Religion

The Charlotte Observer reports: A former North Carolina police officer now faces additional sex and alcohol charges involving minors in York County, after officials from a Fort Mill church called deputies last month to report the allegations, according to law enforcement and court documents. Erickson Douglas Lee, 25, of Charlotte, was charged with four sex crimes Tuesday by York County …

Charlotte’s ABC affiliate reports: Records show a Cornelius police officer arrested for child sex-related crimes is accused of committing them while acting as a church youth leader. According to his arrest warrant out of York County, the allegations against Erickson Douglas Lee were for incidents reported between December 2020 and July 2022. The crimes all appear to have happened at …

CTV News reports: In December 2022, an elementary Catholic teacher was charged with making, possessing and distributing child pornography. At the time, police said the accused used various personas like “Dan Forest” to lure children online. Investigators also said that in February 2022, the accused met with a 14-year-old girl in Brampton and allegedly sexually assaulted her. The suspect, identified …

The Iowa Messenger reports: It took a Webster County jury just under two and a half hours late Friday afternoon to convict a former Christian missionary of sexual abuse. Jordan Dee Andrew Webb, 30, of Fort Dodge, was found guilty of one count of second-degree sexual abuse with persons under the age of 12, a Class B felony; incest, a …

Lafayette’s CBS affiliate reports: Former teacher Jacob De La Paz, who left his employ at St. Thomas More High School abruptly on Wednesday under a cloud of suspicion, has been arrested in Youngsville. Authorities have confirmed to KLFY that De La Paz, 33, was arrested at approximately 6 p.m. Thursday by agents from the Department of Homeland Security, assisted by …

The Bakersfield Californian reports: A 68-year-old Maricopa pastor has been charged with committing lewd and lascivious acts upon a child after a girl alleged the religious leader kissed and touched her inappropriately. The girl — who said she was either 12 or 13 at the time — said Maricopa Community Church pastor Stephen McCurtis was giving her a driving lesson …

The Christian Post reports: Christopher Burns, a former youth pastor at Perimeter Church in Georgia turned financial advisor, is now on the FBI’s Most Wanted list for allegedly defrauding dozens of investors of millions of dollars, which he splurged on a lavish lifestyle and an obsession with Disney World. Burns, who was last seen by his ex-wife and children on …

The St. Louis Riverfront Times reports: A Lincoln County man who admitted to hiding cameras in bathrooms at a St. Charles children’s amusement center and a Catholic church in Troy, Missouri, was sentenced to 19 years in prison yesterday. Jeffery Eisenbath, 33, placed the cameras in the Adrenaline Zone, an indoor facility off First Capitol Drive with laser tag and …

The Detroit News reports: A former Michigan priest accused of abusing a child in the 1980s has pleaded guilty to first-degree attempted criminal sexual conduct, state officials announced Tuesday. Vincent DeLorenzo, 84, formerly of Flint, was among the first five priests whom Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel charged in 2019 as part of an ongoing clergy sexual abuse investigation. His …

USA Today reports: The death toll at a ranch in coastal Kenya that is owned by a pastor who is accused of leading a religious cult and ordering his followers to starve themselves reached 90 on Tuesday, as the country’s interior minister announced an expanded operation at the site. The new figure came after police exhumed 17 more bodies. The …

The Associated Press reports: Kenyan President William Ruto said Monday that the starvation deaths of dozens of followers of a pastor in the south of the country is akin to terrorism. He said the pastor, Paul Makenzi, who is in police custody belongs to jail and not to any religion. “Mr. Makenzi … pretends and postures as a pastor when …

Reuters reports: Kenyan police have now exhumed the bodies of 47 people thought to be followers of a Christian cult who believed they would go to heaven if they starved themselves to death. Police near the coastal town of Malindi started exhuming bodies on Friday from the Shakahola forest. Earlier this month, police rescued 15 members of the group — …

CTV News reports: A Saskatoon priest has been placed on administrative leave following sexual assault allegations involving a minor. Police arrested a 69-year-old man on Wednesday and charged him with sexual assault following a complaint by the mother of a 13-year-old girl. In a statement shared on social media, the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saskatoon said that one of its …

Virginia Beach’s NBC affiliate reports: A former Norfolk church youth group leader was sentenced to seven years in prison for the sexual abuse of a minor. Charles Willoughby III, 39 was convicted to seven years in prison for traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor. Willoughby routinely groomed minor teen girls who were part …

The Sarasota Herald Tribune reports: A Sarasota pastor was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday after he was arrested in July 2019 when the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office received a report that he’d sexually abused a 6-year-old child, according to a news release in the case. Twelfth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Ed Brodsky announced Bicente Velasquez Morales, 47, was convicted …

Nashville’s CBS affiliate reports: A now former pastor of a Williamson County church has been arrested for using the church’s internet to upload child sex abuse material. 50-year-old Daryl Hayes was indicted on six charges of sexual exploitation of a minor by a Williamson County grand jury. The investigation began after a tip from the National Center for Missing and …

Oregon Live reports: Six men were arrested this week in a child-predator sting, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said Friday. At least two of the men worked in settings with children, the sheriff’s office said. In an undercover mission, detectives posed as underage boys and girls on dating apps and social media, according to the sheriff’s office. People messaged the …

The watchdog site Church Leaders reports: Jesse Joshua Aceves, who founded the Christian clothing brand The Way and had been active in the Christian hip-hop music scene, was convicted last month of “numerous” charges of child molestation. The 36-year-old, who was arrested in California back in 2020, has been sentenced to 35 years in a state prison. According to police …

Oklahoma City’s NBC affiliate reports: Wewoka Middle School principal and youth pastor, Cody Barlow was formally charged with two felony counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child under the age of 16 on Thursday. Barlow has been the WMS Principal since the 2019-2020 school year. A federal lawsuit filed on November 30 reveals graphic allegations of Barlow’s “grooming …

The Des Moines Register reports: A Dowling Catholic High School teacher has been arrested for an alleged sexual relationship with a student. Police arrested Kristen Gantt, 36, on Friday on two counts of sexual exploitation by a school employee. Authorities allege Gantt, who was employed as an English teacher at Dowling in West Des Moines, engaged in an inappropriate sexual …