Religion

The Christian Post reports: Just over a year ago, as he was pictured on Facebook officiating a wedding, Washington pastor and grandfather Steve Parker was praised as an “amazing man of God.” On his Facebook page, Parker, 57, introduces himself as “a new convert, a soul in the midst of spiritual growth, a fish on the line.” He also lists …

Little Rock’s Fox affiliate reports: A Gravette sober living facility pastor was arrested for sexual assault after he allegedly used his position of authority to take advantage of a resident. Thomas Hartman, 53, was arrested on January 20 and booked into the Benton County jail on a $150,000 bond. According to a police report, the Wings of Peace NWA website …

The Kankakee Daily Journal reports: Richard E. Jacklin, a Catholic priest, was sentenced to 18 years in prison in Kankakee County court Thursday after being convicted of sexually assaulting a Shapiro Developmental Center resident in 2017. Jacklin was found guilty of aggravated sexual assault, criminal sexual assault and sexual misconduct during his jury trial in September 2022. A Shapiro employee …

San Antonio’s ABC affiliate reports: A Boerne-area music school owner and member of a local church band has been arrested on child sex crime charges. Gareth Goode was taken into custody on Friday on charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child, indecency with a child and harassment. The investigation into Goode started when a woman came forward in June …

The Birmingham News reports: A Pelham middle school teacher and wrestling coach who also doubled as the youth director of a McCalla church was arrested and jailed Wednesday on child porn charges. Adam Jeremy Lewis, an eighth grade teacher at Pelham Park Middle School and an assistant coach for the school’s wrestling team, was charged with possessing child pornography. He …

Dallas-Fort Worth’s CBS affiliate reports: The president of the Prosper ISD school board has been arrested and charged with indecency with a child/sexual contact. Drew Wilborn, 43, was arrested late Wednesday afternoon by the Dallas Police Department. There is no bond set as of Wednesday night. Dallas police said they received information on April 14, 2022, regarding a 16-year-old being …

Asheville’s ABC affiliate reports: A former pastor of a church in Black Mountain has pleaded guilty after being accused of sexual offense with a minor. District Attorney Todd Williams said Trent Brandon Holbert, formerly the pastor of The Ridge Church in Black Mountain, pled guilty Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023, to felony attempted statutory sexual offense. The minor was a 15-year-old …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis criticized laws that criminalize homosexuality as “unjust,” saying God loves all his children just as they are and called on Catholic bishops who support the laws to welcome LGBTQ people into the church. “Being homosexual isn’t a crime,” Francis said during an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press. Francis acknowledged that Catholic bishops in …

Richmond’s ABC affiliate reports: A former pastor from Hopewell living in Richmond was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison Tuesday on charges of distributing child pornography while he was still on the sex offender registry for a previous offense. Deric Wallace Peacock, 39, served as youth pastor of a church in Hopewell until 2014, when he was convicted of …

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports: A Roman Catholic priest and former confidant of the royal family of Monaco was sentenced Monday to more than three years in prison for accessing a trove of thousands of pornographic images of children. The Rev. William McCandless first came to to the attention of U.S. authorities after a stash of illicit photos and videos was …

Youngstown’s CBS affiliate reports: A local pastor received his sentence Monday after being picked up in an undercover sex sting last year. Aaron Newell, 49, of Youngstown, reached a plea deal with prosecutors. According to court records, he will serve no jail time but will be on probation for two years. He was also ordered to perform community service and …

The Guardian reports: The Vatican is investigating rumours of a “sex party” at a British cathedral which is alleged to have happened during lockdown. As part of an investigation into the circumstances of Robert Byrne’s resignation as the Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle, the Catholic church is looking into claims one of his priests invited worshipers to a private party …

Fox News reports: The principal of a Christian school in Tennessee, who was arrested last year on accusations of sexual activity with a minor, has been indicted on 11 additional charges. Liberty Christian School principal Jason Kennedy, 47, was already facing charges in connection with his alleged sexual activity with an underage girl. He was charged in August with two …

Tri City News reports: A former youth pastor, therapist and counselor who worked for churches in Coquitlam and Vancouver walked out of a court prisoner’s box today to be handcuffed and led to jail. On Friday (Jan. 20), BC Supreme Court Justice Paul W. Riley imposed a sentence of 12 years and 11 months against Raymond Gaglardi; however, it was …

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports: Forty-six men who included a high school football coach, a youth pastor and a director of operations at a hospital were recently arrested during a multi-agency operation targeting the demand for commercial sex in North Texas, a federal agency announced on Friday. The names of the suspects were not released by federal authorities. The joint …

Milwaukee’s CBS affiliate reports: A former Catholic school teacher was sentenced Thursday, Jan. 19 for sexually assaulting children. Kevin Buelow will spend six years and six months behind bars. Buelow was accused of touching at least three girls inappropriately while he was teaching at Holy Apostles Elementary School in New Berlin. He was found guilty of fourth-degree sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault …

The Centre Daily Times reports: A State College man convicted of raping a child and pressuring a witness to recant the allegations was sentenced Tuesday to at least 20 years in state prison. Jackson C. Baker, 55, was sentenced to a maximum of 40 years in prison. A relative of the child painted Baker through a written statement as a …

Mississippi crime blog the Dark Horse Press reports: A former Rankin County youth pastor pleaded guilty to child exploitation Tuesday morning. Tyler Swaggard, 22, was arrested by Flowood Police Department on two felony counts of child exploitation in December of 2021. Authorities said he solicited explicit photos from youth group members. The arrest came after several complaints from the teens. …

The Daily Beast reports: National Hockey League player Ivan Provorov opted to forego part of the Philadelphia Flyers’ annual Pride Night on Tuesday, skipping warmups over a disagreement on rainbow attire, as well as rainbow-colored sticks and pucks to be auctioned at the end of the night. Provorov claimed a religious exemption, citing being Russian Orthodox. He went on to …

Chattanooga’s NBC affiliate reports: A former volunteer youth pastor at the Abba’s House church in Hixson and former PTA president at Wolftever Creek Elementary School in Hamilton County now faces child molestation charges and aggravated sexual battery charges. Hamilton County deputies arrested 34-year-old Dustin Spillers this week. Spillers was extradited to Troup County, Georgia, where he faces those charges. Spillers …