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, Kenneth Rose, the children’s church director at Milan Friends Church in Milan, Ohio, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years in prison for a third-degree felony gross sexual imposition charge and a fifth-degree felony illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material charge.
The Sandusky Reporter reported:
A former Milan Township church volunteer was sentenced to four and a half years in prison on child sex charges on Monday.
Kenneth Rose, 56, of North Pleasant Street, received his sentence for a third-degree felony gross sexual imposition charge and a fifth-degree felony illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material charge. Rose previously pleaded guilty to the two charges, as other charges were dropped.
The charges stem from alleged incidents in the basement of Milan Friends Church on East Mason Road where Rose allegedly touched a girl inappropriately on two occasions.
Rose worked as a volunteer children’s director at the time, but a pastor previously told the Register Rose is no longer affiliated with them.
Rose will have to register as a sex offender annually and every 180 days when he’s released from prison, according to a sentencing sheet. He’ll serve his time at the Lorain Correctional Institution in Grafton.
A Norwalk man and Sunday school teacher is facing charges after having inappropriate sexual contact with a child in a church basement.
Kenneth Rose is charged with gross sexual imposition of a child. He was the children’s director at Milan Friends Church in Milan Township and had been volunteering there for six months.
….
Two alleged incidents were reported by one child who was in his program. The girl said both incidents happened while her parents were in regular church service. One happened on Feb. 25, the other on March 18.
“There was inappropriate sexual contact, so there was touching involved,” Detective Sergeant Dennis Papineau with the Erie County Sheriff’s Department said.
He said the young girl went to her father and told him what her Sunday school teacher did to her.
“There was spanking involved,” Detective Sergeant Papineau said.
It happened in the church’s basement, when no other kids were around.
“When this actually occurred, they were by themselves.”
Rose admitted guilt to investigators immediately.
“He was cooperative with the investigation.”
News 5 talked to the pastor of the church, Paul Campbell, on the phone. He didn’t want to go on camera, but said the church is cooperating with investigators and trying to be as transparent as possible.
Pastor Campbell said Rose never should have been with children alone, and they still aren’t sure how this happened. Campbell said there were no other incidents reported to them.
Rose is not listed as a sex offender and does not have a criminal history.
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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