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.
Last week, David Croyle, pastor of Family-Life Church in Kittanning, Pennsylvania, was charged with sexually assaulting a fourteen-year-old boy,
Kittanning Council does not have the authority to remove a councilman from office despite charges he engaged in sexual contact with a disabled 14-year-old, Council President Kim Chiesa said Friday.
On Thursday, Council Vice President David John Croyle, 60, was arrested and charged with felony counts of statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, unlawful contact with a minor, aggravated indecent assault of a person with a mental disability, corruption of minors and related charges.
Croyle is the editor and publisher of the Kittanning Paper and senior pastor at the Family-Life Church on South Jefferson Street in Kittanning.
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Representatives of the Family-Life Church, Applewold Council and East Franklin Township Fire Department either refused or did not return requests for comment.
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Later that year, according to court documents, the victim told police he first met Croyle while filling out an employment application at the Kittanning Paper. The victim told officers the application indicated he was 14 years old. The victim told police he next heard from Croyle through the social media application Grindr. That contact led to an exchange of phone numbers, which eventually led to the victim and Croyle exchanging nude images, according to court documents.
During the summer of 2016, the victim told police, Croyle invited him to his residence on South Jefferson Street. When he arrived, the victim told police, Croyle led him to a bedroom for a sexual encounter. After the encounter, the victim told police, he was instructed to stay silent lest Croyle lose his job.
A second encounter occurred later that summer, the victim told police, and was again told to remain silent about it.
Croyle’s church bio page says:
David J. Croyle is the senior pastor of Family-Life Church, which owns and operates Family-Life TV in Western Pennsylvania. He hosts a regional daily television program “Share” and also an international weekly prayer call-in program called “Family-Life Sunday Night.” Viewers in 30 countries participate via the Internet at www.familylifetv.com. A graduate of Armour Baptist Seminary [unaccredited] located in the state of Washington with a Bachelor’s degree in Bible, he is also a graduate of Carolina Christian University [unaccredited] with a Master of Science degree in Psychology and Counseling. He is certified by the National Christian Counselors Association as a Temperament Therapist and Licensed Pastoral Counselor. He has authored three books.
Croyle’s bio page also states:
He preached his first sermon at the age of 14. He has traveled thousands of miles in ministry and lives to be a blessing to those around him. Meet him this week in person at Family-Life Church or via the Internet!
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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Disturbing on many levels…..
I call them fake Christians
Sorry, Mary, but they’re all very REAL Christians. I understand your desire to distance yourself from them and their abominable acts, but you can’t just declare them “fake” and thereby wash your religion clean of its dirt. It would seem very clear that Christianity has a tremendous problem with sexual abuse, and no amount of “No True Scotsman-ing” will excuse that, much less fix it. REAL Christians are committing these REAL crimes, and as long as people keep putting their heads in the sand, as you do, the problem will not go away.
Oh I was kidding really. It was a response to all the trump cult calling every news source but Fox, fake news. I fully realize these are “real” Christians and it is a dangerous deranged belief system they follow. I am an atheist and have never been religious and find all this despicable.
I know it’s happening a lot and in all churches as well, but not to the degree, I suppose, that’s within the Catholic Church. When a church doesn’t allow their clergy to marry and it’s a bunch of men and there are choir boys, what do they expect?
And let’s not forget politics too. Much of this disturbing behavior there as well and yes, among the hypothetical family value folks .
https://www.leadertimes.com/front-page/david-john-croyle-transferred-to-custody-of-pa-dept-of-corrections/article_d87848fc-8eb4-5d56-9dea-efa62db2452c.html This David John Croyle was sentenced to 5-10 years in prison for involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with an underage male.