Tag Archives: religion

Drag Queen Tops iTunes Christian And Gospel Charts

The Messenger reports: There’s a new, unexpected name at the top of the Christian music charts. Drag queen Flamy Grant’s album Bible Belt Baby, released in October, is suddenly the No. 1 album on the iTunes Christian and Gospel chart. In addition, her song “Good Day” peaked at No. 1 alongside the album for a period. So, what’s going on? …

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AP Poll: 70% Of Americans Believe That Angels Exist

The Associated Press reports: Compared with the devil, angels carry more credence in America. Angels even get more credence than, well, hell. In fact, about 7 in 10 U.S. adults say they believe in angels, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. American’s belief in angels (69%) is about on par with belief …

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North Carolina Pastor Arrested On Child Sex Charges

High Point, North Carolina’s Fox affiliate reports: A former pastor is accused of sex crimes after an incident at the Piedmont Triad Farmer’s Market in Colfax on Sandy Ridge Road. Ivan Hugh-McDonald Peden, 71, is charged with taking indecent liberties with children, indecent exposure to a person under 16, sexual battery, and secret peeping. The crimes allegedly happened on June …

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FL Pastor Charged With Indecent Exposure To Child

Tampa’s NBC affiliate reports: A 76-year-old retired pastor is accused of exposing himself to a nine-year-old girl on July 21. According to a Pasco County Sheriff’s Office arrest report, the victim and her family were at a community pool in Wesley Chapel. As the girl was swimming nearby the suspect, Allen Farabee, had exposed his genitals and placed it in …

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Police: Pastor Murdered 8-Year-Old Pennsylvania Girl In 1975 After Kidnapping And Attempting To Rape Her

Atlanta’s NBC affiliate reports: An 83-year-old Marietta man who is a former pastor has been arrested in the cold case murder of an 8-year-old girl in Pennsylvania. Gretchen Harrington was attending Bible summer camp in 1975 in Marple Township when she vanished while walking from her home to one of the camp’s two locations. Skeletal remains were found at a …

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Christian Sports Ministry Leader Charged With Child Sex

Nashville’s NBC affiliate reports: The former executive director of Full Count Ministries is facing child sex crime charges following an investigation by the Hendersonville Police, who said they began investigating 40-year-old Jacob R. Oldham on July 15. In a statement, Full Count Ministries’ Board of Directors said Oldham was terminated Saturday morning after an internal investigation by the board. Oldham …

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Mormon Leader Pleads Guilty To Child Sex Charges

Harrisburg’s ABC affiliate reports: Shawn Gooden has now pleaded guilty in Virginia to four sexual assault charges involving a child less than 14 years old. Police in Virginia told abc27, the alleged incidents happened in the late 1990s and involved a child who was already in Godden’s life. Years later, he lived in Palmyra and was a Boy Scouts leader, …

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IL Youth Pastor Gets 30 Years On Child Porn Charges

Illinois talk radio station WMIX reports: A former youth pastor of a Patoka church pleaded guilty Thursday in Fayette County Court to five of ten felony charges stemming from his involvement in a child pornography ring in Vandalia. Ferrell Kissiar, a former assistant pastor at the Pentecostal Church in Patoka was sentenced to a total of 30 years in prison …

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California Pastor Arrested In Underage Sex Sting

Los Angeles’s CW affiliate reports: A minister and former teacher in Ventura County has been charged with multiple felony counts of child abuse, including accusations that he tried to meet up with a 15-year-old girl for sex. Barry Fike, 67, of Fillmore, was arrested on Monday following an investigation by the Ventura County Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. …

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Christian Camp Counselor Gets 7 Years For Child Sex

The Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune reports: A 33-year-old Wisconsin Rapids man was sentenced Tuesday to seven years in prison for inappropriately touching a child while he was a counselor at a Christian camp. Remington J. Nystrom pleaded no contest to a charge of second-degree sexual assault of a child on April 12, which was the day he was scheduled to …

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Cops: Priest “Anointed” Man’s Genitals With Holy Oil

The Telegraph reports: Greek police have arrested an Orthodox priest on the island of Rhodes for allegedly molesting a male tourist by “anointing” his genitals with holy oil. The holidaymaker encountered the priest, 49, when he visited a monastery on the island with his girlfriend earlier this week. The priest invited him into a small reception room in the monastery …

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Maryland Pastor Charged With Raping Adult Human

Washington DC’s Fox affiliate reports: Police have arrested and charged a pastor in Montgomery County with rape. According to police, this all stems from an incident on September 29th, 2020, at the Iglesia Pentecostal El Fin Viene on the 7500 block of New Hampshire Ave. in Takoma Park. Serving pastor, 39-year-old Erick Odir Vidal-Fuentes was charged with second-degree rape and …

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Sunday School Teacher Gets Life On Child Sex Charges

The Wichita Falls Times Record News reports: A Wichita County Jury on Wednesday sentenced a former Wichita Falls postal worker and Sunday School teacher to life in prison for urging a 13-year-old girl to give him a “peep show” and take a shower with him. She said there were about 15 such encounters, including incidents in his vehicle where he …

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CA Youth Pastor Gets One Year On Molestation Charge

The Fresno Bee reports: A former youth pastor in Kingsburg was sentenced Tuesday to serve one year in prison for having an inappropriate relationship with a 16-year-old church member. Luke Michael Bese, 30, was convicted in May on one felony charge of arranging a meeting with a minor for lewd or lascivious behavior and a misdemeanor charge of annoying, molesting …

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Ohio Youth Pastor Gets 25 Years On Child Porn Charges

Columbus’s PBS affiliate reports: A Licking County man was given a 25-year prison sentence Tuesday in federal court after he was convicted on charges of child sexual exploitation and soliciting child pornography. According to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, 27-year-old Matthew Reif, of Newark, victimized at least 52 boys between October 2020 and July 2022. He …

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Florida Youth Pastor Arrested On Child Sex Charges

First Coast News reports: A youth minister at Celebration Church in Jacksonville has been arrested and charged with six counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor, newly-released documents show. Celebration Church says Williams was in this position as a volunteer. Rashad Williams, 34, was reported to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office after it was discovered that he was in a …

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Church Band Musician Arrested On Child Sex Charges

The Dubois County Free Press reports: The Jasper Police Department arrested a Jasper man on eight counts of child molestation involving a girl under the age of 14. According to police, they received information on the allegations of child molestation on June 30. After an extensive investigation, police were able to establish probable cause that Michael Crockett, 49, Jasper, had …

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Indiana Pastor Arrested On Child Molestation Charges

South Bend’s NBC affiliate reports: A man who preached at a Michiana church is accused of sexually abusing a child. Gregory Sebastian, 41, is facing two counts of felony child molesting. He allegedly laid in bed with and inappropriately touched a girl who is under the age of 14. Sebastian was booked into the St. Joseph County Jail on June …

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Texas Pastor Pleads Guilty To Child Porn Charges

Austin’s Fox affiliate reports: The pastor of a Round Rock church has pled guilty to a federal charge related to child sexual abuse material, or CSAM. David Lloyd Walter, 57, of Georgetown pled guilty June 27 to an enhanced charge of possession of child pornography. According to court documents, Walther knowingly searched for, downloaded, distributed and possessed CSAM using BitTorrent, …

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Wisconsin Chaplain Arrested On Child Sex Charges

The Kenosha County Eye reports: David DeBerge, 67, of Kenosha was charged today in Kenosha County Circuit Court with repeated sexual assault of a child and another sexual assault-related felony. The first count carries a maximum sentence of 60 years and the second, 40 years. According to the criminal complaint, DeBerge is accused of molesting a relative from the time …

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