Tag Archives: religion

Alabama Youth Pastor Arrested On Child Porn Charges

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 …

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Texas Pastor Arrested On Child Sex Charges [VIDEO]

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 …

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NC Pastor Gets 8 To 14 Years On Child Sex Charges

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 …

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VA Youth Pastor Sentenced To 20 Years For Child Porn

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 …

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PA Priest Sentenced To 3 Years On Child Porn Charges

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 …

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Ohio Pastor Found Guilty In Undercover Sex Sting

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 …

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Vatican Investigates Alleged Sex Party At UK Cathedral

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 …

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Christian School Principal Hit With 11 Child Sex Charges

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 …

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WI Catholic School Teacher Gets 6 Years For Child Sex

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 …

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PA Youth Pastor Gets 40 Years For Raping One-Year-Old

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 …

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Special Prosecutor Assigned In Case Of VA Megachurch Pastor Arrested In 2021 Underage Prostitution Sting

Richmond’s NBC affiliate reports: During a brief press conference on Thursday morning, Chesterfield’s Commonwealth’s Attorney Stacey Davenport said a case involving a Virginia pastor and a child sex crimes sting might move forward after charges were dismissed. John Blanchard was the lead pastor at Rock Church in Virginia Beach. In October 2021, he was one of 17 people arrested in …

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MS Youth Pastor Gets 7 Years On Grooming Charges

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. …

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Tennessee Youth Pastor Arrested On Child Sex Charges

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 …

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Missouri Priest Sentenced To Five Years For Child Porn

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports: A former Catholic priest was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison after admitting to possessing thousands of pieces of child pornography and putting them into PowerPoints that he edited over the course of more than a decade. Father James Beighlie, 72, was a Vincentian priest who most recently served as an associate pastor at …

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Christian School Teacher Arrested On Child Sex Charges

The Knoxville News Sentinel reports: A former teacher at the Apostolic Christian Academy in Maryville has been arrested on a felony charge that he sexually abused a 14-year-old girl, Knox News has learned. Joseph “Kade” Abbott was arrested in North Carolina and taken to the Blount County jail on Monday. Knox News received no response to a list of questions …

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Florida Pastor Sentenced To 20 Years For Child Rape

Jacksonville’s NBC affiliate reports: A Jacksonville pastor who was arrested in April on multiple sex crimes chargers has pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted sexual battery of a minor. Rafael Cuevas will serve 20 years in Florida state prison and have to serve 10 years of probation after his release. This was part of a negotiated plea deal, meaning the …

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IL Baptist Pastor Arrested On Child Grooming Charges

The Baptist Press reports: A pastor from McLeansboro, Ill., was arrested Jan. 5 on two counts of grooming minors for sexual purposes. Garrett Biggerstaff was charged after a four-month investigation that included the seizure of his electronic devices and collection of evidence at his home. Biggerstaff was taken into custody and booked at the Jefferson County Jail. His bond was …

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Accused Pedophile Cardinal George Pell Dies At Age 81

The Guardian reports: Cardinal George Pell has died in Vatican City, aged 81. Cardinal Pell, the former Catholic archbishop of Melbourne and Sydney, died on Tuesday evening, reportedly following complications from hip surgery. He was the Vatican’s top finance minister before he left in 2017 to stand trial in Australia for child abuse offences. Cardinal Pell was, in 2018, convicted …

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PA Pastor Sentenced To 20 To 40 Years For Child Rape

The West Chester Patch reports: A former teacher at West Chester Christian School was sentenced by Chester County Judge Patrick Carmody to 20 to 40 years in state prison for sexually assaulting a first-grader in 2007 to 2008. Randy Boston, 65, of Shickshinny, was convicted by a jury in August of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, unlawful contact …

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BC Pastor Arrested On Multiple Child Sex Charges

The CBC reports: A pastor is charged with sexually touching or assaulting children at a small Metro Vancouver church on at least six occasions. Pastor Edwin Alvarez was arrested in Saanich on Jan. 4, where he now lives, after a close to year-long investigation into numerous allegations made against him. The New Westminster Police Department says it and the Saanich …

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