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Category: Black Collar Crime

Update: Black Collar Crime: Anglican Priest Graeme Lawrence Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison for Raping Teen Boy

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graeme lawrence

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 November 2017, Graeme Lawrence, the defrocked Anglican Dean of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia was accused of sexually assaulting a teenage boy.

The Newcastle Herald reported:

Graeme Lawrence was the charismatic 13th Anglican Dean of Newcastle who supported the Hunter through the 1989 earthquake, the 2005 Bali bombing and the 2007 floods, and was honoured for his work by a grateful community.

He declined to comment on Tuesday after police charged him with sexually assaulting a teenage boy, 15, in the early 1990s, following a referral in 2016 from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

It marked another point in a fall from grace for the former Anglican priest that has included the public airing of sexual abuse allegations at a Newcastle Anglican disciplinary hearing in 2010, a failed Supreme Court appeal against its findings in 2011, his defrocking in 2012 and denial of child sex allegations during questioning at a royal commission public hearing in Newcastle in 2016.

Mr Lawrence, 75, was arrested at a Kotara home by Newcastle City Local Area Command Strike Force Arinya police at 8.30am on Tuesday and charged with four counts of aggravated sexual assault and aggravated indecent assault.

In a statement NSW Police said the charges related to “alleged sexual assaults upon a 15-year-old boy in the Hunter region during 1991”.

….

A royal commission public hearing in Newcastle in August, 2016 was told Dean Lawrence was a powerful and influential churchman. During evidence to the commission Mr Lawrence denied sexually abusing a teenage boy at a church youth camp in the 1990s.

He became the 13th Anglican Dean of Newcastle after moving from Griffith to Newcastle in 1984.

In 2019, Lawrence was found guilty of raping a 15-year-old church boy and sentenced to a maximum of eight years in prison.

ABC News reported at the time:

Graeme Lawrence, the former Anglican Dean of Newcastle, has been sentenced to a maximum of eight years jail over the rape of a 15-year-old boy at his deanery in 1991.

The 77-year-old was in July found guilty of aggravated sexual assault and aggravated indecent assault.

Lawrence was the Anglican Dean of Newcastle in 1991 when he lured his victim to his private accommodation next door to Newcastle’s Christ Church Cathedral after a youth band concert.

The court heard how Lawrence led then 15-year-old Ben Giggins into a small room and showed him pictures of naked boys before forcing him to the ground and raping him.

“He pulled the shirt over his head forcing him to hands and knees,” District Court Judge Tim Gartelmann said during today’s sentencing remarks.

“The victim was so scared he was shaking at this time.

“The offender must have known the victim did not consent but persisted regardless.”

Judge Gartlemann said Mr Giggins had repeatedly asked him to stop.

The court heard Lawrence had taken steps to silence his victim, warningMr Giggins — who eventually broke free and ran away — not to tell anyone what happened.

The judge said Lawrence had yelled after his fleeing victim: “Don’t go telling anybody, you’re just a boy and I’m the Dean. No one will believe you.”

He said the former dean had shown no remorse for his crimes, before he handed down a non-parole period of four years and six-months.

In an earlier victim impact statement that Mr Giggins read out to the court during sentencing submissions, the 43-year-old husband and father said the incident had scarred him for life.

He said he kept the rape a secret for decades and the trauma and regular depressive bouts he experienced put immense strain on his family.

Anglican.Ink added:

Graeme Lawrence is Australia’s most senior (former) Anglican clergyman to be locked up for child sex offences.

The unmarried and likeable Lawrence was the Anglican Dean of Newcastle for 25 years. He ruled over Christ Church Cathedral. Every bishop that came to Newcastle knew that Lawrence was not to be crossed. He was the real master conductor of the Diocese. In fact, one bishop who refused to conform told the Royal Commission, “I am the bishop who is not welcome in his own cathedral”.

Lawrence was well-connected within the church, with lawyers and with business people. He had lots of friends at the Newcastle Club, an old private club adjacent to the Cathedral where Lawrence was a regular and an Honorary Member.

But his ‘good old days’ are over.

Graeme Lawrence, aged 77 years, is now defrocked and a convicted paedophile. He’s been sentenced to eight years in prison. He’ll serve at least four and a half years behind bars before having any hope of parole.

He was one of many unsavoury characters who lurked within Newcastle’s Anglican Church for decades.

He retired in 2008. Less than two years later, the first allegations started to surface about his role in enabling the cover-up of his paedophile friend, Father Peter Rushton.

Rushton was accused of sexually abusing hundreds of boys throughout his forty-year career as an Anglican priest.

Bishop Brian Farran spoke up in 2010 and alleged Rushton had molested boys who served during church services or he “arranged to make it happen”.

One of Rushton’s victims, Mr. Paul Gray, recounted in horrifying detail how the priest abused him repeatedly between the ages of 10 and 14.

Rushton allegedly cut Gray’s back with a knife and smeared his blood to “symbolise the blood of Christ”.

The demonically-charged Rushton died in 2007 without ever being convicted.

Lawrence had for years conspired to keep Rushton out of trouble, enabling him to continue inflicting trauma to hundreds of boys in the Church.

Lawrence was one of a “gang of three” including Reverend Bruce Hoare and former Diocesan Registrar Mr. Peter Mitchell who are all believed to have covered up Rushton’s crimes. Mitchell, who was once the Diocesan Treasurer, went to jail in 2002 for defrauding the Church of nearly $200,000.

Some have alleged Lawrence was part of a series of networks actively supporting Anglican child sex offenders around Australia for decades.

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.

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.

Update: Black Collar Crime: Catholic Church Volunteer Jeffrey Eisenbath Sentenced to 184 Months in Prison on Child Porn Charges

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jeffrey eisenbath

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, Jeffrey Eisenbath, a volunteer children’s religious education teacher at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Troy, Missouri, was charged with felony invasion of privacy and possession of child pornography.

Jared Gilmour, a reporter for the Idaho Statesman, wrote:

Detectives were called to a laser tag and bumper car complex in St. Charles, Mo., last week after the business made an disturbing discovery: Hidden in the Adrenaline Zone bathroom was a secret camera, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.

When investigators watched the camera’s recording on Jan. 15, it didn’t take long to figure out who had installed the device, they said. The camera had captured Jeffrey Eisenbath, a 28-year-old Adrenaline Zone employee, as he placed the camera in the bathroom to spy on those who entered, according to detectives.

Eisenbath, detectives learned, was out of town until Jan. 22 — so they got a search warrant for computer and recording devices at his Troy, Mo., residence, according to the sheriff’s office.

Ultimately, detectives seized five hidden cameras, a computer and memory drives. Then, as Eisenbath was driving in Wentzville, Mo., on Monday, he was arrested, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said.

Searching Eisenbath’s home revealed more than 1,000 videos showing child pornography involving young girls, KMOV reports. Eisenbath said he is “addicted to child pornography,” according to police.

Eisenbath admitted to authorities that he had secretly installed the camera the Adrenaline Zone bathroom — and also that he had hidden another camera in a bathroom by the sanctuary of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Troy, where Eisenbath had volunteered, according to the sheriff’s office.

“This is a case of an individual crime that affects many unsuspecting people,” Lincoln County Sheriff John Cottle said in a statement. “The Archdiocese of St. Louis has stringent background screenings of volunteers but it cannot always catch their secret habits. This is why law enforcement has cybercrime task forces in place, to catch individuals like Mr. Eisenbath.”

Eisenbath has been charged in St. Charles County with felony invasion of property. He’s being held at the St. Charles County Jail under a $25,000 cash only bond, according to the sheriff’s office. In Lincoln County, Eisenbath has been charged with felony invasion of privacy and possession of child pornography. Bond for the Lincoln County charges is set at $100,000 cash only.

….

The Archdiocese of St. Louis has issued a statement condemning Eisenbath’s alleged actions.

“The allegations against Mr. Jeffrey Eisenbath, if true, are a disturbing and unacceptable abuse of the trust we place in the employees and volunteers at our parishes and schools,” the Archdiocese of St. Louis said in a statement to KSDK. “We are cooperating fully with the authorities in their investigation and will communicate with those impacted as we continue to learn more about the allegations.”

Eisenbath had traveled with the church on mission trips across the country — including trips on which he would have had contact with young people, according to court records reviewed by KMOV.

Adrenaline Zone, where police say Eisenbath worked, says on its website that it hosts children’s parties and school events, offering laser tag, bumper cars a laser maze and more.

In February 2021, Eisenbath pleaded guilty to four counts: production of child pornography, (2) possession of child pornography, and receipt of child pornography. Eisenbath was sentenced to 184 months in prison. (Federal Court Judgment and Sentencing Document)

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.

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.

Update: Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor Christopher Lawton Sentenced to Prison for Sexually Assaulting Teen Girl

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pastor christopher lawton

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 February 2021, Christopher Lawton, the former pastor of Lamplight Christian Church– an independent, non-denominational Christian congregation — in Greenfield, New Hampshire, was charged with thirty felony counts of sexual assault.

The Union Leader reports:

A former pastor who tried to start a church in Greenfield is charged with 30 felony counts of sexually abusing a child in his congregation.

Christopher D. Lawton, 43, of Francestown Road, allegedly assaulted the girl between 2015 and 2016 while he was her pastor.

Lawton was initially charged in October on 10 counts. The investigation continued and a grand jury recently handed up scores of new indictments.

The enhanced felony charges of aggravated felonious sexual assault accuse Lawton of using his position to coerce the alleged victim. Each count carries a 10- to 20-year prison term.

The new charges allege that the abuse took place in Francestown, Greenfield and Peterborough, according to the indictments. No affidavit has been made available in the case, and there are few public details outside of the indictment sheets.

Lawton tried to start a church in Greenfield around 2015, renting the town’s historic Meeting House for his services. He reportedly had a small congregation of 20 to 30 people before a domestic violence arrest in 2015.

Greenfield Police Chief Brian Giammarino has said the 2015 arrest brought Lawton and the sexual abuse allegations to the attention of police. The victim in that case left town, according to Giammarino, and the case fell apart.

However, it was during that domestic violence investigation that police learned of the sexual assault accusations, according to Giammarino.

The alleged victim denied there was anything inappropriate in the relationship with Lawton, Giammarino said. Two years later, the victim came forward and report the alleged sexual abuse, Giammarino said.

Earlier this year, Lawton pleaded guilty and was later sentenced to 7-15 years in prison.

Yahoo News reports:

Christopher Lawton, 44, received 7 1/2 to 15 years in state prison in Hillsborough County Superior Court North in Manchester in April on concurrent sentences for eight counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault. Judge N. William Decker also imposed 10- to 20-year suspended sentences on eight additional counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault. The suspended sentences are concurrent to each other but consecutive with the other sentences.

Lawton pleaded guilty to those 16 charges, which allege he abused his authority as a pastor several years ago to coerce a teenage girl into sexual acts on several instances between January 2015 and June 2016. Prosecutors dropped more than a dozen additional felony sexual-assault charges as part of a plea agreement.

New Hampshire’s age of consent is generally 16. But under state law, it is a felony to abuse a position of authority to coerce someone under 18 into sexual acts. It is also a felony for a therapy provider to engage in sexual activity with a client of any age through coercion or otherwise unethical behavior. Prosecutors charged Lawton under both provisions, citing a “pastor counseling relationship” he had with the girl.

According to Greenfield selectboard meeting minutes from October 2014, Lawton ran an organization called the Lamplight Christian Church, and sometimes rented space at the Greenfield Meeting House to hold Bible study and worship services on Sunday.

As part of his sentences, the judge ordered Lawton to have no contact with anyone under the age of 18 and not to provide teaching or counseling services. If he successfully completes sex-offender treatment in prison, 2 1/2 years will be removed from the sentence he is serving, according to court documents.

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.

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: Pastor Isaac Luna Valencia Accused of Sexually Molesting Minor Church Girl

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Isaac Luna Valencia

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.

Isaac Luna-Valencia, pastor of an unnamed church in Las Vegas, Nevada, stands accused of sexually molesting a minor church girl.

Channel 8 reports:

A Las Vegas pastor has been accused of molesting a girl under the age of 14 during a boat trip to Lake Mohave, according to the arrest report.

Isaac Luna-Valencia, 48, is facing charges of two counts of lewdness with a child under the age of 14 and kidnapping of a minor.

On Dec. 5 the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department received a report from Child Protective Services that a child had disclosed that she was molested by her church pastor during a boat trip to Lake Mohave in June 2021, according to the arrest report.

In an interview with police, the victim said that on June 5, 2021, she went on a boat outing with Luna and several other people. After a couple of hours, everyone got off the boat and went to the shore. Lune and the victim were the only ones who stayed on the boat.

While on the water, Luna called the victim over to the side of the boat that was opposite the shoreline, causing the boat to conceal them both from others.

According to the arrest report, the victim said that his request made her feel hesitant and “weird” because she had never felt comfortable around Luna. However, she did what he asked and went over to him.

When the victim got close to Luna, she told police that he grabbed her causing her back to be against his chest and stomach. He then wrapped his arms around her and proceeded to molest her, the arrest report said.

The victim told police that she never stopped trying to break his grip and that he eventually let her go and pretended that nothing happened, police said.

Later that day, the victim was jumping off of the boat with two other people causing something “important” to fall off. At the end of the day, Luna realized that the item was missing and asked for someone to go back out to the lake with him to find it.

The victim was told to go with Luna despite saying she did not want to, the report said. Luna took the victim back out to the lake and stopped in between a couple of “mountains.”

While the victim was looking for the item, Luna stood up and came behind her. He whispered in her ear that she was the daughter that he “wished he had” or “never had”, the arrest report said.

According to police, the victim said that she felt that her uneasiness caused Luna to tighten his grip around her.

After a couple of minutes, Luna took a “quick” look around for the missing item and then went back to the others. The victim told police that she felt uncomfortable because he did not take much of an effort to look for the missing item.

According to the arrest report, the victim told multiple people about the incident including other members of the church and her legal guardian.

The victim told her legal guardian about the incident in September 2022. The legal guardian held a meeting and decided that the truth would come out and that they would get a sign from God that would cause her to truly believe the victim, the arrest report said.

On Dec. 2, a family friend who grew up with the victim found out about the incident. When he asked the victim’s legal guardian why he was not told sooner, she said that she believed they could figure the situation out on their own, the report said.

According to police, the guardian said that in the previous meeting, they concluded that there was no evidence that the molestation happened and they blamed the victim for not pulling out her phone to record Luna abusing her.

She also said that Luna was a “loveable guy”. When asked what solution they came up with at the meeting, she said that they decided that if it happened again, happened to anyone else, or “if there’s a sign from God,” they will know it happened for sure.

….

The family friend of the victim filed a report to CPS.

Why is the church unnamed? It sure sounds like this church is NOT a safe place for minors to be.

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.

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.

Update: Black Collar Crime: Pastor Glenn Collins Convicted of Numerous Sex Crimes

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pastor glenn collins

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, Glenn Collins, a former pastor, was charged with 142 (revised upward from 128) sex-related crimes, stemming from the alleged molestation of four minors. Collins stated at the time: “I’m not guilty of any of this stuff. I own property. I’m a pillar of the community and I don’t deserve this.”

The Fayette Observer reported:

A Fayetteville man charged with 128 sex-related offenses said today he was not guilty of allegedly molesting four juveniles.

“I’m not guilty of any of this stuff,” Glenn Tyrone Collins said during his first-appearance hearing in Cumberland County District Court. “I own property. I’m a pillar of the community and I don’t deserve this.”

Collins, 51, of the 5200 block of Sequoia Road, was charged Monday with 29 counts of taking indecent liberties with a minor, 22 counts of child abuse involving a sexual act, 15 counts of statutory rape or sex offense, nine counts of first-degree rape of a child, five counts each of first-degree sex offense and second-degree rape, three counts of second-degree sex offense, 36 counts of other sex-related offenses and two counts of misdemeanor sexual battery.

The offenses are alleged to have occurred between 1996 and 2009, arrest warrants said.

Collins, clad in the jail-issued orange jumpsuit, stood with his hands behind him and professed his innocence after District Court Judge Toni King told him he faces up to life in prison if convicted.

District Attorney Billy West gave no information about the case. Collins is a pastor, West said after the hearing, but he did not know where.

While no news reports as to the disposition of Collins’ case are available, a North Carolina public records search reveals that Collins was convicted of numerous felony sex offenses with children on February 6, 2020. Collins was released from prison on March 7, 2021. Collins was sentenced to 55 months in prison, but only served 13 months. My question is this: why was Collins released from prison so soon? COVID?

glenn collins

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.

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.

Update: Black Collar Crime: Catholic School Teacher Samantha Brasses Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison for Sexting

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samantha brasses

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 2019, Samantha Brasses, a teacher at St. John Nepomuk Catholic School in Yukon, Oklahoma, was accused of unlawfully communicating with a minor by use of technology.

Fox-25 reported at the time:

On May 9, 2019, officers responded to 600 Garth Brooks Blvd. to a private Catholic school in reference to an inappropriate relationship between a teacher and a student.

Samantha Ann Brasses, 30, was arrested for unlawfully communicating with a minor by use of technology. Officers seized the victim’s phone and conducted forensic evidence to find the inappropriate conversations. Brasses and the 14-year-old victim reportedly communicated through Instagram, sharing inappropriate proposals, pictures, and referring to each other as “babe.”

In June 2021, Brasses pleaded guilty and was sentenced to ten years in prison.

Fox-25 reported:

A former Yukon Catholic School teacher is now a convicted sex offender for using Instagram to seek sex with a teenage student.

Samantha Ann Brasses, 32, pleaded guilty on June 18 to unlawful communication with minor using technology.

District Judge Jack D. McCurdy accepted the guilty plea and sentenced Brasses to 10 years in custody of Oklahoma’s Department of Corrections.

In her guilty plea, Brasses admitted in May 2019 she had used the Instagram messaging service “for the purpose of soliciting sexual conduct with a minor.”

The underage victim’s parents contacted school officials in May 2019 after they discovered the sexually charged text messages between Brasses and their 14-year-old son, according to a Yukon police report.

A forensic examination of the boy’s cell phone uncovered descriptive remarks about Brasses’ intentions with the alleged victim.

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.

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: Christian Bible Study Leader Michael Wilson Accused of Rape

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michael wilson

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.

Michael Wilson, a Bible study teacher in Wenatchee, Washington, stands accused of rape and sexual molestation.

NCW Life Channel reported three weeks ago:

Police arrested a 69-year-old Wenatchee man on suspicion of rape Tuesday after two other men accused him of sexually molesting them while they were asleep or otherwise unable to consent.

Michael E. Wilson was identified in a Wenatchee police court affidavit as the leader of a Bible study group that met at his Sunnyslope home. The alleged victims were members of the study group, both men in their 20s.

In Chelan County Superior Court on Wednesday, deputy prosecutor Julia Hartnell told Judge Travis Brandt that Wilson cultivated and victimized young men “using the cover of the church.” She said her office is considering charges of second- and third-degree rape, as well as second-degree attempted rape.

….

Both alleged victims told police the incidents took place between 2020 and 2022. One man said in separate instances, Wilson fondled him while he was sleeping, and touched him inappropriately while giving massages. The other said Wilson initiated unwanted sexual contact in July 2022, while the alleged victim was drunk and unconscious.

Police said in an interview Tuesday with a Wenatchee detective, Wilson admitted to sexual contact with both men, but said the contact was consensual or inadvertent.

Wilson previously worked as a youth pastor in Wenatchee and in Pendleton, Oregon. Wenatchee School District records and his LinkedIn account also show he worked at Wenatchee High School as an academic intervention specialist from 2001 to 2013, when he became a service specialist with the Wenatchee Learns personalized education program. Communications director Diana Haglund said Wilson’s employment with the school district ended in 2019.

Since 2020 Wilson has conducted a faith-based self-help podcast series with Myke Merrill, a Rochester, New York Christian counselor.

Wilson has since been charged with seven felony sex offenses — second-degree rape, two counts of second-degree attempted rape, third-degree rape, indecent liberties, second-degree assault, and first-degree voyeurism — and two counts of fourth-degree assault with sexual motivation, a gross misdemeanor. Wilson posted a $750,000 bond.

Wilson’s bio states he is:

a Social Scientist and working professional in education for almost 20 years, along with 25 years in professional religious work. In both areas he was actively training, speaking, counseling, crisis counseling, leader and leadership development. He traveled around to places around the world including, Israel, Haiti, Central Mexico. He is a Father of 5 grown children. 

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.

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 Youth Pastor Mark Heotzler Receives Lengthy Prison Sentence on Child Pornography Charges

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mark heotzler

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.

Mark Heotzler, a youth pastor at Grace Chapel Community Church in Hermitage, Pennsylvania, pleaded no contest to four counts of depicting child sex acts on a digital file, three counts of criminal solicitation to depicting child sex acts on a digital file, disseminating explicit sex material of a minor, and sexual assault by a volunteer or employee of a nonprofit. Heotzler received a combined sentence of 7 years 6 months to 15 years in prison followed by 14 years probation on child pornography-related charges involving 10 victims, all younger than 18.

The Herald reports:

Mark William Heotzler, 30, Chambersburg, Franklin County, was sentenced this month to a combined sentence of 7 years 6 months to 15 years in state prison followed by 14 years probation on child pornography-related charges involving 10 victims, all younger than 18.

Heotzler pleaded no contest July 27 to four counts of depicting child sex acts on a digital file, three counts of criminal solicitation to depicting child sex acts on a digital file, disseminating explicit sex material of a minor, and sexual assault by a volunteer or employee of a nonprofit.

A pastor at Grace Chapel Community Church stated in August 2021 that Heotzler worked at Grace Chapel as a youth minister from May 2014 to April 2019. The church cooperated with the criminal investigation.

….

Heotzler was accused of crimes between 2015 and 2021, when state police said he made sexual advances toward minors and sent inappropriate images by text and over social media to juveniles, police said.

In the criminal complaint, police said Heotzler made sexual contact with a 15-year-old boy, by having the child remove all of his clothing and ride on Heotzler’s back.

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.

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 Student Pastor Timothy Jeltema Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Online Child Abuse

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timothy jeltema

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.

Timothy Jeltema, a student pastor at Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, pleaded guilty to four charges of online sexual abuse of a minor, including one charge of indecency with a child, one charge of sexual performance by a child, and two counts of online solicitation of a minor. Jeltema was sentenced to five years in prison. Champion Forest is a multisite Southern Baptist megachurch.

The Christian Post reports:

A Texas man who used to be a student minister at a Southern Baptist church has been sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to online sexual abuse of a child.

Timothy Jason Jeltema, 31, pled guilty on Nov. 17 to four charges of online sexual abuse of a minor, including one charge of indecency with a child, one charge of sexual performance by a child and two counts of online solicitation of a minor, reported the Baptist Press.

The charges were initially filed in 2018, one month after Jeltema was fired from Champion Forest Baptist Church in Harris County for an unrelated issue regarding communication with an 18 year old.

“Jeltema, a former minister to students at the North Klein campus of Champion Forest Baptist Church was terminated on May 15, 2018, the same day he was accused of and admitted to improper contact via social media with an 18-year-old member of our church,” stated the church, as reported by BP.

“Though no laws were known to have been broken, he was immediately dismissed for a clear violation of the church’s written code of conduct and his admission that he did not follow long-established Champion Forest regulations that pastors of students and adult volunteers must never communicate electronically one-on-one with students.”

In 2018, authorities arrested Jeltema after an unnamed minor accused him of sending her nude photos of himself over a period of several months and asked her to send him sexually explicit photos in return.

Authorities at the time believed that Jeltema had asked for photographs from around 20 to 25 minors between the ages of 14 and 17, reported ABC News 13 at the time of his arrest.

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.

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.

According to Dr. David Tee, Sexually Abusing Children is a “Mistake,” Not a Crime

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david thiessen
Derrick Thiessen is the tall man in the back row

Is sexually abusing children a crime?

Is raping children a crime?

Is sending minors sexually suggestive texts a crime?

Is using your position of power and authority to take sexual advantage of a person a crime?

Is sexually molesting children and teenagers a crime?

Is domestic violence a crime?

Is sex trafficking a crime?

Is transporting minors across a state line for the purpose of having sex with them a crime?

Is furnishing children with illicit drugs, alcohol, or pornography a crime?

Is stealing from your employer a crime?

Is using your employer’s money for personal use a crime?

Is filing fraudulent tax returns a crime?

If selling fake securities or bonds a crime?

Is stealing money from elderly people a crime?

Is murdering your spouse or your spouse’s lover a crime?

I suspect readers will say YES to every one of these questions. These are the stories that I cover in the Black Collar Crime Series — crimes by clerics, primarily Evangelicals. So far, I have published over 1,000 stories, with another thousand reported crimes sitting in a draft folder awaiting investigation. I have repeatedly explained WHY I write the Black Collar Crime Series, yet some Evangelicals refuse to see what is right in front of their faces: Evangelicalism has a sexual abuse problem that rivals that of the Roman Catholic Church.

One such Evangelical is Dr. David Tee, whose real name is Derrick Thomas Thiessen. Here’s what Thiessen had to say about the Black Collar Crime Series:

The owner of the BG website has had a series on Pastors and other church leaders committing crimes, making mistakes, and calling it Black Collar Crime. We have called that website out on this problem but that website won’t stop.

In fact, it is said that that website has about 1000+ more stories to post on preachers who either made a mistake, gave in to temptation, or purposefully committed some offense worthy of being arrested.

It is obvious that we do not like that list because it is redundant and really not that website’s business. We would like to know who appointed that owner to be the judge, jury, and executioner of those Christians who fail in their Christian lives.

Thiessen refuses to mention me by name or link to this site. His lack of ethics in this regard speaks volumes about the man.

Note how Thiessen describes the type of posts that are in the Black Collar Crime Series:

  • Preachers who make “mistakes”
  • Preachers who give into “temptation”
  • Preachers who commit some “offense” worthy of arrest

Note that Thiessen refuses to use the word “crime” or “sin.” Thiessen thinks the crimes mentioned above are “mistakes” or “failures”; that I am kicking these fine men of God while they are down. How dare I catalog and publicize their stories. What Thiessen never mentions is the victims. His only concern is the poor, “fallen” preachers. This is why Thiessen has repeatedly defended men such as Bill Gothard, Ravi Zacharias, and Bill Cosby. Worse, he even goes after the victims of these men’s crimes for not playing by his rules and adhering to his perverted form of “justice.

In October 2021, I wrote a post titled David Tee Defends Christian Rapists and Sexual Predators, calling out Thiessen for his defense of criminal preachers. Thiessen responded:

BG makes many mistakes here. First off, if it is in the Bible, it is not a corrupt biblical message. The corruptness comes in when people try to use their own interpretation to understand what God is saying.

If God said he will forgive and forget, then there is no one on this earth who can say otherwise. But remember, God does not just forgive, he punishes the wrongdoer as well. A fact that BG has forgotten. David & Bathsheba lost their first child because of their sins.

No, we do not defend any corrupt sin. Our article yesterday was merely saying that the Church is already aware of what is going on and we do not need unbelievers broadcasting the news to the 4 corners of the world.

Their action distorts justice, not aid it. While many people in the church do cover up sins by their fellow members, we never said that was the correct response to take.

….

Another distortion of what we do. First off, Ravi Zacharias is innocent. We and his son have proven that quite well. Secondly, Bill Cosby was railroaded and not given justice. All the allegations against him carried no physical evidence to support the false accusations.

We will speak up against injustice and not blindly accept hearsay evidence made by certain women and their supporters. To do so would be to pervert justice and violate the rules of law, evidence, and legal proceedings.

….

That is the name of the series we were alluding to. However, what good will it do to publish them on the internet? If he has these stories and he has the evidence, why doesn’t he report them to the police himself?

No one is stopping him from doing that but knowing his cowardly nature, BG just hides behind a keyboard thinking he is doing something good. The only thing we ask when he reports these crimes is that he has verifiable evidence, and the people get true justice.

If there is real evidence, not the made-up kind against Mr. Zacharias or Mr. Cosby, then we would support the criminal investigation. We would use the information to warn other pastors, etc., to get their sexual desires under control–we have done that on this website in years past.

….

We do not sweep anything under the rug but we are not rats either. We write what God wants us to write and then let him do the convicting. Any guilty pastor, etc., should be going to the police and confessing if they are guilty of such crimes.

We are not going to point fingers at anyone nor will we pile on someone who is down. These pastors, etc., are adults and they know God’s word so we know that they know what they should be doing. They do not need us humiliating them to get them to act. We are not their judge or executioner.

….

Victims need to follow the rules. Their word is not good enough. Too many innocent people have been convicted of crimes they did not commit and convicted on someone’s word alone.

The justice system is not perfect either and it makes a lot of mistakes but there are rules to follow and victims need to learn those rules if they want justice.

We do not change the rules because some victim feels dismissed or marginalized. Why have rules if they are not going to be followed? God has rules for justice that everyone, including many Christians, ignores, yet, God does not change his rules.

They are to be obeyed or people suffer, especially the innocent or the victim.

….

We support true justice and we support the rules. if people making the accusations are not following the rules, then they are just as guilty as the person or persons they accuse.

….

Probably not [supporting victims] as we often talk about sin in general. But we won’t support anyone who violates the rules of God and the justice system. Just because you are a victim does not mean you are telling the truth.

But then there is a myriad of people supporting those victims. We are supporting God’s way, trying to get justice done which means getting to the truth. Sometimes the truth is the victim is wrong, lying, or part of a conspiracy.

We have to get through the crap to make sure the right justice is done to the right person.

….

We are to defend the innocent but the innocent is not just on the victim’s side of the issue. BG fails to see this fact and it distorts his reaction to such crimes. We do not defend the dregs of Christian society, we are trying to make sure that Christians and others do not sin in their haste to blame, convict and punish anyone they can get their hands on.

We said that in our many posts concerning Mr. Zacharias. Sin in the pursuit of justice does not beget justice. It begets more crimes and more sin and that is wrong.

Thiessen’s thinking is not a deviation within Evangelicalism. Crimes by clergymen are routinely covered up and swept under the rug. Victims are routinely discredited, marginalized, and shamed. Even when preachers are arrested, convicted, and sentenced to prison, they often find forgiveness and restoration after release. Throw in the sheer number of preachers who sexually take advantage of adult church members, and when found out say “I’m sorry” so three, six, or twelve months later they can be “restored,” and it is evident that Evangelicalism is a scandal-ridden enterprise. This should disgust Christians, but sadly way too many of them are like David Thiessen: quick to overlook, forgive, and move on. Left in the wake are countless victims harmed by so-called men of God they trusted and respected.

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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