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.
Charles Brinson, pastor (bishop) of Brinson Memorial Church in Trenton, New Jersey, stands accused of two counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault of a helpless or incapacitated victim and two counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
A Trenton pastor charged with sexually assaulting a 16-year-old used a substance in an unmarked bottle to incapacitate the teen on two occasions, authorities said.
Charles B. Brinson, 64, was arrested on Feb. 19 at his home in the 300 block of Brinton Avenue following an investigation by the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office and the Trenton Police Department.
Brinson, who serves as bishop of the Brinson Memorial Church, is charged with two counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault of a helpless or incapacitated victim and two counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
Trenton police were called about 6:35 p.m. on Feb. 16 to Capital Health Medical Center Hopewell for an initial report of the sexual assaults, authorities said.
The 16-year-old told officers the first assault occurred in mid-January and the second on Feb. 12 at Brinson’s home on Brinton Avenue, according to an affidavit filed by police in support of the charges.
Both assaults occurred in the pastor’s bedroom, where Brinson kept “a bottle of a clear substance and a black top with no labels on it,” authorities said.
Brinson placed the substance to the 16-year-old’s nose, which caused the teen to lose consciousness, authorities said.
In the second assault, the substance was already on Brinson’s fingers when he approached the victim and Brinson “swiped the substance across the victim’s nose, and (the teen) immediately lost consciousness,” the affidavit states.
Both assaults occurred in the pastor’s bedroom, where Brinson kept “a bottle of a clear substance and a black top with no labels on it,” authorities said.
Brinson placed the substance to the 16-year-old’s nose, which caused the teen to lose consciousness, authorities said.
In the second assault, the substance was already on Brinson’s fingers when he approached the victim and Brinson “swiped the substance across the victim’s nose, and (the teen) immediately lost consciousness,” the affidavit states.
The teen regained consciousness during the second sexual assault, authorities said.
Brinson was held at a local jail ahead of a court hearing. Attorney information for the bishop was not contained in online court records on Monday.
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.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.
