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Category: Black Collar Crime

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor Cordell Jenkins Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking

pastor cordell jenkins

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 year, three Toledo, Ohio pastors were accused of child sex trafficking. Since then, one preacher has pleaded guilty and the other two await  a January trial date. You can read my previous articles here, here, here, here, and here.  Tuesday, another one of the pastors pleaded guilty. Cordell Jenkins, pastor of Abundant Life Ministries in Toledo, Ohio, pleaded guilty in Federal court to two counts of child sex trafficking and one count of sexual exploitation of children. Jenkins faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

The Toledo Blade reports:

A former prominent Toledo pastor pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to having sex with two teenage girls and receiving nude photos of one of them.

Cordell Jenkins, 48, pleaded guilty to two counts of sex trafficking of children and one count of sexual exploitation of children during an appearance in U.S. District Court in Toledo. He faces a maximum possible sentence of life in prison. Other counts against Jenkins will be dismissed.

His plea comes prior to an anticipated child-sex trafficking conspiracy trial, which was scheduled to begin next week.

….

In 2016, a 16-year-old girl and her guardian attended services at Jenkins’ church, Abundant Life Ministries. Shortly after meeting the girl, Mr. Haynes allegedly called Jenkins to say she was “out there,” referring to her sexually, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Freeman.

Jenkins’ and the girl’s sexual relationship lasted from December, 2016, to March, 2017, federal prosecutors said.

Jenkins communicated with the girl via text message and their conversations were often sexual in nature, Mr. Freeman said. Jenkins arranged to have sex with her numerous times at his church office, his home, and a hotel, and often gave her money following the act. In total, the girl received approximately $400, prosecutors said.

The former pastor also persuaded the girl to send explicit photographs to him.

Also in February, 2017, Jenkins asked the girl to find a teenage friend to be involved in a threesome. The three went to the Red Roof Inn in Holland, where they engaged in sexual conduct, Mr. Freeman said.

Black Collar Crime: IFB Youth Pastor Jacob Coyle Accused of Sex Crimes

jacob coyle

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.

Jacob Coyle, a youth pastor at Averyville Baptist Church in East Peoria, Illinois, stands accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting a male church teenager.

The Journal Star reports:

Jacob Lee Coyle, 36, remained in custody Tuesday, one day after $100,000 bond was set on charges of criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

A Tazewell County prosecutor’s court affidavit stated Coyle, of Peoria, acknowledged committing the acts the affidavit described.

Coyle remained employed at Averyville Baptist Church as of Friday, when police interviewed and arrested him, the affidavit stated. The church’s pastor was unavailable for comment Tuesday.

The young man first told police in October that Coyle had sexual contact with him on “multiple occasions” over four years beginning in January 2006 when he was between ages 13 and 17, the affidavit stated.

He said that after joining the church on Spring Bay Road at age 12, he and other young parishioners worshipped on Sundays and took part in youth activities with the church’s “teen unit” led by Coyle, the affidavit stated.

The alleged victim said Coyle “began a frequent practice of ‘cracking’ or rubbing youths’ backs during youth program activities,” the affidavit stated.

By age 13, he’d developed a close friendship with Coyle, who often asked him to come to the church alone to help him with various projects, the young man said. Soon the back massages led to sexual activity, the young man said.

All of the encounters took place at the church, mostly in a guest bedroom known as the “prophet’s chambers,” except for one Coyle allegedly committed at a church camp, the man said.

The church’s website is currently offline. You can access their Facebook page here.

According to cached pages of the church’s website, Averyville Baptist is a:

…an Old-Fashioned, Independent, Fundamental, Premillennial, Bible-believing Baptist Church, like the Church your Grandparents attended, and like the Church your parents were raised in.

Jacob Coyle is the son of Averyville Baptist pastor David Coyle. Jacob graduated in 2004 from Averyville Baptist School. Typical of many IFB churches, Averyville Baptist is operated by the pastor and his family. Averyville Baptist formerly operated Fellowship Baptist College.

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor Ronald Mitchell Sentenced to Prison For Sexual Assault

pastor ronald mitchell

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.

Ronald Mitchell, pastor of Body of Christ Church (no Internet presence) in Magnolia, Texas was convicted Tuesday on five counts of sexual assault and sentenced to seventy-five years in prison.

The Houston Chronicle reports:

“Today, jurors let it be known that when a child finds the courage to come forward – our community will carefully weigh the facts and convict even without DNA or scientific evidence,” Chief Prosecutor Nancy Hebert said.

Mitchell was the pastor of the Body of Christ Ministry, a small church which moved around the region before being housed at the pastor’s Magnolia home.

Members of the church moved in with Mitchell, and their children were homeschooled. A search of the residence found that up to seven families lived there, Hebert said.

The victim told her mother about the abuse in October 2016, later telling investigators that she was fondled and raped from 2015 to 2016.  She was 15 at the time.

The pastor told the teenager that if she ever told anyone about the abuse, that “she would be killed by God and it would be her fault that ‘the movement’ was destroyed,” according to the district attorney’s office.

Mitchell allegedly took the girl on trips to Galveston, San Antonio and Las Vegas, according to a Houston Chronicle report. And sheriff’s deputies said the preacher’s wife took her to a Conroe health clinic, posing as her mother to authorize birth-control injections.

Other former church member’s corroborated accounts of Mitchell’s allegedly controlling behavior and said he wouldn’t allow them to have contact with people who weren’t members of the church. One family member of a churchgoer told the Houston Chronicle in November 2016 that the church was like a cult, and that many of the church members were financially unstable.

2016 Houston Chronicle news report.

Black Collar Crime: Methodist Pastor John McFarland Accused of Child Molestation

pastor john mcfarland

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.

John McFarland, pastor of Orangethorpe United Methodist Church in Fullerton, California, stands accused of sexually molesting at least one child. You can read McFarland’s church bio here.

The Times of San Diego reports:

McFarland is facing two felony charges of lewd acts upon a child that are alleged to have occurred in Escondido between July 26, 2012, and July 23, 2013, according to a criminal complaint from the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office obtained by NBC San Diego. The victim was described in the complaint as a girl under the age of 14.

McFarland has a court hearing scheduled at the Vista Courthouse at 8:30 a.m. Jan. 16.

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor Paul Weyant, Jr. Accused of Sexually Abusing Multiple Children

paul weyant jr

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.

Paul Weyant, Jr, founder/pastor of the United New Testament Church International Ministry Association from 1999 to 2016, stands accused of sexually molesting several children.  According to WAAY-31, United New Testament Church is an online “ministry” with no physical location.

The News Courier reports:

Paul Raymond Weyant Jr., 52, of 27765 McKee Road, Toney, was arrested Dec. 29, 2018 on one count of first-degree sodomy — with a boy — strong arm and two counts of first-degree sexual abuse of a child under age 12, records show.

He remained in the Limestone County Jail Monday with bail set at $100,000.

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor John Schouten Impregnated Christian School Teen

pastor john schouten

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 October 2018, I wrote a post detailing the resignation of John Schouten, pastor of Vineyard Grace Fellowship (VGF) in Newark (Heath), Ohio His congregation found out that he had a sex crime in his past. While neither Schouten or VGF is willing to name the crime, an email sent to congregants stated Schouten did something that was “wrong, evil, and illegal.” The use of the word “illegal” narrows the field to: rape, sex with a minor, sexual assault of a minor, and a handful of other underage sex crimes.  According to the Newark Advocate, since the incident occurred 30 years ago, the statute of limitations has passed.

Yesterday, the Newark Advocate published a story detailing exactly what it was that Schouten did:

The former pastor of VGF Church stepped down from the church he founded because about 30 years ago he had a relationship with a minor while he was a teacher.

John Schouten admitted to the relationship when confronted by church elders after the church received an email about the relationship during the summer, according to Advocate media partner 10TV.

Two people reached out to The Advocate corroborating the story.

While a teacher with Liberty Christian Academy in Pataskala during in the 1980s, Schouten had a relationship with a female teenage student. The two had a child together, according to 10TV.

….

You can read my original post here.

Previously, Schouten told congregants that he had committed “rebellious and sinful actions” in the past. He never admitted that what he actually did was commit a felony for which he should have went to prison. The good pastor waited until the statute of limitations expired before coming clean about his past criminal behavior.

 

Black Collar Crime: Catholic Priest Douglas Haefner Accused of Stealing $500,000 From Church

douglas haefner

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.

Douglas Haefner, pastor of St. Matthias Church in Somerset, New Jersey, stands accused of stealing $500,000 from the church he faithfully pastored for twenty-seven years.

Bishop James F. Checchio said of the matter:

(Haefner) came to see me in my office, and he said, ‘I need help I’ve been sick. My physical but also emotional problems that I’ve been struggling with are feeding off each other. Some of my emotional problems have led to compulsive behavior on my part, and the compulsive behavior cost money I borrowed money from the parish.

In a letter to the 3,250 families on the roll at St Mathias, Checchio wrote:

It is with sadness that I must inform you that Father’s resignation coincides with serious questions and concerns that recently have been raised regarding the handling of parish finances. Father came to me about his own health problems and these financial issues in recent weeks and has expressed his sorrow for his actions and for letting us all down.

Astoundingl,  the finances at St. Mathias have not been audited since 2009. According to church law, St. Mathias should have had an active priest-appointed financial council that met at least quarterly to review the church’s budget and prepare its annual report. The financial council hasn’t been active in years. This left the fox in the hen house — Father Haefner — with the duty to prepare the church’s annual financial reports. What could go wrong, right?

The allegations against Heaefner are being investigated by local law enforcement.

An attorney for Haefner, Matthew Adams, released the following statement on behalf of his client:

To know Father Doug is to know a caring man who has spent decades ministering to parishioners from all walks of life, including during times of extreme peril. Father Doug has indeed stepped back from his public ministry to address serious health issues. It is quite unfortunate that, as he steps out of the public, some have used the opportunity to violate the confidentiality that, as a matter of law, attaches to those health-related issues. With respect to the allegations being leveled against him, Father Doug enjoys the same constitutional presumption of innocence as any other citizen.

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Youth Pastor Daniel Goodloe Charged With Rape

daniel goodloe

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.

Daniel Goodloe, a youth pastor at the West Nashville Dream Center in Nashville, Tennessee, has been arrested and charged with five counts of rape by an authority figure. Goodloe was also one of the stars on A&E’s Undercover High — a show featuring adults posing as high school students.

The West Nashville Dream Center is a ministry of Crosspoint Church, pastored by Kevin Queen.

The Dream Center released the following statement:

We are deeply saddened by the circumstances surrounding the arrest of Daniel Goodloe, a former part-time employee at the West Nashville Dream Center. Goodloe has not been employed nor associated with the center since he left the program in April 2018.

The mission of the West Nashville Dream Center is to protect and empower those in our community living in distress. Anything that compromises the young people in our care is of the utmost concern to us. Our top priority is to provide a safe environment for our students, volunteers and staff. We have a zero-tolerance policy for harmful behavior, and require our employees and volunteers to undergo thorough training on appropriate interactions with students.

Our prayers are with all who have been negatively impacted by this situation, especially the student and her family.

Queen released a video statement about Goodloe’s arrest. You can view it here.

Black Collar Crime: Lutheran Pastor Bryan Engfer Accused of Theft

pastor bryan engfer

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.

Bryan Engfer, former pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, stands accused of embezzling more than $13,000 from the church’s “Pastor’s Discretionary Fund.”  According to WISC-3, Engfer used the pilfered funds to purchase a car and to pay for a country club membership. The money was supposed to used for helping people in need. Evidently, Engfer was “needy.”

Engfer faces up to six years in prison if convicted.

Black Collar Crime: Baptist Pastor Stephen Brown Accused of Voyeurism

voyeurism

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 Brown, pastor of Seven Lakes Baptist Church in Stanwood, Washington and a teacher at Arlington Christian School in Arlington, Washington, stands accused of voyeurism. A USB drive allegedly belonging to Brown was found in Arlington Christian’s parking lot. The drive contained up-skirt videos of several of Brown’s students. According to KIRO-7 News, there are hundreds of videos that investigators are going through, hoping to identify other victims.  Brown’s bond was set at $100,000.

Bruce Gerencser