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.
Stephen Melton, former pastor of Big Spring Presbyterian Church in Newville, Pennsylvania, recently pleaded guilty to paying prostitutes for sex.
A former Newville pastor is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty Monday to charges that stemmed from a human trafficking investigation at GL Massage in November.
Officials said Stephen Melton worked as a pastor at the Big Spring Presbyterian Church, during which he met up with a prostitute multiple times a week for over a year.
These visits occurred starting in April of 2023, court records showed.
An affidavit for Melton stated he recognized women at the business as possibly trafficked individuals, but continued visiting the parlor for sexual services.
The reason he chose GL in particular, was reportedly because of its location being on his way home from church.
During an interview with the pastor, police stated Melton admitted to giving some of the prostitutes flowers, food, and clothing.
Melton’s arrest was also part of a large scale operation by the Cumberland County Human Trafficking Task Force named “Closed2Trafficking”, which started in 2023.
CBS 21 confirmed with the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office that Melton pleaded guilty Sept. 8 of 2025 to patronizing prostitutes.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 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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