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 2017, Antonio Jones, pastor of Kingdom Harvest Church International in Roanoke, Virginia, was arrested and charged with aggravated sexual battery against two juveniles. The Roanoke Times reported at the time:
Antonio Jones, 47, was arrested March 17. Jones, who has no middle name listed, was released on bond Tuesday.
Jones is listed as founder of Kingdom Harvest Church International in northwest Roanoke on the church’s Facebook page, which describes Kingdom Harvest as “a multi-cultural, non-denominational church” with more than 150 members.
A call to the church Thursday afternoon was not returned, and no one answered the door there.
According to Roanoke Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court records, the offenses are alleged to have occurred against the first subject sometime between 2008 and 2010, when the juvenile would have been younger than 13.
Jones also is accused of committing indecent liberties against that subject.
The second case is alleged to have occurred between 2009 and 2011, involving someone in their early teens.
According to WDBJ-7, the church stood by their man:
A Roanoke pastor is out of jail and has the full support of his church.
Antonio Jones was arrested and charged with sexual misconduct against underage family members. Those claims date back to 2008.
Jones was released after posting a $5,000 bond on Tuesday.
On Wednesday night, several members of Jones’ church told us they were shocked at the charges.
Antonio Jones founded Kingdom Harvest Church International in 2007, according to the church Facebook page.
This story has gotten traction online with a number of members coming to Jones’ defense, calling him a “Man of God” and saying the Kingdom Harvest church family will get through this. The church posted a status earlier today which read, “UNITED WE STAND”
One member, who didn’t wish to be identified or shown on camera told WDBJ7, “This is church business that we doing here and the case is going to be city and court business. All we have to do is wait for the trial to end and other than that he hasn’t been convicted, it’s a trial.”
The Roanoke Times later reported:
A Roanoke pastor accused of sexually assaulting two juveniles saw the charges against him certified on Friday, and the case will now go before a grand jury.
Antonio Jones, 48, was arrested March 17 and is charged with two counts of aggravated sexual battery and one count of committing indecent liberties.
At a preliminary hearing on Friday, both of his accusers gave testimony outlining their claims against him. The Roanoke Times does not identify people who report sexual assaults.The offenses are alleged to have occurred separately between 2008 and 2011, when the first subject was about 12 years old and the second was a young teen. The two complainants know each other but said they did not tell anyone about their allegations for several years until they decided to speak to police in the summer and fall of 2016.
Jones and his defense attorney, Jonathan Kurtin, did not present any evidence at the hearing. In cross-examining the two witnesses, Kurtin pressed them for additional details and time frames, but they often said they were unable to be more specific.
Roanoke Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Judge Frank Rogers heard testimony from the two complainants for about an hour before deciding he found probable cause to certify all three charges. The cases will now be evaluated by a grand jury, likely in October.
In 2018, Jones was found guilty of his crimes and sentenced to four years in prison.
Jurors have recommended four years in prison as punishment for a Roanoke pastor, who was found guilty of aggravated sexual battery following a multi-day trial this week.
Antonio Jones, the founder and pastor of Kingdom Harvest Church International in Roanoke, was arrested March 17 and charged with two counts of aggravated sexual battery and one count of taking indecent liberties with a minor.
In court Wednesday morning, prosecutors recommended five to 10 years in prison, while Jones’ defense attorneys recommended one to five years. The maximum sentence Jones could have received for his conviction would have been 20 years in prison with a $100,000 fine.
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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As someone who, as a child, was sexually abused by a priest, there is one thing I find as appalling as such abuse: the way too many church members “stand by their man.”
Yes,MJ, it’s time for congregations to stand by the victims instead ! Talk about victims and victim- shaming, a scandal erupted in Grace Community Church recently. It’s because this battered wife was being shamed in sermons and called out for refusing to go back to her violent,church- worker husband,who also mistreated and molested their kids. To protect the kids,she won’t go back. She was commanded to go back to the jerk. No one came to her defense, or censured the guy. G CC is in California, outside of L.A, in a dumpy,crime infested town,Sun Valley. I knew John MacArthur the pastor was a mean person, but I didn’t know he was THAT bad. Ugh ! My best friend and his wife once went there for counseling in the 90’s. Of course, it didn’t help to go THERE for such a thing. Gary Ezzo, author of ” Babywize” taught there once. John Street, is a teacher there,he teaches total submission to one’s abusers. They covered up a lot of things over the years- talk about Black Collar Crimes ! There you have it.