Tag Archives: religion

Baptist Pastor Guilty Of Felony Child Grooming Charge

Mount Vernon, Illinois station WMIX reports: A 28-year-old former pastor and athletic director pleaded guilty Monday in Jefferson County Court to one of two felony charges of child grooming. Garrett Biggerstaff, who was a pastor at the time for Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Fairfield, was arrested in January in two separate cases accusing him of child grooming. The …

Read More »

FL Youth Pastor Gets 35 Years On Child Porn Charges

Tampa’s CBS affiliate reports: A Polk County man who spent much of his professional and church life working with children was arrested in November 2020 after investigators found more than 700 pictures and videos of child porn on his phone, the sheriff’s office reported. Shawn Fitzgerald, 49, — a former Lakeland High School teacher, soccer coach and youth minister — …

Read More »

South Carolina Deacon Charged With Sexting Minor

Columbia’s CBS affiliate reports: Authorities say a former Sumter County church deacon has been arrested after allegedly sharing an obscene photograph with a church youth group member. The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office said 77-year-old Maxell Navar Bohn II of Sumter was charged with disseminating obscene material to a person under 18. The charge stems from an incident that the victim’s …

Read More »

Colorado Youth Pastor Arrested On Child Sex Charges

Pueblo’s NBC affiliate reports: An arrest was made of Jonathan Shaheen, a former Colorado Springs church pastor and music teacher, on the charge of sexual exploitation of a child by the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD), Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) unit on Thursday. The CSPD ICAC unit was contacted on Wednesday by the Colorado Springs FBI office with information …

Read More »

WI Pastor Gets Life Sentence On Child Sex Charges

The Wausau Pilot & Review reports: A pastor at a former downtown Wausau church convicted of repeatedly assaulting a young girl beginning when she was 10 years old will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole. Delfino R. O’Day-Figueroa was convicted by a jury in July following a three-day trial. Jurors deliberated for about …

Read More »

New York Priest Arrested On Child Sex Charges

The Syracuse Post-Standard reports: A priest in the Syracuse Catholic Diocese has been charged with forcibly touching a minor over several years, deputies said. Rev. Nathan Brooks, 36, of LaFayette, is accused of touching the minor between 2019 and 2021 in the town of Homer and in the city of Cortland. Brooks is an administrator at the Church of the …

Read More »

Wisconsin Pastor Gets 15 Years On Child Porn Charges

From the 1: On August 31, 2023, Cory J. Herthel (age: 40) of Green Bay, Wisconsin, pled guilty to attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2251(a). Herthel will receive a federal prison sentence of at least 15 years when he is sentenced on December 4, 2023. He will also be required …

Read More »

Alabama Pastor Arrested On Child Porn Charges

Mobile’s NBC affiliate reports: Allan Kyle Jones, 48, was booked into he Baldwin County Corrections Center on Tuesday on 4 charges of possession of Child Pornography. Jones is listed as the Pastor of Lifeway Community Church in Loxley on the churches website, having come to the church in 2015. Jail records indicate that Jones posted $60,000 in bond, $15,000 on …

Read More »

Nigerian Police Arrest 67 For Attending “Gay Wedding”

The Associated Press reports: Police in Nigeria said Tuesday they detained at least 67 people celebrating a gay wedding in one of the largest mass detentions targeting homosexuality, which is outlawed in the West African country. The “gay suspects” were arrested in southern Delta state’s Ekpan town at about 2 a.m. on Monday at an event where two of them …

Read More »

Cops: Youth Pastor Tried To Sell “Virgin” Teen Online

Atlanta News First reports: A Central Georgia man is accused of trying to sell a teenage girl on the dark web. Kelly Garrett Ivey was indicted in Jasper County on August 14th. According to the arrest warrants, the alleged crimes happened in June, and Ivey was arrested. He was denied bond on July 11th, with the judge noting in the …

Read More »

Church Choir Leader Arrested On Child Sex Charges

The Times Of San Diego reports: A 27-year-old church choir leader was in custody Monday on suspicion of sexual assault of a minor that took place in 2021, police reported. Rafael Valentin Magana was arrested Thursday in National City by San Diego Police on a felony warrant charging him with oral copulation and other lewd and lascivious acts with a …

Read More »

Youth Pastor Rearrested On More Child Sex Charges

Charlotte’s CBS affiliate reports: According to Burke County Sheriff’s Office Aaron Mirtsching was arrested on several counts of incident liberties with a minor. He was first arrested Aug. 22 after the sheriff’s office say they received a cyber tip. After an investigation, a warrant was issued for three counts of exploitation of a minor. He was given a $20,000 secured …

Read More »

Pennsylvania Pastor Gets Six Months In Child Sex Sting

Youngstown’s CBS affiliate reports: A pastor from New Castle, Pa. who was convicted in June of charges that he solicited a minor for sex was sentenced Thursday to six months in prison. Judge Anthony D’Apolito handed down the sentence to Jarod Mills, 36, who was convicted by a jury following a trial in June of importuning, a fifth-degree felony. Mills …

Read More »

North Carolina Pastor Arrested On Child Sex Charge

Asheville’s ABC affiliate reports: A former kindergarten teacher and senior pastor at a North Carolina church was arrested and charged Tuesday with a child sex crime. The Burke County Sheriff’s Office said Aaron Doyle Mirtsching, 41, of Morganton, was charged with three counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor following a cyber-tip that was received from Internet Crimes Against …

Read More »

Christian School Director Arrested Over Child Porn

Hoodline reports: Todd Baldwin, a department staff member at Valley Christian Schools in San Jose, was arrested on August 17th, 2023, for possession and distribution of explicit digital media involving juveniles, according to the San Jose Police Department. The 43-year-old suspect allegedly paid students for the explicit images and videos. The Silicon Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force/Child Exploitation …

Read More »

Southern Baptist Leader Resigns Over Faked Resume

The Associated Press reports: Tennessee pastor Willie McLaurin, who leads the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee, resigned Thursday from his position as interim president and chief executive after it came to light that he presented false information about his educational qualifications on his resume. The Executive Committee’s hiring team was considering McLaurin as a candidate to permanently replace former chief …

Read More »

Wisconsin Baptist Pastor Arrested On Child Sex Charges

The Wisconsin State Journal reports: The former pastor of a West Side church was charged Thursday with two counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child for alleged incidents about four years ago in which a girl who was then about 10 said he touched her improperly during a day camp that was held at the church. Robert C. Stine, …

Read More »

Denver Archdiocese Preschools Sue To Exclude LGBTQs

The Denver Post reports: The Denver Catholic Archdiocese along with two of its parishes is suing the state alleging their First Amendment rights are violated because their desire to exclude LGBTQ parents, staff and kids from Archdiocesan preschools keeps them from participating in Colorado’s new universal preschool program. The program is intended to provide every child 15 hours per week …

Read More »

Sunday School Teacher Gets 50 Years For Molestation

Michigan’s Hillsdale Daily News reports: A Jonesville man who fled to the Philippines to avoid prosecution on dozens of child sex abuse charges last summer has been sentenced to 50 years in federal prison. The Hillsdale County Prosecutor’s Office turned over a number of criminal allegations to the U.S. District Court when it was discovered Tye Braxton Stiger, 37, fled …

Read More »

Two Texas Priests Axed After Child Sex Accusations

The San Antonio Express-News reports: In letters read aloud on Sunday to the affected congregations, San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller announced that two priests had been removed from ministry and reported to law enforcement over allegations that they had inappropriate sexual contact with minors. The congregations at both churches were notified Sunday via letters from Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller that were …

Read More »