Tag Archives: molestation

Cardinal Escapes Second Abuse Trial Due To Dementia

The Washington Post reports: The effort to try Theodore McCarrick on charges of criminal sex assault ended Wednesday in a Wisconsin courtroom when the former archbishop of Washington was deemed incompetent because of dementia. McCarrick, 93, had been charged with sexual assault in the fourth degree, a misdemeanor, in connection with accusations of fondling an 18-year-old family friend at a …

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Southern Baptist Convention Settles Molestation Suit Against Former Leader, Eight Male Victims Spoke Out

The Texas Tribune reports: The Southern Baptist Convention and others have reached a confidential settlement in a high-profile lawsuit that accused a former leader of sexual assault, ending a six-year legal drama that expanded victims’ rights in Texas, helped prompt a broader reckoning over child sexual abuse in evangelical churches and showed that a prominent conservative activist and Texas House …

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AK Pastor Sentenced To 20 Years On Child Sex Charges

Alaska Public Media reports: A former Ketchikan church leader was sentenced to 20 years in prison with 30 more suspended by a local judge last week, in a high-profile case of child sexual abuse. Earlier this year, 72-year-old Dwight “Chris” John was charged with 14 counts of first-degree, second-degree and third-degree sexual abuse of a minor, as well as three …

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Kentucky Pastor Pleads Guilty To Child Sex Charges

Lexington’s ABC affiliate reports: A former Lancaster pastor last week agreed to a plea deal to drop 12 charges of sexual abuse of children in exchange for pleading guilty to one charge. Thomas Wall on Dec. 8 pleaded guilty to one count of sexual abuse of a child, according to Garrard County court records. In 2022, Wall was arrested and …

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VA Pastor Arrested On 30 Felony Child Sex Charges

Richmond’s ABC affiliate reports: A former pastor of an independent Baptist church in the town of Warsaw in Richmond County is facing 30 felony charges relating to multiple incidents the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office alleges occurred at the church between 1981 and 1997. Albert Benjamin Wharton, 86, of South Carolina, was arrested in South Carolina at 8:42 a.m. on Friday, …

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Catholic Cemetery Erects Memorial To Abuse Victims

The Yakima Herald-Republic reports: A new memorial stone in Yakima’s Calvary Catholic Cemetery is meant to prompt “quiet reflection and prayer” for clergy sex abuse victims. It also has generated criticism from statewide victims’ advocates and a demand to update the list of diocesan sex offenders. Yakima Bishop Joseph Tyson [photo] dedicated the monument. The granite memorial, on the south …

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Texas Chaplain Gets 60 Years On Child Sex Charges

Dallas’s Audacy affiliate reports: The former chaplain at Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth has just received a life prison term for the sexual exploitation of children. Because Michael Dale Downs is 71 years old, the 60-year prison term imposed by a federal judge is effectively a life prison term. Federal sentences don’t carry early parole. Investigators say Downs’ wife …

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GA Youth Pastor Gets 15 Years On Child Sex Charges

The Rome News-Tribune reports: A former youth minister of a Floyd County church was sentenced Thursday to serve 15 years in prison on child molestation and possession of child pornography charges, alongside another 25 years on probation. When Austin Wray Perkins was arrested on March 9, 2022, as part of a sting targeting child pornography, police discovered he was also …

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MT Baptist Pastor Convicted On Child Sex Charges

From the Justice Department: A federal jury today convicted a Lame Deer pastor of sexually abusing three children while they were staying at his home, on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said. After a six-day trial that began on Dec. 4, the jury found Dean Alan Smith, 67, guilty of aggravated sexual abuse, abusive sexual contact …

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CA Diocese To Seek Bankruptcy Over Abuse Lawsuits

CBS News reports: The Diocese of Sacramento will seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after more than 250 lawsuits claiming sexual abuse by clergy and other staff, Bishop Jaime Soto said on Saturday. “There are many victim-survivors awaiting compensation for the reprehensible sins committed against them,” Soto said in a statement to his parishioners. “It is the sickening sin of sexual …

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Pennsylvania Pastor Arrested On Child Sex Charges

Pittsburgh’s ABC affiliate reports: A Butler County pastor is in jail Wednesday evening after engaging in what state police are calling inappropriate sexual contact with two minors. Herman Clarence Rushing, Jr., 67, of Portersville Borough, is facing charges of corruption of minors, endangering the welfare of children and indecent assault. Rushing is in the Butler County Prison as of Wednesday …

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Indiana Pastor Arrested On Child Sex Charges

Fort Wayne’s ABC affiliate reports: A 25-year-old man is facing charges after court documents say he had inappropriate contact with a minor while he was serving as a pastor at a Markle church. Court records show Zachary Luke Petree was charged with child seduction while having a professional relationship with the child, dissemination of matter harmful to minors, and sexual …

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Catholic Priest Gets Five Years On Child Sex Charges

The CBC reports: A Roman Catholic priest on P.E.I. has been sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to four counts of sexual exploitation of a teenage boy in the 1990s. Maurice Joseph Praught, 70, entered the plea in a Charlottetown courtroom Tuesday morning. He was arrested in 2022 following a joint investigation by Summerside police and the …

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NH Pastor Dies By Suicide Amid Child Sex Investigation

Patch New Hampshire reports: Police in Nashua have confirmed statements made by a local church that one of its pastors was under investigation for child sexual abuse allegations before taking his own life. Jarrett Booker, 37, the pastor of students and worship at Nashua Baptist Church, took his own life on Nov. 27, according to the church. In a note …

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SC Pastor Sentenced To 40 Years On Child Sex Charges

South Carolina’s The State reports: A former Midlands pastor has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for criminal sexual conduct involving children, according to court records and the 5th Circuit Solicitor’s Office. William “Bill” Oswald, 61, of Prosperity, was sentenced to two consecutive 20-year prison terms by state Judge Eugene “Bubba” Griffith after a weeklong trial in Richland County …

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Bankrupt Long Island Diocese Makes “Best And Final” Offer Of $200M To Settle Hundreds Of Abuse Lawsuits

Patch reports: The Diocese of Rockville Centre has made its “best and final proposal” for victims of sexual abuse. As Patch reported in Oct. 2022, hundreds of sexual abuse claims were frozen in the wake of the diocese’s declared bankruptcy. The offer announced on Tuesday totals $200 million in compensation, Diocese spokesperson Sean Dolan said. The proposal from the Diocese …

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IL Youth Pastor Gets 12 Years On Child Sex Charges

Quincy’s NBC affiliate reports: A Quincy man who was a youth leader at Hope Lutheran Church in Quincy was sentenced Friday to 12 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Court records show that 22-year-old Isaiah Mikkelson was sentenced to 6 years each for two counts of criminal sexual abuse of a victim between 13 and 18 years old. Mikkelson …

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Ohio Catholic Priest Gets Life On Child Sex Charges

Toledo’s CBS affiliate reports: A former northwest Ohio priest was sentenced Friday, just over three years after he was initially arrested on charges of sex trafficking minors and adults, charges on which he was ultimately found guilty. Michael Zacharias appeared in federal court Friday afternoon, where a judge sentenced him to life in prison on two counts and 20 years …

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Christian School Teacher Arrested On Child Sex Charges

Goldsboro’s CBS affiliate reports: A teacher at a Christian school in Sanford has been charged with sex offenses involving a student, Sanford police said Thursday. On Nov. 8, police received a report of misconduct by a teacher at Lee Christian School at 3220 Keller Andrews Road. Further Investigation into the allegations led police investigators to bring charges against 57-year-old Daniel …

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Michigan Youth Pastor Arrested On Child Sex Charges

Click On Detroit reports: A man serving as a youth leader at a Macomb County church has been charged with criminal sexual conduct due to alleged sexual contact with a minor who attends his church. Clinton Township man Luis Mendoza, 29, was arraigned Wednesday, Nov. 15 on multiple counts of criminal sex conduct, the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office reports. Mendoza, …

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