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Category: Black Collar Crime

Black Collar Crime: Baptist Pastor Doug Edwards Pleads Guilty to Sexual Abuse of a Minor

Bruce Gerencser 3 Comments

pastor doug edwards

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, Doug Edwards, pastor of First Baptist Church in Ketchikan, Alaska and a recently retired home economics teacher at Ketchikan High School, was arrested and charged with six counts of sexual abuse of a minor.  According to KRBD, Edwards  sexually assaulted a fourteen-year-old church girl. Yesterday, Edwards pleaded guilty to one count of sexual abuse of a minor.

KRBD reports:

A former Ketchikan High School teacher pleaded guilty Wednesday to sexual abuse of a minor through a plea agreement that calls for him to serve six years in jail.

Doug Edwards was charged last spring with six counts of sexual abuse of a minor for groping a then-14-year-old girl’s chest at the school, at his home and at the church where he was a pastor. The plea agreement consolidates those six charges into one Class B felony.

Superior Court Judge William Carey explained what that means to Edwards and others in the courtroom.

“So what this does is consolidate all six into one conviction, however he is basically admitting the conduct in all of them,” Carey said. “And the fact that, even though there is one conviction, it looks like the fact that other acts, multiple acts, are consolidated into this, makes the sex-offender registration requirement lifetime as opposed to 15 years.”

After he’s served his time in prison, Edwards will be required to register as a sex offender, and update that registration every three months for the rest of his life.

The plea agreement called for a sentence of 18 years with 12 suspended. That leaves six to serve, but with “good time,” Edwards could be released after four years.

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor Phillip Buckson Accused of Impregnating Teenager

Bruce Gerencser 5 Comments

phillip buckson

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.

Phillip Buckson, pastor of Cleveland Chapel Baptist Church in Spartanburg, South Carolina, stands accused of repeatedly having sex with a minor, beginning at age thirteen, twice getting her pregnant. The pregnancies, according to The Charlotte Observer, were terminated. Buckson has been charged with four counts of second degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor. He is divorced, and father to two young children.

Buckson’s church bio page says:

Pastor Phillip J. Buckson, a native of Gaffney, SC. Born and raised in Gaffney, Pastor Buckson also was converted at the tender age of 9 and he’s been serving God in various capacities.

….

Pastor Buckson was educated in Gaffney for twelve year then furthered his education in Psychology at Spartanburg Methodist College. While attending SMC, Pastor Buckson was a stellar basketball player in which he earned national recognition and is now currently enrolled as a student at The N. J. Brockman School of Theology (Cowpens EXT.) Pastor Buckson serves as one of the coordinators for the Cherokee County School Curriculum Counsel.

Pastor Phillip J. Buckson was licensed to preach the gospel under the tutelage of Pastor C. A. Wallace at the Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church, Gaffney, SC.,

Pastor Buckson served in many capacities. He later joined the Cleveland Chapel Baptist Church where he served as Assistant Minister under the leadership of Rev. Anthony R. Wilson..

In 2011, Pastor Buckson was called to Senior Pastorate Pine Grove Baptist Church, Iva SC.  He was ordained by the Little River Missionary Baptist Association were Pastor Joseph Caldwell is the Moderator.

In 2014 Pastor Buckson founded Phillip J. Buckson Ministries. Ministry that focuses on ministering to the total  person, God is really elevating his ministry.

In November of 2014, Pastor Phillip J. Buckson was called as the Senior Pastor of the Cleveland Chapel Baptist Church, Spartanburg South Carolina.

Pastor Buckson also served as President of The Young Pastors/ Preachers Association for the E &M Baptist convention of South Carolina.

Pastor Buckson has been called to many parts of the state and others states including Georgia, Chicago, North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee to preach the word of God.

Pastor Buckson’s motto is “Don’t Despise small beginnings; what God has for you is for you!”

Updates

Buckson has his bond set.

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor Ernest Angley Accused of Having Sexual Relations With a Man

Bruce Gerencser 4 Comments

ernest angley
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.

Ernest Angley, pastor of Grace Cathedral in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio stands accused of having coercive sexual relations with men, including church employees. According to an old recorded conversation, Angley’s confesses to having sex with an unnamed man. You can listen to it here. It’s six minutes long. Please take the time to listen to the recording. It provides real insight into how some Evangelical pastors and churches operate. It’s disgusting, to say the least.

The Akron Beacon Journal reports:

The person who provided the tape did so for a promise of anonymity. That person felt called to action after reading about an exchange of lawsuits between Angley and another former Grace Cathedral pastor, the Rev. Brock Miller. Miller sued Angley in August, claiming that sexual abuse Angley inflicted upon him has caused permanent damage. Angley has countersued for defamation.

The source believed releasing the tape would show that Angley, who has preached vehemently against the “sin” of homosexuality, has a history of sexual abuse involving his employees.

The assistant minister on the tape is the Rev. Bill Davis, who left the church after learning about Angley’s activities. Although Davis made the original recording, he did not provide the tape and had absolutely nothing to do with initiating this story. In fact, he only reluctantly agreed to talk about the tape after praying about the decision and consulting his wife and his attorneys.

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The existence of the recording had been rumored for decades and is often cited by former members as the reason Grace Cathedral suffered a significant drop in membership in 1996. Estimates of the number of parishioners who left what was then a megachurch range from 100 to 300. (The church has long declined to release information about the size of its membership.)

It is unknown how many copies of the recording exist, or how many people have heard it. But the Beacon Journal spoke with five people with former ties to the church who said they had listened to it.

….

The person who offered the tape to the Beacon did so because that person read a two-part Beacon Journal series about the Rev. Miller published early last year, then later read about Miller’s lawsuit against Angley. The source believes Miller is telling the truth and thought releasing the tape might help his cause.

In last year’s articles, Miller said he had been sexually abused by Angley on and off for nine years and left the church in 2014 because he just couldn’t take it anymore. At least a dozen times, Miller said, his boss required him to disrobe and masturbate in front of him.

Miller said he grudgingly acceded because, having grown up in the church, he believed Angley was “the man of God” and wouldn’t ask him to do something that wasn’t right.

Starting in 2006, Miller said, Angley would summon him to his home for what he called a “special anointing,” in which Miller would be required to strip and lie on a circular bed while Angley massaged him.

For those of us who have followed Angley for decades, it comes as no surprise that he’s caught up in a homosexual sex scandal. If you are unfamiliar with Angley, here’s a 1980s two-minute interview that will tell you all you need to know about the man and his sexuality.

Video Link

Want more? Here’s a recent one hour video of Ernest Angley in operation, complete with music, preaching, healings and, of course, fund raising.

Video Link

 

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Children’s Pastor Matt Tonne Accused of Sex Crime

Bruce Gerencser 3 Comments

matt tonne

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.

Matthew “Matt” Tonne, associate children’s pastor at The Village Church in Flower Mound, Texas, stands accused of indecent contact with a child. The alleged contact took place at the Mt. Lebanon Retreat and Conference Center in Cedar Hill, Texas. The Village Church is pastored by Southern Baptist luminary Matt Chandler.

Baptist Press reports:

Matthew David Tonne, the 35-year-old accused, was dismissed as associate children’s minister from the Southern Baptist megachurch on an unrelated matter in June, senior pastor Matt Chandler said Jan. 24 in video and printed comments at thevillagechurch.net. The alleged crime occurred at the Mt Lebanon Retreat and Conference Center, a Baptist ministry in Cedar Hill, Texas.

“We want to state clearly that there are no persons of interest in this investigation that have access to children at The Village Church,” Chandler said. “We would not let anyone who is under investigation for a crime like this be near any of our children at TVC.”

Tonne, a husband and father of three, had been out of jail since Jan. 9 on $25,000 bond. His original court date of today (Jan. 29), has been rescheduled to Feb. 7, based on documents filed in Dallas County District Court.

The Village Church is making at least one change in its ministry to children, Chandler said in the website comments.

“We have decided to no longer do overnight events with elementary children based on counsel from MinistrySafe,” Chandler said, referencing the ministry founded by attorneys to help churches, camps and ministries protect children from sexual abuse. Additionally, the church has hired a director of care, Summer Vinson Berger, whom Chandler described as a licensed professional counselor skilled in trauma care.

“She is helping us evaluate all of our current practices and will help us further strengthen our ministry here,” Chandler said. “We view physical and emotional safety as a top priority and will continue to pour resources into that area.”

….

No details of the 2012 incident were available, other than a statement about the health of the victim and the victim’s family.

“Earlier this year, the minor came to a place where it was possible to verbalize the memory of what happened for the first time through ongoing therapy. (Cedar Hill Police) Detective (Michael) Hernandez has been investigating the case since that time,” Chandler said. “It took courage and strength for the child and the family to share this information, and we want to support them in any way possible.”

The church has no other reported incidents of abuse at the 2012 camp event, Chandler said.

“We have been working with the family and Detective Hernandez to do all that we can to bring healing and the light of justice to this situation,” he said, “including the decision to make this investigation public now.”

Parents and children at The Village Church have no need to fear for their safety from sexual predators at church events, Chandler said.

“We are committed to doing all that we can to protect our children,” he said.

Pastor Chandler might want to pay attention to the news (or this website). Parents have EVERYTHING to fear when it comes to entrusting Evangelical churches with their children. Sexual predators are deeply embedded within Evangelical congregations. Thoughtful, protective parents ought not to let their children out of their sight. Chandler can’t know for sure if there are other predators lurking in the shadows of the Village Church. Is his “word” good enough?

You can read the church’s press release here.

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

Bruce Gerencser 0 Comments

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

Bruce Gerencser 3 Comments

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

Bruce Gerencser 1 Comment

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

Bruce Gerencser 4 Comments

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 John Schouten Impregnated Christian School Teen

Bruce Gerencser 4 Comments

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

Bruce Gerencser 0 Comments

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.

Bruce Gerencser