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Category: Black Collar Crime

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Youth Pastor Corey White Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charges

Bruce Gerencser 1 Comment
corey white

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.

Last October, Corey White, a youth pastor at Redeemer Midland in Midland Texas, was arrested on child pornography charges.

Fox-West Texas reported:

Thirty-three-year-old Corey White, who according to members of the congregation was a youth minister at Redeemer Midland, has been charged with access with intent to view child pornographic materials.

According to court documents, the charges were stemmed from an investigation in Nassau County. New York. The Nassau County Police Department initiated an investigation after receiving 15 National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) cybertips from 2018 to the present.

These tips involved the upload of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) videos and images via “Skype” from an IP address in Seaford, New York. 

A search warrant was executed which resulted in the seizing of this material from electronic devices. Upon further investigation, a New York man had been communicating with numerous adults and minors using the video chat site “Omegle”. During these interactions, the New Yorker used a screen sharing program to transmit the CSAM videos in real time to participants, followed by screen recording the interactions.

In most cases, participants were observed engaging in various sexual acts while watching the CSAM, while sometimes engaging in lewd acts by the request of the New Yorker. 

On March 16, 2022, a screen recording showed the New Yorker sharing various videos with an adult male in his early to mid-thirties. The man was seen masturbating on screen while the video is playing.

This male was identified as Corey White, and during the recording requests CSAM involving a mother and son. The New Yorker accommodates this request, to which White said he enjoyed. 

Based on this, a Special Agent with Homeland Security Investigation obtained a search warrant for White’s electronic devices at his Midland home. 

On Oct. 23, White was detained and transported to MPD for questioning. He told detectives he used Omegle for “sexual things” and to find people willing to show their genitalia. White said he had an interest in incestuous porn involving mothers having sexual contact with their sons. 

Later, White told officers that he rarely sought out CSAM, however, said while browsing Omegle he would flip to another user who was showing it or offering to show it which he would accept. He said he wasn’t seeking it out, but it excited him. Having a ‘fetish’ for incest pom, White said he preferred when the ‘real thing’ was offered, claiming mainstream porn merely involved ‘actors’.

When asked when he most recently viewed this material, White said it was when his wife went on a work trip but didn’t know how long ago this was. Law enforcement confirmed this was between May 8 and May 11, 2023 in Midland, which White further estimated was the timeframe.

If convicted, White faces up to ten years in prison, up to life of supervised release, a $250,000 maximum fine and a $100 special assessment. 

Last week, White pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly accessing images of child pornography with visual depictions of a minor.

Fox — West Texas reports:

A former Midland youth pastor pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of knowingly accessing images of child pornography with visual depictions of a minor.

Our sister station, NewsWest 9, had a reporter in the courtroom Wednesday afternoon for a status conference/re-arraignment of 33-year-old Corey White.

….

In October 2023, NewsWest 9 reported the charges stemmed from an investigation in Nassau County. New York. The Nassau County Police Department initiated an investigation after receiving 15 National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) cybertips from 2018-2023.  

The tips involved uploading child sexual abuse material (CSAM) videos and images via Skype from an IP address in Seaford, New York. 

After an extensive investigation and seizure of electronic devices from his Midland home, White was indicted by a grand jury in November 2023 for sexual exploitation of children and possessing or accessing child pornography with visual depiction of an actual minor.

White is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge David Counts April 4 and faces up to 10 years in prison, as well as supervised release for life and up to a $250,000 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.

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.

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor James Randolph Accused of Sexual Assault

Bruce Gerencser 0 Comments
pastor james randolph

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.

James Randolph, a pastor at Living Word [International] Church in Midland, Michigan, stands accused of first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a relationship, four counts of second-degree CSC, and one count of accosting children for immoral purposes. Living Word is operated by Mark Barclay Ministries. Randolph is Barclay’s son-in-law.

Our Midland reports:

Living Word International Church minister Rev. James Randolph was arrested and charged Tuesday with first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a relationship, four counts of second-degree CSC and one count of accosting children for immoral purposes for crimes allegedly occurring in 2011.

Randolph is charged with seven felony counts and is out of jail on a $500,000 cash bond. His second-degree CSC charges include one allegedly with a person under 13-years-old and two involving a relationship. Randolph was arraigned on the charges in Midland County District Court Tuesday afternoon and is set for a probable cause hearing at 1 p.m. Dec. 7.

Randolph is the son-in-law of Mark Barclay of Mark Barclay Ministries which operates Living Word Church. He has been placed on administrative leave from the church. 

….

Randolph is the second person associated with the church to face arrest this year. In July, church volunteer Brandon Saylor, 44, was charged with six counts of criminal sexual conduct and three counts of accosting children for immoral purposes for crimes allegedly occurring in 2010, according to court records. He is being held in the Gladwin County Jail on a $500,000 cash/surety bond. 

Saylor’s charges include four counts of second-degree CSC with three victims under 13, two counts of CSC with relationship, and three counts of accosting children for immoral purposes.

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.

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Missionary Adam Pepper and His Wife Sentenced to Years in Prison for Sexual Assault

Bruce Gerencser 0 Comments
adam and tracee pepper

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.

Adam Pepper and his wife Tracee, missionaries to the Dominican Republic with Commission to Every Nation in Kerrville, Texas, were sentenced to seven and five years respectively for sexually assaulting two minors and possessing child pornography.

The Public Prosecutors Office in the Dominican Republic reports (translated from Spanish to English):

The Second Collegiate Court of La Vega sentenced two Canadians to seven and five years in prison and suspended from work, for sexual assault and threat against two minors in the El Mirador sector of Jarabacoa. Adam Eric Pepper and his wife Tracee Lynne Pepper (Tracee Lynne Plett), both 35, were also given the payment of 10 official minimum wages and the criminal costs of the trial. The case was submitted by the Comprehensive Care Unit for Victims of Gender-Based Violence, Domestic and Sexual Offences of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of that jurisdiction. The first was serving in pretrial detention since February 2021 in the public prison of La Vega and was sentenced to seven years deprivation of liberty, while his wife was given five years suspensive of work, an impediment to leaving the country and refraining from teaching in educational establishments. The complaint was filed with the Public Prosecutor’s Office by the mother of a child under the age of 12, after finding images on her son’s cell phone given to him by Adam Eric Pepper, where the accused is visualized by sexually assaulting him, which he recognized for the pants he was wearing. The defendant, whenever he committed the criminal act, threatened the minor that if he said anything he would fall prisoner and then he would not be able to continue giving gifts. The child ' s mother stated that the accused told him to leave the minor to be with him longer alone and to sign a paper stating that if anything happened to her, he and his wife stayed with the child. Tracee Lynne Pepper is also accused of touching the child and recording sexual images of the boy with another 13-year-old girl, so she was also accused by the youngest’s aunt, who stated that Plett told her that if she dared to say what she was doing she and her family, she would kill her and her family.After a raid on the defendants’ home in April 2021, the Public Prosecutor’s Office occupied them with USB memorabilia, a professional camera with their accessories, a suitcase with high-definition recording equipment, a small digital camera with their accessories to use underwater, among other belongings. Videos with images of minors in sexual activity were found on cameras. The legal qualification granted by the Public Prosecutor’s Office to this trial against the accused is for violation of several articles of the Dominican Criminal Code that criminalize and punish the association of criminals to commit sexual threat and assault, as well as sexual, commercial exploitation and the provision of images that violate the honour and dignity of children, in addition to violating articles punishing the production, marketing, acquisition, and possession of child pornography.

The Roys Report adds:

A Canadian missionary couple was sentenced to several years in prison by Dominican Republic authorities for sex crimes involving children, according to a press release by the country’s attorney general last Monday.

Adam and Tracee Pepper, missionaries with the missions organization, Commission to Every Nation (CTEN) Canada, were convicted of sexually assaulting and threatening two minors in Jaracaboa, Dominican Republic. The couple, both age 35, are also convicted of possession of child pornography.

Police began investigating the Peppers in 2021 when a mother reported that she found photos on her son’s phone of Adam Pepper assaulting the boy, who was under 12 years old, according to the press release. Pepper reportedly threatened the minor not to reveal the abuse by saying he would stop giving the child gifts. Pepper had previously given the boy a cell phone.

The mother alleged that Adam and Tracee Pepper continually pushed for more alone time with the minor. She added that the couple even had the mother sign a document that stated if the mother were physically unable care for her son, the Peppers would assume custody of him, the press release said.

Tracee Pepper was also convicted of sexually touching the boy and recording sexual images of the boy with a 13-year-old girl. The girl’s aunt told investigators that her niece and family were threatened by the Peppers with harm if they spoke out.

….

The couple began working with the missions organization CTEN Canada, an affiliate organization of CTEN, in August 2020, according to Adam’s LinkedIn profile.

When the organization learned of the accusations against the couple, they were decommissioned, Rick Malm, Founder and CEO of CTEN told the The Roys Report (TRR).

Malm said the organization was shocked by the news as CTEN staff thoroughly vetted the Peppers before they joined and found no red flags. CTEN interviewed the couple, the couple’s pastor, and other friends of the pair to conduct a background check, he said.

“My gosh it’s just really heartbreaking,” Malm said. “This is just totally out of the blue.”

Since decommissioning the couple, CTEN notified the Peppers’ church and donors, Malm said. CTEN offered to help the Dominican Republic government with its investigation, but he said the government didn’t ask for any help.

….

The Peppers had done missionary work in the Dominican Republic periodically since 2018, according to Adam Pepper’s Facebook page.

….

Pepper previously served as a youth leader at both Steinbach Evangelical Mennonite Church from 2005 to 2009 and at La Broquerie Youth Group from 2008 to 2012, according to his LinkedIn.

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.

Black Collar Crime: Southern Baptist Pastor Segio Guardia Accused of Stalking a Woman

Bruce Gerencser 2 Comments
pastor sergio garcia

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.

Sergio Guardia, pastor of Nuevo Amanecer — a Spanish ministry at Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia, and director of Hispanic Ministries for the Southern Baptist Convention of Virginia, stands accused of stalking a woman and breaking into her home.

The Biblical Reporter reports:

A pastor previously employed with the Southern Baptist Convention of Virginia (SBCV) is facing multiple charges, including stalking.

Sergio Guardia was arrested on Nov. 10 with a stalking charge and a separate count of breaking and entering an occupied house to commit a misdemeanor. Another count of the latter was added the next day, according to court records.

A hearing has been set for Feb. 7.

An online search for Guardia lists among the results that he was the director of Hispanic Ministries for the SBCV, working among both Spanish-speaking and English-speaking churches. When the link is clicked, however, a missing page response appears. SBC Workspace lists him serving as campus pastor of Thomas Road en Español-Lynchburg from November 2013 to August 2019.

Guardia also was an occasional columnist for BP en Español, Baptist Press’ Spanish-language website.

Baptist Press left multiple messages for the Lynchburg Police Department for further comment, with none being received by press time.

“Sergio Guardia is no longer employed by the SBC of Virginia,” a convention representative said last week. “He resigned in November. We have been made aware that he is dealing with legal matters, and because of the legalities involved we have no further comment.”

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.

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor Elbert “Buddy” Goins Accused of Offering Money to Have Sex With Minor

Bruce Gerencser 0 Comments
pastor buddy goins

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.

Elbert “Buddy” Goins, pastor of Mount Hope Christian Church in Mount Hope, West Virginia, stands accused of offering money to have sex with a minor.

WOAY reports;

The now former lead pastor of Mount Hope Christian Church has been arrested on charges of patronizing a minor victimized by sexual servitude.

Elbert Eugene Goins, known as Buddy Goins, was arrested on December 8 in Beckley. According to the criminal complaint, he had been talking to an adult about having sex with the adult’s purported minor child.

“During the conversations, Goins discussed meeting with the child’s purported guardian and the purported minor child with the intent to pay for sexual services with the minor,” the complaint reads.

When Goins arrived in Beckley to meet who he thought was the adult and the child, members of law enforcement including the West Virginia State Police were waiting.
He was arrested and taken to the Beckley Detachment, where he agreed to an interview with state troopers.

The complaint says that he “advised he was communicating with an adult” about having sex with the adult’s minor child.

According to the complaint, Goins suggested that he was hoping to have sex with the adult, but it also says that he knew what could be assumed from that conversation.

The board of the Mount Hope Christian Church has released a statement about the arrest to Newswatch. It says Goins was terminated from his role as lead pastor the next day, Dec. 9.

The board says that they were “shocked” by the arrest. Their statement emphasizes that Goins was not arrested at the church and says that members of the congregation are not involved.

….

According to the criminal complaint, the investigation and arrest happened in Raleigh County in Beckley. Mount Hope Christian Church is located in Fayette County.

Goins posted a $50,000 bond. According to records obtained at the Raleigh County Courthouse, his preliminary hearing is set for December 28.

The charges of patronizing a minor victimized by sexual servitude carry significant penalties. He faces at least three years behind bars if convicted, with a maximum sentence of 15 years. He could also face a fine of up to $300,000.

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.

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor Seferino Tosie Accused of Raping Church Children

Bruce Gerencser 1 Comment
seferino tosie

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.

Seferino Tosie, pastor of Missionary Memorial Church in Aurora, Oregon, stands of accused sixteen counts of rape, sexual penetration, sex abuse, and sodomy.

KOIN reports:

A Washington County pastor was arrested and indicted for sex crimes, including rape, for alleged incidents that began in 2008.

Seferino Tosie, 46, was indicted by a Washington County grand jury following a 2-month investigation with the Canby Police Department that identified multiple juvenile victims.

Detectives say Tosie’s victims likely attended Missionary Memorial Church in Aurora, where he worked as a pastor.

So far, the cases reported have occurred in Washington, Clackamas, and Marion counties between 2008 and 2016, authorities said.

Tosie was indicted by a grand jury on 16 charges.

However, detectives with the Violent Crimes Unit say they also believe there are other victims yet to come forward, as Tosie has worked in other churches in the area, as well as in Kansas, Minnesota, Hawaii and Iowa. Officials said one more victim came forward after Tosie’s indictment.

NewsBreak adds:

Detectives of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office Violent Crimes division say a pastor, Seferino Tosie, 46, has been indicted on multiple charges of alleged sexual assault.

Officials are looking for more victims.

Since Tosie’s indictment on Dec. 13, a third victim has come forward with similar allegations. The alleged victims were members of Missionary Memorial Church in Aurora, where Tosie served as a pastor. The alleged abuse reported so far took place in Washington, Clackamas and Marion counties between 2008 and 2016.

So far, all of the alleged victims have been of Micronesian descent. Court records show the three victims were all under the age of 14.

The charges stem from a two-month joint investigation with the Canby Police Department. Detectives identified multiple juvenile victims during the investigation, and the case is still ongoing.

Detectives believe Tosie’s victims attended Missionary Memorial Church, where he worked as a pastor. Investigators say Tosie also has worked at many other churches in the area, as well as in Kansas, Minnesota, Hawaii and Iowa.

A Washington County grand jury on Dec. 13 indicted Tosie on multiple counts of the following crimes:

Rape in the first degree (three counts)Sodomy in the first degree (six counts)Sexual Abuse in the first degree (four counts)Sexual Penetration in the first degree (three counts)

Tosie has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Meanwhile, a co-defendent is listed in the court records, Jerony MJ Simina, 23, of Tualatin. Simina was arraigned Dec. 6 on six counts of first-degree sodomy and three counts of first-degree sexual abuse. Records show the men may have abused at least two of the same children.

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.

Black Collar Crime: IFB Pastor Albert Wharton Accused of Numerous Sex Crimes

Bruce Gerencser 0 Comments
arrested

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.

Albert Wharton, an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) pastor who pastored seven churches, stands accused of 22 felony counts of taking indecent liberties with a child under the age of 13 while in a custodial position and eight felony counts of aggravated sexual assault. No church name is listed.

ABC-8 reports:

A former pastor of an independent Baptist church in the town of Warsaw in Richmond County is facing 30 felony charges relating to multiple incidents the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office alleges occurred at the church between 1981 and 1997.

Albert Benjamin Wharton, 86, of South Carolina, was arrested in South Carolina at 8:42 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 8 by investigators from the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, and South Carolina’s Pickens County Sheriff’s Department.

On the same day, Wharton was extradited to the Northern Neck Regional Jail in Richmond County.

Sheriff Steve Smith of the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office said Wharton’s arrest was the culmination of a 15-month investigation into more than two dozen alleged incidents that occurred while he was a preacher at Berachah Academy between 1981 and 1997. The academy has since closed.

Wharton was charged with 22 felony counts of taking indecent liberties with a child under the age of 13 while in a custodial position and eight felony counts of aggravated sexual assault.

“Wharton has lived and served seven churches in Virginia, South Carolina, Alabama and Florida over the past four decades,” Sheriff Smith said.

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.

Black Collar Crime: Southern Baptist Youth Pastor Austin Perkins Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Child Molestation

Bruce Gerencser 1 Comment
austin perkins

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.

Austin Perkins, a youth pastor at Grace Fellowship Baptist Church in Cave Spring, Georgia, was sentenced to fifteen years in prison for child molestation and possession of child pornography. Grace Fellowship is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.

The Rome News-Gazette reports:

A former youth minister of a Floyd County church was sentenced Thursday to serve 15 years in prison on child molestation and possession of child pornography charges, alongside another 25 years on probation.

When Austin Wray Perkins was arrested on March 9, 2022, as part of a sting targeting child pornography, police discovered he was also the guardian of a minor living at his home who he sexually victimized.

According to a police statement at the time of his arrest, Perkins took the child — who had no family or support — into his home and molested him. During that time, Perkins was also a youth minister at Grace Fellowship Baptist Church.

Perkins, 27, pleaded guilty to one count of felony child molestation and one count of felony sexual exploitation of children — in a non-negotiated plea in Floyd County Superior Court — in September.

At the time of the arrest, Floyd County Assistant District Attorney Leah Mayo said police discovered what they thought were 20 or so images containing child pornography. There were hundreds more.

“After officers were able to get into both phones completely, we’re talking about hundreds of images,” Mayo told Floyd County Superior Court Chief Judge John “Jack” Niedrach. “There are some images of infants under a year old (being subjected to sexual abuse). It’s a horrific, extensive, extremely exploitative and disturbing collection of child pornography.”

Mayo also read statements from the victim and his now reunited father.

“I know my son will never be the same from the hell Austin has put him through,” the father wrote. He described how Perkins threatened and manipulated his son in order to abuse him.

During the sentencing, prosecutors and Perkins’ attorney Radford Bunker referred to the results of a psychosexual evaluation taken prior to his sentencing.

Bunker described incidents in his client’s childhood when he’d been victimized sexually and talked about a confusion in Perkins’ mental processes because of that abuse.

“This report shows that terrible things have happened to him, but he is treatable,” Bunker said. “It’s because of what happened to him that he is not able to see these things clearly and correctly.”

The attorney referred to a finding in the evaluation that Perkins has a treatable condition and asked the judge to prescribe treatment for Perkins when he’s released from prison.

Members of Perkins’ family and friends admitted that Perkins had done bad things, but asked that the judge give leniency to a person they described as intelligent, caring, and hardworking. He did not speak during the sentencing.

“I think, in his mind, he’s just thinking he was doing the right thing by helping the victim,” Perkins’ mother, Kelly Bishop, said. “He thought that because (the victim) didn’t have a family that did for (the victim), that he would do for (the victim)…”

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.

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Jordan Shortridge Accused of Stealing $470,000 From Grandfather’s Church

Bruce Gerencser 0 Comments
jordan-shortridge

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.

Jordan Shortridge, the grandson of Daniel Shortridge, pastor of Dallas Church of God in Dallas, North Carolina, stands accused of stealing $470.000 from the church. Shortridge was active in the church, playing the drums and working in the AV department.

The Gaston Gazette reports:

The grandson of a Dallas pastor has been arrested and accused of embezzling thousands of dollars from the church.

Jordan Shortridge, the grandson of Rev. Daniel Shortridge, came under investigation after the accounting department at Dallas Church of God found that more than $470,000 had been used for purchases that were not related to the church, according to a press release.

The accounting department reportedly began to find discrepancies in the church funds as far back as 2021. Their bank conducted an audit and found withdrawals and payments made through PayPal, according to the release.

The church reported the discrepancies to the police in July 2023. Shortridge was charged with felony larceny Friday.

Shortage [sic], 28, of Crouse, posted bond within hours and was released.

Dallas Police Chief Robert Walls declined to say how exactly Shortridge would have accessed the funds, but said that he was involved with the church.

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.

Should Evangelical Preachers Who Commit Sex Crimes Be Given a Second (or Fourteenth) Chance?

Bruce Gerencser 18 Comments
god's forgiveness

Dr. David Tee, who is neither a doctor nor a Tee, has long objected to the Black Collar Crime Series. Tee, whose real name is Derrick Thomas Thiessen, has written several posts about my Black Collar Crime posts. Here’s what he said in his latest post on the subject (all spelling, grammar, and punctuation in the original):

We read BG’s response to our black collar crime series article. .He is lucky that we are not litigious in nature and do not strike back at those who not only distort what we have said but libel and slander us.

But he says things the way he does because he is a first-class narcissist who needs to be seen as the victim 100% of the time. If he wasn’t that way his posts would be written vastly different than they are being written.

He just doesn’t get it. No one needs his black collar crime series. Everyone that needs to know already knows about what some pastors do. There is no need to pile on and add misery to those who are already miserable.

Of course, if you read that series, you will find that BG does not present one legitimate solution to the problem. Instead, he spends his time attacking us as we are providing the framework for a solution to ministers going and gone bad.

We would prefer that those men not join the ministry until they allow Jesus to heal them of their problems. But since they do not postpone their answer to their calling, we must deal with the problem within the church.

The secular world does not have a solution for the problems these men face and instead of embarrassing and humiliating pastors, they should just remain silent trusting that church officials will be led by God to handle the problems correctly.

….

They [rapist, predator, abusive preachers] have sinned and come short of the glory of God, just like the rest of us. Christ is there for them as he is for all of us. We are no better even if we did not commit such worldly sins as the bible tells.

Those men are no worse than any one of us and deserve a second chance. Where would any of us be if we were not given 2nd, 3rd, or 14 chances by God?

As you may have noticed we are not saying much about BG and his black collar crime series as that rant is not worth discussing. The author of those words doesn’t speak the truth and offers no legitimate reason for it to exist.

We have said the worst we are going to say about the owner of that website and series. As all he can do is distort, libel, and slander. It is not worth getting into a war of words over.

But since it does exist, that series does provide us with a starting point to provide direction for those Christians who may have condemned and judged those men or do not know what ministry they should do.

We should not judge nor condemn those men because that is not our duty. We are not better than them and we do need to find a way to solve their problems BEFORE they get themselves into trouble.

….

We have not changed one word of what we said in the article on the black collar series. That series is a useless effort that does not help anyone.

According to Thiessen, if a preacher commits a sex crime, he is not disqualified from serving in the ministry; that God forgives them (how does he know this?) and we should too. And therein is the fundamental problem: unconditional forgiveness. No matter what a person does, God forgives him. All he needs to do, according to 1 John 1:9, is repent and ask for forgiveness. Rape a child? Repent and ask for forgiveness. Sexually assault a teenager? Repent and ask for forgiveness. Molest children? Repent and ask for forgiveness. Manipulate a woman who is under your care so she will have sex with you? Repent and ask for forgiveness. No matter how heinous the crime, all an offending preacher needs to do is shoot a prayer up to Jesus and he will immediately wipe your sin slate clean. Awesome, right? No matter what a preacher does — even two, three, or fourteen times, according to Thiessen — forgiveness is but a prayer away.

I know several Evangelical preachers who refuse to run background checks on workers in their churches. Why? Whatever these workers might have done — including sexually molesting and assaulting children — is in the past, covered by the blood of Jesus and buried in the deepest sea to be never remembered again. If God has forgiven them, so should their fellow church members.

How hard can it be to say to prospective clerics: if you commit a sex crime, you are no longer fit to serve as a pastor — period? If you are a registered sex offender, you are no longer fit to serve as a pastor — period. Sexually molesting and abusing children, sexually assaulting teenagers, and taking sexual advantage of church women (or men) should be immediately, and forever, disqualifying. That it is not in many corners of the Evangelical world is troubling, to say the least.

Sexual predators cannot be “cured.” We can have a long discussion about pedophilia, but the fact remains that predators typically re-offend; that children are NOT safe around them. Some predators should be locked up without the possibility of parole. Others should have strict limitations put on them, including forbidding them from having contact with children and other vulnerable people. Next to the finality of murder, sex crimes leave some of the deepest, most long-lasting scars on victims/survivors. Doubt me? Scores of victims/survivors read this blog. Ask them how being sexually violated has affected their lives. Untold harm, heartache, and loss, yet the Derrick Thiessens of the world ignore the harm caused by predators, choosing instead to “forgive” offenders and send them back into the ministry so they can “prey” again.

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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