Tag Archives: Youth Pastor

College Station’s CBS affiliate reports: Two Leon County brothers with pastoral leadership positions at churches in Centerville and Buffalo were arrested following grand jury indictments Wednesday. Clark A. Travis was arrested in Buffalo by Leon County Sheriff’s deputies without incident Tuesday night. Matthew T. Travis Jr. surrendered himself to the Leon County Sheriff’s Office jail late Wednesday night. The duo …

The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports: An east Tupelo youth pastor accused of having sex with a 16-year-old church member was ordered held without bond Thursday. Alexander Blackwelder, 26, of Tupelo, is charged with two counts of sexual battery and enticement of a child to produce visual depictions of adult sexual conduct. Tupelo police detective Hal Veal said authorities received …

The Salem News reports: The vulnerable teens were steered toward a local United Methodist Church — and into the path of a lay pastor, a man who, though not ordained, had been given a type of license by the church to work as a youth minister. On Thursday, Russell Woodman Davis, 70, pleaded guilty to raping and attempting to rape …

Raleigh’s NBC affiliate reports: A Raleigh man has been arrested and charged with sex crimes involving a 7-year-old child. Kenneth Newcomer, age 61, faces two counts of first degree sex offense with a child and three counts of indecent liberties with a child. Court documents show the date of the offense was back in August of 2007. Newcomer’s bond is …

Fort Worth’s CBS affiliate reports: Friday morning, at the Sherman Federal Courthouse, former Denison youth leader Chad Michael Rider was sentenced to 720 months in federal prison. District Judge Amos Mazzant gave Rider a total of 60 years for sexually exploiting children and producing child pornography, stacking two 30 year sentences on three charges. Both Rider, 48 and co-conspirator former …

From the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office: On February 9, 2023, #teamHCSO’s Human Trafficking Section began investigating a case after a mother found disturbing content on her 16-year-old’s cell phone. Through investigative means, detectives were able to learn that Moises Escoto, 36, of Temple Terrace, had made contact with the victim two years earlier on a chat and meetup app called …

Northwest Missouri News reports: Daviess County authorities have charged a Hamilton woman with seven felony counts of sex crimes with a child. It is alleged that twenty-nine-year-old Anastasia Dawson engaged in illicit activity with the minor while she was the victim’s church leader. A probable cause statement issued by the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office says Dawson later paid the victim …

The Ohio Times-Reporter reports: A 60-year-old man who formerly volunteered with a church youth ministry has received a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 20 years for raping and committing other sex offenses against two girls. Tuscarawas County Judge Michael J. Ernest sentenced Jeffrey A. Pringle Thursday on three counts of child rape and four counts of gross …

The Fairbanks Daily News reports: A local youth pastor indicted Wednesday on one count of felony second-degree sexual abuse of a minor was arrested Friday after turning himself in to Alaska State Troopers. David Duffett, 45, is listed on the Bible Baptist Church of Fairbanks’ website as the youth director, bus ministries director and teacher of the Teen Church and …

Asheville’s ABC affiliate reports: Macon County authorities say a former youth pastor and current school employee was arrested and charged with felony indecent liberties with a child. Authorities say on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023, officials with the Special Victims Unit of the Macon County Sheriff’s Office were investigating an allegation of sexual misconduct. Authorities arrested and charged Evan Jordan Jensen, …

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 …

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 …

Tri City News reports: A former youth pastor, therapist and counselor who worked for churches in Coquitlam and Vancouver walked out of a court prisoner’s box today to be handcuffed and led to jail. On Friday (Jan. 20), BC Supreme Court Justice Paul W. Riley imposed a sentence of 12 years and 11 months against Raymond Gaglardi; however, it was …

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports: Forty-six men who included a high school football coach, a youth pastor and a director of operations at a hospital were recently arrested during a multi-agency operation targeting the demand for commercial sex in North Texas, a federal agency announced on Friday. The names of the suspects were not released by federal authorities. The joint …

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 …

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 …

Houston’s Fox affiliate reports: A former youth pastor accused of sexually abusing 14 girls at a North Texas mega church is scheduled to be released from prison next month. Denton Bible Church youth pastor Rob Shiflet was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison in 2021 for sexually assaulting two girls on church youth trips. Denton Bible Church pastor Tommy …

The New Jersey Advance reports: A youth pastor at a church in Burlington County pleaded guilty this week to blackmailing four underage boys into performing sex acts online, which he recorded for his enjoyment, authorities said Thursday. Sean Higgins, 32, of Palmyra, pleaded guilty Tuesday in New Jersey Superior Court to four counts of endangering the welfare of children in …