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.
Gary Buckaloo, a youth pastor and worship leader at First Baptist Church in Normangee, Texas, stands accused of one count of Indecency with a Child-Sexual Contact, a 2nd-degree felony, and one count of Sex Abuse of a Child Continuous: Victim under 14, a 1st-degree felony. Buckaloo is also a teacher at Buffalo ISD in Buffalo, Texas. First Baptist is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. Buckaloo has been scrubbed from the church’s website.
The Leon County Sheriff’s Department said Gary Buckaloo surrendered to authorities Monday after being indicted on two felonies.
Buckaloo is charged with one count of Indecency with a Child-Sexual Contact, a 2nd-degree felony, and one count of Sex Abuse of a Child Continuous: Victim under 14, a 1st-degree felony.
Buckaloo is listed as a Life Skills teacher with Buffalo ISD, but hasn’t been on campus since December 2022, according to a statement released by the district superintendent Lacy Freeman to KBTX.
“Buffalo ISD has been made aware of the indictment of a current District employee by a Leon County Grand Jury,” the statement said. “The District is in close communication and cooperation with the Leon County Sheriff’s Department. At this time, it is our understanding that the charges are unrelated to the individual’s employment at Buffalo ISD and do not involve any BISD students. While the individual has not been on campus since December 2022, the District has placed the employee on administrative leave immediately upon notification of the indictment. Should any parents or staff have specific concerns regarding this educator, please contact your campus principal. As student and staff safety and well-being are our top priority, we will continue to closely monitor this situation as more information is made available.”
Buckaloo was also listed as the Youth Pastor and Worship Leader for First Baptist Church Normangee. As of Tuesday afternoon his name has been removed from the staff directory. KBTX reached out to the pastor of the church, but our calls have not been returned.
Buckaloo is being held at the Leon County Jail on a $100,000 bond. KBTX reached out to the Leon County Sheriff’s Office multiple times for a mugshot, they said their system is currently down.
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen 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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Oh man ! What a Bugaboo this guy is! I assume he went to the church to work,so he can have access to the kids. This is so MUCH a part of the culture ! Is it any wonder that the rest of the world thinks Americans are out of their minds ? I hope he gets clocked in jail.
This is false. He’s not like this, I know him. It’s false allegations
None of us know anyone so well that we can speak in absolute terms about them. Unless you spent every moment of every day with him, you can’t possibly know whether he committed these crimes.
Good people can and do commit serious crimes. I’ve published over 1,000 Black Collar Crime stories. Every preacher had people just like you; people who would not believe that person committed sex crimes.
If he is convicted, will you still maintain that he couldn’t have committed these crimes because you “knew” the man?
I remember hearing from a couple that there was no way the Senior Pastor would have an affair. Later, we confronted said Pastor with the Chairman of the Board of Deacons about that appearance of immorality/affair with a woman in the church. As it turns out, we were threatened. Our salvation was in question and if we didn’t get our **** together we would lose our ministry.
We resigned.
The next Sunday, the camera/t.v. crew were told to shut down their cameras. No filming allowed. The church congregation was bullied into compliance and ordered to shun us and our children. (Short story.)
Five years later, the Senior Pastor resigned blaming it on poor health. Truth is, the truth came out and he quietly tried to disappear.
Sadly, as often is the case, people can’t wrap their heads around a fallen pastor/church leader etc. No way. Perhaps I would have been one who wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it for myself.