Cypress, Texas, was charged with sexual assault of a child on Nov. 3, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office. Foster grew up in the Springfield area, according to people who know Foster and a blog kept by Foster.

Court documents indicate that Foster met a 16-year-old girl while he working at the Community Faith Church in Hockley, Texas.

Foster met the girl through a high school ministry program. The two started communicating via text messaging after exchanging phone numbers, court records say.

The girl said she had several encounters with Foster between July and October at his home in Cypress. During this time, she said Foster warned her that she shouldn't tell anyone about the relationship because she was underage. He also allegedly said that he would get into legal trouble if anyone found out, court records say.

The girl told investigators that she felt bad about the relationship and admitted what had been going on to a high school teacher before deputies became involved. She also told another pastor at the Community of Faith Church. Records indicate Foster is charged with two other felony sexual assault counts related to the incidents, court records say.

Efforts to contact officials with the Community of Faith Church were unsuccessful. Foster's blog said he worked at Second Baptist Church in Cypress, also as a youth minister.

People familiar with Foster's background said he grew up in the Springfield area and graduated from high school in 1997. According to News-Leader archives, Foster participated in track and basketball at Greenwood High School.

Former Sandwich minister arrested

2011-11-08T09:53:00.000-08:00

MARENGO – A Marengo youth minister who used to work at a Sandwich church was arrested Tuesday, Nov. 1, on charges of soliciting a child for sex acts after an undercover online investigation in Rock Island.

Investigators with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office arrested Barry Caudle, 39, Tuesday morning at the Marengo First Assembly of God, 22817 W. Grant Highway, where Caudle served as a youth minister.

Maura Possley, deputy press secretary for Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office, confirmed Caudle previously worked at Harvest Chapel in Sandwich.

According to the “Work and Education” portion of a Facebook profile for a Barry Caudle who works at the Marengo First Assembly of God, he worked at Harvest Chapel in Sandwich from February 2004 to October 2010. The Facebook profile also said Caudle graduated in 1990 from Waterman High School.

Attempts to reach the lead pastor at Harvest Chapel on Tuesday evening were not successful.

The case against Caudle began about three months ago with the Rock Island Police Department’s undercover investigation. Caudle solicited an officer posing online as a 14-year-old girl for sex acts, believing she was an underage girl, according to a news release from the attorney general’s office.

About a month ago, the case was handed over to Madigan’s office to investigate, leading to Tuesday’s arrest.

Caudle, who lives with his wife in Marengo, was charged in Rock Island County with three counts of indecent solicitation of a child – a Class 3 felony punishable by up to five years in prison – and one count each of grooming and unlawful luring of a minor – Class 4 felonies punishable by up to three years in prison.

Bond for Caudle was set at $150,000. He was taken into custody by the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office.

There was no church service at the time investigators arrested Caudle, Possley said.

Wade Heimer, lead pastor at Marengo First Assembly of God, said the church was made aware of Tuesday’s arrest and will “cooperate fully” with the investigation. He said he and the church are “stunned” about the allegations and encouraged community members to contact local authorities if they have relevant information.

He declined to comment further or respond to questions about Caudle’s background.

On his blog, Caudle wrote: “I have been in ministry for 17 years and I love kids and love to serve, and just love people.” According to his Facebook homepage, Caudle began serving as a youth minister at Marengo First Assembly of God in November 2010.

Caudle, who is in custody at the McHenry County Jail, is expected to be transported later this month to Rock Island County, where the charges were filed.

The biggest concern for the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office is whether there are local victims or community members with information for further investigations into Caudle, Undersheriff Andy Zinke said.

“We ask them to come forward. Our concern is for the community,” Zinke said.

DeKalb County Sheriff Roger Scott said his office has not been contacted by the attorney general’s office regarding charges against Caudle. An online search of traffic and criminal cases on a website maintained by the office of Maureen Josh, DeKalb County circuit clerk, revealed Caudle has not had any charges filed against him in DeKalb County. The database includes criminal cases filed from 2003 to the present.

Madigan’s office, with a grant from the Department of Justice, administers the Illinois Internet Crimes Against Children task force, which investigates child exploitation crimes and trains law enforcement.

Police departments throughout the state have special agents, deputized by the FBI, who pose online as minors to investigate child exploitation crimes.

Youth Pastor Held On Sex Charge

2011-11-08T09:47:00.000-08:00

A youth pastor in Alma was arrested Thursday after he engaged in sexual acts with a juvenile female youth group member, according to a news release from the Van Buren Police Department.

Michael Brandon Lenzini, 34, was arrested at Crossroads Church in Alma on suspicion of four counts of first-degree sexual assault, a Class A felony, according to the release issued by detective Jonathan Wear, public information officer for the department.

“At this point we don’t know of any other victims,” Wear said in a phone interview Monday. “I’m hoping there’s no other victims.”

After receiving a tip from the child abuse hot line, investigators spent Thursday morning investigating Lenzini before arresting him, according to the release. The sexual acts are believed to have taken place during a one-month period, the release states.

In Arkansas, first-degree sexual assault occurs when someone has intercourse or “deviate sexual activity” with a juvenile, and the abuser is in a position of trust or authority over the victim, Wear stated in the release. Consent is no defense, he added.

Youth Pastor Sexually Assaulted Child, Police Say

2011-11-05T13:40:00.000-07:00

VAN BUREN, Ark. -- An Alma youth pastor was arrested Thursday for sexually assaulting a child, police said.

Officers arrested 35-year-old Mike Lenzini on Thursday afternoon and charged him with first degree sexual assault involving a minor.

“This is a very active investigation and we’ll be able to tell you more information Monday,” Van Buren police spokesman Jonathan Wear said.

Youth pastor accused of sex with teen

2011-11-05T13:36:00.000-07:00

CYPRESS, TX (KTRK) -- A local youth pastor has been arrested on charges of sexual assault of a child. The pastor is 32 years old and the alleged victim is just 16. According to court documents, they met while he was working for the Community of Faith Church in Cypress.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office says Chad Foster worked full time at the church as a youth minister. Investigators say he and the 16-year-old girl met at church.

Foster, 32, is charged with three counts of sex assault of a child. Investigators say he worked since January as a youth pastor at the Community of Faith Church on Becker Road and met a 16-year-old girl there this summer, when the two exchanged phone numbers and started texting each other.

According to detectives, Foster and the teen began having sexual relations at his home on Jelly Park Stone Drive in July, just miles from the church. Authorities say the pair had sex at least six times at the house from August through mid-October.

Court documents show the teen says Foster pushed her to keep their relationship secret. She told investigators he said, "...how important it was for her not to tell anyone ... because of the age difference." But she told deputies she started to feel bad.

"She became uncomfortable with that and eventually did tell a teacher at her school and an associate pastor at the church," a prosecutor told Eyewitness News.

Community of Faith's Executive Pastor Donald said, "It's an ongoing investigation."

Butler would talk only generically about the children of the congregation.

He said, "For us, our students are the most important thing with us. We're cooperating with authorities."

Investigators do not think Foster might have had similar relations with any other teens at the church.

Foster resigned from the church earlier this month. He is in custody at the Harris County Jail, held on $90,000 bond.

Two Men Impregnate 13-Year-Old Girl

2011-11-04T10:45:00.000-07:00

A pastor and a teacher have been arrested by the police for allegedly defiling and impregnating a 13-year-old Junior High School pupil. The suspects are Pastor David Michel of Fertile Soil Church at Tantra Hill and Emmanuel Boateng, a Mathematics and Science teacher.

The suspects did not know each other until they were hauled to the police station to face the charges of defilement in addition to causing abortion.

They are currently in the grips of the Adabraka Police assisting in investigations. Narrating the story to Daily Guide, the District Police Crime Officer, DSP Ebenezer Nketia, said Pastor David Michel is a senior pastor of the church where the victim and her mother fellowship while suspect Emmanuel Boating is a class teacher of the victim.

The two have been having affairs with the victim for some time now until she got pregnant. The victim, upon realizing that she was pregnant, first contacted the senior pastor about it. Pastor Michel then gave the victim an amount of GH¢200 with the promise that he would take her to Nigeria for an abortion.

An arrangement for the journey was made between the victim and the suspect. A month ago, when the victim realized that the mother was away, she took some of her belongings and left for Nigeria without any notice.

The mother, upon realizing that the daughter was missing, reported the matter to the police. On Wednesday, November 2, 2011, someone spotted the victim at Circle and handed her over to the Adabraka Police. Upon interrogation, the victim confessed that she travelled to Nigeria for an abortion.

The victim continued that the two suspects had sex with her several times before she got pregnant. The pastor, she said, had sex with her after church service while the class teacher took her to a hotel at Tabora.

The victim confessed that the pastor handed her over to his sisters in Nigeria who ensured that the abortion was done. The two suspects were however arrested on Wednesday evening around 9pm at Tantra Hill and Tabora.

Upon interrogation, the pastor confessed to the act but Emmanuel Boateng stated that he only fingered the victim but never had sex with her.

Meanwhile, a police medical form has been issued to the victim for medical attention.

California Pastor Arrested for Allegedly Having Sex With Teenage Girl

2011-11-02T14:49:00.000-07:00

A California pastor has been arrested for allegedly having sex with a teenage girl, Fox5SanDiego.com reports.

Matthias Anderson, 41, was taken into custody on Tuesday in Murrieta, Calif., on suspicion of unlawful sex and lewd acts with a child, according to the station.

Police say Anderson, who started New Wine Ministries in Oceanside, went to the girl's home around 7:45 a.m. to see her. Instead, Anderson found police waiting for him, authorities said.

Detectives say Anderson had a sexual relationship with the girl for two years. They say he met the girl when she and her mother were staying at the church's women's shelter.

The girl's mother told police in October 2010 that she suspected Anderson and her 14-year-old daughter were having a sexual relationship, but the girl would not cooperate with the investigation at that time.

Boy Scouts ‘Perversion Files’ Reveal Group Covered Up After 5,000 Child Molesters

2011-10-30T18:06:00.000-07:00

A Los Angeles Times and Canadian Broadcasting Corp. investigation has revealed that The Boy Scouts of America and Canada harbored, covered up after, and allowed an estimated five thousand child molesters to continue leading and raping scouts for over two decades.

Official documents keeping tabs on the pedophiles within the Boy Scouts were called the “Perversion Files.” The extensive coverup of thousands of sex crimes by scout leaders is being likened to the massive sex abuse by Catholic priests who continue to enjoy protection from the law.

“It’s the same institutional reaction: scandal prevention,” said Seattle attorney Timothy Kosnoff, who has filed seven suits in the last year by former Scouts but was not involved in the Oregon case.

“You do not want to broadcast to the entire population that these things happen,” A. Buford Hill Jr., a former Orange County Scouting executive, said of officials’ decision not to contact authorities. “You take care of it quietly and make sure it never happens again.”

But it did happen again. And again. And again and again and again and a few thousand more times. All while the Boy Scouts looked in the other direction. One longtime scout leader, Rick Turley, admits to molesting more boys than he can remember while serving in multiple Boy Scouts organizations. ”It was easy,” he said.

When Turley was pushed out of one local scout group after molesting three boys whose parents agreed to not press charges if he left and never came back, the Scouts had at that point been made aware of at least a dozen boys their employee had raped. Still, they chose to protect their star pedofile. His termination notice (he later joined another Scout troop) read in part, “We are making no accusations and will not release this information to anyone, so our action in no way will affect your standing in the community.”
Deplorable.

Now that the existence of the Perversion Files has been confirmed in court, the BSoA have petitioned to seal them from the media. This admittance of guilt has understandably ruffled feathers, as there are several thousand former victims of Boy Scouts sex abuse estimated that have yet to come forward with their charges because shame and disbelief that this could possibly have happened on such a large scale prevent them from doing so.

Allowing press access to the Perversion Files would encourage victims of decades old sex abuse to sue the Boy Scouts. A recent judgment against the Scouts in a sex abuse case to the tune of $20 Million shows that legal and public opinion are against the Scouts on this one.

It should go without saying, but keep this in mind the next time this group that protected FIVE THOUSAND pedophiles dares to judge the morality of LGBT Americans.

Tulsa Pastor Arrested For Kidnapping, Sexual Assault Of Teen

2011-10-30T13:44:00.000-07:00

TULSA, Oklahoma -- A west Tulsa pastor has been arrested for felony kidnapping, lewd molestation and rape by instrumentation. Tulsa Police took Allen Ray Jeffers into custody Friday at the Summit Park Full Gospel Church in the 5800 block of South 33rd West Avenue.

Police say the 68-year-old Jeffers kidnapped a 15-year-old girl on September 6, taking her to 500 N. Mingo where the assault took place. The teen reported the crime to police.

Jeffers' green 1993 Ford Aerostar van was impounded for evidence collection, according to the arrest report.

Jeffers is being held in the Tulsa County jail on complaints of kidnapping, lewd molestation and rape by instrumentation. Bond has been set at $100,000.

Clearwater police arrest pastor on sex charge

2011-10-29T10:36:00.000-07:00

A pastor accused of sexually abusing a child when he lived in Delaware has been arrested by Clearwater police.

James Miller, 42, 1625 Fulton Ave., Clearwater, was wanted on a warrant issued by Delaware State Police.

Miller, an ordained minister, was arrested this morning at his home on a charge of sexual battery on a victim under 18, police said.

Ex-Coral Springs Worship Leader Gets More than 28 Years in Prison

2011-10-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

A former Coral Springs worship leader was sentenced to 28.8 years in prison on Friday on molestation charges.

Russell Lewis had pleaded no contest in June to molestation charges for allegedly carrying on an illicit relationship with a then 14-year-old congregant.

Police say Lewis was assistant music and youth minister at Church by the Glades when he was arrested in November 2009 for the relationship with the girl.

Lisa Hughes, the wife of the senior pastor of the congregation, read an emotional letter in court that the victim had written, which blamed Lewis and accused him of stealing her virginity, controlling and grooming her for his sexual gratification. The letter also said that he had asked her to wear certain clothing.

"My life will never be the same, not only did he rob me of my virginity, I am still traumatized when I think of Russell," the letter said.

Before the sentencing came down, the congregation gathered in a huddle and prayed together in court.

The 30-year-old Lewis apologized to the victim's family and his mother in court before he was sentenced. When he heard the sentencing, Lewis he put his head down on the podium.

Lewis' family stood by his side, claiming this was an isolated incident. His mother said he shouldn't be behind bars because he wasn't a danger to society.

"Russell is a good person, allow him the chance, he's a good person," said his mother Jacqueline Lewis in court.

Neither family made comments after the sentencing. The prosecutor said the victim's family was pleased with the sentence. It was not clear whether Lewis will appeal the sentence.

Former Logan Youth Pastor Arrested On Sex Charges

2011-10-27T19:36:00.000-07:00

A Hocking County judge set bond at $100,000 for a Logan youth pastor accused of sexual battery involving a minor.

Sheriff Lanny North says Travis Bransetter, 29, was arrested yesterday morning.

North says Bransetter confessed to investigators he had had a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old female member of his church.

Bransetter is charged with three counts of sexual battery and three counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.

Investigators say the relationship took place between Nov. 2010 and Feb. 2011.

Bransetter resigned his position with the Church of the Nazarene in February.

A preliminary hearing is set for Nov. 4th.

Former Youth Pastor Pleads Guilty in Molestation Case

2011-10-22T10:40:00.000-07:00

A 47-year-old former San Clemente youth pastor pleaded guilty today to molesting a parishioner beginning when she was 14 years old, according to court records. Joe David Nelms pleaded guilty to eight felony counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a minor and was sentenced to a year in jail and five years of formal probation, according to court records.

Nelms was extradited from Texas to Orange County in April. Nelms was a youth pastor at Pacific Coast Church in San Clemente in 1993 when he met the girl, who reported the molestation in March of this year, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

Nelms was arrested in Texas on March 18. Nelms was a youth pastor at the San Clemente church from 1990 to 2000. When he was arrested he was a volunteer Bible study teacher at First Baptist Church in Lindale, Texas, and counseled teenagers at Sky Ranch, a Christian camp and ministry, according to the District Attorney's Office.

When Nelms was arrested this spring, investigators said he had molested the girl from 1993 to 1996, according to Orange County Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino. Messages left with the prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Walker, and Nelms' attorney Creighton Laz were not immediately returned.

Pastor admits to molesting teen in Naperville

2011-10-20T12:27:00.000-07:00

October 20, 2011 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- A pastor faces a possible seven-year prison term after admitting he sexually molested a teenage girl late last year in Naperville.

James W. French, 64, remains free on bond and will be sentenced in late November.

He was arrested last December at his home and had been teaching at a community college in Rockford when the investigation was underway.

Miami Pastor Arrested For Sexual Battery on Minor

2011-10-20T12:01:00.000-07:00

A Miami pastor is facing charges of sexual battery on a minor after police say he inappropriately touched an 11-year-old.

Jose Tomas Campos, 60, pastor of Ministerio Nueva Vida En Cristo Jesus Church at 124 Northwest 15th Avenue, was arrested Tuesday for the incident that happened in April, according to a Miami Police report.

According to the report, the victim told a teacher that they had fallen asleep in Campos' car and awoke to find Campos with his hand in their underwear.

Police say Campos denied the allegations at first, but later admitted to putting his hand inside the underwear by accident. He also denied touching any other members of his congregation, police said.

Campos was arrested and was being held without bond Wednesday. It was unknown whether he has an attorney.

The Miami Police Department said they're still investigating the case and are asking anyone who may be an alleged victim of Campos to contact Miami-Dade CrimeStoppers at 305-471-TIPS.

Lufkin pastor indicted for sexual assault of child

2011-10-19T11:07:00.000-07:00

A Lufkin man has been indicted by a Shelby County grand jury on four counts of sexual crimes against a child.

Richard Adams is charged with three second-degree felony counts of indecency with a child and one first-degree felony count of aggravated sexual assault of a child, according to the indictment. The first offense dates to 2005, when Adams allegedly began touching the boy, according to the indictment. In 2006, he allegedly forced the boy to perform a sexual act on him, the indictment stated.

The victim’s mother said her son, who is now 18, made an outcry against Adams when he was 12. She said it has taken six years to get an indictment because of the backlog of cases in Shelby County.

“They tell us to be patient but when you’re faced with something like this, patience is your last virtue,” she said.

The mother said the incident has ripped her family apart.

“I never dreamed I had any of this to worry about,” she said. “You believe a family member is someone you can trust with your children. We haven’t had any contact with him since my son came forward.”

The mother said it is important to her that people in Angelina County know about the charges against Adams because she believes there may be other victims.

“He told the grand jury he had been a youth pastor the last 13 years. With that being said, I do believe there are other victims,” she said.

Adams was arrested on the charges in February 2010 in Angelina County, according to jail records. He has been out of jail on a $35,000 bond since his arrest.

If convicted, Adams faces up to life in prison.

Adams’ age was not listed in jail records or the indictment. He is listed in the jail records as being 5-foot-9.

More accusations: Church leader faces additional claims of abuse

2011-10-19T11:01:00.000-07:00

Two more people have accused a man — reportedly a church youth group leader — of sexual assault, Brownsville Police spokesman Jose Trevino said.

Eustacio Munioz, 65, also known as Horacio Muniz, was arrested last week and charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child. Trevino said at the time that a man, now 22, filed a report that alleged that Munioz began sexually assaulting him in 2003 when he was a minor.

Munioz was in charge of religious and missionary classes at a local Mormon church, according to the affidavit for warrant of arrest.

Trevino said police are still investigating the allegations of the two additional complainants and declined to release information about the cases. Munioz is not facing any new charges.

“Police believe there are more victims, and are asking anyone with information to please come forward,” Trevino said last week.

The first man who came forward told police he was 7 years old when he met Munioz at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 114 E. Price Road, the affidavit said.

The man said Munioz first abused him at a room in the church when he was 14 years old. The warrant said Munioz gave him $5 and told him not to tell anyone.

The man told police the abuse continued until he was 20 years old, according to the affidavit. Munioz threatened to report that the alleged victim was in the country illegally if he didn’t cooperate, the document said.

A spokesman for the Mormon church in Salt Lake City said in a statement that church leaders are still trying to learn about the reports.

“At this point, very little is known about this case, including whether this individual was a member of the church. We will continue to cooperate with local law enforcement officials as they investigate this matter,” said Eric Hawkins, a media relations official for the church.

Hawkins said the church has zero tolerance for abuse.

“[The church] works diligently to prevent abuse and provide support and assistance to victims of abuse,” he said.

Church volunteer, 24, charged with having sex with 15-year-old

2011-10-18T09:47:00.000-07:00

A 24-year-old church volunteer allegedly had sex in her car with an underage boy from her youth group, authorities said Monday.

Na Yun Choi of Northbrook was arrested Saturday night after police discovered her and the 15-year-old boy naked in a car at Wood Oaks Park in the north suburb, Cook County prosecutors said as Choi appeared in bond court.

Choi was charged with felony criminal sexual assault after she allegedly admitted having sex with the teen, prosecutors said.

If convicted, she faces up to 15 years in prison.

She was a youth leader at Agape Presbyterian Church in Prospect Heights, while the teen was a member of that group.

Choi attends the Korean-American church but is not a staffer, said a church official, who declined to comment further.

Police found Choi and the teen together about 11 p.m. Saturday while investigating a darkened car in a lot at the closed park.

Choi’s bail was set at $15,000.

Retired Brooklyn monsignor, 78, arrested for alleged criminal sex acts with two teen boys

2011-10-15T17:35:00.000-07:00

A retired monsignor at a Brooklyn Catholic Church who worked for the FDNY was suspended Friday after being accused of trying to prey on two minors, the Diocese of Brooklyn said.

Msgr. Thomas Brady, 78, was charged with attempting a "criminal sex act" toward two teenage boys on Thursday, according to court records.

"It's a shock for everyone in the parish," said Stefanie Gutierrez, the diocese spokeswoman.

The alleged incidents occurred on the same day, but at different times, Gutierrez said.

Brady had suffered several strokes over the last few years, said Gutierrez and is undergoing chemotherapy for lung cancer.

She said that there was "no physical contact" between the monsignor and the teens.

"His mind just got very foggy," she said. His mobility has also been severely reduced over the last few years due to his ill health, Gutierrez said.

Brady, who stepped down as the leader of Good Shepherd Church in 2009 after 20 years, had remained the pastor emeritus of the Marine Park Parish and lived in the church's rectory where the alleged attacks occurred.

Brady was released after posting a $2,000 bond Friday.

He was ordained as a priest in 1959 and formerly served as an FDNY chaplain.

In a statement, Bishop Nicholas Dimerize, requested "prayers for the victims of misconduct as well as for Msgr. Brady."

The transferred to the Staten Island District Attorney for prosecution due to the priest's prior working relationship with Brooklyn prosecutors.

Pastor charged with sexual assault after 20 years

2011-10-14T11:21:00.000-07:00

AUSTIN -- Police have arrested an Elgin pastor for molesting children in his congregation more than 20 years ago. According to the law, there is no statute of limitations when it comes to child abuse.

In June, police say four women in their 20's came to Austin police headquarters to report sexual abuse. Three of them are sisters who claim their pastor, Francisco Antonio Hernandez, also known as "Pastor Javier," molested them while they stayed at his home in 1989. Another victim, a relative of Hernandez, says he forced her to perform sexual acts when she was just five years old.

Police say since then, more victims have come forward. Their ages have not been released. Police are encouraging any parents who may have attended the pastor's services to talk to their children.

"It is possible that he was still doing this until he got picked up yesterday," Detective Sabrina Nichols with the APD Child Abuse Unit said. "We just don't know; that's why we encourage if there are any victims, whether they are adults or children. We are encouraging their parents. If their child has come to them, mentioned this, please come forward."

Hernandez was arrested early Thursday morning and charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child and indecency with a child. He has a $200,000 bond.

Police are asking anyone with information to call their Child Abuse Unit at 512-974-6880.

Youth Pastor Arrested On Child Sex Charge

2011-10-13T11:50:00.000-07:00

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- A former youth pastor at a Terre Haute church was arrested early Thursday morning on a child sex-related charge.

Indiana State Police said Darrel Coffman, 30, of Terre Haute, was a youth pastor at Promised Land Apostolic Church in West Terre Haute.Police began investigating Coffman in September after the Department of Child Services told them that Coffman had sexual contact repeatedly with a 15-year-old boy, a member of the church.

"Coffman is alleged to have performed various sexual acts upon the victim in Coffman's car and home between Feb. 1, 2011 and June 4, 2011," said ISP Sgt. Joe Watts.

Coffman was arrested about 6:20 a.m. Thursday as he drove to work. He was charged with one count of sexual misconduct with a minor, a Class B felony."There is currently no evidence of other victims,"
Watts said.Coffman was being held Thursday in the Vigo County Jail on $35,000 bond.

Catoosa area youth pastor charged with sex crimes

2011-10-09T21:48:00.000-07:00

Rogers County Sheriff's Office arrested 39-year-old Joe Cheater Jr. on five counts of sexual related felony charges Friday afternoon. Cheater is a youth pastor for Catoosa area churches. Several female children between the ages of nine and 14 have come forward about Cheater. He is charged with two counts of first degree rape, and three counts of lewd and indecent proposals or acts with children under 16.

Rogers County neighbors are shaken up after hearing about Cheater’s alleged behavior.

“It's disgusting,” says resident Nathan Bradshaw. “It's really disappointing.”

“If he is guilty I think it's appalling,” says another resident Doug Quinn.

“What a sick individual who preys on young children,” says Rogers County Sheriff Scott Walton.

Sheriff Walton says this investigation started months ago but after another victim came forward, deputies had enough evidence to support arresting Cheater.

“When we think of an innocent precious nine-year-old being victimized by a grown-up it's certainly aggravating,” says Sheriff Walton. “A lot of emotions go through investigators'minds.”

If Cheater's charges are proven true, residents say they want him locked up for good.

“People who get into a position of power like that and have a lot of people's trust, and they abuse it,” says Bradshaw.

“He is someone we put our trust in as far as our children and stuff and he is supposed to be setting an example not betraying people's trust,” says Quinn. “I pray that that never happens.”

Cheater is booked into the Rogers County jail in Claremore. His bond is set at $450,000.

Kansas Pastor Arrested, Accused Of Sex Crimes

2011-10-08T11:22:00.000-07:00

SALINA, Kan. (KAKE) -- A Salina pastor is arrested on charges of rape and indecent liberties.

According to Deputy Police Chief Carson Mansfield, 54-year old Birger Draget, 503 Claremont Drive, was arrested Thursday night on charges that include rape, aggravated indecent liberties and aggravated sodomy.
Mansfield says the investigation began when the victim contacted authorities.

Draget is the pastor of the Salina Seventh-day Adventist Church, 834 N. 11th Street.

Pastor Arrested For Alleged Molestation

2011-10-08T11:20:00.000-07:00

Buena Park - The pastor of a non-denominational Christian church in Buena Park has been arrested on suspicion of molesting an 8-year-old girl and Huntington Beach investigators suspect there may be more victims, police said today.

Christopher Raymond Olague, 39, of Westminster, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of a lewd act on a child less than 14 years old and posted $100,000 bail Thursday morning, Huntington Beach police Lt. Russell Reinhart said.

Olague allegedly picked up the girl to have a play date with one of his five children, but instead of taking him to his home he is accused of taking the girl to a park in Huntington Beach and molesting her in his car, Reinhart said.

Olague allegedly gave the girl $40 to keep quiet about it, but when the girl got home she told her parents, who then called police, Reinhart said.

Police contacted Orange County Child Protective Services because Olague has five children, who are now in the custody of Olague's wife, Reinhart said.

Olague is pastor of Refuge Southland Church, 6711 Beach Blvd., Buena Park. On the church's website there's a picture of Olague with his wife of 14 years, Diana, and their five daughters who range in age from 25 to 6.

The alleged victim's parents may know Olague through the church or because the girl went to school with one of the pastor's daughters, Reinhart said.

Investigators suspect there may be more victims, Reinhart said.

"The investigator so far leads us to believe there will be more victims," he said.

Olague has not been charged, but the case has been presented to prosecutors. Since he bailed out, Olague would not be due in court until Nov. 28, Reinhart said.

Anyone with information was asked to call Detectives Kevin Johnson at (714) 960-8834 or Mike Szyperski at (714) 536-5988.

Pastor Gets 3 Years for Rape of Choir Girl

2011-10-06T10:32:00.000-07:00

A Murrieta man was sentenced Tuesday to three years in state prison for the rape of a 16-year-old choir girl he pastored at a Temecula church, according to court records.

Joseph Jermaine Spencer, 26, admitted to unlawful sex with a minor, which occurred April 25 at his Murrieta apartment. He was arrested three days later after the victim gave Murrieta police details of the rape.

Spencer worked as an assistant pastor and choir director at Mountain View Community Church. Court records state he picked the victim up from school and took her to his apartment, where he admitted to penetrating her with a foreign object. The victim told police similar acts were commited while she was at his apartment on more than one occasion.

Joseph Jermaine Spencer, 26, of Murrieta, was sentenced to three years in state prison for the rape of a 16-year-old choir girl he pastored at a Temecula church., 26, of Murrieta, was sentenced to three years in state prison for the rape of a 16-year-old choir girl he pastored at a Temecula church.

Spencer was convicted of a similar crime with a minor in 2008 in San Bernardino County, for which he was granted four years probation.

In 2009, he was brought back before a judge for failing to report to the Glen Helen Rehabilitation Center to serve a mandated 180 days in jail. At that 2009 court hearing, probation was reinstated and he was sentenced to 240 days local jail time.

Spencer originally pleaded not guilty to the Murrieta case, but withdrew his plead as part of a bargain, according to attorneys. He would have faced nine years in prison were he found guilty on all charges, according to John Hall, spokesperson for the Riverside County District Attorney's office.

On top of the current three-year sentence, he was also required to register as a sex offender in Riverside County.

Pastor Busted Again!• For Rape

2011-10-01T11:29:00.000-07:00

A 29-year-old self-styled man of God who was arrested earlier this year for fingering five ladies has been re-arrested for a sex-related offence.

Pastor Richard Addo was arrested around 2pm yesterday afternoon for allegedly defiling a 16-year-old girl.

The suspect is being detained in the cells of the Nungua Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) while investigations continue.

The police are tight-lipped on the latest arrest of the randy self-styled Man of God.

According to information available to DAILY GUIDE, the suspect, Richard Addo, parades himself as a pastor and fellowships with the Word Miracle Church, Nungua but the authorities have denied that he is part of their congregation. The church says it has no branch at Nungua.

He is said to lure his victims with revelations and thereafter charges them money so he can buy olive oil to undertake spiritual interventions for them.

Having adequately grabbed his victims, he proceeds to assault them sexually as in the case of the girl in question.

He was granted bail by an Accra circuit court after his arrest by the Adenta District Police for fingering five ladies.

Even as the case was pending in court, the suspect allegedly defiled the 16-year-old girl at Nungua and was subsequently grabbed yesterday afternoon.

Pastor Addo was nabbed by the Adenta District Police Command for allegedly inserting his fingers into the private parts of five women under the pretext of praying for them in February this year.

The self-styled man of God was arrested after one of the women reported the incident to the police.

He was also said to have charged the women various amounts of money between GH¢150 to GH¢200.

According to one of the victims, she met the so-called man of God in November 2010 on the streets when he prophesied that he could see a vision in which a baby was walking and crying behind her.

'I then confessed to him that I have had an abortion before and he said that he would help me pray to break that bondage.

'We then made an appointment to meet at my hostel for prayers. Later, he asked me to give him GH¢150 to purchase olive oil for the deliverance prayers while the remaining balance would also be used as seed money for prayer request.'

According to her, during a subsequent prayer session, Prophet Richard Addo asked her to remove her clothes and go naked, in a hotel room while he used the olive oil to rub her whole body as he administered the olive oil into her vagina.

Another victim also narrated that Prophet Richard Addo, after meeting her, prophesied that it had been revealed to him that she was barren.

'He made me to pay GH¢200 for olive oil and the rest to be used as prayer request.'

She maintained that Prophet Richard Addo inserted four of his fingers under her private parts while praying for her.

Meanwhile, a police source at the Nungua Domestic Violence and Victim Support unit, who confirmed the arrest, said the police were yet to take statements from both parties.

Former pastor of Kingsport church arrested on solicitation of statutory rape

2011-09-28T10:25:00.000-07:00

KINGSPORT — A former Kingsport pastor has been arrested for allegedly soliciting the statutory rape of a 16-year-old girl via text messages.

Anthony Michael Adinolfi, 55, 2109 Faulk Lane, Kingsport, is charged with solicitation of statutory rape by an authority figure, a Class D felony, and solicitation of aggravated statutory rape, a Class E felony.

Sullivan County Assistant District Attorney Julie Canter said Tuesday that Adinolfi was pastor of The Church of Jesus Christ, 3300 Bloomingdale Road, Kingsport, when he allegedly sent sexually explicit texts to the teen.

Sealed indictments a Sullivan County grand jury returned Aug. 30 allege Adinolfi solicited conduct from the alleged victim which, if completed, would constitute the offenses of statutory rape by an authority figure and aggravated statutory rape.

The indictments allege the solicitations occurred between August 2010 and October 2010.

Adinolfi reportedly turned himself in at the Sullivan County jail on Sept. 16. He was released on a $10,000 bond the same day.

Kingsport Police Detective Sgt. Chris Tincher, who investigated the allegations, said Adinolfi “was, but is no longer” the church’s pastor.

Court records indicate he was employed at a Knoxville business at the time of his arrest.

Former Pastor Rick Rogers Waives Preliminary Hearing in Indecent Exposure Trial

2011-09-27T10:46:00.000-07:00

Rick Rogers, the former pastor at Jarrettown United Methodist Church who was arrested on August 9 and charged with two counts of indecent exposure, waived a preliminary hearing on the charges Monday morning.

Rogers arrived at district court earlier than his scheduled appearance at noon, and waived his right to the hearing, said District Judge Patricia Zaffarano.

Rogers, currently free on $10,000 bail, also faces charges of open lewdness, disorderly conduct and harassment.

Preliminary hearings are often used by the defense to attempt to have the charges dismissed as frivolous, while the prosecution then lays out the basic evidence of its case. It is not unusual for a defendant to waive a preliminary hearing.

Rogers was originally arrested in August following allegations that he exposed himself to two women while working inside the church.

The women, employees of the Dresher School of Music, which rents space inside the church, said that the separate incidents occurred in February and May, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

"Each woman was walking in the hallways and past a doorway, and the pastor was standing there with his pants down. [He] shocked them, and made them very uncomfortable," said Assistant District Attorney Samantha Cauffman, who is prosecuting the case.

Both Rogers and the two women approached the greater United Methodist Church prior to police involvement. The church placed Rogers on leave while they investigated the matters. However, the two women went to police in July "because they wanted to see that justice was done," said Cauffman.

Rogers is next scheduled to appear at the county courthouse in Norristown on November 16 for his formal arraignment. However, arraignment dates are often changed by the county courts after preliminary hearings, said Judge Zaffarano.

Fourth arrest in child rape case involving East Texas pastor

2011-09-24T11:01:00.000-07:00

ANDERSON COUNTY, TX (KYTX) -- Shocking new details and another arrest in a child molestation scandal that dates back to 2009.

Last week sheriff's deputies arrested a 12-year-old Anderson County girl's parents for allegedly allowing abuse. Now 25-year-old Karen Sapp, a family friend, faces charges for the same thing.

The sheriff's department says arrests could still be coming in the case.

Sapp's arrest affidavit says investigators finally caught a break in August of 2011. It says the victim's parents called in a missing person's report on the girl already identified as the victim of a previous sexual assault.

When investigators found her she reportedly told them one of her younger brothers had been forcing her to have sex at the family compound in northern Anderson County, and that the adults around her were encouraging it.

Sheriff Greg Taylor believes the family thinks they some kind of religious justification for the alleged crimes.
"We don't know exactly how long this abuse had been going on," Taylor said.

Over the course of a week the victim's parents, Jerry and Christine Ham, and their friend Karen Sapp were all arrested and accused of allowing and encouraging the prolonged sexual abuse.

The victim's own grandfather--Jerry Ham's father--calls it a "hatchet job."

"Well I can't see what else it could be," Charles Ham said. "He's been in no trouble his whole life. He's a good Christian boy and has been for a long time."

"The adults were letting these children down," Taylor said.

In January, 68-year-old pastor of Palestine's Family Bible Church, Larry Gene Martin, was taken into custody for his part in the alleged sexual assault."

Now court documents show he's been indicted on nine counts of sexually assaulting a child and one count of indecency with a child. The indictment goes into graphic detail about the level of abuse his 12-year-old victim allegedly endured.

"These three children that lived in this home are going to have a tough road to recover from their lifestyle that they lived," Taylor said. "Now they're going to have to learn what a real normal is."

The sheriff's department says the young victim in this case has been able to talk with investigators and help them understand exactly what went on during her long period of abuse. She and her two brothers are now in foster care.

Martin has been released from jail on $75,000 bond. His trial is scheduled to begin on November 15th.

Prattville Pastor Arrested on Child Porn Charges Makes First Court Appearance

2011-09-24T10:22:00.000-07:00

The Prattville Pastor arrested and charged with possession of child pornography has made his first court appearance. CBS 8 has reaction from the District Attorney.

Clyde David Myers appeared in court to face a list of charges after he was arrested and charged with possessing child pornography.

According to the District Attorney's office, Myers' family did not accompany him to court. He sat quietly before the judge showing no emotion.

At this time he has waived his right to a public attorney and it is unknown if he has or will hire representation.
"Anytime a person is in a position of authority and trust commits a crime as horrible as this involving children, it affects the community and my heart goes out to the church members there," District Attorney Randall Houston said.

Sixty-three-year-old Clyde David Myers was arrested and charged with possession of child pornography on Tuesday. Prattville police said they found over 15,000 pictures of child pornography on his work computer in the Prattville Community Church where he preaches.

CBS 8 News learned some church members tipped off the police.

District Attorney Randall Houston said these are serious charges that carry a substantial sentence.

"People like to say this is a victimless crime, well it's not a victimless crime," Houston said. "I mean there's a child somewhere that has been exploited."

Myers is still behind bars at the Autauga County Jail, but if he wanted to be released on bail, Houston said the evidence is still mounting and he could be sent right back on more charges from other computers.

"The current charges are based on one computer," he said. "There are approximately five computers that we are looking at."

Houston said possession of child pornography is a Class C felony and he could face anywhere between one to ten years behind bars if convicted. Myers is currently being held on a 375,000 dollar bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for October 11th.

Bethlehem pastor admits sexually assaulting girl in second case

2011-09-13T10:40:00.000-07:00

A Bethlehem pastor admitted for the second time to repeatedly sexually assaulting a girl, and resolved all his outstanding criminal cases in Northampton County.

Santos Rosado, who turns 46 on Sept. 27, of the 500 block of Wyandotte Street, pleaded guilty today to two counts of felony statutory sexual assault, and single counts of indecent assault, endangering the welfare of a child and corruption of minors.

Rosado faces a maximum of 35 years in prison when he is sentenced Dec. 16. In the meantime, Rosado must undergo a sex offender assessment as well as a sexually violent predator evaluation. Rosado must automatically register as a sex offender under the state’s version of Megan’s Law, but if he is determined to be a sexually violent predator he must register for the rest of his life.

Defense attorney Ronnie Creazzo said he would reserve comment until the sentencing hearing. Rosado, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, also did not comment during the hearing.

Prosecutors claimed Rosado raped the girl, beginning when she was 12 and ending when she was 25. The girl’s family attended Centro de Adoracion, where Rosado had served as a pastor. But the victim did not come forward until after Rosado was arrested in a separate case; he was charged in this case in August 2010 when the accuser was 29.

The victim was not in the courtroom today but Assistant District Attorney Pat Brocious said she will attend the sentencing hearing.

The victim gave birth to a child in 2000 as a result of the assaults; under the terms of the plea, Rosado had to rescind all his parental rights to the child.

Rosado previously pleaded guilty to molesting a teenage girl who was part of Bethlehem Community Fellowship, another congregation Rosado led, according to records.

The girl was 14 when Rosado met her in 2007, and police alleged he assaulted her from then until June 2009. During that time, Rosado repeatedly hid the girl from her family when she ran away, according to police.
Sentencing in that case is scheduled for Sept. 16 and Rosado faces up to nine years in prison.

Rosado is currently serving a three to 23 months prison sentence for theft. Rosado pleaded guilty to using his access computers at the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem to make counterfeit cards and fill them with free “e-play” credits.

Members of Rosado’s family also faced criminal charges related to his alleged sexual assaults.

His two daughters -- Linette Rosado, 26, and Lydia Rosado, 23 -- and his nephew Gamaliel Rosado were arrested for threatening one of Rosado's accusers.

Gamaliel Rosado allegedly lifted his shirt to show the accuser a handgun, and the two daughters threatened to harm the girl, police said.

Linette Rosado and Gamaliel Rosado pleaded guilty to their charges, and Lydia Rosado was accepted into a program for first-time offenders, according to court records.

Pastor accused of lewd acts with boy

2011-09-13T10:37:00.000-07:00

LAKE FOREST – A pastor of a Laguna Hills parish was arrested over the weekend on suspicion of committing lewd acts with a young boy who's the son of a church member, authorities said.

Oscar Perez was taken into custody Saturday night after the boy revealed the allegations to his mother, said Jim Amormino, spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. Since his arrest, investigators are also looking into whether there may be a second victim, he said.

Perez, identified as a bishop under The Old Catholic Church, rented space at St. George’s Episcopal Church in Laguna Hills and said Mass once a week in the church, officials said.

Investigators have accused Perez of taking the boy to his Lake Forest home, where the incident took place. The boy later told his mother about it, Amormino said.

Bob Williams, spokesman for the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, said 68-year-old Perez had been renting space at St. George’s for more than a year, but is not affiliated with the Episcopal Dioceses.

Steven Bohannon, spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange County, said the parish also had no affiliation with the Roman Catholic Church.

Perez is in custody in Men’s Central Jail and is expected to appear in court Tuesday.

Perez was the only pastor associated with The Old Catholic Church at St. George’s, Williams said. The rental agreement was terminated Monday, he said.

Perez is being held in lieu of $100,000.

Minister found guilty of fondling teen boy

2011-09-12T10:48:00.000-07:00

A jury convicted an Aliquippa minister on Friday of unlawful contact with minors, corruption of minors and indecent assault for fondling a teenage boys at his church and at his home.

Laneer Fisher, 39, of Moon, was a pastor of the Miracle Church of God in Christ when he was arrested on the charges.

Aliquippa police were contacted in June 2010 by a couple and their son, who said the incidents began two years ago. In an affidavit, police said Mr. Fisher kissed and caressed the boy and had him sit on his lap in his church office.

The jury came to the guilty verdict after 11 p.m. Friday.

Mr. Fisher will receive a Megan's Law evaluation, which will determine if he should be subjected to Megan Law's registration requirements and to what extent. Following the evaluation, he will be sentenced.
He remains free on bond.

Youth Pastor Sentenced For Sexual assault

2011-09-09T10:49:00.000-07:00

A former youth pastor at a local church has received his sentence for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
Joshua Amoroso has been sentenced to 60 days in jail, 10 years-to-life of sex offender intensive supervised probation, and can't participate as a leader in any religious organization until further notice.

Amoroso was arrested in December at Chapel Hills Mall following a two-month investigation, and fired from Gateway Christian Church in Colorado Springs. At the time, the church issued a statement saying they looked into the matter immediately after receiving allegations that Amoroso had acted inappropriately, and that they would "not tolerate the conduct of any minister who exploits a person he is to serve."

Phone records showed Amoroso had constant contact with the teenager, reportedly exchanging more than 16,000 text messages and phone calls in a three month period.

Fil-Am youth pastor arrested on lewd conduct charge

2011-09-08T11:18:00.000-07:00

A FILIPINO-American who served as a youth pastor at a Northern California church was arrested for having an inappropriate relationship with one of his underaged bible study students.

On August 30, Benicia Police Department arrested 38-year-old John Edward Gamboa, a youth pastor at a Solano County church, after questioning him about an alleged relationship he had with a minor female victim.

Gamboa was arrested on suspicion of committing lewd acts with a child 14 years old or younger, suspicion of contacting a minor for the purpose of engaging in lewd behavior and suspicion of burglary, according to Patch.com from a statement from the police department. The added burglary charged was added because police suspect Gamboa of entering the home of the victim with the intent to commit a felony, Patch.com reports.

According to the Benicia Police Lt. Mike Daley, Gamboa and the victim had known each other for a while before beginning a relationship sometime in February or March. The two exchanged text messages and when the parent’s of the victim saw the inappropriate messages, they asked church officials to intervene and stop the relationship.

After a few months, the two resumed the relationship through text messages and Gamboa then began to sneak into the underage girl’s home and a surrounding business area where he and the girl allegedly engaged in kissing and inappropriate touching, Daley said.

The girl’s mother found the new text messages and after speaking to her daughter, reported the incident to police.

Police brought Gamboa in for questioning where he admitted the relationship, said Daley.

He was arrested without incident, according to ABC news.

“This illustrates the importance of parents monitoring the behavior of their children and, when necessary, the information on their children’s cell phones,” said Daley in a statement.

“Sexual predators who have gained the trust of a child or minor have found texting an easy way to engage young children in conversations at any time of the day or night. We’re thankful the parents came forward in this situation to help us immediately eliminate the contact that had developed in this case.”

Ex-minister facing sex charge

2011-09-08T11:14:00.000-07:00

A former music minister and high school choir teacher is accused of befriending boys at two Jackson Baptist churches more than two decades ago, then sexually abusing them.

Today, 49-year-old John Langworthy is charged with seven felony counts of gratification of lust stemming from alleged abuses in Jackson and Clinton.

The charge involves five boys between ages 10 and 13 at the time, Hinds County prosecutors and Clinton police say.

Langworthy is charged with two counts brought by Clinton police and five filed in Jackson.

Langworthy, of Clinton, was arrested at his home about 11 a.m. Wednesday, said Clinton Police Detective Josh Frazier. The Clinton counts stem from alleged acts with two boys between ages 10 and 13 between 1980 and 1984, Frazier said.

Langworthy posted a $200,000 bond in Clinton before being transported to Jackson for processing on the other five counts.

Bond was $500,000 ($100,000 per count) on the Jackson counts. Langworthy posted bond shortly after midnight, police said.

Jackson police accuse Langworthy of sexually abusing boys between the ages of 10 and 12, also between 1980-1984, said spokeswoman Officer Colendula Green.

“We’re not going to go into details” on where the alleged abuses occurred, she said.
Jeff Rimes, Langworthy’s attorney, could not be reached.

But Rimes told other local media that Langworthy is cooperating with authorities.

Hinds County Assistant District Attorney Jamie McBride said an investigation shows Langworthy was “involved heavily with the youth choirs from 1980-84 at First Baptist Church of Jackson and Daniel Memorial Baptist Church in Jackson

“He befriended the families of these boys. That’s how he had access to them,” McBride said.
“They were active churchgoers.”

The alleged abuse in Clinton happened at Langworthy’s dormitory room at Mississippi College while he was baby-sitting two of the boys, McBride said.

The alleged victims in the Clinton case also are among five alleged victims in the Jackson case, McBride said.
An investigation moved swiftly after Langworthy, who resigned in May as music minister at Morrison Heights Baptist Church in Clinton, publicly told congregants during Aug. 7 services that he moved to Mississippi because of what he termed “sexual indiscretions” with young boys in Texas.

Pastor charged with sexually assaulting child

2011-09-03T10:31:00.000-07:00

Two communities are in shock after a popular pastor was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a child.

Joe Ivey is a pastor at Barnesville Baptist Church in Montgomery County.

The man people call Pastor Joe is known to be very close to his parishioners. Their children would sometimes spend the night at his house.

According to a charging document, the 74-year-old pastor made inappropriate sexual contact with one of his parishioners daughters' on two occasions. One incident allegedly happened at the pastors' home in Walkersville, Md., nearly two years ago when the girl was 10.

“I think it's a shame either way ... either he's been accused of something he didn't do or if he did something he shouldn't have done,” Barnesville resident Robin Garrett said.

Authorities say the girl spent the night at Ivey’s house during a snowstorm. The next morning, Ivey's wife left and he allegedly initiated sexual contact with the girl for half an hour.

The girls' mother went to police Monday after hearing her daughter's story two days before. Authorities then arranged a monitored phone call between the girl and Ivey. The charging document says when the 11 year-old asked him if she should tell anyone, he replied no, saying"this is between you, me and God."

Many of Ivey's Frederick neighbors are shocked at the allegations and say the pastor has been a good neighbor.

“I don't have any complaints… not my business is the way I look at it," said Larry Shepley.

Authorities say the man denied having sexual contact with any other minors, including the victim's two younger siblings.

"We are sorry to the church for what this has caused and to the family involved. A lot is exaggerated and the truth will come out. I am standing by my husband. He is a good man,” his wife said over the phone. There was no answer at Ivey's home Friday.

Ivey is no longer a pastor at Barnesville Baptist church. He's been released on bail and a preliminary hearing is set for September 28th.

Former Youth Pastor Arrested on Molestation Charge

2011-09-02T11:03:00.000-07:00

LOGANVILLE, Ga. - Loganville police are trying to determine if a former youth pastor arrested on child molestation charges may be a suspect in other cases.

Stacy Everett is charged with three counts each of child molestation, felony sexual battery, cruelty to children and false imprisonment.

Everett served as a youth pastor and youth football coach in Loganville.

Officers say Everett’s victim was 12 at the time of the alleged abuse but is now 14.

The victim was not a football player.

Youth pastor suspected of sexually preying on North Bay girl

2011-09-01T12:15:00.000-07:00

BENICIA -- A youth pastor has been arrested for sexually preying on one of his Bible study students, police said Wednesday.

According to the Vallejo Times-Herald, John Edward Gamboa, 38, of American Canyon, allegedly began talking to and texting a girl last spring, police said. Police said the girl is under 14 years old.

In July, the two texted and arranged for Gamboa to sneak into the victim's home in August where the two "engaged in kissing and inappropriate touching," police said.

Five days later, Gamboa met the girl and they met in a secluded area where he allegedly committed more lewd acts, police said.

The victim's mother discovered the relationship when she checked her daughter's phone, police said, and parents alerted police.

Gamboa was contacted by police, provided a statement "admitting the allegations" and was booked into Solano County jail on $65,000 bail Tuesday night, police said. He is set to be arraigned Thursday afternoon in Fairfield.

For more on this story, see the Vallejo Times-Herald.

Local pastor accused of sexually abusing boys

2011-08-25T10:28:00.000-07:00

KENT AND OTTAWA COUNTIES, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) – A local pastor has been accused of sexually abusing two boys.

Pastor Tedd Butler from the Gospel Light Church in Walker has been arrested for two counts of criminal sexual conduct and there could be more charges coming.

The pastor is accused of molesting at least two boys several years ago.

One case is in Kent County for CSC 1st degree, one is in Ottawa County for CSC 2nd degree. One of the incidents allegedly happened more than two decades ago, the other is from 2006.

Butler turned himself in yesterday and is awaiting arraignment in court. He is currently out on bond.

Former Youth Pastor and Little League Coach Charged With Child Molestation

2011-08-25T10:24:00.000-07:00

A former Little League football couch and youth pastor was arrested in Hall County Aug. 23 and brought to Walton County to face charges of child molestation.

According to Lt. Mike Westbrooks of the Loganville Police Department, Stacy Lee Everett, 42, of Covington, is charged with one count each of child molestation, felony sexual battery, cruelty to children and false imprisonment. Westbrooks said the charges stem from an investigation that began out of state.

"The victim, who is now 14 years old, was 12 at the time of the incident," Westbrooks said, adding the incident is alleged to have taken place within the Loganville city limits two years ago, which is why it is being handled by the LPD.

Westbrooks also confirmed that prior to 2007, Everett was the youth pastor at a Walton County church but his ordainship was revoked following a 2007 arrest for an unrelated incident.

"He also coached Little League football in Walton County prior to 2007," Westbrooks said.

Everett was picked up from the Hall County detention center by Walton County authorities yesterday and is now being held in Walton County.

South Carolina Preacher Charged With Kidnapping, Rape

2011-08-21T10:33:00.000-07:00

LADSON, S.C. – A South Carolina pastor has been charged with kidnapping and raping three women at gunpoint, including two who say they were assaulted in a trailer behind the church.

So far, members of the Freedom Free Will Baptist Church have not condemned Dale Richardson, who had been the pastor there for about the past year.

After he was first arrested last month, Richardson said in court that he has a spotless record and would mount a strong defense.

Virginia Davis who has attended for about a year, says Richardson is a sweet person who has always taught God's word.

The Rev. Dean Mandrell, who has been preaching at some of the church's three weekly services, says that the congregation has drawn closer and that nobody is condemning Richardson.

Former youth pastor gets 41-month sentence for abuse of student

2011-08-17T10:27:00.000-07:00

Dirk Jackson, a former pastor in South Kitsap, received the maximum sentence of 41 months in prison for his sexual abuse of a sixth-grade girl at a Christian school where he was a teacher.

At the conclusion of Jackson's sentencing hearing today that included emotional testimony from his victim in Kitsap County Superior Court, Judge Leila Mills imposed a sentence the top end of the standard range of 31 to 41 months.

Jackson entered guilty pleas to two counts of indecent liberties as part of a plea agreement reached with prosecutors. He was arrested in February on charges of second-degree child rape.

The victim, who is now 21 and first reported the abuse to authorities in November, said in court today that she didn't tell anyone about it when the incidents took place in 2002 and 2003 because she felt no one would believe her. She said the abuse that occurred when she was a troubled youth has had a devastating impact on her life since then.

"I don't want him doing the things he did to me to any child," she tearfully told the judge. "I don't want anyone else to be in my shoes, ever."

When Jackson, a 32-year-old father of two young children, got his turn to address the court, he told Mills, "I want you to know that I am very sorry. I understand the profound gravity of what I've done."

In the years since his abuse of the victim when she attended Manchester Christian Academy — which included having her perform oral sex on him — Jackson said he has "tried to live a life that is right and honorable."

Several people, including Jackson's wife, Ashley, spoke in support of him and asked for leniency in sentencing. They said he is remorseful over what he did, and they sought to assure Mills that Jackson would not reoffend after he serves his time.

Richard Olson, who went to school with Jackson and was his neighbor in 2007-09, described him as "a dedicated father, husband and pastor," and added "I would trust him with my own kids."

"This one incident of indiscretion was completely out of character for Dirk," Olson said.

However, Mills noted that Jackson "didn't come forward with remorse" until "his cover was blown."

The judge also said "clearly this was not one incident of indiscretion," noting that Jackson's criminal actions "spanned a long period of time, and certainly a long period of time in the life of a sixth-grader."

"He victimized a very vulnerable young girl," Mills concluded before imposing the sentence.

The victim decided to report what happened to her after she had a chance encounter with Jackson last year at First Baptist Church in Port Orchard, where he had been a youth pastor since October 2003.

Jackson sent the woman a friend request on Facebook after their encounter at church, which was followed by several recorded phone calls.

According to charging documents filed in court, during those calls Jackson admitted to sexually abusing the victim when he was her teacher years earlier.

Jackson, who has been jailed since his arrest, will get credit for his time served. After completing his prison sentence, he will have community custody restrictions for three years and will be required to register as a sex offender.

Former Youth Pastor Sentenced For Sex Assault

2011-08-16T10:55:00.000-07:00

CASTLE ROCK, Colo. -- A former volunteer youth pastor has been sentenced for sexually abusing teenage members at his church.

William "Bill" Thomas McLaughlin, 47, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust in June.

On Friday, he was sentenced to six years to life, followed by 10 years to life of parole.

McLaughlin was arrested in June 2009, accused of sexually assaulting one teenage member of the Denver Church of Christ. Over the next year, three additional victims came forward, prosecutors said.

All of the victims were teenagers at the time of the abuse and two of the four were sexually abused more than 10 years before, prosecutors said.McLaughlin was a youth group volunteer and had been associated with the Denver Church of Christ for up to 20 years. During that time, he had contact with hundreds of children, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office said.

John Lusk, senior minister at the Denver Church of Christ, had issued a statement early on in December 2008, when the Douglas County Sheriff's Office began investigating McLaughlin. Lusk said that the church was informed about "an offense against a young man" and had been cooperating with the investigation.

Edinburgh pastor accused of molesting 13-year-old girl

2011-08-13T11:14:00.000-07:00

Edinburgh, Ind.

An Edinburgh pastor, who spent years working with children, is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old girl.

Joseph Taylor, 65, worked as a church school teacher and pastor in Edinburgh before being arrested for child molesting.

"I never in my wildest dreams knew what was going on," said Shirley, the mother of the victim who asked that we not use her last name.

Shirley says her daughter went on to tell her that the repeated sexual encounters happened at the apartment where they lived, with a man they thought of as a grandfather and trusted as a pastor.

"She knew what he was doing was wrong, but she didn't know what he would do if she made him stop," Shirley said.

Shirley's daughter was just seven years old when she first met 65-year-old Joseph Taylor. He taught her in a Church School class at Who So Ever Will Community Church in Edinburgh. In the years that followed he asked her to help him clean apartments at the complex where she lived and he managed with his wife.

Joseph Taylor recently started his own church called Freedom in Christ Christian Church. The church recently closed, but Taylor was serving as pastor at the time that the alledged molesting began.

"It happened several times a week," said Edinburgh Deputy Police Chief David Lutz.

Detectives have collected evidence from one of several empty apartments where Taylor allegedly had sex with the girl during a four month period from November 2010 to March 2011.

Prior to his arrest, Taylor denied any kind of sexual relationship with the girl but police say the evidence says otherwise.

"She knows some things about his body below the belt that nobody should know," Lutz said.

"To be a pastor, a man of God, and try to teach her in the right ways and then go off in an empty apartment and rape her..." Shirley said before breaking down in tears.

Though those tears come much more easily than words for Shirley these days, she says she's speaking out to warn others.

"I want everybody to know," she said. "There may be other kids out there. He knew how to get her under his wing and make her believe in him."

Despite Joseph Taylor's work with children as a teacher and pastor, police say they do not know of any other potential victims.

Taylor is charged with child molesting. He has bonded out of jail but goes before a judge next Thursday.

Sanford pastor accused of sex assault on teen boy

2011-08-12T10:26:00.000-07:00

SANFORD - A pastor who is also a teacher at Winter Springs High School was arrested this week, accused of sexually assaulting a teenager nearly a decade ago.

The Rev. Jimmie Lee Blake Sr., 47, of Sanford, is pastor of Morning Glory Missionary Baptist Church and teaches children with learning disabilities at the high school.

He's charged with two counts of child rape. He was arrested Wednesday and released Thursday from the Seminole County Jail on $50,000 bail.

According to his arrest report, an adult contacted Sanford police in February, saying that Blake had sexually abused him "countless" times when he was a teenager between 1998 and 2002.

The accuser told police most of the abuse occurred at Blake's home but that one morning it occurred before class in a bathroom at Lyman High School, where Blake worked as a teaching assistant at the time.

Once, the man told police, Blake threatened to kill him if he told anyone.

The Seminole County School District placed Blake on leave with pay pending the resolution of his criminal case.

No one answered the phone at Blake's home late Thursday afternoon.

Simsbury Priest Charged with Sex Assault

2011-08-12T09:46:00.000-07:00

A Simsbury priest has been arrested and charged with sexual assault.

Rev. Edward Warnakulasuriya, a priest at St. Bernard's Catholic Church in the Tariffville section of Simsbury, was taken into custody on Thursday and charged with three counts of fourth-degree sexual assault, according to police.

They did not release details on the circumstances surrounding the alleged crimes.

Hartford Archbishop, Most Rev. Henry Mansell, appointed Warnakulasuriya administrator of St. Bernard's in August 2010, according to the church's Web site.

Neighbors of the church were surprised to hear that the leader of the parish was arrested by Simsbury Police.

"It comes as a surprise and shock and it's concerning as a parent in the community," Scott Glazier said.

Several parishioners told NBC Connecticut that Father Ed, as he's known, has been gone from the church for at least two weeks. They said they were told the alleged crimes did not involve a member of the church.

Simsbury Deputy First Selectman John Hampton once attended St. Bernard's and his parents still attend church there.

"Obviously, as town officials, when allegations occur like this we pay attention and we're obviously very concerned," Dep. Hampton said.

The Archdiocese released a statement Thursday evening.

"In light of the police investigation and charges, the Archdiocese of Hartford has placed Fr. Edward Warnakulasuriya on administrative leave, which means he cannot perform his duties as a priest, namely the administration of the Sacraments. We will cooperate fully with the investigation."

Warnakulasuriya was released on bond and is scheduled to appear in Enfield Superior Court on Friday.

Rapes occurred on church grounds

2011-08-11T10:42:00.000-07:00

Summerville -- The pastor accused of kidnapping two prostitutes took them to a trailer behind his Ladson church to rape them, investigators said.

Dale Richardson, 46, of Myrtle Way in Summerville, was charged Wednesday by the Dorchester County Sheriff's Office with one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of kidnapping. County Magistrate Katrina L. Patton denied bond.

The charges stem from a July case in which a 20-year-old woman, who told North Charleston police she was a prostitute, reported being abducted at gunpoint and raped after she accepted a ride from a man in a white pickup truck as she walked down Midland Park Road near Stall Road.

The woman said the rape took place in a Dorchester County location.

Though Richardson was arrested by North Charleston police for the kidnapping component of that case, no sexual assault charges had been lodged against him until Wednesday, because the alleged attacks were said to have taken place in Dorchester County.

The arrest warrants served Wednesday on Richardson say he took the victim on July 27 to 119 Barnhill Road in Ladson, which is a 2.82 acre parcel of land at the corner of Lincolnville and Barnhill roads owned by Freedom Free Will Baptist Church, according to tax records.

The alleged rape took place in a single-wide mobile home at the rear of the church grounds, investigators said. Detectives searched the trailer on Friday, detectives said.

According to the warrant, the victim was "able to identify the defendant through his picture that is posted on line."

Police say Dale Richardson, a pastor at Free Will Baptist Church, assaulted women in this trailer on the grounds of his church.

Detectives said the victim observed things at the trailer that led her to look for the church's website, and when she found it she saw the preacher's photo and contacted police. Richardson is the pastor of the church.

Dorchester County investigators on Wednesday said they anticipate filing another set of similar charges against Richardson for an Aug. 12, 2010, North Charleston case with a similar pattern.

In both cases, though they took place almost one year apart, the women told police they were prostitutes and that they were picked up in the Ashley Phosphate Road area.

They said their assailant pulled out a gun, put a bag over their heads, drove them to a building in Dorchester County where he raped them, then drove them back to Carolina Commerce Parkway, where he set them free in a woods, telling them to not look back as they walked away.

In both cases, investigators determined that the building was the trailer behind the church.

North Charleston police on Aug. 3 charged Richardson with kidnapping and a weapons charge in the 2010 case. His bail on the Charleston County charges totals more than $1 million.

The Summerville Police Department on Friday served Richardson with warrants charging him with assault, kidnapping and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, all in connection with a June 21 incident in that town with a prostitute. A municipal court judge denied bail on the charges, Capt. Jon Rogers said.

In that case, no sexual assault is alleged.

Investigators were looking at similar cases back through 2010 and additional charges may be filed.

Youth Pastor Charged with Molesting 14-year-old Church Member

2011-08-11T10:35:00.000-07:00

VENICE, Calif. (KTLA) -- Authorities are searching for more possible victims after a youth pastor in Venice was arrested for allegedly molesting a 14-year-old girl for more than a year.

Granada Hills resident, 28-year-old Demetrius Darnell Allen, is facing 10 counts of a lewd act upon a child and one count each of possession of child pornography and contacting minor for a sexual offense.

He's being held on $1 million bail after pleading not guilty in the case. He was arrested on August 3.

Authorities say the girl belonged to First Baptist Church in Venice, where Allen worked.

LAPD officials held a news conference Thursday morning, seeking any additional victims. Police initially said that Allen worked with developmentally disabled children at the church, however, investigators later said that information was false.

Anyone with information was asked to call detectives at 818-832-0609. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).

Pastor Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Teen

2011-08-11T10:32:00.000-07:00

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. -- A Winter Springs High School teacher and church pastor was arrested on charges of sex crimes against a child.

Investigators said 48-year-old Jimmie Blake sexually assaulted a teenager. He was arrested on Wednesday and booked into the Seminole County Jail.Blake is a pastor at the Morning Glory Missionary Baptist Church.

Students at Winter Springs High School told WFTV that Blake taught children with learning disabilities. They said they couldn’t believe the allegations.

Police said the incidents occurred between 1998 and 2003, but the victim didn't come forward until February 2011. According to police reports, the boy was either living in Blake’s home, or at least staying there, and the sexual acts happened when Blake would come into the boy's bedroom at night.

In the report, the victim said he was told that "men keep secrets," and that Blake threatened to kill him if he told anyone.

The report does not indicate how Blake knew the victim.Blake faces two counts of sexual assault on a victim under the age of 18. He bonded about on $50,000.Blake has been suspended from Winter Springs High School with pay.

Pa. pastor charged with flashing 2 women

2011-08-10T10:39:00.000-07:00

DRESHER, Pa. -- A Methodist pastor has stepped down from his suburban Philadelphia church after being accused of exposing himself to two women.

Authorities say 46-year-old Richard Rogers flashed women on two separate occasions. He was arrested Monday and resigned his post at Jarrettown United Methodist Church in Dresher, Montgomery County.

Investigators say the alleged victims were members of an organization outside the church.

Rogers was released on bail on charges including lewdness and indecent exposure. A phone listing for him could not immediately be located.

Bishop Peggy Johnson, who oversees about 900 Methodist congregations in the region, says the church began investigating Rogers after learning of the complaints against him in May. He was placed on temporary leave June 1.

Calloway County preacher is accused of sexually abusing a boy

2011-08-10T09:38:00.000-07:00

A preacher from Calloway County has been charged with sexually abusing a boy.

State police said they arrested Robert Meredith, 50, on Tuesday afternoon, after the boy's parents contacted them, saying that Meredith, the minister at Green Plain Church of Christ, had abused the child Monday evening.

State police began an investigation that included an interview with Meredith, according to a news release.

He was arrested and taken to the Calloway County Jail on a charge of first-degree sexual abuse of a child under 12 years old.

Meredith has worked at Green Plain Church of Christ since January 2006, according to the church's Web site.

He has been a preacher since 1992 and worked at churches in Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee before coming to Kentucky, according to the site.

Youth pastor accused of videotaping showering girls

2011-08-08T10:58:00.000-07:00

The youth pastor of a Pasadena church has been arrested on charges of videotaping a 17-year-old girl who was showering in an incident from 2007, KTRK reports.

Thomas Jason Fortenberry, 30, has been charged with improper photography or visual recording. KTRK says he was a youth pastor at Greater Harvest Community Church on Genoa Red Bluff when the incident occurred:

According to court documents, back in November of 2007, Fortenberry was playing a “Fear Factor” game at the church with the victim, who was 17 years old at the time. During the game, the victim said she poured honey on clothing and body. Afterwards, Fortenberry reportedly told the victim she could use the shower to clean up.

According to investigators, Fortenberry later told the victim that while she was in the shower, he secretly videotaped her. Investigators say Fortenberry also told her he had videotaped a then-15-year-old showering the same day.

Pastor jailed on child sex charges

2011-08-07T10:35:00.000-07:00

A Decatur man who works as a pastor is in the Clayton County jail on child molestation charges.

Jail records show Samuel Walsham Chapman, 58, was arrested Thursday and charged with child molestation, solicitation of sodomy and enticing a child for indecent purposes.

A warrant states Chapman is a pastor at a Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Jonesboro, according to a Clayton

Calls to the church for confirmation and comment were not returned.

The warrant says Chapman performed a sexual act in front of a 15-year-old boy and asked for oral sex.
The boy denied the request and his grandmother contacted authorities.

Chapman has been denied bond.

Former Pastor Charged With Sex Crimes Again

2011-08-05T11:11:00.000-07:00

UNION COUNTY, SC --
Union Public Safety says a former Pastor is facing charges for sex crimes against someone they say Berry knew was to be "mentally defective."

The pastor was also charged in March and April.

38 year-old Stephen Douglas Berry, of Jonesville, has been charged with Criminal Sexual Conduct 3rd Degree stemming from an incident officials say occured sometime between February and March of this year.

Berry resigned from his position as an Associated Pastor at New Life Baptist Church back in February. The church told 7 On Your Side he was a pastor involved in the student ministry.

In April, Berry was charged with Lewd Act Upon a Child Under Sixteen and was taken into custody.

In March, the former Pastor arrested and charged with Second-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct With a Minor. Investigators say he was not working at the church at the time of his arrest.

However, according to an incident report, Berry had sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old girl beginning in May 2010 through November 2010, at which time he was employed with the church.

The report stated Berry had intercourse with the girl a number of times and at "various locations."

A Mobile pastor facing sexual abuse charges involving a child.

2011-08-05T11:07:00.000-07:00

MOBILE, Alabama - A Mobile pastor who helped start Prichard Preparatory School is facing sexual abuse charges involving a child.

Pastor Cederick McMillan, 26, surrendered to Mobile police Wednesday afternoon after learning a Mobile County Grand Jury had indicted him on sexual abuse and sodomy charges.

The charges stem from an "ongoing series of incidents" involving a 14 year old female relative, said Assistant District Attorney Nicki Patterson.

The alleged sexual abuse began in 2007, according to the prosecutor, and is documented in tape recordings and cell phone text messages.

McMillan, pastor of New Birth Community Church in Mobile, played a key role in starting Prichard Preparatory School in 2005, and served as the school's headmaster until 2009.

McMillan also serves as President of the Prichard Chamber of Commerce, according to his church's website.

A Mobile County Grand Jury indicted McMillan in May, but the indictment was kept secret until the pastor was notified yesterday.

Catholic church child protection chief caught with 4,000 child porn pictures

2011-08-02T08:11:00.000-07:00

A child protection official for the Catholic Church has been caught with 4,000 pictures of child porn.

Father-of-four Christopher Jarvis was arrested after uploading pictures of children being abused to a website.

Married Jarvis, 49, a former social worker, was employed by the church following sex scandals about pervert priests.

He admitted 12 counts of making, possessing and distributing indecent images when he appeared before magistrates in Plymouth and is likely to face jail when he returns to court for sentencing next month.

Jarvis, who has been sacked from his job as child safeguarding officer, worked the Diocese of Plymouth for nine years.

Church spokesman David Pond said: “Mr Jarvis was suspended from his position as soon as the diocese became aware in March of the police investigation.

“The Bishop took that action and since then the Church has worked closely with the police.”

Local pastor arrested after kidnapping & sexual assault

2011-07-30T10:30:00.000-07:00

A local pastor, Dale Richardson, was arrested after a kidnapping and sexual assault in North Charleston.
Wednesday, a 20 year old woman told police a approached her in a white pick up truck on midland park road, when a man in a white pick-up truck asked her if she wanted a ride.

According to the woman, the man said that he knew her. When she got into the car, the woman says the man told her that she wasn't getting out of the car.

She says he then tied her hands and put a pillow case over her head. The man drove her around for about 30 minutes and then sexually assaulted her.

She was driven back to the end of palmetto commerce parkway, when she says he pointed a gun at her and told her to walk into the woods and not look back.

Thursday evening, Investigators obtained arrest warrants for 46 year old Dale Richardson of Summerville in connection to the case. According to the website for Freedom Freewill Baptist Church, he has been a pastor there since 2008.

He was given a $525,000 bail. Additional charges are expected.

Former British Baptist pastor sentenced for sexual abuse

2011-07-27T10:48:00.001-07:00

FAIRFAX, Va. (ABP) – A former British Baptist pastor was sentenced July 22 to eight years in prison for sexually abusing two boys while visiting a family friend in the United States.

Robert Dando, former senior minister at Worcester Park Baptist Church in suburban London, pleaded guilty last November to four counts of aggravated sexual battery of a victim under 13. The charges stemmed from allegations that he began fondling the boys when they were 7 and 8 and continued the abuse over the course of five years.

Dando was arrested last July in Oakton, Va., after one of the alleged victims came forward in December at age 21, and further investigation revealed similar allegations by a 17-year-old.

Dando, 47, will serve his sentence in the U.S. Since his arrest he has been held without bond at the Fairfax County Detention Center. He was originally scheduled for sentencing in January, but the hearing was postponed after his lawyer requested a psychiatric evaluation for his client.

After his arrest Dando resigned as pastor of Worcester Park Baptist Church after three years. He was removed from membership of Boys’ Brigade, a Christian youth organization in which his wife was a vice president.

The Sutton Guardian reported that police are following “a number of leads” about possible alleged victims in the UK. Dando served as pastor of another Baptist church before coming to Worcester Park and as an associate pastor at a third.

A spokesperson for Worcester Park Baptist Church told the newspaper that any allegations of sexual abuse within the Baptist Union of Great Britain “would be reported to police and social services immediately.”

From 2005 to 2007 Dando served as an unpaid traveling assistant to David Coffey, at the time president of the Baptist World Alliance.

An assistant pastor at a Temecula church accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old parishioner

2011-07-27T10:45:00.000-07:00

MURRIETA - An assistant pastor at a Temecula church accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old parishioner is slated to be arraigned today at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta.

Joseph Jermaine Spencer, 26, could face more than 20 years in prison if convicted of forcible rape, unlawful intercourse with a minor, oral copulation and sexual penetration with a foreign object. He is being held without bail at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit filed by Murrieta police Investigator Matthew Haddad, Spencer allegedly sexually assaulted a girl at his apartment in the 33600 block of Mapleton Avenue in Murrieta on April 25.

Haddad wrote that Spencer befriended the victim while teaching choir at their church, which was not identified.

Between February and April, the defendant would meet the girl at school and drive her back to his residence, where they mainly watched television, unbeknown to the victim's mother, Haddad said.

On the day of the alleged assault, Spencer and the 16-year-old were watching TV on his bed when he began to undress her, according to court papers.

Spencer began kissing her and assaulting her, according to Haddad. The vicim told Spencer to stop but Spencer pulled down the victim's pants and underwear and continued his assault.

According to the affidavit, the defendant initiated intercourse but "the victim was in pain ... and told him to stop." He did and returned her to school, where she informed a counselor of what allegedly transpired, according to Haddad.

Spencer fled the area but turned himself in to San Bernardino County sheriff's officials a few days later, authorities said.

According to court records, he has a 2008 conviction for sexually assaulting a minor and is on probation.

Murrieta police noted that while directing the church choir, he was regularly in contact with three- to five-dozen girls.

Edenton pastor arrested in Asheville area

2011-07-26T11:04:00.001-07:00

ASHEVILLE — An Edenton man who had an outstanding warrant in Cumberland County for soliciting a child by computer was arrested Monday in Buncombe County.

Jonathan Winfield Rose, 35, of Edenton, was held on a $50,000 secured bond at the Buncombe County jail. According to arrest warrants, he is a pastor at Rocky Hock Baptist Church in Edenton.

Rose is expected to be transported to Cumberland County today.

Judgement day for former youth pastor who sexually assaulted teens

2011-07-25T10:31:00.000-07:00

CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) -
Judgement day for a former youth pastor at a Parma Heights church.

Joshua O'Bannion was sentenced to 15 years behind bars.

Between January 2008 and December 2008, O'Bannion, then 24, sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl and a 15-year-old girl who attended the church. The assault occurred in and outside of the church. The victims disclosed to Parma police after O'Bannion was arrested in Chandler, Arizona on September 9, 2009, for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.

At the time of arrest, O'Bannion was working as a youth pastor at a church in Tempe, Arizona; the 14-year-old victim attended the church in Arizona.

On June 13th, O'Bannion pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual battery and three counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.

O'Bannion will be required to register as a Tier III Sexual Offender.

A former Church youth leader has today been sentenced to two years in prison

2011-07-25T09:50:00.001-07:00

A former Church youth leader has today been sentenced to two years in prison for sexual offences he committed against young boy in the late 1980 -1990's.

Gilleon Prentice, 48, was arrested after allegations of sexual abuse were made by two victims who were between 13 and 15 years old at the time.

Prentice used to work with young people at Chelsea Baptist Church in Easton. He met his victims at official church functions and abused them at his then home in Hudds Vale road in the City.

He pleaded guilty to one charge and stood trial for other indecent assault charges where he was found guilty in June this year.

The judge at Bristol Crown Court today handed him two years behind bars gave him a sex offenders prevention order for 10 years and ordered him to sign the sex offenders register.

Officer in the case Detective Constable Andy Coggins said: "Gilleon Prentice is a manipulative man who abused his position of trust and responsibility over a number of years while working as a church leader.

"He thought he had got away with these crimes but thanks to the bravery and courage of his victims he has been brought to justice. I hope the sentence passed today gives them some closure and allows them to move on with their lives knowing he can cause no harm to others."

DC Coggins added: "I would encourage anyone who may have been a victim of rape or sexual assault, past or present to come forward and talk to specialist officers at Operation Bluestone. Working with our partners including the Bridge we are dedicated to investigating these crimes and placing people before the courts."

Anyone who may want to talk to police are asked to call 0845 456 7000. Victims or rape and sexual assault can also call the Bridge on 0117 342 6999 or visit www.turntothebridge.org

Fresno Pastor Arrested on Suspicion of Rape

2011-07-22T10:42:00.000-07:00

The Central Community Development Center of Fresno is a homeless outreach center and church many people rely on. But Fresno Police believe the reverend that runs the center, is causing more harm than good. Donald Lockhart was arrested on suspicion of rape, Wednesday. Sgt. Nina Jacobs explains, "Our detectives responded for some follow up investigation on July 18th for a woman being sexually assaulted. Donald Lockhart was the suspect in that. We've done so far a two day investigation and he was arrested on those charges yesterday."

The woman told police the assault happened inside the outreach center. Lockhart was booked into the county jail on four offenses related to sexual assault. Lockhart posted bond and was released from jail, Wednesday night. He said, "It's false, I don't know what else to say. This is retaliatory. This is payback for trying to stand up for what's right."

Lockhart says he's being targeted by Fresno Police because he filed a writ of mandamus claiming the department is not doing its job. He says he was assaulted by one of his tenants. He filed a restraining order on the person, but claims police never enforced it. Gregory Hopkins was the person Lockhart filed the restraining order against. Hopkins says Lockhart is nothing but trouble.

"He jumped off the porch came across the street and the only thing that saved me after he got off one shot was he stepped off the curb and the gun went down and I ran. The second shot barely missed me," Hopkins said.

Lockhart says all of the allegations are part of a campaign.

"The goal is basically to put me out of business. There are people who don't really want homeless people in that part of town," said Lockhart.

Despite all of this, Lockhart says there will still be a Sunday service this week.

The Fresno Police Department says it is not targeting Lockhart. They say they are just doing their job, following up on the offenses against him. The investigation is still ongoing. Police believe there could be other rape victims. Anyone with information is being asked to call the Fresno Police Department.

Lowell pastor convicted of sexually abusing young girl

2011-07-19T10:31:00.000-07:00

Nearly two years after a Lowell pastor was first arrested on charges of sexually abusing a pre-teenage girl, a Gaston County jury convicted him Monday morning.

Keith Devon Pettis, 44, of the 8600 block of Catawba Cove Drive, south of Gastonia, was found guilty of nine counts that included taking indecent liberties with a child and sex offense of a child, among other charges.

The former pastor of New Life Christian Center was sentenced to between 20 and 24½ years in prison.
The conviction followed a five-day trial that ran throughout last week. Jurors deliberated for three hours Friday afternoon, recessed for the weekend, then reconvened Monday morning and reached the verdict before lunch.

New Life Christian Center is tucked into a small residential neighborhood on Robbins Street, not far from the eastern end of the Franklin Square shopping center in Gastonia. Investigators said early on that the charges did not involve Pettis’ activities at the church, nor any parishioners there.

Pettis was arrested in August 2009 on charges that he sexually abused a 12-year-old girl in his home in August 2006 by performing a sex act on her. He allegedly sexually abused her again on Sept. 1, 2008, and Sept. 20, 2008, then forced her to perform a sex act on him in February and March of 2009.

Shortly after his arrest, he posted a $50,000 secured bond and was released from the Gaston County Jail.
Gaston County Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Hamlin inherited the case this year after one of her colleagues retired and another one took another job. She said she quickly took it under wing and put it on the first available trial calendar.

“It was an important case to me, with him being in the role he was in with this girl,” she said.

Testimony during the trial revolved in part around DNA evidence. Members of Pettis’ church family and other friends were there throughout the trial, as well as supporters of his accuser.

“These cases are emotional,” said Hamlin. “I’m glad the jurors took their time and made a decision they felt was right.”

Pettis’ Gastonia attorney, Larry Hoyle, could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon, nor could anyone at New Life Christian Center.

Fruitland Pastor Goes to Prison for Having Sex With Teen

2011-07-13T13:24:00.000-07:00

SALISBURY, Md.- A Fruitland pastor arrested earlier this year for having sex with a teenage member of his congregation will spend five years behind bars after being convicted of sex offense in Wicomico County Circuit Court on Tuesday.

Tonto Sylvester Corbin, 49, of Salisbury, who served as pastor of Jesus Saves House of Prayer and Refuge located on 308 E. Main St. in Fruitland, entered an Alford plea to third-degree sex offense. Under an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges the state has enough evidence for a conviction.

Corbin was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with all but five suspended. Following his release, he will be placed on three years of supervised probation, according to Wicomico County Assistant State's Attorney Jamie Dykes, who prosecuted the case.

Corbin's conviction stemmed from his arrest in March of this year after the 15-year-old victim alleged she had sex with him inside his home as well as inside the church itself.

Even before Tuesday's conviction, Corbin had a criminal history and was a registered sex offender in both Maryland and Wicomico County. According to the sex offender registry, Corbin was convicted of second-degree rape in 2003.

Court records also reveal that Corbin served time in prison following an involuntary manslaughter conviction in August 2005. He was released from prison in February 2009 and had been under the supervision of probation and parole agents until his March 2011 arrest, according to officials with the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.

Pastor faces sex abuse charges

2011-07-12T12:36:00.000-07:00

A Grundy County pastor is facing charges of sex abuse for allegedly having sex with a minor.

Dennis Lee Brown, 66, of Verona, Va., and currently of rural Eldora, was arrested Friday when Waverly police executed a search warrant on his summer home in Grundy County.

Brown is charged with sexual abuse in the third degree, a Class C felony, which, upon conviction is punishable by up to 10 years behind bars and a $10,000 fine.

In a criminal complaint filed in Bremer County, police charge that Brown, a pastor at Ivester Church of the Brethren in rural Grundy Center, met a victim over the Internet and then traveled to Waverly in May to engage in a sexual act.

Jason Leonard, the spokesperson for the Waverly Police Department, said that investigators seized evidence on two occasions �“ when the 15-year-old victim first came forward and when officers conducted a search at Brown’s residence.

Waverly police officers were assisted by their Cedar Falls counterparts and sheriff’s deputies from Bremer and Grundy counties.

Alice Draper, president of the board of Ivester Church of the Brethren, declined to comment.

Mary Jo Flory-Steury, the executive director of ministry for the Protestant church whose stated mission is “continuing the work of Jesus,” confirmed that the Church of Brethren, headquartered in Elgin, Ill., said that Brown was installed as an interim pastor in 2006, and as the pastor in 2008.

Flory-Steury said the church is conducting an inquiry in accordance with its internal policies.

“We care deeply for all parties involved in the process,” she said.

Joshua Paul Amoroso, Ex-Youth Pastor At Gateway Church, Charged With Sexual Assault Of 14-Year-Old Girl

2011-07-07T10:45:00.000-07:00

Joshua Paul Amoroso, 22, was arrested Wednesday on charges of sexual assault on a 14-year-old child by a person in a position of trust.

Amoroso, a Colorado Springs youth pastor at Gateway Church, faces up to 90 days in jail and at least 10 years of probation under his plea agreement with prosecutors, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette. The plea arrangement means prosecutors will dismiss the 17 additional counts related to Amoroso’s relationship with the 14-year-old girl.

Amoroso met the teenaged girl while counciling children at the Colorado Springs Gateway Church in 2010. 7News reports that their relationship lasted three-months and the youth pastor exchanged more than 16,000 text messages and phone calls with the girl he allegedly had sexual contact with.

According to the Gazette, Amoroso began pursuing the young girl over Facebook and cell phone text messages where Amoroso addressed her as “babe,” “gorgeous,” “sweetheart” and eventually sent her an email proclaiming his love for her saying, “Hey Baby! I love you so much.”

According to the affadivit that 7News obtained, Amoroso first had sex with the girl at her home while her stepmother was sleeping. Then, over the course of the three-month relationship they had sex at Amoroso’s home while his wife was out working and at Gateway Senior Pastor Derek Sissel’s home while Amoroso was house sitting, the Gazette reports. Church officials then fired Amoroso after he acknowledged the relationship with the girl and the police investigation had begun.

Senior Pastor Sissel, whose house the pair had sex in during their relationship, made this statement to KRDO:

Gateway Church requires those who minister on its behalf to model right conduct. It, therefore, will not tolerate the conduct of any minister who exploits a person he is supposed to serve. Please pray for any person hurt by the recent circumstances, and pray for our Church. We are fully cooperating with law enforcement.

Henryetta Pastor Arrested For Sexting Teenage Girl

2011-07-07T10:40:00.000-07:00

HENRYETTA, Oklahoma -- A 36-year-old Henryetta minister has been arrested on complaints of sexting a minor girl after the two attended a church camp.

Joseph Monroe Leal, pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church of Henryetta, was booked into Tulsa County Jail on two complaints of using technology to engage in sexual communication with a minor. He has been released on bond.

According to an affidavit filed in Tulsa County Court, Leal started texting the then 14-year-old girl after she attended the Summit Church Camp in 2009. Initially, the messages related to "spiritual subjects," the affidavit states.

In the summer of 2010, when the minor was 15, the texts became sexually explicit, according to the affidavit. The girl began saving the texts this spring.

According to the church web site, Leal has served as pastor at Immanuel Baptist since 2006. He is originally from Moore and has also served at churches in Shawnee and Wellston.

Former Mid-Michigan Youth Pastor Arrested on Porn Charges

2011-07-01T10:27:00.000-07:00

A former youth minister at an Ovid area church was charged Thursday with three pornography charges involving children.

46-year-old Enrique Alcaraz is accused of setting up false Facebook and Yahoo accounts to contact children. Investigators say Alcaraz used the names of Matt James, Mary Parker and Brad Merritt. They also say he received nude photos from one minor and sent nude photos to another.

The charges include distributing sexually explicit material and possessing pornographic material.

The case was brought to the attention of police by the parent of one of the children.

In addition to being a former youth pastor, Alcaraz is also a former member of the Ovid Elsie School Board.
He was arraigned in St. Johns, Thursday

Child assault suspect founded Tracy church

2011-06-27T13:52:00.000-07:00

TRACY - A Tracy man arrested last week on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 7-year-old girl was identified as a church pastor and active leader in two veterans organizations.

Roger Earl Rickman, 65, is a founding pastor at Fresh Anointing Faith International Christian Church in Tracy.

Tracy police spokesman Sgt. Tony Sheneman confirmed that Rickman also is the chaplain of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1537, and the master chaplain for American Legion Post 172.

"This is not something you expect of community leaders and people you put in positions of trust," Sheneman said.

Sheneman said the girl's parents attended Rickman's church. They reported June 20 their suspicions that the pastor had molested their daughter.

Sheneman said there were multiple incidents over the course of a few weeks in May, including a time when Rickman gave the child a ride home in his car.

"There was an extensive investigation, which included a search and arrest warrant," he said.

Rickman was arrested June 22 on the 800 block of Glencreek Drive and later booked into San Joaquin County Jail on suspicion of seven counts of felony sexual assault, including lewd acts upon a child.

Tracy police is verifying Rickman's professional credentials. Sheneman said there could be more victims, but the Police Department isn't aware of any others at this time.

Rickman is scheduled to appear in court today in Manteca.

Pastor Arrested for Lewd Acts, More Victims Possible

2011-06-25T10:39:00.000-07:00

A Pastor is facing five counts of lewd acts with a child, and investigators worry there may be more victims.

Dr. Roger Earl Rickman, a pastor at Fresh Anointing Faith International Christian Church in Tracy, was arrested earlier this week. He faces three counts of lewd acts with a child under ten and two counts of lewd acts with a child under 14.

Although this would suggest at least two victims, investigators would neither confirm nor deny the number of victims currently involved, but did say they are looking for more.

According to his online resume, 65-year-old Rickman is also CEO of Superior Private Investigations and COO at Rickman CPA Organization. He is Board Certified in Integrative Medicine and a FEMA Certified Master Chaplain, and specializes in therapeutic grade essential healing oils.

He spent two decades in Asia, ten of those with the US Air Force. It also says he is a vibrations expert, writing two books on vibration analysis of high-speed rotating equipment.

Cops started investigating him earlier this month after the parents of a 7-year-old girl said Rickman sexually assaulted their daughter.

Tracy Police say Rickman’s mugshot is not being released because their investigation is on-going. They also clarify that Rickman is not related to Tracy Councilman Robert Rickman.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Detective Gary Castillo at 209-831-6589 or the Tracy Police Department at 209-831-4550. Information can also be sent via text by texting TRACY PD and the information to Tip411 (847411).

Ex-Humboldt pastor pleads guilty to sex abuse

2011-06-24T11:04:00.000-07:00

EUREKA, Calif.—A former Humboldt County pastor has pleaded guilty to charges that he sexual abused two girls, including one who was placed in his care.

The Times-Standard of Eureka reports that 50-year-old Dino Cardelli entered his plea Monday to sex abuse and molestation charges as well as 25 counts of violating a court order to not contact the victims.

Cardelli was pastor of Arcata's evangelical Calvary Chapel for 15 years. He resigned after he was arrested last September.

Authorities say a 13-year-old foster child who lived in his McKinleyville home reported the abuse at her school. Prosecutors later identified a second victim.

Cardelli violated the court order when he used a prepaid cell phone and a fake Facebook page to contact one of the girls.

He faces 18 years in prison at his sentencing.

Police searching for pastor accused in sexual assault cases

2011-06-24T11:01:00.000-07:00

A Las Vegas pastor arrested in December for allegedly sexually assaulting a girl in his congregation may have fled to California after more victims came forward, Henderson Police said.

Authorities last week issued a warrant for Otis Holland, 54, on 11 counts of sexual assault of a victim younger than 16, one count of child abuse and conspiracy to commit a crime, police said.

Holland has not turned himself into police, who believe he may have gone to California to evade arrest, officials said.

Police first arrested Holland, who was pastor of United Faith Church in Las Vegas, last December for three counts of sexual assault of a victim younger than 16.

Another alleged victim came forward in January, prompting police to arrest Holland again, that time for a felony count of lewdness with a minor younger than 14 years old, officials said.

The arrest warrant issued last week, however, relates to an investigation involving an additional two girls who came forward earlier this month, police said.

The alleged incidents involving Holland and the underage girls happened at various locations in Henderson and Las Vegas, police said.

United Faith Church had been holding services on Hacienda Avenue in Las Vegas. Police believe Holland was last staying at a home on Sail Rock Place in North Las Vegas.

Anyone with information in this case is asked to call Henderson Police at (702) 267-4750 or, to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at (702) 385-5555 or visit www.crimestoppersofnv.com.

Charges: Youth Director Sexually Assaulted Girl at Church

2011-06-16T16:18:00.000-07:00

HAM LAKE, Minn. (FOX 9) - Charges were filed Thursday against a Ham Lake Lutheran church youth director accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in the summer and fall of 2010. The victim said the assaults took place at the church, on church retreats and at a youth camp, among other places.

Damian Burkhalter, 47, of Blaine, Minn., is the youth director at Glen Cary Lutheran Church in Ham Lake. He was arrested Tuesday in connection with the allegations, which surfaced during a therapy session.

According to the criminal complaint, Burkhalter accepted the girl into his family and wanted to adopt the girl and her sister. The victim said worked as a secretary under Burkhalter, and as the abuse continued she tried to find religious reasons to make him stop. (Note: The church says no secretary position exists).

Several times, the girl told him she wanted to remain a virgin and that she was “saving herself for marriage.” Burkhalter allegedly tried to rationalize the age discrepancy by saying Joseph was in his 40s and Mary was much younger.

The girl told investigators the sexual encounters started in June 2010 and continued into the fall. Locations of the assaults included Burkhalter’s home in Blaine, youth retreats and camps, a middle school parking lot and at Glen Cary Lutheran Church. After learning of the allegations, the church released a statement saying it is cooperating with the investigation and is working to ensure the safety of everyone inside its facilities.

In a June 9 interview with police, the girl said the fist incident occurred in late June of 2010, when she was 14. She and others from Glen Cary Church were on a trip to the Quad Cities in Iowa when Burkhalter allegedly sexually assaulted her in the church van. Other assaults allegedly took place at camps in both Minnesota and Wisconsin.

At Glen Cary Church, the girl said Burkhalter sexually assaulted her multiple times in his office and in the youth room in the basement. Other assaults during that summer occurred in the Westwood Middle School parking lot and at Burkhalter’s home in Blaine.

According to the complaint, after the girl told Burkhalter she wanted to remain a virgin, he said he loved her and sent graphic, sexual text messages and a letter that said he missed their “private times” together.

Damian Burkhalter is charged with two counts each of first-degree and second-degree criminal sexual conduct.

Neighbors near Burkhalter's home in Blaine said they saw his wife and two teenaged children packing bags and leaving on Wednesday morning.

Former Tempe Pervert Pastor Pleads Guilty to Molesting Two Additional Girls in Ohio

2011-06-14T11:52:00.001-07:00

A former pastor at a Tempe church -- serving a 15-year prison sentence for molesting a 14-year-old member of his congregation -- has pleaded guilty to molesting two other members of a congregation he led in Ohio.

Joshua O'Bannion, 27, pleaded guilty in a Cuyahoga County, Ohio, court to four counts of sexual battery and three counts of sexual conduct with a minor for molesting the two Ohio girls.

O'Bannion first was arrested in September 2009. He admitted to having sex with the girl at least three times while serving as youth pastor at the Christ Life Church in Tempe.

At the time, police suspected there could be other victims -- and there were.

After hearing about the pastor's arrest in Arizona, police in Parma, Ohio, say two girls, also 14, came forward to say O'Bannion had sex with them, too, when he was a pastor at their church.

Parma police spokesman Marty Compton told New Times in 2009 that while serving at the First United Pentecostal Church of Parma, O'Bannion had sex with the girls inside the church.

O'Bannion's grandfather, it so happens, is the head pastor at the Ohio church?

Compton says O'Bannion served at the church from 2006 until late 2008 when he came to the Valley.

We can only speculate why O'Bannion left his family-run church to come here, but the allegations stem back to his starting at the Ohio church in 2006.

O'Bannion was back visiting his Ohio congregation just before his arrest here. After seeing O'Bannon, Compton says, some of the girls at the church were "spooked."

Compton says the church didn't exactly cooperate in the investigation, either. He says members seemed in a state of denial.

"We've seen a lot of these churches try to solve these things in house," Compton says. "Whether he saw [moving to Arizona] as a stepping stone or he was running from something, we don't know."

O'Bannion's sentencing in the Ohio cases is scheduled July 25, according to Cleveland.com, a local news website.

Church leader sentenced for sex crimes

2011-06-10T12:29:00.000-07:00

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) - A former church board member and restaurant owner was sentenced to five years in prison Thursday morning for sex crimes against two teenage boys.

62-year-old Michael Windham was noticeably thinner compared to when he was arrested last year and charged with a number of counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor along with other charges.

Windham pleaded no contest to the more than 16 counts against him.

Investigators say Windham used cash and other enticements to coerce the teens into having sex with him. The acts went on for several years, until the two finally came forward to make sure the same thing didn't happen to anyone else.

"They did not report it right away, however, it became apparent it could happen to other boys that had been in their position and they did not want that to happen," Montgomery County Assistant Prosecutor Erin Claypoole says. "I'm sure that's one of the reasons they did what they did to come forward to stop this."

After he's released from prison Windham will have to register as a sex offender for 25 years.

Windham was the co-owner of K's Restaurant in Brookville and a board member with Plainview Open Bible Church in Perry Township.

During the sentencing Judge Timothy O'Connell said there's some uncertainty about whether there were other victims but prosecutors say, so far, no one else has come forward.

Pastor resigns teaching job after sex allegation

2011-06-10T12:05:00.000-07:00

BOILING SPRINGS — A pastor facing a sex act solicitation charge will no longer teach and preach at Gardner-Webb University.

Dr. Clinton A. Feemster of Gastonia resigned this week following allegations that he asked an undercover police detective to perform a sex act with him in February.

The university received a letter from Feemster on Sunday, according to Noel Manning, GWU’s director of university and media relations. Feemster’s resignation is effective immediately.

“He’s been associated with Gardner-Webb for more than a decade,” Manning said. “We’ll continue to pray for his family during this difficult time.”

Feemster is pastor of Mount Zion Baptist Church in Kings Mountain. He had been placed on leave after his arrest, and a phone call to the church regarding his employment status there wasn’t immediately returned Thursday.

The former director of the Pittman Center for Congregational Enrichment was arrested Feb. 18. He was charged with crimes against a nature, a misdemeanor, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

Police reports and charging documents state that Feemster touched himself while talking to an undercover detective and asked him to perform a sex act. The incident happened at an airport overlook on Old Dowd Road where families watch planes take off from the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport.

Feemster appeared in a Mecklenburg County courtroom Wednesday, where his case was continued to a later date.

“Except for this incident, nothing happened to say he wasn’t an upstanding citizen, pastor, alumnus and employee,” Manning said.

Pastor arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting parishioner

2011-06-03T10:29:00.000-07:00

TORONTO, Ont. - The pastor of a North York church has been arrested after a woman told police she was sexually assaulted while attending a prayer session.

The incident happened on Wednesday at the Fire of Miracle Ministries Church, located on Finch Avenue near Keele Street.

Emmanual Animodi, 45, was arrested and charged with one count of sexual assault. His first court appearance was Thursday.

Police believe there may be more victims and are asking anyone with any information to come forward.

NM pastor charged with sexual assault

2011-06-01T10:48:00.000-07:00

LOS LUNAS, N.M. (KRQE) - Steven Joseph Perez, 64, from Los Lunas was arrested May 16 in Colorado by Pueblo Police for sexually molesting a girl back in October. But his neighbors back home are just now finding out about it.

Perez founded God's Church on the Move in Los Chavez. According to Pueblo Police, he was staying with the girl's family in Colorado for a few months late last year to "help out with bills by paying rent." The family used to attend Perez's church.

But according to the criminal complaint, the young girl, 12, told police she went to "Pastor Steve's room" one night to watch a movie. She said Perez put his hand down her pants and started touch her. Then she said he lifted up her shirt and started kissing her breasts. The girl told police she pretended to be asleep because she was scared and uncomfortable.

But Perez told police he's innocent. In his arrest warrant, Perez told police, "we were just wrestling, me and (victim), there was nothing sexual, (victim) is known for lying."

Perez continued saying, "you know how it is when you are wrestling? You get hurt and places on your body get touched without meaning anything by it?"

Perez is no longer the pastor at God's Church on the Move. His son now preaches there. People living in the kid-friendly neighborhood behind the small church were shocked to hear the allegations.

"I think (Perez) should be locked up, put away and throw the key away, so it's really rough to hear that," said neighbor Anthony Chavez. "It's sad actually."

Police did not immediately take Perez into custody back in October, citing his health issues. Perez is on an oxygen tank.

Perez posted his $20,000 bond on May 17.