Religion

Huntsville’s ABC affiliate reports: A former pastor at a Decatur church was sentenced to 20 years in prison for sodomy, a Morgan County circuit judge told News 19. Danny Duane Pitts was found guilty of second-degree sodomy by a Morgan County jury on October 24. On Wednesday, Circuit Judge Charles B. Elliott sentenced Pitts to 20 years in the Alabama …

Courthouse News reports: The man who used his power as a religious leader in a small Arizona town to marry and repeatedly rape 10 underage girls for nearly two years will spend the next 50 in a federal prison. The young women once victimized by Samuel Rappylee Bateman faced him in a Phoenix courtroom for the last time Monday afternoon. …

Long Island’s ABC affiliate reports: A years-long, painful legal battle between the eighth largest diocese in the country and hundreds of alleged sex abuse victims came to an end today. Chief Judge Martin Glenn signed off on the Diocese of Rockville Centre’s bankruptcy plan which finalized the $323 million settlement to begin dolling out payments early next year. The case …

Fort Worth’s Fox affiliate reports: A Grapevine pastor and substitute teacher is facing charges after allegedly being caught with hidden cameras and child pornography. Grapevine police said their investigation into 38-year-old Arturo Alarcon began after they received a tip about “spy cameras” that were found inside a mobile home that he owns. Alarcon was an associate pastor at 121 Community …

The Tallahassee Democrat reports: The Leon County Sheriff’s Office arrested a church employee for allegedly assaulting a teenager who attended the church he served at. Hunter Eubanks, 30, was arrested Wednesday on charges of sexual assault of a minor, cruelty toward a child, aggravated battery on a child, use of a computer to lure a child, obscene communication and travel …

Tulsa’s Fox affiliate reports: An Inola pastor was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Tuesday after being found guilty of rape and two counts of lewd or indecent acts involving young girls. FOX23 told you four years ago about Inola pastor Roy Shoop when he was arrested. Shoop was the pastor of the Cowboy Gatherin’ Church in Inola. The …

Oklahoma City’s ABC affiliate reports: Cleveland County deputies arrested a former pastor accused of lewd or indecent acts to a child under 16, and investigators say there could be more victims. James McMillan was arrested Tuesday afternoon, and court documents show that there are multiple Department of Human Services and law enforcement cases where he is listed as a sexual …

Yahoo News reports: A former Duluth youth pastor has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for sexually assaulting multiple young girls during his time at the church. Jackson Michael Gatlin, 36, was sentenced to 156 months in prison yesterday after pleading guilty to five counts of criminal sexual conduct on Nov. 6. He must also register as a sex …

Charleston’s CBS affiliate reports: A pastor and youth minister at various churches in West Virginia and his wife have been arrested in a child sexual abuse investigation, troopers said. John Waitman Radcliff II, 57, and Kathy Jean Radcliff, 52, face nearly 200 total charges in a sexual assault investigation dating back several decades in multiple counties, according to a news …

The Guardian reports: The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has announced that he will step down after facing mounting pressure to quit over his handling of an abuse scandal. Pressure on Welby has been intensifying since the publication last week of a damning report on the church’s cover-up of John Smyth’s abuse in the UK in the late 1970s and …

New Orleans’ NBC affiliate reports: The Archdiocese of New Orleans is one step closer to ending its bankruptcy. Attorneys for the diocese and sex abuse survivors have filed a plan that outlines ways to make sure child sex abuse never happens again. The plans appear to create additional transparency. Sealed records will also soon be public through an archive. The …

The Independent reports: A Los Angeles gynecologist has surrendered his medical license for allegedly hectoring a patient about Jesus after she revealed having had an abortion 34 years prior. When Dr. Lucien Cox, 75, entered the room, he pressed the woman for further details about the abortion, and asked if she had “Jesus in her life,” the filing states. When …

The Minnesota Star-Tribune reports: Jackson Gatlin, dressed in a dark suit with his hands cuffed behind his back, was led by authorities from the courtroom Wednesday morning after pleading guilty to felony-level criminal sexual conduct in a case where numerous women have come forward with similar accusations of being sexually assaulted as girls when he was their youth leader at …

Bay City, Michigan’s CBS affiliate reports: A Clare County pastor has been charged with criminal sexual conduct for his alleged sexual contact with a minor, according to the Clare County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office said it received a report of second-degree criminal sexual conduct on March 5 in the village of Farwell, located in Clare County. The victim, a …

USA Today reports: U.S. intelligence agencies confirmed Friday they believe Russia is behind a fake but viral video showing a man claiming to be a recent Haitian immigrant saying he and a friend were voting – twice – in Georgia for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. “The IC assesses that Russian influence actors manufactured a recent video that falsely depicted individuals …

Florence, South Carolina’s Nexstar affiliate reports: Federal authorities were conducting an investigation early Friday afternoon at the Horry County home of Solid Rock church pastor John-Paul Miller. FBI spokesman Kevin Wheeler told News13 that authorities were “conducting court authorized law enforcement activity” at the home. A News13 reporter saw about 25 FBI agents at the home. They were wearing uniforms …

The Steele County Times reports: The former youth minister and principal of a school associated with Christian Family Church in Owatonna has been sentenced a 21-month prison term, stayed for five years, and 364 days in jail. Luverne Daniel Zacharias, 46, of Medford, was remanded to custody immediately after the sentencing Monday; he has no credit for time served. He …

Abilene’s ABC affiliate reports: A youth leader at Beltway Park Church has been arrested and charged with possession of child pornography. According to court documents, a member of the church contacted Abilene Police with concerns regarding one of their youth leaders. Documents state Charles Goff met with a fellow church member and admitted to struggling with pornography. Goff specifically said …

Greenville’s NBC affiliate reports: A former youth pastor first arrested last year in Greenwood County, South Carolina, for voyeurism now faces dozens more charges across the state, officials said. Lt. Kevin Bobo with the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday that deputies have now finished their investigation on Daniel Kellan Mayfield, 36, of Boiling Springs. “A majority of these incidents …

The Birmingham News reports: An Alabama youth pastor is facing sex trafficking charges in Florida after he allegedly sex trafficked a girl in multiple states. Stephen Johnson, 40, whom prosecutors said has volunteered as a youth pastor at an unnamed Birmingham church for more than a decade, met the victim on social media when she was 12 years old and …