Religion

The Wall Street Journal reports: Ensign Peak Advisors Inc., which oversees a $32 billion equities portfolio for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, will pay $4 million to settle regulatory claims that the money manager obscured the church’s investment holdings. The church will also pay a $1 million fine, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday. The money …

The Guardian reports: A 65-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the death of David O’Connell, an Irish prominent priest who was shot on Saturday in Los Angeles. Carlos Medina, the husband of the bishop’s housekeeper, was arrested on Monday morning for the murder of the 69-year-old. Police said a source tipped them off that Medina claimed O’Connell owed …

Joplin’s NBC affiliate reports: A Wyandotte pastor charged with felony child sexual abuse was assaulted by a member of the victim’s family, according to Miami Police Chief Thomas Anderson. The Ottawa County Prosecutor filed the sexual abuse charge against Fred Gammon, Jr, 42, of Miami on Monday, Feb. 13. Court records show Gammon’s wife, Tonya, posted his $35,000 bail. “The …

Madison’s CBS affiliate reports: A Diocese of Madison pastoral associate in the DeForest parish who is accused of having inappropriate sexual contact with a teenager pleaded guilty to child enticement Monday, online court records show. Rajnal Rehmat, 31, was charged with one count of child enticement and one count of sexual assault of a child by a person who works …

The Los Angeles Times reports: Authorities investigating the killing of a Los Angeles bishop Saturday have made an arrest in the case, law enforcement sources said Monday. Auxiliary Bishop David G. O’Connell, 69, was killed Saturday afternoon in the Catholic archdiocese-owned home in Hacienda Heights where he lived alone, authorities say. One law enforcement source said O’Connell was found dead …

From the Justice Department: U.S. Attorney Mark Totten announced that Tye Braxton Stiger, age 35, of Jonesville, made his initial appearance in the Western District of Michigan on February 14, 2023. A federal grand jury previously returned an indictment charging him with two counts of sexual exploitation and attempted sexual exploitation of a child, and one count of possession of …

Raleigh’s NBC affiliate reports: A Raleigh man has been arrested and charged with sex crimes involving a 7-year-old child. Kenneth Newcomer, age 61, faces two counts of first degree sex offense with a child and three counts of indecent liberties with a child. Court documents show the date of the offense was back in August of 2007. Newcomer’s bond is …

Los Angeles’s Fox affiliate reports: A local Catholic church official was shot and killed in Los Angeles County, California, on Saturday, according to the sheriff’s department. David O’Connell, the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, was fatally shot in the incident in Hacienda Heights, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said. Deputies responded to the shooting and when …

Salt Lake City’s NBC affiliate reports: A former youth leader from Springville has admitted to sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy after police say he paid the boy thousands of dollars not to tell anyone. Kevin Sykes, 55, pleaded guilty Feb. 9 to attempted aggravated sex abuse of a child and aggravated sex abuse of a child, first-degree felonies, plus three …

Dallas’s ABC affiliate reports: More than 30 law enforcement agencies around North Texas arrested nearly 60 people in a month-long operation aimed at rescuing child victims of online sexual exploitation. The operation, Operation Janus, resulted in 80 charges against 59 people, and rescued 28 children from online sexual abuse, police said. Plano Detective Jeff Rich said some of the suspects …

Fort Worth’s CBS affiliate reports: Friday morning, at the Sherman Federal Courthouse, former Denison youth leader Chad Michael Rider was sentenced to 720 months in federal prison. District Judge Amos Mazzant gave Rider a total of 60 years for sexually exploiting children and producing child pornography, stacking two 30 year sentences on three charges. Both Rider, 48 and co-conspirator former …

The New York Post reports: An ugly brawl broke out after a heated soccer game between two private high schools — one Jewish and the other Catholic — in Miami this week, with some players saying they were hit with anti-Semitic slurs. Footage of the incident between Scheck Hillel Community School and Archbishop Coleman Carroll High School shows players battling. …

From the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office: On February 9, 2023, #teamHCSO’s Human Trafficking Section began investigating a case after a mother found disturbing content on her 16-year-old’s cell phone. Through investigative means, detectives were able to learn that Moises Escoto, 36, of Temple Terrace, had made contact with the victim two years earlier on a chat and meetup app called …

The BBC reports: A pastor in Mozambique has died after trying to fast for 40 days, emulating what Christ is said to have done in the Bible. Francisco Barajah, founder of the Santa Trindade Evangelical Church, died at a hospital in the city of Beira, where he was evacuated in critical condition. After 25 days without food or water, he …

Evansville’s NBC affiliate reports: Police say an Evansville man has been arrested again for sex crimes against children. 21-year-old Joshua Leduc was arrested Wednesday night. He’s charged with child seduction and child molesting. Leduc was arrested last year after police say he molested a young child several times while he worked as a pre-school teacher at Bethel United Church of …

Northwest Missouri News reports: Daviess County authorities have charged a Hamilton woman with seven felony counts of sex crimes with a child. It is alleged that twenty-nine-year-old Anastasia Dawson engaged in illicit activity with the minor while she was the victim’s church leader. A probable cause statement issued by the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office says Dawson later paid the victim …

Law & Crime reports: A 31-year-old church deacon in Florida will spend more than two decades behind bars for secretly filming young boys using the bathroom inside the church where he served and possessing “hundreds, if not thousands” of child pornography images and videos, prosecutors said. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor sentenced Jonathan High, a former deacon of …

New details on yesterday’s servant of Jesus: A Wyandotte pastor accused of abusing a child sent several sexually suggestive and inappropriate text messages to a juvenile victim, including one message about “wanting to smell her underwear,” court documents show. Fred McCoy Gammon, Jr, 42, of Miami, is charged in Ottawa County District Court with child sexual abuse. He is free …

The Macon Telegraph reports: A Macon pastor pleaded guilty Monday to child molestation and other charges related to an incident in which prosecutors said he offered a girl in her early teens — a stranger to him — a ride home from a sporting event at Stratford Academy as part of ruse to sexually assault her. Donald Eugene Williams, 33, …

The Christian Post reports: Controversial televangelist and prosperity preacher Peter Popoff, who amassed millions of dollars through his ministry hawking “debt cancelation” and healing “miracle water” advertised as a “powerful biblical point of contact,” is now selling his California mansion for $8.1 million. “Situated on 2.27 acres of stunning manicured grounds offering privacy plus stunning mountain & city light views,” …