Religion

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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, …

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 …

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 …

USA Today reports: Three measles cases have been identified in Kentucky and are linked to the large, two week-long revival on the campus of Asbury University, a Christian school in Wilmore. Thousands of people from all over the country and globe attended the religious service – which captured the attention of social media users worldwide as the revival went viral …

The Florida Phoenix reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis held a reception at the Governor’s Mansion Friday to honor Black History Month, just days after civil rights advocates marched to the Capitol and college students walked out of classrooms in Tallahassee to protest the DeSantis administration’s handling of a college-level African American studies course for Florida high …

The Olean Times-Herald reports: A Christian musician, pastor and former Bradford store owner is in McKean County Jail, charged with more than 880 felony counts of child pornography. Daniel W. Merrick, 64, of 858 Route 446, Smethport, is charged with 570 counts of child pornography-involving indecent contact, second-degree felonies; 316 counts of child pornography-involving nudity, third-degree felonies; and one count …

The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports: A former youth pastor at Bellevue Baptist Church in Shelby County pleaded guilty Friday to 13 sex-related crimes involving children. Keenan Maurice Hord received 60 years for the crimes but will be eligible for parole in 15. He must also register as a sex offender and have no contact with any children. At Hord’s bond …

College Station’s CBS affiliate reports: Two Leon County brothers with pastoral leadership positions at churches in Centerville and Buffalo were arrested following grand jury indictments Wednesday. Clark A. Travis was arrested in Buffalo by Leon County Sheriff’s deputies without incident Tuesday night. Matthew T. Travis Jr. surrendered himself to the Leon County Sheriff’s Office jail late Wednesday night. The duo …

The Salem News reports: The vulnerable teens were steered toward a local United Methodist Church — and into the path of a lay pastor, a man who, though not ordained, had been given a type of license by the church to work as a youth minister. On Thursday, Russell Woodman Davis, 70, pleaded guilty to raping and attempting to rape …

The Johnston County News reports: Less than two years after being sentenced to prison for sex crimes involving three juvenile victims, Stephen Arthur Morris of Four Oaks was returned to Johnston County today (Thursday) to be formally charged with more crimes. The Johnston County Sheriff’s Office said a family member of the former pastor recently came forward and reported she …

Illinois Public Radio reports: A Normal man was sentenced to 88 years in prison on Wednesday for criminal sexual assault of a minor and possession of child pornography. Michael D. Schneider worked as a staff member at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Bloomington before his arrest in June 2021 on the felony charges. The victim, now a college student, struggled …

Reuters reports: The Roman Catholic religious order of Jesuits said on Tuesday that accusations of sexual, psychological and spiritual abuse against a prominent member of the order were highly credible and that restrictions on him had been tightened. The order said on its website that it would start an “internal procedure” against the priest, Father Marko Ivan Rupnik, 69, a …

Raleigh’s NBC affiliate reports: A former Wayne County teacher on Friday agreed to an Alford plea, admitting that the prosecution has enough evidence for a conviction on charges he molested two 11-year-old female students at Faith Christian Academy. The plea is not an admission of guilt by Warren Riley, 53, and it brings to an end a trial that lasted …