Tag Archives: Christianity

Des Moines’ CBS affiliate reports: A former Cambridge pastor accused of drugging and sexually abusing a child appeared at the Story County Courthouse Monday morning for a plea hearing and sentencing. Prosecutors say Mark Benson, 69, gave a young girl medicine to make her sleep, then sexually assaulted her several times between 2009 and 2012, when she was between 10 …

The Associated Press reports: Compared with the devil, angels carry more credence in America. Angels even get more credence than, well, hell. In fact, about 7 in 10 U.S. adults say they believe in angels, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. American’s belief in angels (69%) is about on par with belief …

Wausau, Wisconsin’s CBS affiliate reports: A former Plover youth pastor has agreed to the terms of a plea deal in a child sexual assault case during a hearing Friday in Portage County. Jordan Huffman, 52, pleaded guilty to two counts of repeated sexual assault of a child and was convicted as a result. Six other charges were dismissed as part …

Cleveland’s Fox affiliate reports: A Geauga County pastor has pleaded guilty to sex crimes relating to the abuse of minors. Under a plea agreement reached Wednesday, Dennis W. Laferty, 37, of Tiro, in Crawford County, could face up to 10 years in prison on the two felony counts of gross sexual imposition to which he pleaded Wednesday, as well as …

First, a reminder from my April 2023 report: 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 …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Patriotism, religious faith, having children and other priorities that helped define the national character for generations are receding in importance to Americans, a new Wall Street Journal-NORC poll finds. Some 38% of respondents said patriotism was very important to them, and 39% said religion was very important. That was down sharply from when the Journal …

Ministry Watch reports: Steve Greisen, a Christian filmmaker and a veteran of the Jesus movement’s 1970s-era music scene, pled guilty Wednesday in Colorado Springs to a criminal attempt to solicit online sex with a minor. In a plea deal, Greisen agreed to register as a sex offender and spend five years in Colorado’s supervision program for sex offenders. He had …

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 …

CNN reports: Several busloads of migrants were dropped off in front of Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence in Washington, DC, on Christmas Eve in 18 degree weather late Saturday. An initial two busloads were taken to local shelters, according to an administration official. More buses arrived outside the vice president’s residence later Saturday evening. A CNN team saw migrants being …

The Roys Report reports: As The Christian Post first reported on Wednesday, the longtime music director at Grace College, Donald Ogden, had an estimated 100 to 200 male abuse victims during his decades-long tenure at the college, his daughters allege. The women, whose maiden names are Diane and Kathleen Ogden, reported the alleged abuse to Grace College in 2021. This …

Religion News Service reports: America has long prided itself on being a country where people can choose whatever religion they like. The majority has long chosen Christianity. By 2070, that may no longer be the case. If current trends continue, Christians could make up less than half of the population — and as little as a third— in 50 years. …

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports: A Burlington County man who served as a youth pastor has been indicted on charges that he sexually exploited underage boys, deceiving them into sending him explicit images, then blackmailing them into performing lewd acts so he could watch and record them remotely, authorities said Friday. Sean Higgins, 31, of Palmyra, has been in custody since …

The Appleton Post-Crescent reports: A 48-year-old pastor has been convicted of four counts of possession of child pornography and one count of meth possession. Rick E. Haberland, former pastor of Oneida United Methodist Church, pleaded no contest to all five charges Friday morning during a plea hearing in Outagamie County Circuit Court. Haberland also formerly served as a pastor at …

Washington DC’s CBS affiliate reports: A 61-year-old former church leader is facing over 20 charges for multiple sex crimes, including the sexual assault of a child, according to the Fairfax County Police Department. A family member informed the police department in June 2022 that the victim was sexually assaulted by a member of Saint Matthews United Methodist Church in Annandale. …

The Greenville News reports: A former pastor of an Easley church is facing criminal sexual conduct charges involving a 13-year-old child, according to arrest warrants and court records. The charges against Tracy Darin Turner, former pastor of Trinity Point Church, were made months before the Southern Baptist Convention released a list of abusers and suspected abusers in its affiliated churches. …

The Toronto Star reports: A former pastor and his wife were arrested on Tuesday after two women say they were sexually assaulted as minors, said York Regional Police. The couple from Grimsby, Ont., 64-year-old Raymond Swash and 61-year-old Sandra Swash, face several historical sexual assault charges involving minors as young as 13 years old when they were members of the …

Corpus Christi’s NBC affiliate reports: William C. Robinson, a pastor working for Chi Alpha Campus Ministries in Corpus Christi, was booked in the Nueces County Jail early Monday morning. Robinson is charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony. The arrest affidavit states that allegations were made against Robinson during a forensic interview. Sexual contact with the …

Gallup reports: The vast majority of U.S. adults believe in God, but the 81% who do so is down six percentage points from 2017 and is the lowest in Gallup’s trend. Between 1944 and 2011, more than 90% of Americans believed in God. Gallup’s May 2-22 Values and Beliefs poll finds 17% of Americans saying they do not believe in …

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports: A pastor at a women’s prison in Las Vegas has been charged with sexually abusing an inmate, according to police and court records. Donald Burse, 55, was booked at the Clark County Detention Center on May 24. Court records show the Nevada attorney general’s office has filed two felony counts against Burse of sexual abuse …

The Associated Press reports: It took more than three centuries, but the last Salem “witch” who wasn’t has been officially pardoned. Massachusetts lawmakers on Thursday formally exonerated Elizabeth Johnson Jr., clearing her name 329 years after she was convicted of witchcraft in 1693 and sentenced to death at the height of the Salem Witch Trials. Johnson was never executed, but …