Tag Archives: religion

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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, …

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 …

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 …

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 …

The Kenosha County Eye reports: Someone summoned the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department to the Somers Walmart early Thursday morning, August 10th. The person saw a male white, fully naked, standing next to a black truck and appeared to be masturbating. According to Kenosha County Sheriff spokesman Lt. Ryan Markowski, 57-year-old Thomas Bartmer was seen by responding deputies quickly getting into …

Colorado Springs’ ABC affiliate reports: A youth pastor at a Fowler church is headed to jail for just under two months after pleading guilty to lesser charges connected to the sexual assault of a child. An investigation into 46-year-old Gabe Geringer began in 2018 when a victim came forward. According to the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office, Geringer was originally charged …

Greenville, South Carolina’s CBS affiliate reports: A former priest in Laurens, South Carolina, will be headed to prison after taking a minor from South Carolina to Florida with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, according to the Attorney General’s Office. Jamie Adolfo Gonzalez-Farias, aka “Father Gonzalez,” 68, of Laurens, a former Catholic priest, pleaded guilty in federal court …