Tag Archives: religion

The Roys Report reports: A former youth pastor at a Southern Baptist church in southwest Missouri pleaded guilty this week to six child sex abuse-related charges, court documents show. Jeff Taylor, 48, was sentenced to nine years in state prison as part of a plea agreement. He pleaded guilty to four statutory sodomy charges and two statutory rape charges, the …

Reuters reports: Indonesia’s parliament is expected to pass a new criminal code this month that will penalise sex outside marriage with a punishment of up to one year in jail, officials have confirmed. The legislative overhaul will also ban insulting the president or state institutions and expressing any views counter to Indonesia’s state ideology. Cohabitation before marriage is also banned. …

Fox News reports: Cody Barlow, a 33-year-old former Wewoka Middle School principal who was arrested in October on child sexual assault charges, is being sued along with the Wewoka School District by an anonymous minor who attended the school and claims that Barlow groomed and abused him, according to KOKH-TV. “Mr. Barlow had a process of grooming young kids,” attorney Ross …

The Christian Post reports: Canadian megachurch Pastor Leon Fontaine, who garnered recent attention for his refusal to adhere to ongoing and restrictive COVID-19 lockdown orders banning churches from holding in-person or drive-in worship gatherings, has died at age 59. A video posted online featuring Fontaine’s five children confirmed that he passed away on Saturday evening, though it did not mention …

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: John Raymond, a Slidell pastor who was accused of taping the mouths of three students at the Christian school he oversaw and beating another child, has been formally charged with four counts of cruelty to juveniles by the 22nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office. Raymond, who in addition to being pastor of New Horizon church in …

The Daily Mail reports: A former children’s minister was arrested in Alabama on 215 counts of possession of child-pornography after police were given a tip. Steve Robert Wukmer, 66, was taken into custody on Monday at his job in Fort Payne, Alabama near the Alabama-Georgia border. Before moving to Alabama, Wukmer lived in Ohio and worked as a children’s minister. According …

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: A former Catholic priest who was arrested in 2020 after a passerby saw him and two dominatrices having sex on the altar of Pearl River church pleaded guilty Monday to a single count of felony obscenity. Travis Clark listened to 22nd Judicial District Judge Ellen Creel read the elements of the obscenity statute at the …

The Salem Statesman-Journal reports: A former Keizer pastor has been sentenced to 27 years in prison for sexual abuse of one of his church members while she was underage. Bradley Putnam, 55, also will have 41 months of post-prison supervision and has to register as a sex offender. After his prison sentence, he will spend 364 days in the Marion …

The Houston Chronicle reports: Timothy Jason Jeltema, 31, pleaded guilty Thursday to two charges of online solicitation of a minor, one charge of indecency with a child, and one charge of sexual performance by a child, Harris County court records indicate. He is set to serve five years in state prison. Jeltema was arrested in 2018 about a month after …

Charlotte’s NBC affiliate reports: A youth leader and soccer coach at several Charlotte-area churches was charged with multiple child sex crimes on Friday, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. Police charged 36-year-old Benjamin Damron with nine counts of indecent liberties with a child and one count of sexual battery. Officers said Damron used his position to take advantage of the …

Via press release from US Catholic Bishops: On November 16, 2022, the United States Senate voted 62–37 to advance the Respect for Marriage Act. In response, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Religious Liberty, issued the following statement: “It is deeply concerning that the U.S. Senate has voted to …

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: In an unexpected move Tuesday, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gave its support to a proposed federal law, which recognizes all legal marriages, including ones between same-sex partners. The Utah-based faith’s doctrine “related to marriage between a man and a woman is well known and will remain unchanged,” according to a statement …

The Christian Post reports: Jeff Kinley and Todd Hampson, hosts of the popular “Prophesy Pros Podcast,” said the pre-tribulation rapture — an End Times event many Christians believe will happen that involves believers, both living and resurrected, being lifted up into the air to meet Jesus — will have a “cataclysmic impact on the planet.” “You’re in a mall. You’re …

The Guardian reports: A former Brazilian congresswoman has been found guilty of ordering the murder of her preacher husband and sentenced to 50 years and 28 days in prison, bringing an end to one of the most sensational crimes in recent Brazilian history. The celebrity gospel singer Flordelis dos Santos de Souza, known as Flordelis, was also found guilty on …

Seattle’s CBS affiliate reports: A Redmond Sunday school teacher has been charged with three felony counts of possession of child pornography, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Douglas Meerdink, 70, was charged on Wednesday with three counts of possession of depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Detectives later confirmed Meerdink was an active member of a …

New details about this morning’s Texas pastor: A 56-year-old pastor at Faith Baptist Church in Round Rock, Texas who was caught with”BDSM” and bestiality-themed child pornography in his possession admitted he has an addiction, the Department of Justice alleges. David Lloyd Walther now faces federal charges for distribution, receipt, transportation and possession of child pornography. According to the affidavit, which …

Austin’s NBC affiliate reports: A Round Rock pastor was arrested by the FBI on child pornography charges Wednesday, the United States Department of Justice announced. David Lloyd Walther, 56, of Georgetown, was accused of knowingly searching for, downloading, distributing and possessing child pornography, according to the DOJ. A criminal complaint filed in Austin federal court said Walther downloaded and made …

The Baptist Press reports: A former staff member of the Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services was sentenced to 22 years in prison Nov. 3 in White County Circuit Court. Daniel W. Lanning pled guilty to two counts of criminal sexual assault of a minor ages 13-17. He was arrested in April on four counts involving a teenager in his …

Pueblo, Colorado’s NBC affiliate reports: An adult youth pastor has been arrested after allegedly sending sexually explicit material to a minor in his youth group. The Fountain Police Department began investigating the report on Oct. 13, 2022. The investigation led to 38-year-old Jeffery Williams’ arrest on Nov. 10. Williams was a pastor at the 901 N. Santa Fe Ave. Salvation …

People Magazine reports:  A San Diego woman and her two parents have been arrested following the death of 11-year-old Arabella McCormack. In late August, police responded to a child in distress call at a home in Spring Valley, where they found Arabella. The 11-year-old was rushed to a hospital where she died. Arabella was covered in bruises and had suffered …