Tag Archives: religion

Click On Detroit reports: A 60-year-old priest has been convicted of child sex crimes in Wayne County. Joseph “Jack” Baker, 60, of Wayne, was convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct sexual penetration with a person under 13. Baker had been a pastor at St. Perpetua Parish in Waterford, Michigan since 2008. Before that, he was a pastor at St. Mary …

Religion News Service reports: Three Jewish women in Kentucky have filed a lawsuit arguing that their religious rights are being violated by a set of state laws that ban most abortions. The lawsuit, filed in Jefferson Circuit Court in Louisville, is the third such suit brought by Jewish organizations or individuals since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. …

“Well, I’m going to say something controversial that will absolutely delight atheists, ’cause they like to take – not all atheists, some internet atheists – like to take things out of context and use it to make me look bad. “I don’t care  You’ve already hated me anyways. It’s not like anything changed. If anything, I’m just glad people, like, …

From the Justice Department: Jonathan High, 30, of Steinhatchee, Florida, has been convicted of two counts of use of a child to produce child pornography. The guilty verdict, returned yesterday, at the conclusion of a one-day bench trial, was announced by Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida. Prior to the trial, High pleaded guilty …

The Christian Post reports: John Piper recently offered advice on how a Christian wife can pray for her nonbelieving husband, which included asking God to “circumcise his heart.” In the latest episode of the “Ask Pastor John” podcast posted on the Desiring God website, Piper answered a question submitted by a woman named “Rose” who asked the prominent theologian and …

The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports: A former youth pastor at Bellevue Baptist Church in Shelby County has been charged with multiple counts of sexual assault in the first and second-degrees by prosecutors in Benton County, Arkansas. The new charges come a month after he was arrested on a charge of sexual indecency with a child in August. The charges filed …

Houston’s Fox affiliate reports: Authorities in Fort Bend County said a former pastor will be spending the next 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting a child. The District Attorney’s announced in a press release that William Benjamin Woodward, 62, pled guilty to the charge of Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child in June 2022. Woodward previously served as pastor …

Orlando’s NBC affiliate reports: A pastor and owner of a kung fu training academy from Palm Bay has been charged with multiple sex crimes involving children, according to the Palm Bay Police Department. Palm Bay police arrested 42-year-old Roberson Douge Wednesday after they said two victims reported the alleged sexual abuse. According to the arrest affidavit, police recorded a call …

The Paintsville Herald reports: A former Johnson Central High School girls’ basketball coach and pastor was arrested on Sept. 21 after an indictment was handed down against him alleging sexual abuse, rape and sodomy against a minor. Johnson Commmonwealth’s Attorney Tony Skeans said the alleged offenses were listed in an indictment against Darrin Rice, 54, of Wittensville. Skeans said the …

West Palm Beach’s ABC affiliate reports: Police said the investigation revealed that the church’s former parish administrator, Deborah True, and former pastor, Richard Murphy, opened a bank account in the name of “Holy Cross Catholic Church” in 2012. Police said bank records show that nearly $1.5 million of parishioners’ donations were fraudulently deposited into the account since 2015. From 2015 …

The New York Daily News reports: A Queens church deacon nabbed in an undercover sting pleaded guilty in Brooklyn Federal Court on Friday of trying to lure three teenage boys into meeting him for sex acts, law enforcement officials said. Rogelio Vega, 52, a former deacon at St. Sebastian Roman Catholic Church in Woodside, pleaded guilty to three counts of …

Religion News Service reports: America has long prided itself on being a country where people can choose whatever religion they like. The majority has long chosen Christianity. By 2070, that may no longer be the case. If current trends continue, Christians could make up less than half of the population — and as little as a third— in 50 years. …

The Roys Report reports: The longtime pastor of a Minnesota church retired in February. Now, he’s charged with criminal sexual conduct against two women in his former church, a criminal complaint shows. Bruce Douglas Konold pastored Eagan Hills Church, a Christian & Missionary Alliance (C&MA) congregation in the Twin Cities area, from 1997 until this past February. Authorities allege in …

NBC News reports: The Supreme Court on Friday temporarily allowed an Orthodox Jewish university in New York to deny official recognition to an LGBTQ student group, the latest in a series of decisions in favor of religious rights. Justice Sonia Sotomayor in a brief order granted an emergency request made by Yeshiva University, which claims that recognizing the group would …

The Kennewick Tri-Cities Herald reports: A Tri-Cities priest has been arrested on suspicion of rape. Rev. Tomás Vázquez Téllez, 49, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of third-degree rape with an aggravating factor of being a person of trust. Vázquez Téllez has been serving at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Pasco since Sept. 2021. Vázquez Téllez was booked into the Benton …

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: The angels stood quietly while protesters yelled “pedophile” and “groomer” and pushed signs quoting the Book of Mormon toward their faces. “You’re going against God,” one man spat. Another told them to “stop protecting the homos” at Brigham Young University. The dozen people dressed in white didn’t flinch. Hand in hand, they formed a shield …

The Maryland Bay reports: Reverend Jaroslaw “Jerry” Gamrot, 58, who serves at Holy Face Catholic Church and Little Flower School in Great Mills, has been charged for an incident that reportedly happened in July on a highway. Charging documents for the incident indicate that on July 25, Gamrot was traveling west on Route 70 in Frederick with no pants on …

The Roys Report reports: A plea agreement shows that Douglas Phillip DeAndrea, former pastor of New Ground Church in Danville, was sentenced to 40 years in prison. DeAndrea, 44, was arrested October 18, 2021, on seven felony charges of object sexual penetration and aggravated sexual battery, according to Mark Hollandsworth with the Montgomery County Jail. A grand jury indictment reveals …

The West Chester Patch reports: A former teacher at West Chester Christian School was convicted of sexually assaulting a first-grader there in 2007. Randy Lee Boston, 64, of Shickshinny, Luzerne County, was found guilty by a jury Wednesday in the Chester County Justice Center of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, indecent assault of a person under 13, corruption …

Raleigh’s NBC affiliate reports: A former Sunday school teacher will spend the next 87 years of his life in prison after being convicted of abusing and sexually assaulting at least three young girls behind church walls and on church buses in Johnston County. A jury found Jonathan Young, 38, of Benson, guilty on multiple counts of rape, sexual offense and …