Religion

Catholic Group Spent Millions To Trap Priests On Grindr

The Washington Post reports: A group of conservative Colorado Catholics has spent millions of dollars to buy mobile app tracking data that identified priests who used gay dating and hookup apps and then shared it with bishops around the country. The secretive effort was the work of a Denver nonprofit called Catholic Laity and Clergy for Renewal, whose trustees are …

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Pastor Gets Four Life Sentences On Child Sex Charges

Johnson City’s ABC affiliate reports: A former pastor from Southwest Virginia was sentenced to four life sentences after he pleaded guilty to multiple child sex crimes. A release from the office of Washington County Commonwealth’s Attorney Josh Cumbow states that Terry Frank Compton was sentenced in Washington County Circuit Court. Compton was sentenced to 240 years in addition to the …

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Texas Southern Baptist Megachurch Pastor Resigns After DUI And Weapon Arrest With Child Passenger In His Car

The Baptist News reports:  Drew Erickson, lead teaching pastor at Travis Avenue Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, resigned suddenly March 5 after he was arrested in Tarrant County two days before on suspicion of carrying an unlawful weapon and driving while intoxicated with a child under age 15 in the car. “Over the last 12 months and more recently, …

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MD Church Teacher Charged With Child Porn, Child Sex

The Maryland Chronicle reports: On March 4, Charles County Sheriff’s detectives arrested and charged David Warren Henson, Jr., a 53-year-old teacher from Waldorf, with sexual abuse of a minor and child pornography. The charges came after it was reported that he sexually abused an adolescent female over a period of two years. Henson has been employed as a teacher at …

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Louisiana Pastor Arrested On Child Sex Charges

New Orleans’ CBS affiliate reports: A Chalmette pastor was arrested by State Police on Wednesday on suspicion of sexual abuse of a minor over the course of three years. A State Police spokesperson told our partners at NOLA.com that Milton O. Martin III, 56, was booked with carnal knowledge of a juvenile and sexual battery. Martin was accused of having …

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Catholic Charities Sued For Faking Active Shooter

The Omaha World-Herald reports: A Catholic Charities employee has sued the Omaha nonprofit, alleging leaders intentionally caused her to fear for her life by staging an active shooter drill without telling her and others it was fake. Employees panicked on May 19 when they heard gunshots and saw a masked man brandishing a semiautomatic handgun at the organization’s office at …

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TX Youth Pastor Arrested On Felony Child Sex Charges

College Station’s CBS affiliate reports: The Leon County Sheriff’s Department said Gary Buckaloo surrendered to authorities Monday after being indicted on two felonies. Buckaloo is charged with one count of Indecency with a Child-Sexual Contact, a 2nd-degree felony, and one count of Sex Abuse of a Child Continuous: Victim under 14, a 1st-degree felony. Buckaloo was also listed as the …

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CA Catholic Official Arrested On Child Porn Charges

San Francisco’s NBC affiliate reports: A lay official with the Diocese of Oakland has been arrested on suspicion of possessing and sharing child pornography, NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit has confirmed via local law enforcement. Jeremiah York, 24, worked as the Director of Liturgical Ministries and the Executive Assistant to the Rector at the Cathedral of Christ the Light in …

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IL Pastor Sentenced To 15 Years On Child Sex Charges

Religion News Service reports: Mark Rivera, a former lay pastor in a conservative Anglican denomination who was convicted in December of felony child sexual abuse and assault, was sentenced on Monday afternoon (March 6) to 15 years in the department of corrections. Judge John Barsanti of Illinois’ 16th Judicial Circuit Court in Kane County granted Rivera the minimum sentences for …

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Florida Megachurch Pastor Gets 30 Years For Child Sex

Jacksonville’s NBC affiliate reports: Jeffrey Bedwell, a former Jacksonville pastor who was accused of several sex crimes involving a minor, accepted a plea deal Wednesday. He will receive a sentence of 30 years in prison after he pleaded guilt to two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation, one count of lewd or lascivious conduct, one count of unlawful sexual activity …

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SC Youth Pastor Arrested On Child Sex Charges

Charleston’s CBS affiliate reports: North Charleston Police have charged a man with more than a dozen counts after investigating claims he had touched underage girls without their consent. Vernon Willis, 26, faces 13 counts of second-degree assault and battery, according to jail records. Police say detectives were able to identify 10 victims ranging in age from 13 to 16 years …

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CDC Issues Measles Alert Over KY Youth Revival Event

Ars Technica reports:  The CDC on Friday issued a health alert for doctors and health officials to be on the lookout for measles cases after a person with a confirmed, contagious case attended a massive religious event in Kentucky last month, potentially exposing an estimated 20,000 people to one of the most infectious viruses on the planet. The event was …

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TN Youth Pastor Gets 45 Years On Child Sex Charges

The Tri-State News reports: A former youth pastor at Washington Avenue Church of Christ in Evansville has been sentenced after he was arrested on sexual assault charges. A federal judge handed down a sentence of 45 years in prison plus 10 years supervised release. Officials say Joshua Henley, formerly of Benton County, Tennessee, and Evansville, Indiana, pled guilty in federal …

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LDS Bishop Gets Nine Years To Life For Child Sex

Salt Lake City’s Fox affiliate reports: A former church bishop and mayor of West Bountiful was sentenced to prison Thursday on child sex abuse charges following incidents that dated back to the 80s. Carl Johnson was given a sentence of 9 years to life for one felony, and another sentence of 1-to-15 years for a second. The sentences handed down …

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Ohio Rabbi Gets Six Months In Underage Sex Sting

Cleveland’s Fox affiliate reports: A former local rabbi will spend 6 months in jail after he pled guilty to sex crimes. Stephen Weiss, 61, was sentenced on Monday. He faced up to 2.5 years behind bars. The longtime rabbi is accused of sending explicit messages to a police officer he thought was a 15-year-old boy. The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office …

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AL Baptist Pastor Rearrested On Child Sex Charges

Columbus’ ABC affiliate reports: A former Chalkville pastor was released from one jail and taken to another on charges of having sex with a child. Kenneth Daniel, 64, of Alabaster was the pastor of First Baptist Church of Chalkville in Jefferson County. He was arrested and indicted in October in Blount County on charges of facilitating solicitation of unlawful sexual …

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Cops: Florida Pastor Secretly Sold Church For Drugs

Miami’s ABC affiliate reports: A Broward County pastor has been arrested on multiple charges after he defrauded a church to support his drug habit, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced Wednesday. According to the FDLE, James Edward Smith II, 49, of Lauderhill, was the pastor of the New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Pompano Beach. Agents began investigating him last …

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Dem NYC Mayor Condemns Church/State Separation: When We Took Prayer Out Of Schools, Guns Came In

The New York Daily News reports: Mayor Adams on Tuesday dismissed the notion that there should be a separation between church and state in American society, drawing ire from fellow Democrats and civil rights advocates who contended his line of argument runs counter to deep-rooted U.S. values. The tone was set by Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Adams’ chief adviser in City Hall, …

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Cardinal Cites Dementia In Bid To Dismiss Abuse Case

Reuters reports: Lawyers for former Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick on Monday asked a Massachusetts judge to dismiss a criminal case charging him with molesting a 16-year-old boy in 1974, saying the 92-year-old is not mentally competent to face trial due to dementia. McCarrick, a former archbishop of Washington, D.C., last July became the only current or former U.S. Catholic …

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CA Youth Pastor Gets 12 Years For Child Sexual Assault

The Orange County Register reports: A 60-year-old former Santa Ana church youth pastor pleaded guilty and was immediately sentenced Friday to 12 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl. The victim came forward to police in October 2018 and said Jonathan Lamont Jenkins started making “sexual advances toward her” in January 2018, according to police. She was at …

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