The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.
In 2018, Spenser Farr, a student pastor at Hamlin Baptist Church in Springfield, Missouri, was accused of molesting two boys at local public pools.
The Springfield News-Leader reported:
A Greene County church has cut ties with its student pastor after he was accused of molesting two children in Phelps and Crawford counties several years ago.
Spenser A. Farr, 24, has been charged with five counts of statutory sodomy in connection with incidents in 2012 and 2013.
Court documents say the sexual abuse took place at two public pools: The Centre in Rolla and the Steelville City Pool in Steelville.
In the summer of 2012, Farr was showering with a boy after Farr, the boy and the boy’s sister had all gone swimming together at The Centre, documents say. During the shower, Farr allegedly touched the boy’s genitals and continued to molest him after the boy told Farr to stop.
According to documents, the boy was either 12 or 13 at the time.
Farr repeatedly sexually abused a different boy at the Steelville City Pool in the summers of 2012 and 2013, court documents say, while Farr worked at the pool as a swimming instructor and lifeguard.
Farr allegedly molested the boy in the pool despite the boy telling Farr to stop.
According to court documents, the boy said Farr molested him about eight times in 2012 and more than 20 times in 2013.
The boy and his father reported the abuse to a manager at the Steelville City Pool in 2013, court documents say, at which point Farr was fired.
When a detective spoke with the manager in 2017, the manager confirmed that Farr had been fired for touching a child’s genitals, court documents say.
It’s unclear if the manager told authorities about the alleged sexual abuse before police approached her in 2017.
The News-Leader has reached out to the city of Steelville for comment.
Phelps County Prosecutor Brendon Fox filed the charges against Farr. Fox said he is unsure whether the pool manager was considered a mandated reporter. A mandated reporter is someone required by law to report suspected child abuse, neglect or exploitation.
Fox said it was his understanding that the investigation into Farr began after a delayed report of abuse by the victims and their families.
Farr apparently moved on from being a lifeguard to become a youth pastor in Greene County.
Hamlin Baptist Church — which is located just northwest of Springfield city limits — said in a statement that Farr is no longer a student pastor at the church.
“The church personnel team has released Spenser Farr from the position of student pastor at Hamlin Baptist Church and we have no other announcement or information at this time.”
It does not appear from court documents that the accusations against Farr are in any way related to his time as a youth pastor at Hamlin Baptist.
….
In April 2019, Farr was convicted of three felony counts of first-degree statutory sodomy and sentenced to fifteen years in prison.
A Springfield man was found guilty Wednesday of sex crimes committed against children at recreation areas in Rolla and Steelville in 2012, according to a press release from the Phelps County Prosecutor’s Office.
Spenser Farr, 25, was convicted by a local jury of three felony counts first-degree statutory sodomy after a three-day trial. The jury deliberated for approximately five hours before returning their verdicts of not guilty on two counts and guilty on the other three.
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The release details in June of 2017 “victim 1” disclosed to his youth pastor that he had been molested by Spenser Farr in a shower at The Centre in Rolla in 2012. The case was investigated by Detective Adam Meyer of the Rolla Police Department. Det. Meyer interviewed the youth pastor and other witnesses before learning that Farr had been accused of touching a different boy at the Steelville Pool, also in 2012.
Det. Meyer identified and interviewed that boy, “victim 2,” who disclosed that Farr had been his swimming lessons instructor and had molested him in the pool. After the allegations came to light in 2012, the father of “victim 2” confronted Farr at the pool about it and Farr resigned shortly afterward. The family of “victim 2” decided to not pursue the case further due to the stress and impact on him, but when Det. Meyer made contact in 2017 he was older, more mature, and able discuss his experience. Det. Meyer identified another boy, “victim 3,” who described several incidents at the Steelville Pool in 2012 where he could feel Farr’s erection touching him. He never told anyone until he spoke to Det. Meyer in 2017, but he stopped going to the pool and being around Farr before anything worse could happen.
At trial, all three victims testified along with Det. Meyer and some of the victims’ parents who described unexplained changes they observed in their children in 2012. The defense presented evidence from Farr, his parents, another lifeguard, a police officer from Steelville, and other members of the church.
“Detective Meyer did an outstanding job investigating this case. He spent months chasing down every lead and interviewing everyone who might have had information. Without his tireless efforts for the victims, this conviction would not have happened,” said Fox. “I want to thank the victims for coming forward. Studies show that at least 1 in 6 men will be victims of sexual abuse at some time in their life. For various reasons, the crime often goes unreported. Victims need not suffer in silence; law enforcement cares and wants to help.”
At sentencing Wednesday, the jury recommended 10 years in prison on two of the counts, and five years in prison on the other. Final sentencing will take place at 10:30 a.m. June 17. Beger revoked Farr’s bond after the verdict and ordered a sentencing assessment report.
At the time of his arrest Farr was employed as a student pastor with Springfield-based Hamlin Baptist Church. Farr was not an employee of The Centre at the time the 2012 incident occurred.
Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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https://www.courts.mo.gov/file.jsp?id=166933 This Spenser Farr was convicted of enhanced statutory sodomy in the first degree.
I know Spenser Farr is a bad person, because after I had spine surgery, he backed into me as I was walking in the school parking lot and knocked me down and sped off when he noticed I was on the ground. Also, I have heard from more than one person that I went to school with that his older brother took advantage of them and sexually assaulted them at a high school party. Or in their words, raped. And his victims were the ones that had to deal with the backlash because he grew up in the church. They were called liars, humiliated and slut-shamed. So yes, they can cover this story up all they want, but some of us are still following it and say that this family 100% needs to be looked into on a much deeper level. As a childhood sexual abuse victim, I cannot believe that this family is getting to cover this scandal up, and I hope that the worst things possible happen to him in the future. I guarantee that more men, women and children will come forward about their abuse from the Farr family over time and Spenser is not the only one guilty for SA in his family.