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.
Frank Selas III, a Mormon and former children’s TV show host, was sentenced to five years in prison for sexually abusing children while on a camping trip.
The Star Tribune reports:
A man once known as “Mr. Wonder” to viewers of his children’s television show was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison, nearly four decades after he vanished amid allegations he sexually abused children on a camping trip.
Frank John Selas III, 78, pleaded guilty to one count of indecent behavior with a child before a judge in Alexandria sentenced him, Assistant District Attorney Brian Mosley said in a statement.
With credit for time served since his January 2016 arrest in California, Selas could be eligible for parole as soon as July, his attorney said.
Selas had faced the possibility of life in prison if convicted of two counts of aggravated rape, three counts of sexual battery and eight counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile. All of those charges related to one child who had been on the 1979 camping trip, according to defense attorney J. Michael Small.
Small said the plea deal was a “no-brainer” for Selas, given the potential consequences if he went to trial on Feb. 5.
Mosley said authorities consulted the victim before determining that a plea deal was in the “best interest” of the man and his family, due to the “sensitive nature of this case.” Resolving the case this way also spared them a grueling trial that would have been covered by “countless media outlets,” the prosecutor added.
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In the late 1970s, Selas hosted the “Mr. Wonder” show on KNOE-TV in north Louisiana. He allegedly fled to Brazil in 1979 after parents complained to authorities that he abused their children during a retreat in central Louisiana. By 1985, he had settled in the San Diego area, where he legally changed his name to Frank Szeles. Selas initially claimed that authorities had arrested the wrong person, but a San Diego judge ruled he was the fugitive who had been wanted in Louisiana since 1979.
Selas briefly worked as a news anchor at Monroe-based KNOE-TV, but it was his children’s show that turned him into a local celebrity. It started as a weekly program but went daily as its popularity grew. Often wearing a top hat and tuxedo coat, Selas presided over contests between teams of children bused to the station from local schools.
In San Diego, the man known to neighbors as Frank Szeles was a Cub Scouts leader who advertised swim lessons and other activities for young children from his suburban home in Bonita. Federal marshals found a Cub Scouts cap in his house when they arrested him
The Boy Scouts of America has said Selas was removed from his position several years before his arrest for failing to comply with the organization’s “youth protection policies and procedures,” after a parent made an unspecified complaint that didn’t relate to scouting. Selas also belonged to a Mormon congregation in San Diego, but the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has said it removed him from “all positions related to children” for failing to comply with the church’s child protection policies.
A longtime Ontario youth pastor was arrested Sunday for alleged lewd acts with two minors.
According to police, Gerardo Custodio Jr., 30, of Upland, was accused by two women of sexual abuse when they were underage.
One woman told police she was 14 years old when the alleged abuse started. The incidents happened between 2012 and 2014 on the property of Iglesia La Familia De Dios, where Custodio Jr. worked as a minister, the victim told police. The victim said Custodio Jr. was 24 at the time.
The second victim said she was 15 when Custodio Jr. allegedly abused her from 2014 to 2015. Custodio Jr. was 26 years old at the time, according to police.
Police said Custodio Jr. had long been the youth pastor at the church where his father, Gerardo Custodio Sr., is the senior pastor.
Custodio Jr. is facing charges of engaging in lewd acts with a minor along with additional charges on which he is being held, according to police. Custodio Jr.’s bail has been set at $3 million.
Juanita Gomez, believing her daughter Geneva was possessed by the devil, shoved a crucifix down her throat, killing her in process. Today, Gomez was found guilty of first-degree murder. You might ask, Bruce, why are you publishing this story? This is not a crime committed by a clergyman. Actually, there is likely a clergyman responsible for putting in Gomez’s mind that there is a devil and he can possess people. Sadly, mythical nonsense can lead to all sorts of criminal behavior. As I looked at Geneva Gomez’s photograph, I couldn’t help but think that the coroner should put RELIGION as the cause of death on the death certificate.
A jury in Oklahoma has convicted a woman of killing her 33-year-old daughter by forcing a crucifix and medallion down her throat because she believed the daughter was possessed by the devil.
Juanita Gomez, 51, was found guilty of first-degree murder Thursday in the 2016 death of Geneva Gomez.
Geneva Gomez’s boyfriend found her lying on the ground inside her mother’s Oklahoma City home with her arms spread out as if she had been crucified. She was bloody and nearly unrecognizable, with a large crucifix placed on her chest and severe trauma to her face and head, police said.
Juanita Gomez allegedly admitted to punching her daughter repeatedly and forcing the religious symbols down the victim’s throat until blood came out of the woman’s mouth.
Gomez allegedly told police that she watched her daughter die and then placed her body in the shape of a cross. She then tried to clean her daughter and other items in the home, according to police.
Police noted that Juanita Gomez had very swollen hands and several bruises on her arms. She allegedly told police they were from her daughter fighting, during the attempt to “rid Satan from her daughter’s body.”
A psychologist found her competent to stand trial and said she was feigning memory problems to appear incompetent.
Gomez’s murder trial began this month, reports CBS affiliate KWTV. Jurors saw gruesome images of the victim’s body as her mother reportedly cried. Jurors also heard emotional testimony from Francisco Merlos, the boyfriend who found the victim’s body, and heard his frantic 911 call.
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.
Jesse Claybon, pastor of New Age Missionary Baptist Church in St. Louis, Missouri, faces four counts of child molestation.
The Belleville News-Democrat reports:
A St. Louis pastor was charged with child molestation of a girl under age 17.
Jesse Claybon, 47, of St. Louis, faces four counts of child molestation. According to the St. Louis County Police Department, he is accused of sexual contact with a girl under the age of 17 between Aug. 1, 2017, and Sept. 29, 2017.
The girl was known to Claybon, who is a reverend at the New Age Missionary Baptist Church, according to police.
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.
Robert Batcho, pastor of Saint Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church in Elmira Heights, New York, was accused today of illegally giving alcohol to four minors.
A local church leader was arrested after being accused of giving alcohol to minors.
According to the Elmira Heights Police Department, 60-year-old Robert J. Batcho is facing four counts of unlawfully dealing with a child. Batcho is the pastor at the Saint Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church in Elmira Heights.
Police say he gave beer to four minors, where he lives on McCann’s Boulevard.
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.
Viktor Lishavsky, formerly the pastor of an unnamed Evangelical church, stands accused of sexually assaulting numerous foster children who were under his care.
Viktor Lishavsky, 37, carried out sickening sex attacks on mostly victims aged 13 or under in his care and treated them as his “personal harem”.
The “monster” abused five schoolgirls for five years when he was their legal guardian, it is claimed.
Cops arrested him in June 2017 in Komsomolsk-on-Amur after one of the foster girls complained to a teacher.
But details of his alleged depraved offending over five years have only just emerged.
Social services in the Khabarovsk region have now been accused of negligence in putting vulnerable children including orphans under his supervision.
Igor Komissarov, a senior official of the Russian Investigative Committee, expressed dismay over the alleged reign of terror.
He said: “Just imagine these girls who were given to a rapist.
“Why in Khabarovsk region did the so-called foster dad have the opportunity to rape children under his control for five years?”
Lishavsky, the former head of an evangelical church who ran a shoe repair shop, was seen as a “model foster father”.
He even appeared on local TV with his wife Olga as an example of a successful fostering family.
The “trouble-free family” had passed repeated inspections by social care workers.
The couple are reported to have had three children of their own, and to have fostered up to nine more youngsters.
No charges have been brought against her.
Lishavsky was paid £265 a month by the state to care for each of the five adolescent girls he abused.
A local media report claimed: “With the money that the government paid him as a foster parent, he rented an apartment where he had sex with either one or another foster daughter every other day, or every third day.”
Lishavsky is accused of more than 900 offences including 248 rapes and 358 “violent sexual acts” against girls aged 13 and under, according to a leaked charge sheet.
He also faces more than 270 further sex abuse charges involving girls aged between 12 and 17.
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.
Twenty years ago, Andy Savage, teaching pastor at Highpoint Church in Memphis, Tennessee, sexually assaulted a church teenager. He was never prosecuted for his crime. His church, at the time, Woodland Parkway Baptist Church in Spring, Texas, covered up his “sin.” Thanks to fine people at The Wartburg Watch, Savage’s victim’s story is being heard far and wide, forcing the not-so-good pastor Savage to shed crocodiles tears before his church as he confessed his crime. Astoundingly, the tone-deaf, clueless sheep at Highpoint Church gave their pastor a standing ovation.
Lisa Gutierrez and Adam Darby, reporters for the Kansas City Star, wrote:
Members of a Memphis megachurch stood and applauded their pastor on Sunday when he admitted to and apologized for engaging in a “sexual incident” with a high school student 20 years ago.
Jules Woodson, who accused Highpoint Church Pastor Andy Savage of sexually assaulting her when she was 17, told The New York Times she watched the moment, streamed live on the church’s YouTube page, in disbelief.
“It’s disgusting,” she said.
Though Savage, an author and podcast host, remains on the Highpoint staff, repercussions have begun for what Woodson says happened two decades ago.
The Times reported that on Monday afternoon, Christian publishing company Bethany House canceled the July publication of Savage’s book “The Ridiculously Good Marriage.”
Also on Monday, The Commercial Appeal in Memphis reported that the Austin Stone Community Church in Austin, Texas, placed staff member Larry Cotton on leave.
Cotton was associate pastor at Woodland Parkway Baptist Church in Texas, where Savage worked at the time of the alleged assault.
Woodson has said a pastor at the church urged her to stay quiet about what happened.
“We grieve for what happened to Jules Woodson,” said a statement to the Commercial Appeal from Austin Stone’s communications director John Young. “… No person should ever be subject to sexual sin from any church leader.”
The church felt it was “appropriate to ensure (Cotton’s) qualifications for his current role of leadership,” the statement read.
“In order to remove our potential bias from the situation, we have placed (Cotton) on a leave of absence while an investigation by a third-party organization is undertaken. We will provide a full report to the church after its completion.”
Woodson graphically shared her story on Friday with The Wartburg Watch, a site started by two Christian women who pursued their faith but saw “disturbing trends within Christendom.”
After she did, Savage went on social media to say he “had a sexual incident with a female high school senior” when he was a college student working for a Texas Baptist church now known as StoneBridge.
Savage, who helped found Highpoint Church, said he responded in a “biblical way.” He said he had apologized to Woodson immediately and asked for her forgiveness, Fox 13 in Memphis reported.
During his remarks on Sunday he did not tell the congregation what happened, but he said he had sinned and had not keep it a secret from Highpoint’s leaders. He also said he believed the episode had been “dealt with in Texas.”
“Until now, I did not know there was unfinished business with Jules,” he said, reading a statement off his cell phone.
“Jules, I am deeply sorry for my actions 20 years ago. I remain committed to cooperate with you toward forgiveness and healing.”
When he finished, church members stood and applauded.
Chris Conlee, Highpoint’s lead pastor, said he supported Savage, one of the people “hurt by the ripple effect of the consequences of that sin.”
Woodson told The Times the episode had not been “dealt with” because it had never been reported to law enforcement authorities.
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She told The Times she sent an email in December to Savage at Highpoint, asking him, “Do you remember that night that you were supposed to drive me home from church and instead drove me to a deserted back road and sexually assaulted me?”
She said she decided to go public when he didn’t respond after more than a month.
Here’s some of what she wrote in the blog post.
“One evening, in the early Spring of 1998, I was hanging out with my youth minister, Andy Savage, at my church, Woodlands Parkway Baptist Church located at 10801 Falconwing Drive,” she wrote.
“I was 17 years old at the time and a senior at The Woodlands High School. There had been multiple kids there at the church after school, but as the night got later I was the only student left, alone in the church with Andy. I did not have a vehicle at the church, so Andy offered to take me home to my Mom’s house. …
“We reached a dead end and he turned the truck around before putting it in park. We were stopped, and he turned the headlights off. Suddenly, Andy unzipped his jeans and pulled out his penis. He asked me to suck it. I was scared and embarrassed, but I did it. I remember feeling that this must mean that Andy loved me. He then asked me to unbutton my shirt. I did. He started touching me over my bra and then lifted my bra up and began touching my breasts.
“After what I believe to have been about 5 minutes of this going on, he suddenly stopped, got out of the truck and ran around the back and to my side before falling to his knees. I quickly buttoned my shirt back up and got out of the truck. Now I was terrified and ashamed. I remember him pleading, while he was on his knees with his hands up on his head, ‘Oh my god, oh my god. What have I done? Oh my god, I’m so sorry. You can’t tell anyone …”
She said she felt manipulated and used, and that guilt and anxiety were “eating at her soul.” She said she took her accusations to the church’s leaders, but police were never called.
She said she was told that the associate pastor would inform the head pastor and the church would deal with the situation.
Savage, she said, went on as though nothing was outside of the norm, teaching a workshop titled “True Love Waits” about sexual purity and abstinence.
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.
Gerald Hechenberger, associate pastor of Holy Childhood of Jesus Catholic Church and school in Mascoutah, Illinois, stands accused of possessing child pornography.
The Belleville News-Democrat reports:
The associate pastor of Holy Childhood Church and school in Mascoutah was taken into police custody Monday morning, according to the state’s attorney.
The priest was identified as the Rev. Gerald R. Hechenberger.
“We have been working with Belleville (Police) and the task force for several weeks and we anticipate they will be submitting evidence collected pursuant to a search warrant we issued within the next 48 hours to be reviewed for charges involving Gerald Hechenberger,” St. Clair County State’s Attorney Brendan Kelly said.
Earlier in the day, Belleville Police issued a statement saying a Mascoutah resident was identified as being in possession of child pornography, but the police statement did not identify the resident. A police captain confirmed that Belleville police officers were at the church at 419 East Church St. around 7 a.m. Monday.
A statement from Bishop Edward K. Braxton said Hechenberger was taken into custody by St. Clair County authorities, but did not say why.
“This is a very serious matter for Father Hechenberger,” the diocese statement said. “At this point, the diocese has no reason to believe that any parishioners are affected by this matter. The diocese is awaiting an update on information from the civil authorities, and has assured them of the diocese’s full cooperation.”
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Holy Childhood School parents received an email Monday morning from the Principal Claudia Dougherty, saying Hechenberger was being investigated.
“Good morning, Father Jerry is under investigation. We will share more information when we have it. Your children are safe and sound — primary children are enjoying lunch! Blessings, Claudia,” the email read.
The email, sent at 10:51 a.m., followed a previous message from Dougherty sent at 8:15 a.m., which read, “Good morning, the Belleville police are at the rectory/church. I was notified that they were there, however was not informed as to why. Your children are here, they are safe and sound. Please know that we keep a close eye on all of them! Blessings, Claudia.”
The priest at St. John the Baptist parish in Smithton abruptly took a leave of absence last week to address “very serious personal, pastoral and legal challenges,” according to a letter circulated by the Belleville Diocese.
The letter, obtained by the Post-Dispatch, said the Rev. Gerald R. Hechenberger spoke with Belleville Bishop Edward Braxton and agreed the temporary leave was necessary. The letter, sent to priests and deacons, didn’t directly state the source of the challenges.
“In the present climate, it is important for you to know that the serious matters we are addressing do not involve the abuse of a minor,” wrote the Rev. John McEvilly, the diocese’s vicar general.
It added: “It will probably be several months before it can be determined when or if Father Hechenberger will be able to return to parish ministry.”
A Catholic priest with a checkered history was arrested on child pornography and drug charges.
Rev. Gerald R. Hechenberger of the Holy Childhood Catholic Church in Mascoutah, Illinois, was arrested on Monday morning and held on $2 million bail.
Acting on a tip from the Attorney General’s task force, police seized electronic devices at the church and found multiple photographs and a video involving children under the age of 13.
“It is unknown at this time if Hechenberger produced any of the images himself, or if he has had any inappropriate contact with children directly,” the Belleville police said, adding that parents with suspicions regarding the priest’s behavior should contact authorities.
Hechenberger, who was charged with eight counts of possession and eight counts of disseminating child porn, was also found with methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
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Hechenberger was charged with drunken driving in 1983 and driving under the influence in 1989, although both charges were later dismissed.
In 2004, Hechenberger pleaded guilty to trespassing after he was found shirtless in a parking lot, according to a police report cited by the News-Democrat.
On January 20, 2018, Hechenberger’s superior, Bishop Edward K. Braxton, issued the following letter:
May the Peace of Jesus Christ be with all of you!
I am writing to you concerning the very sad and distressing event of the departure of the Reverend Gerald R. Hechenberger, who had served as Associate Pastor of your parishes from August 15, 2014 until I relieved him of his positions on January10, 2018. Since he was arrested, taken into custody by law enforcement authorities, and charged with multiple felonies having to do with the possession and dissemination of inappropriate images of children and the drug crystal methamphetamine on January 8, 2018, I have been praying for all of you. I have been praying in a special way for anyone who may have been adversely affected directly or indirectly by his behavior. I am praying for Father Hechenberger as well. I am deeply sorry for the distress that these events may have caused you and your families, especially your dear children.
I am aware that you may have questions about many aspects of this scandalous event. I will answer some of your questions in this letter. However, I cannot answer all of your questions because, like you, I do not know the answers. For, example, like you, I do not know what the eventual legal consequences of all of this will be for Father Hechenberger. The Diocese has assured civil authorities of its full cooperation. I write not from a legal perspective but from the perspective of your Bishop. I write with a genuine pastoral concern for the personal and spiritual wellbeing of each of you and everyone in the Diocese of Belleville. For this reason, counselors have already been made available to the communities involved. I have also informed Father Wienhoff that I would be happy to meet with him and representatives from your parishes to listen to your observations and discuss these matters further, if that would be beneficial.
First, I must assure you that neither I, nor my Vicar General, Monsignor John W. McEvilly, nor your Pastor, Reverend Paul R. Wienhoff, nor any Diocesan personnel had any knowledge that Father Hechenberger had inappropriate images of minor children in his possession before the morning of his arrest. We have no record of any allegations of any prior possession of such materials. His files do not contain any expressions of concern in this regard from priests, parishioners, parents, or staff members and any of his previous pastoral assignments. We have no documents suggesting any past misconduct with minors. Our records show that he was compliant with our Diocesan Child Protection Policy through September 19, 2017, when his refresher course expired. Compliance includes clear background checks conducted by the Department of Child and Family Services, specific to child abuse allegations (CANTS) and a namebased criminal investigation through the Illinois State Police. None of his prior leaves of absence or sabbaticals were related to allegations of inappropriate conduct with minors.
Second, because of the serious charges filed against him, I have placed Father Hechenberger on Administrative Leave from ministry when I terminated his pastoral assignments. I further instructed him not to exercise the ministry of the Priesthood at any time in any place. Nor may he present himself in public as a Priest. Therefore, he is not to wear clerical attire including the Roman collar.
Third, when I met with Father Hechenberger at the St. Clair County Jail on Tuesday morning, January 16, 2018, he asked me to express to all of you how deeply remorseful he is for the pain, confusion, frustration, and anger that he has caused you and everyone in the Diocese. He specifically asked me to tell you that he has never physically harmed or abused a child in any circumstance throughout his years of ministry. He wanted me to assure you of his prayers for you and he asks that you pray for him as well. Obviously, considering the seriousness of his offense, he is aware that some of you might find his expressions of sorrow and regret to be insufficient to warrant your forgiveness, or even your prayers.
Fourth, when something of this nature happens, it is only natural to think that surely someone must have known that this was happening or at least that it was a possibility. But we all know that there is no foolproof way of knowing what misdeeds a person might commit, even if they are receiving counseling for unrelated matters. Every human being is quite complex and some individuals might be unaware themselves of things they might do in certain circumstances.
Finally, I am aware that events such as this, involving only one priest, have the potential of casting a cloud of suspicion or mistrust over other priests. I ask you to remember that we are all redeemed sinners who must make every effort to avoid judging others. Please renew your support, concern, encouragement, appreciation and affection for all of our priests who serve you so unselfishly in this Diocese. Pray for them as well, as they pray for you at every Mass.
In this Sunday morning’s gospel, Jesus proclaims: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” We all, priests and people alike, need to hear and heed these words, today more than ever.
Let us all pray for one another!
A March 1, 2018 Belleville News-Democrat report states:
Almost two months after a Mascoutah priest was accused of possessing child pornography and drugs, parents and church members say they’re frustrated they haven’t received answers from the Belleville Catholic Diocese.
Specifically, they want to know whether any local children were abused — and to what extent the diocese knew about the Rev. Gerald Hechenberger’s troubled past when they assigned him to Mascoutah.
The community also asks why the diocese won’t provide answers.
On Jan. 9, Hechenberger, former associate pastor of Holy Childhood Church and School in Mascoutah, was charged with possessing and distributing child pornography and possession of methamphetamine.
“I think it would be a good idea to explain why this man was passed along and say, ‘why did you do that?’ and not just leave us in the dark,” said Sandra Parks, a former Holy Childhood school board member. “I just wish Bishop Braxton would explain why, in the light of these problems, you would retain and pass the problems along to the next place.”
Bishop Edward K. Braxton did not respond to repeated requests for comment from the BND.
Hechenberger also declined a request for an interview. He has been freed on $25,000 cash for bond after a judge lowered his original $2 million bail.
In response to the charges, a lifelong friend of Hechenberger’s, Anne Hannigan of Belleville, said Hechenberger has a drug problem and blamed the church for not helping the priest with his addiction.
“I think this is a high-tech crucifixion,” Hannigan said in an interview. “They said terrible things about Christ and they said terrible things about Gerald Hechenberger. Furthermore, the church cannot wash their hands in this blame game and the tragedy which has occurred in his life.”
Hannigan, who said she’s been friends with the priest for 40 years, said the church knew of Hechenberger’s alleged drug problem about five years ago and did not offer him help in fighting his addiction.
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.
Andrea Baber, a teacher at Logos Christian Academy in Springfield,Oregon, was arrested and charged with “third-degree rape, third-degree sodomy, unlawful delivery of marijuana to a minor, online sexual corruption of a child and contributing to the sexual delinquency of a minor.”
An Oregon teacher has been accused of having a sexual relationship with a student.
Lt. Chris Merrifield of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said Monday that 29-year-old Andrea Baber was arrested after investigators obtained a warrant to search her Cottage Grove home.
Baber taught at Logos Christian Academy in Springfield.
Merrifield says the relationship began in 2016, when the male student was 15 years old. Merrifield says the relationship continued on a regular basis, with Baber also providing the boy with marijuana.
Baber is charged with third-degree rape, third-degree sodomy, unlawful delivery of marijuana to a minor, online sexual corruption of a child and contributing to the sexual delinquency of a minor.
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The sheriff’s office identified Baber as a former teacher, but she remains on the school’s online staff directory. The website says Baber teaches writing and literature, and is married.
“Andrea has always felt called to work with youth and is very excited that God opened the door for her to be part of the Logos team,” her biography says, according to KPIC.
The Register-Guard adds:
The victim’s father reported the sexual relationship Dec. 12 after he and his wife received an anonymous email asking if they knew about their 17-year-old son and Baber, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Douglas County Circuit Court on Monday.
Attached to the email were several photographs of Baber and the boy, together in Baber’s bed, according to the affidavit.
Authorities interviewed the teen, who told deputies that he and Baber had been in a relationship since 2016, when the boy was 15.
According to the affidavit, the boy told deputies that their relationship started with flirting at school, kissing at the movies and eventually progressed to sexual acts. He estimated having sex with his teacher once or twice a week at her residence on Territorial Highway, the affidavit states. He also told deputies that Baber occasionally gave him marijuana and alcohol.
During the investigation, authorities discovered that Baber’s husband recently made a report with Child Protective Services after he caught his wife and the teen in the Baber home, partially unclothed, according to the affidavit.
Baber’s husband told CPS that he also found topless photos of his wife that had been sent to the teen via text message, the affidavit states.
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.
Several female members of Kitty Hawk United Methodist Church in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, have accused their pastor, Jonathan Mills, of sexually harassing them.
The North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church has confirmed that four women have made sexual harassment complaints about Pastor Jonathan Mills of Kitty Hawk Methodist.
Conference communications director Derek Leek says Pastor Mills is suspended for up to 90 days as part of the complaint process, effective December 19.
Kitty Hawk police say no one has filed any criminal complaints against Mills.
Mills has been pastor at Kitty Hawk United Methodist since July of 2016.
It’s unclear how many of the women who have complained are Kitty Hawk Methodist members, but Leek says he believes they do attend church there.
Church officials say the Bishop’s office in Raleigh is handling the investigation of the claims of sexual harassment, and is working toward “a just resolution with healing and accountability.”
Leek says they are currently trying to determine the nature of the alleged behavior and whether the allegations can be substantiated.
When we tried to reach Reverend Mills by his church email and phone to get his response to the claims, we got this response instead from the North Carolina Conference:
“Due to the complaint process, Reverend Mills is not allowed to talk to anyone at this time. This creates a time of safety for the complainants, for Reverend Mills and the church.”
