Tag Archives: molestation

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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, …

The Mississippi Press reports: Samuel Lamar Taylor, 52, has been sentenced to life without parole after he was convicted by a Rankin County jury on September 20, 2023, of one count of sexual battery and one count of gratification of lust. Taylor served as a music teacher for over 25 years at schools across Mississippi, retiring from Richland Upper Elementary …

Salt Lake City’s Fox affiliate reports: An Arizona judge has dismissed a high-profile child sexual abuse lawsuit against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ruling that church officials who knew that a church member was sexually abusing his daughter had no duty to report the abuse to police or social service agencies because the information was received during …

The Arkansas Times reports: A federal lawsuit filed in Little Rock Monday against Ted Suhl, the former behavioral health services mogul convicted of bribing a state official but later set free by then-President Donald Trump, describes decades of alleged “systematic and widespread” child abuse by staff members at Suhl’s now-defunct Lord’s Ranch. The abuse at the residential facility included “premeditated …

Click Orlando reports: A former teacher at an Orlando Christian private school faces several charges of sexual activity with a minor, according to Orange County court records. In addition, the victim is suing The First Academy, The First Baptist Church of Orlando and her former teacher for sexual abuse and for failing to notify law enforcement after learning of the …

The Baltimore Sun reports: Diamonds and emeralds, marble busts and oil paintings, sterling silver flatware and an ivory crucifix — these are just some of the things the Archdiocese of Baltimore possesses in its treasure chest of valuables. The items, including rings, precious gemstones, gold and silver chains, and antique furniture, were disclosed as part of the archdiocese’s most recent …

Buffalo’s ABC affiliate reports: The Diocese of Buffalo claimed it will offer $100 million to settle child sex abuse lawsuits and is considering the sale of the Catholic Center, the former Christ the King Seminary campus and other real estate, according to documents filed in its federal bankruptcy case Monday. However, lawyers representing child sexual abuse survivors say the preliminary …

Atlanta’s Fox affiliate reports: An Acworth man who once had a leadership role at a popular Cobb County church has been arrested. Cobb Police have charged him with four counts of child molestation for his alleged encounters with a 15-year-old boy who attended the church. Cobb Police have arrested the 32-year-old former Worship in Wonders former director of operations Marcus …

The Baptist News reports: In August 2007, Louisiana College (now named Louisiana Christian University) announced plans to open a law school, the first in the state to be located outside the capital, Baton Rouge, or the largest city, New Orleans. The law school was named after Judge Paul Pressler, one of the principal architects of the “conservative resurgence” in the …

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports: A local Catholic priest called Westlake Police Department to report “a disturbing incident” involving Luis Jesus Barajas, 76, who was visiting the area and performing spiritual ceremonies in Spanish for Hispanic residents in the area. Barajas was driven to a home in Westlake on Oct. 10 to bless a 15-year-old girl who is undergoing chemotherapy. …

“The funny thing is that when people always call Jim Jordan a fighter, and I always wonder who he’s fighting for, because he had a real opportunity to fight for us and the people that he coached and the people that he recruited at the Ohio State, and all he’s done is turn his back on us, so I don’t …