Tag Archives: religion

Lafayette’s CBS affiliate reports: Former teacher Jacob De La Paz, who left his employ at St. Thomas More High School abruptly on Wednesday under a cloud of suspicion, has been arrested in Youngsville. Authorities have confirmed to KLFY that De La Paz, 33, was arrested at approximately 6 p.m. Thursday by agents from the Department of Homeland Security, assisted by …

The Bakersfield Californian reports: A 68-year-old Maricopa pastor has been charged with committing lewd and lascivious acts upon a child after a girl alleged the religious leader kissed and touched her inappropriately. The girl — who said she was either 12 or 13 at the time — said Maricopa Community Church pastor Stephen McCurtis was giving her a driving lesson …

The St. Louis Riverfront Times reports: A Lincoln County man who admitted to hiding cameras in bathrooms at a St. Charles children’s amusement center and a Catholic church in Troy, Missouri, was sentenced to 19 years in prison yesterday. Jeffery Eisenbath, 33, placed the cameras in the Adrenaline Zone, an indoor facility off First Capitol Drive with laser tag and …

CTV News reports: A Saskatoon priest has been placed on administrative leave following sexual assault allegations involving a minor. Police arrested a 69-year-old man on Wednesday and charged him with sexual assault following a complaint by the mother of a 13-year-old girl. In a statement shared on social media, the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saskatoon said that one of its …

The West Palm Beach News reports: A pastor at a high school in the Okeechobee County School District is facing allegations that he was engaged in an inappropriate romantic connection with a student at the school. According to the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office, Donny Raney, age 36, was taken into custody on Tuesday and put into the Okeechobee County Jail …

Virginia Beach’s NBC affiliate reports: A former Norfolk church youth group leader was sentenced to seven years in prison for the sexual abuse of a minor. Charles Willoughby III, 39 was convicted to seven years in prison for traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor. Willoughby routinely groomed minor teen girls who were part …

The Sarasota Herald Tribune reports: A Sarasota pastor was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday after he was arrested in July 2019 when the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office received a report that he’d sexually abused a 6-year-old child, according to a news release in the case. Twelfth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Ed Brodsky announced Bicente Velasquez Morales, 47, was convicted …

Nashville’s CBS affiliate reports: A now former pastor of a Williamson County church has been arrested for using the church’s internet to upload child sex abuse material. 50-year-old Daryl Hayes was indicted on six charges of sexual exploitation of a minor by a Williamson County grand jury. The investigation began after a tip from the National Center for Missing and …

Oregon Live reports: Six men were arrested this week in a child-predator sting, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said Friday. At least two of the men worked in settings with children, the sheriff’s office said. In an undercover mission, detectives posed as underage boys and girls on dating apps and social media, according to the sheriff’s office. People messaged the …

The watchdog site Church Leaders reports: Jesse Joshua Aceves, who founded the Christian clothing brand The Way and had been active in the Christian hip-hop music scene, was convicted last month of “numerous” charges of child molestation. The 36-year-old, who was arrested in California back in 2020, has been sentenced to 35 years in a state prison. According to police …

Oklahoma City’s NBC affiliate reports: Wewoka Middle School principal and youth pastor, Cody Barlow was formally charged with two felony counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child under the age of 16 on Thursday. Barlow has been the WMS Principal since the 2019-2020 school year. A federal lawsuit filed on November 30 reveals graphic allegations of Barlow’s “grooming …

Jacksonville’s NBC affiliate reports: A Putnam County youth pastor was arrested and faces charges of possessing child porn, according to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office. Ed Wilds III, 45, is a youth pastor at Palatka Baptist Temple Church and a Middleton-Burney Elementary School teacher. Wilds’ father is the main pastor of the church and declined to comment on his son’s …

Colorado Springs’ NBC affiliate reports: A Colorado Springs man has been arrested on sexual assault charges according to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and detectives are looking for more victims. According to deputies with the SVU unit of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office 58-year-old Robert Henry Gordon was arrested on Wednesday, on charges of sexual assault on a …

The Chicago Sun-Times reports: The former pastor of a Rolling Meadows church has been charged with felony battery and assault in California. James Macdonald, who was fired from Harvest Bible Chapel in 2019, was arrested March 22 in Coronado, California, after he allegedly attacked a 59-year-old woman. He was trying to parallel park his truck about 10:15 a.m. in the …

Las Vegas’s CBS affiliate reports: A North Las Vegas pastor and his wife have been indicted by the Clark County Grand Jury accused of sexual assault and child abuse on or between 2012, and 2014, the Clark County District Attorney’s Office announced on Monday. Bobby Cornealius Smith, a pastor at New Beginnings Church in Las Vegas, was accused of sexually …

Savannah’s ABC affiliate reports: A former Savannah pastor will serve 25 years in prison and life on probation for child molestation and statutory rape. Alfonza McClendon Sr. was convicted of molesting two children between 2013 and 2017. The molestation happened while McClendon was pastor of the First Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church. He will have to register as a sex offender …

Via press release from the Archbishop of Baltimore: Today’s report from the Maryland Attorney General is first and foremost a sad and painful reminder of the tremendous harm caused to innocent children and young people by some ministers of the Church. The detailed accounts of abuse are shocking and soul searing. It is difficult for most to imagine that such …

Baltimore’s CBS affiliate reports: The Maryland Attorney General (AG) released a redacted report on child sex abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore Wednesday afternoon, detailing abuse within the church based on documents dating back to the 1940s. “The incontrovertible history uncovered by this investigation is one of pervasive and persistent abuse by priests and other Archdiocese personnel. It is also …

The Miami New Times reports: On the evening of March 15, FBI agents smashed open the door to the home of Michael Dolce, a West Palm Beach lawyer who had advocated for and represented sexual abuse survivors for the past 20 years. Armed with three warrants, the agents did not have to search long to find what they were looking …

Reuters reports: Pope Francis left hospital and returned to the Vatican on Saturday after being treated for bronchitis, making light of his illness by saying: “I’m still alive you know”. The pope, 86, was taken to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Wednesday after complaining of breathing difficulties, but responded rapidly to an infusion of antibiotics, his medical team has said. Looking …