Religion

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 …

The Birmingham News reports: A government relations employee with the Alabama Department of Education has been charged with sexual abuse of a child less than 12, according to court records. Cole Wagner, 32, of Montgomery, was arrested Wednesday on the charge. He was arrested by the Montgomery County sheriff’s department, according to the warrant. His bond was set at $60,000. …

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. …

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 …

The Tyler Morning Telegraph reports: An East Texas pastor has been arrested on accusations of indecency with a child. Timothy Nall, 68, of Hollylake Ranch, was booked Monday into the Smith County Jail on a charge of indecency with a child by sexual contact. Charges were brought forth by Wood County, according to online jail records. Nall is the pastor …

From the Justice Department: Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that FRANCIS HUGHES, a former pastor at a religious institution in Queens, New York, was sentenced to five years in prison by U.S. District Judge Philip M. Halpern for his receipt of images of child pornography from a 15-year-old minor in …

The Associated Press reports: The number of people who died in connection with Kenya’s doomsday cult has crossed the 400 mark as detectives exhumed 12 more bodies on Monday believed to be followers of a pastor who ordered them to fast to death in order to meet Jesus. Pastor Paul Mackenzie, who is linked to the cult based in a …

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 …

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 …

The Guardian reports: The former chaplain of a Roman Catholic high school in Louisiana has pleaded guilty to molesting two minors whom he met through his work and was ordered to spend five years in prison. Patrick Wattigny’s plea and sentence on Wednesday came after both of his victims strongly advocated for a harsher punishment. One victim, who was present, …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

The Daily Beast reports: A California church deacon allegedly sexually abused numerous boys on religious mission trips under the guise of inspecting their genitals for “concerning” moles—helping protect the children, he told them, from the ravages of skin cancer. The abuse dates back to at least 2009, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in Sacramento federal court upon his July …

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 …

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: Stephen Sauer, the former Roman Catholic priest and ousted executive director of the Arc of Greater New Orleans, was sentenced Friday to 25 years in prison for drugging 17 men he met in the French Quarter, driving them to his Metairie home and taking pictures of them unconscious and partially undressed while he masturbated. Judge …

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports: A Pennsylvania grand jury investigating child sexual abuse in the Jehovah’s Witnesses community has charged another five people with raping or molesting children as young as 4, the latest developments in an ongoing probe that has identified 14 suspects. Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry [photo], at a Friday news conference, said that while the misconduct dates …

Illinois talk radio station WMIX reports: A member of what investigators have called a child pornography ring in Vandalia filed a jury trial waiver Friday morning and is now scheduled to change his plea in the case later this month. Former Patoka pastor Ferrell Kissiar is the third person charged in Fayette County Court as playing a role in the …

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 …