I put the evangelism training I received at Midwestern Baptist College to work at Somerset Baptist Church, Mt Perry, Ohio, circa 1987. We had four bus routes that fanned out over a four-county area to bring children to church
I was privileged to pastor the fine people of Somerset Baptist Church, Mount Perry, Ohio for eleven years. During my tenure — thanks to our bus ministry — scores of people heard me preach. Using the methodology I was taught at Midwestern Baptist College, I became a modern-day Apostle Paul — becoming all things to all men that I might by all means save some. Desiring to use any legal means possible to attract bus riders, I turned the church into a carnival sideshow. We would offer riders all sorts of incentives to ride on our church’s four busses and invite their friends, families, and neighbors to ride with them.
Several times a year, we would have what we called Hamburger Sunday. Most of the children and adults were poor — I mean dirt poor. Most church members and bus riders were on some form of public assistance. Eating at McDonald’s was a special occasion for them, so we used our knowledge of this to our advantage.
On Hamburger Sunday, every bus rider received a hamburger and a small drink at the McDonald’s in New Lexington. I warned the restaurant that we would be bringing a hundred or so children to their store; that we would need a hundred hamburgers and small drinks. We arrived at the restaurant around the Sunday lunch rush, so I can only imagine the chaos that ensued when we put in our order. (I was a general manager for several fast-food companies. I personally loved big orders, especially when buses showed up. My assistants were not as motivated as I was. All I saw was $$$. All they saw was “work.”) Hamburger Sunday was a lot of fun. I like to think that the bus children had an opportunity to experience something that was normally unavailable to them.
Some Sundays we would run the Mystery Seat promotion. Prior to leaving for their routes, I would have the route captains take money — $1, $5, and $10 bills) and tape them underneath a few of the seats. Whoever sat in that particular seat won the money.
One of the favorite promotions we ran was Bicycle Sunday. This was a multi-week contest we used to entice children to invite new people to church. The goal was always the same: increased attendance and salvation decisions. We bought a new ten-speed bike for every bus route. Over the course of the contest, the bus worker would keep track of who brought visitors. On the appointed Sunday, we would call the winner before the church body, thank them for their hard work, and award them a brand-spanking new bicycle. This was a big deal for these children. Most of them, if they had a bike at all, had junkers. I know my children did. Getting a new bike was a special moment for them. I only wish, in retrospect, that we could have purchased a new bike for every child.
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen 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.
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, Jonathan Jenkins, a youth pastor at Starlight Baptist Church in Santa Ana, California, was accused of sexually assaulting a twelve-year-old church girl.
A Santa Ana youth pastor was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of violently sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in his church’s bathroom during a service earlier this year, police said.
Jonathan Lamont Jenkins, a 57-year-old Riverside resident, allegedly began harassing the girl at the beginning of 2018, making sexual advances toward her when she was just 12 years old, Santa Ana police said in a news release.
The victim attends Starlight Baptist Church, at 1201 W. Second St., where Jenkins has worked as a youth pastor for the last two years. The suspect has been a parishioner there since 2012, officials said.
The sexual assault occurred sometime this March, after the victim went to use the restroom during service.
The girl entered a bathroom she thought was empty and found Jenkins inside, waiting for her, according to police. She then tried to escape, but he allegedly held her against her will.
Jenkins is accused of strangling and sexually assaulting her after threatening her with physical violence.
The girl didn’t immediately come forward to authorities with her story, and continued attending the same church.
When she saw Jenkins there on Aug. 5, he allegedly confronted her and mocked her about the sexual assault. He also told her he would tell police she allowed him to sexually assault her if she reported the incident, investigators said.
Officials did not say when exactly the assault was reported.
Once it was, an investigation was launched. Detectives said they obtained evidence against Jenkins, but didn’t provide details on what it entails.
The suspect was arrested Tuesday as he was going into a liquor store in Santa Ana, police said.
He was being held on suspicion of aggravated sexual assault of a child and other child abuse crimes at the Orange County Jail on $1 million bail.
Jenkins also has a “long criminal history,” according to Cpl. Anthony Bertagna, who said his previous convictions include robbery, burglary, criminal threats and narcotics violations.
Because of that, and other factors, detectives believe the youth pastor could have additional victims, Bertagna said.
“The way he handled this child, in the manner he handled this child, in the location he handled this child, leads them to believe that potentially there are other victims out there,” he told KTLA.
Five years later, Jenkins finally had his day in court, pleading guilty to a felony count of continuous sexual abuse of a child. He was immediately sentenced to twelve years in prison.
A 60-year-old former Santa Ana church youth pastor pleaded guilty and was immediately sentence Friday to 12 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl.
Jonathan Lamont Jenkins of Riverside pleaded guilty to a felony count of continuous sexual abuse of a child. As part of the plea deal charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child, aggravated sexual assault of a child-oral copulation with force or fear, aggravated sexual assault of a child with foreign object and two counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a minor.
Jenkins was given credit for 1,848 days in custody, or about five years.
Jenkins initially faced up to 90 years to life in prison, authorities said when he was charged in 2018.
The victim came forward to police in October 2018, police said.
Jenkins had been a member of the Starlight Baptist Church at 1201 W. Second St. since 2012, and served as a youth pastor there for two years, police said.
The victim said Jenkins started making “sexual advances toward her” in January 2018, according to police.
Sometime in March 2018, she was at a service when she went to the bathroom, where Jenkins was waiting for her. The girl tried to get away, but he locked the door, choked her and physically restrained her while he sexually assaulted her, police said.
The girl did not tell anyone and continued going to the church, police said, but on Aug. 5, 2018 Jenkins mocked the girl about the sexual assault and warned her not to tell anyone or he would claim the sex was consensual.
Jenkins touched the victim’s buttocks in January 2018 and attempted to assault her again in April, according to prosecutors. He also attempted to assault her in July of that year as well, prosecutors said.
Jenkins has a lengthy criminal history dating back to 1999 that includes robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and drug charges, police said. He has prior convictions for robbery in Los Angeles in 1983 and burglary in Orange County in 1986, according to prosecutors.
Jenkins has a forty-year felony criminal history, yet the fine people of Starlight Baptist Church deemed him suitable to be their youth pastor. The church should be held criminally liable for Jenkins’ crimes. Of course, they won’t be, and such crimes will continue until the courts punish EVERYONE involved in these crimes.
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen 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.
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.
Keenan Hord, a youth pastor at First Baptist Church in Bentonville, Arkansas, pleaded guilty to thirteen sex-related crimes involving children and was sentenced to sixty years in prison. First Baptist is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.
A former youth minister pleaded guilty Friday to 13 sex-related crimes involving children and was sentenced to 60 years in prison.
Keenan Hord, 33, of Centerton worked for First Baptist Church in Bentonville before he was arrested Aug. 24.
Hord accepted a plea deal. A jury trial in his case had been scheduled to begin March 7.
One of Hord’s victims gave a victim impact statement at Friday’s hearing. The mothers of four other victims also gave impact statements.
Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren ordered Hord to register as a sex offender and not to have contact with any of the victims or any children.
Hord will be eligible for parole in 15 years.
Bentonville police received a tip through the Arkansas State Police child abuse hotline Aug. 19, according to a news release from the Bentonville Police Department. James Boothman, a Bentonville detective, testified at Hord’s August bond hearing police served a search warrant and seized several electronic devices. Boothman said police had spoken to six victims and identified up to 30 possible victims with an examination of Hord’s cellphone.
Bentonville police Sgt. Josh Woodhams testified at the bond hearing he examined a cellphone belonging to one of the boys that revealed a romantic and sexual relationship between Hord and the boy. He said there were 5,000 conversations on the phone between Hord and the boy. Woodhams said police located a half-million text messages on the phone. As many as 30 boys had conversations with Hord, Woodhams said.
Hord has served on the staffs of at least two Southern Baptist churches, most recently First Baptist Bentonville, where he joined the staff in 2016 and became student pastor in 2018, according to Baptist Press, the news service of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Keenan Hord, 32, was arrested Thursday (Aug. 25) for sexual indecency with a child. Hord has served on the staffs of at least two Southern Baptist churches, most recently First Baptist Bentonville, where he joined the staff in 2016 and became student pastor in 2018. The church said in a statement Friday (Aug. 26) that the allegations came after Hord’s employment there had ended.
A warrant for his arrest was issued Tuesday (Aug. 23) after First Baptist Bentonville made a report Aug. 19 to the Arkansas State Police child abuse hotline.
Investigators believe there could be up to 30 or more victims, according to KTHV-TV.
“We have been devastated to learn that a former employee of our church has been credibly accused of abusing adolescents during his tenure at our church.,” First Baptist Bentonville said in a statement to Baptist Press. “While these accusations did not come to light until after his employment ended, when we learned of them we immediately contacted our local authorities, made a report to the Arkansas Child Abuse Hotline, and continue to fully support the ongoing law enforcement investigation.”
A former youth pastor was arrested on a charge of sexual indecency with a child in a case related to his time as a youth pastor at a Bentonville church, according to Nathan Smith, Benton County prosecutor.
Keenan Hord was arrested Thursday night and has been booked into the Benton County Detention Center. He is facing charges that include sexual assault and possessing sexually explicit material involving a child.
A judge set a cash bond of $500,000 in the case.
During the bond hearing, county prosecutors said there are potentially more than thirty victims.
Hord worked as a youth pastor at First Baptist Church Bentonville, Smith said. The church contacted the child abuse hotline immediately upon learning of allegations against Hord.
A detective told a judge Hord had inappropriate contact with a 15-year-old. He said law enforcement found more than 5,000 text messages between Hord and one victim.
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen 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.
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, Russell Davis, a Methodist pastor, was accused of raping a church teenager.
A Seabrook man is being held without bail after he was accused of raping a child while he was serving as a pastor in the Methodist Church.
Russell Davis, 65, faces several charges in Massachusetts. Seabrook police said they arrested Davis Thursday on a fugitive from justice warrant. The Essex County District Attorney’s Office said he is being held without bail because he is still employed in the ministry and has access to children.
Davis pleaded not guilty in Newburyport District Court to charges out of Rowley, Massachusetts, of rape of a child with force and indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or over, and a charge of rape from Newbury, Massachusetts.
Prosecutors said the allegations involve the same victim and incidents that occurred in April 2004.
According to the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church, Davis was a licensed Methodist minister from 1999 to 2015. His first assignment was in Warren, New Hampshire.
Davis moved among several churches in Maine and Massachusetts after that until his license was discontinued in 2015. A spokesperson for the church would not say why his license was discontinued but said it was not related to sexual misconduct.
It’s unclear whether Davis has been affiliated with any churches in New Hampshire since then.
A former pastor accused of raping a child will have the chance to be released from custody as he awaits trial. A Newburyport District Court judge ordered that he be held on $5,000 cash bail, following a dangerousness hearing on Monday.
While Russell Davis, 65, of Seabrook, was found dangerous by the court, he will be released should he post bail. If released, he will need to wear a GPS monitoring device, live in Massachusetts, stay away and have no contact with his alleged victim and have no unsupervised contact with children under 16. He is due back in court May 16.
Monday’s dangerousness hearing, which is to determine whether a defendant poses too great a risk to his alleged victim or society to be afforded bail while awaiting trial, was originally scheduled for last week. But an Essex County prosecutor told Judge Peter Doyle that Davis’ attorney was not available that day.
On March 30, Davis pleaded not guilty to charges of rape of a child with force, as well as indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or over. Those offenses took place in Rowley in 2004, according to the Essex District Attorney’s office.
In addition, Davis also pleaded not guilty to a charge of rape, which allegedly occurred in Newbury in 2004, the DA’s office said. No information was available about when the allegations surfaced. Davis was arrested a day earlier in Seabrook. A judge ordered all police reports related to Davis’ arrest impounded.
Other victims came forward, reaching a total of three. It is likely there were other victims whose assaults were not prosecuted.
Five years later, Davis pleaded guilty to raping and attempting to rape the three boys. Astoundingly, Davis was only sentenced to three years in prison. Davis’s attorney wanted probation!
They were boys who’d already suffered significant losses in life: A parent to cancer, other parents to substance abuse. They had been put into foster care with other family.
In the then-mostly rural communities of Byfield, Newbury, Salisbury and Rowley, in the late 1980s, the 1990s and early 2000s, the vulnerable teens were steered toward a local United Methodist Church — and into the path of a lay pastor, a man who, though not ordained, had been given a type of license by the church to work as a youth minister.
On Thursday, Russell Woodman Davis, 70, pleaded guilty to raping and attempting to rape the three boys at various times between 1988 and 2006, in Newbury, Rowley and Salisbury.
Davis was sentenced to three to four years in state prison, a sentence that Salem Superior Court Judge Thomas Drechsler had offered if Davis opted to plead guilty before his trial, which had been scheduled for next week.
Drechsler said Thursday that he hopes the sentence balances the “profound trauma and damage” done to the three victims and Davis’ abuse of a position of trust, with Davis’ advanced age and cancer, which, he also pointed out, has been in remission.
Davis, who had been free on bail in the case, was taken into custody in the courtroom, first placed into handcuffs and then, after being led to a chair, into leg shackles.
One of his victims, as well as several family members and friends, craned their necks to watch.
On Tuesday, Drechsler heard from one of the victims, now an adult, about his ongoing struggle to recover from the trauma.
He was back in court on Thursday, where he appeared overcome by emotion at several points during the hearing, burying his face in his hands as the prosecutor detailed again, for the record, what had happened to him and the other boys.
The judge heard from one more person on Thursday, the sister of one of the victims, who had taken him in after the death of their mother from cancer.
The woman, whose name is being withheld by the newspaper so as not to identify her brother, said the abuse began within four weeks of their mother’s death.
“There is no amount of jail time that could punish him enough,” she told the judge, before saying she hopes Davis will “rot in hell.”
Prosecutor Kate MacDougall, who had requested a five- to seven-year prison term, told the judge that had the case gone to trial, she would have made a “significantly higher” sentencing request, given the “abhorrent nature of the acts and unimaginable destruction inflicted upon these men.”
Davis’ lawyer, Edward McNaught, had initially hoped for probation — a disposition previously rejected by another judge in 2021 — but sought two years in custody.
MacDougall described the facts of the case in court chronologically, though the victims came forward at different times — including one who, in 2010, reported his abuse to police. They did not pursue the case at that time.
In 1988, the first victim was 12 when his mother died and he went to live with his sister.
He met Davis at the church.
The second boy, who had been placed with an aunt, met Davis in 2003 when she brought him to her church. That boy would later introduce Davis to the third boy, who was about a year older.
Davis, said the prosecutor, “would take these young men under his wing under the guise of providing mentorship.” He would spend time alone with that boy and the others, coercing and forcing them into sexual acts to which they were too young to consent or that they did not want to engage in.
“Did you commit those acts?” Drechsler asked Davis at the conclusion of the prosecutor’s remarks.
“Yes I did, your honor,” Davis replied, with no emotion.
Davis pleaded guilty to a series of rape and attempted rape counts involving each of the boys.
But prior to trial, prosecutors were forced to drop other counts, including disseminating obscene material and unnatural acts, due to the statute of limitations having run.
Davis told the judge that he had a high school equivalency and had attended a seminary but did not finish.
Prior to working for the church, he was a U.S. Postal Service employee for 20 years, he told the judge.
In a January 2001 interview with The Salem News, Davis discussed his recent appointment as pastor of Peabody’s First Methodist Church on Washington Street — and his work with a group of 10 high school boys at a church in Byfield, where he was known as “Pastor Rusty.”
According to archived stories from The Daily News of Newburyport, Davis worked as pastor of the East Parish United Methodist Church in Salisbury and the Community United Methodist Church in Byfield, and had also served as chaplain in the Byfield Fire Department for a decade.
In a statement released after he was first charged in 2018, the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church said Davis had lost his church license to work as a pastor in 2015 but said it was unrelated to the allegations against him.
After completing the prison term, Davis will be on probation for three years, with conditions that he register as a sex offender, undergo a sex offender evaluation and treatment, and have no unsupervised contact with anyone under 18, as well as have no contact with the victims and their families.
If he violates any of the conditions of that probation he could be returned to prison for up to life.
Prosecutors may also seek to keep Davis in custody after he completes his sentence if he is determined to be a sexually dangerous person.
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen 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.
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, Stephen Morris, pastor of Oliver’s Grove Baptist Church in Four Oaks, North Carolina, was accused of raping a thirteen-year-old girl.
The Johnston County Sheriff’s Office arrested 61-year-old Reverend Stephen Morris last Friday on 10 felony counts, including five counts of statutory rape and five counts of taking indecent liberties with a child.
According to court documents, Morris is accused of statutory rape with a 13-year-old between June 2013 and June 2014.
….
Detectives say the victim is now 19 years old and reported what happened to police last month.
Because the incident involves a juvenile victim, authorities would not disclose how the victim and suspect knew one another.
Morris remains in the Johnston County jail under a $2.5 million bond.
Morris now faces additional sex crime charges involving two underage girls, along with new charges related to the thirteen-year-old victim.
The former pastor of a Four Oaks church charged in July with engaging in sexual acts with a juvenile has now been charged with crimes against two more underage victims.
everend Stephen Arthur Morris was the pastor at Oliver’s Grove Baptist Church on Highway 301 South of Four Oaks when he was originally arrested on July 5th, 2019. He resigned the same day from his role at the church. He posted bail July 26th, 2019 when his bond was lowered to $250,000 and was confined to house arrest at his residence on Parkertown Road. Morris is now back behind bars.
Today (Wednesday), Rev. Morris was served with additional warrants involving the original victim plus two additional victims who have now come forward.
Morris was indicted Oct. 7th by a Johnston County Grand Jury on 12 new charges, that’s in addition to 14 charges he already faces.
Eight of the 12 new charges are for additional incidents in 2013 and 2014 involving the first victim. Those new charges include additional counts of statutory rape and taking indecent liberties with a minor for sexual acts with the female victim, who was 13 at the time of the alleged offenses.
After the arrest of Rev. Morris was reported by the media in July, JoCoReport has learned two additional victims came forward reporting incidents to the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office. Those incidents occurred in 2008. Rev. Morris is accused of soliciting nude photos of the two young girls who were 9 and 11 at the time.
In 2020, Morris was accused of more sex crimes.
The News & Observer reported:
A Johnston County pastor already in jail on sexual assault charges was charged Friday with six counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office said.
In June 2019, an 18-year-old woman reported that Stephen Arthur Morris, her pastor at Oliver’s Grove Baptist Church in Four Oaks, began sexually assaulting her when she was 13, the Sheriff’s Office stated in a news release.
In July 2019, Morris was arrested and charged with statutory rape or sex offense with a person who was 13 years old, the arrest warrant states. Morris was also charged with taking indecent liberties with the same person when she was under the age of 16. Morris’s court indictments state the alleged offenses occurred between June 2013 and June 2014.
Two more females came forward in October 2019, accusing Morris of attempting to exploit them when they were under the age of 16 in 2008, court records state. Morris was indicted in October 2019 on charges of attempted first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and solicitation of another to commit first-degree exploitation of a minor.
The indictment states Morris “unlawfully, willingly and feloniously did entice, induce, order and command to engage in sexual activity for the purpose of producing material containing a visual representation depicting this activity, the defendant knowing the character and content of the intended material.”
….
Arrest warrants from Friday’s charges state Morris “unlawfully, willfully and feloniously did duplicate material containing the visual representation of a minor, an unknown minor approximately 10-12 years of age, engaged in sexual activity, consisting of posing nude, displaying the genital area.”
In April 2021, Morris pleaded guilty to 11 counts of Attempted Statutory Sex Offense, 13 counts of Taking Indecent Liberties with a Child, 6 counts of Second Degree Exploitation of a Child, one count of Attempted First Degree Sexual Exploitation of a Minor and one count of Solicitation to Commit First Degree Sexual Exploitation of a Minor. Morris was sentenced to a minimum of ten years in prison.
The former pastor of a Four Oaks area church was sentenced to prison Thursday after pleaded guilty to 32 criminal charges. Stephen Arthur Morris pleaded to 11 counts of Attempted Statutory Sex Offense, 13 counts of Taking Indecent Liberties with a Child, 6 counts of Second Degree Exploitation of a Child, one count of Attempted First Degree Sexual Exploitation of a Minor and one count of Solicitation to Commit First Degree Sexual Exploitation of a Minor.
Under the plea agreement all charges were consolidated for one judgment. Resident Superior Court Judge Thomas H. Lock sentenced the 63 year-old defendant to a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of 17 years in prison. Upon his release, Morris will be required to register as a convicted sex offender.
Morris was originally charged on July 5, 2019 with sexually assaulting a juvenile female approximately five years earlier when she was 13. The victim said Morris was her pastor at Oliver’s Grove Baptist Church. Morris resigned from his position at the time of his first arrest. On October 9, 2019, Morris was rearrested after two additional female victims came forward reporting Morris attempted to exploit them. In May 2020, more charges were added after the NC SBI completed a forensic examination of several computers and electronic storage devices previously seized from Morris.
Two years later, Morris is before the court again facing allegations of sexually assaulting a minor. This time, the victim is a family member.
Less than two years after being sentenced to prison for sex crimes involving three juvenile victims, Stephen Arthur Morris of Four Oaks was returned to Johnston County today (Thursday) to be formally charged with more crimes.
The Johnston County Sheriff’s Office said a family member of the former pastor recently came forward and reported she had been sexually assaulted years earlier. The specific date or dates was not disclosed. Following an investigation, Morris, age 65, was charged today with four counts of taking indecent liberties with a child and one count of first-degree sex offense with a minor.
….
Morris was being held at the Columbus Correctional Institution in Whiteville, NC, a medium security prison, before he was returned to Johnston County today to be served with the new warrants. Thursday’s charges reportedly represent a fourth female juvenile victim.
Morris is one sick puppy. He should remain in prison for the rest of his life
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen 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.
Somerset Baptist Church, 3 of our buses, circa early 1987
I was privileged to pastor the fine people of Somerset Baptist Church, Mount Perry, Ohio for eleven years. During my tenure — thanks to our bus ministry — scores of people heard me preach. Using the methodology I was taught at Midwestern Baptist College, I became a modern-day Apostle Paul — becoming all things to all men that I might by all means save some. Desiring to use any legal means possible to attract bus riders, I turned the church into a carnival sideshow. One such gimmick was giving away a live turkey to the person who brought the most visitors to church during the contest period.
A local farmer donated the turkey. On Saturdays, I would take the turkey with me on bus visitation. I kid you not! I wish I had taken a picture of me and Mr. Turkey in my blue Plymouth Horizon. At the time, it seemed hilarious. In retrospect, I can only imagine what some locals thought of the crazy Baptist preacher. The Sunday before the end of the attendance contest, Mr. Turkey came to church. After letting everyone see him, we took him to the dug-out earthen church basement for safekeeping (the church building was erected in 1835). I still remember to this day hearing the turkey gobble while I was preaching. Everyone got a big laugh out of his gobbling.
As was often the case with such live animal promotions, the kid who won the contest was not allowed to bring the turkey home. He was heartbroken. We bought him a frozen turkey instead. One of the church deacons — an avid hunter — took the turkey home with the hope of butchering it. The turkey escaped, and for a few days was nowhere to be found. But early one morning the deacon heard a turkey gobble, and sure enough Mr. Turkey had returned “home.” He should have kept running. The deacon recaptured the turkey, putting a permanent end to his wanderings.
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen 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.
Somerset Baptist Church, Mt Perry, Ohio, circa 1987.
In July of 1983, I planted a new Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) church, Somerset Baptist Church, in the southeast Ohio community of Somerset. For a few months, services were held at what was commonly called the old shoe store. The church then moved to the second story of the Landmark building where it would remain until it bought an abandoned Methodist church five miles east of Somerset in 1985.
Having spent most of my life around churches that operated bus ministries, I determined that the Somerset Baptist Church would have a bus ministry. In late 1983, the church bought an old, dilapidated bus from Faith Memorial Church in nearby Lancaster (pastored, at the time, by John Maxwell). By mid-1987, the church would own four buses, running routes throughout Perry County and to nearby Lancaster and Zanesville. Attendance would peak at 200, making Somerset Baptist Church the largest non-Catholic church in Perry County, a distinction I proudly advertised. I also advertised the church as the fastest-growing church in the county, an accurate portrayal of the explosive attendance growth the church had for several years.
Somerset Baptist Church, Our First Bus, 1985
I was committed to using every available means to reach people with the gospel. I took the Apostle Paul’s approach: I became all things to all men that I might by all means save some.
And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
This verse (and others) was the impetus for the church having an aggressive bus ministry. Every Saturday, bus workers would fan out over the bus operation area, visiting regular riders and canvassing for new ones. Each bus had a captain who was in charge of the route, along with a driver and several workers. It was the captains’ responsibility to make sure EVERYONE on their bus route was visited EVERY Saturday.
Prior to going out on bus visitation, bus workers met with me at the church for a time of prayer and motivation. Running a bus route was hard, thankless work, and keeping people engaged in the work God had called us to do required me to constantly motivate bus workers, often massaging their egos lest they quit.
As in the capitalistic business world where gaining new customers is always part and parcel of growing a thriving business, a successful bus ministry had to continue to find new riders. Using the Apostle Paul’s “all things to all men” methodology, I planned weekly or monthly promotions that bus workers used to entice regular riders to invite their friends, family, and neighbors to church. I also planned promotions for bus workers, rewarding the bus crew that brought in the most riders and visitors.
Somerset Baptist Church, 3 of our buses, circa early 1987
One Easter, I decided we would give away a five-pound solid chocolate rabbit to the person who brought the most visitors to church (on one of the buses). One of the ladies of the church was a candy maker, so she made the chocolate rabbit. A few days before the giveaway, we put the rabbit in my office. The next morning, as I walked into the office to prepare for Saturday bus visitation, I noticed that something was wrong with the rabbit. Sometime during the night, mice had gnawed on the ears of the rabbit. I asked the woman who made the chocolate rabbit if she could patch the rabbit’s ears. Oh yes, I did! The giveaway was the next day.
Both she and her husband were appalled that I would even think of giving the rabbit to one of the bus kids. Throw it away, they said, and off they went to buy five more pounds of chocolate so a new rabbit could be made. The next day, we awarded the new rabbit to the person who brought the most visitors to church.
The deformed rabbit? I cut the ears off the rabbit and gave it to my children. None of them gave one thought to the mice chewing the ears off the rabbit. All they saw was chocolate, a rare commodity in the Gerencser household.
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen 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.
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.
Alexander Blackwelder, a youth pastor at East Main Street Church of Christ in Tupelo, Mississippi, stands accused of having sex with a sixteen-year-old church girl. Blackwelder has been charged with two counts of sexual battery and enticement of a child to produce visual depictions of adult sexual conduct.
Alexander Blackwelder, 26, of Tupelo, is charged with two counts of sexual battery and enticement of a child to produce visual depictions of adult sexual conduct.
“I think the charges are serious enough that we need to keep you,” Tupelo Municipal Court Judge Willie Allen said as he denied bond.
Tupelo police detective Hal Veal said authorities received a tip on Feb. 15 that the youth pastor at East Main Street Church of Christ was having an inappropriate relationship with a 16-year-old girl. During the initial interview with the girl and her parents, the girl denied any improprieties but said she had talked with Blackwelder and communicated via Snapchat.
The parents signed a consent form to allow detectives to search the girl’s phone. Veal said there were sexual videos and pictures on her phone and conversations with Blackwelder that made him believe they were having sex.
When questioned on Feb. 17 by police, Blackwelder also denied having an inappropriate relationship. But when brought back to the police station Wednesday, he allegedly admitted their relationship started in October 2022 and was more than just friendship.
“He admitted that they had sexual intercourse on two occasions and exchanged inappropriate video and pictures,” Veal said.
Blackwelder was booked into the Lee County Jail Feb. 22 around 5 p.m. He has been initially charged with enticement for allegedly getting the victim to send nude pictures and videos. If convicted of that charge, he could face up to 40 years in prison. The sexual battery charges carry up to 30 years in prison for each count.
Blackwelder has retained Ashland-based Tony Farese as his attorney. But during the initial appearance Thursday afternoon, he was represented by public defender Dennis Farris, who asked for a $100,000 bond.
Prosecutor Richard Babb opposed bond, noting that this is still an open investigation and wanted to make sure there are no other victims.
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen 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.
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 Schneider, a staff member at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Bloomington, Illinois, was sentenced to eighty-eight years in prison for criminal sexual assault of a minor and possession of child pornography.
A Normal man was sentenced to 88 years in prison on Wednesday for criminal sexual assault of a minor and possession of child pornography.
Michael D. Schneider worked as a staff member at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Bloomington before his arrest in June 2021 on the felony charges. He also spent time teaching piano lessons.
The victim, now a college student, struggled through tears to read a four-page victim impact statement. Periods of depression, suicide attempts and self-harm were all part of the aftermath of the grooming and sexual assaults that started when she was about 14, she said.
Schneider, 33, started by telling jokes “that led to talks of sex, the pornography and the assaults,” said the woman. She did not disclose the abuse that often took place during what should have been piano lessons because of fears that “my sisters would be next.”
In her statement, the victim’s mother said Schneider “used me to get to my child.” Every detail of the assaults was planned, including when Schneider hired the teen to babysit his child when he was actually home.
The mother later learned Schneider took her daughter to buy sex toys, and instructed her — if asked — to say she was his wife.
“He robbed her of a normal teenage life,” the mother said in her lengthy and emotional statement.
The mother also disclosed that her daughter first disclosed the sexual assault to Schneider‘s wife, who advised the girl not to tell anyone. But the girl, who was 18 at the time, did tell her parents who went to police.
In asking for the maximum number of years allowed under a plea agreement, state’s attorney Erika Reynolds noted Schneider gave the girl alcohol as part of the grooming process.
The prosecutor pointed to information in a sex offender evaluation that described Schneider as manipulative and unwilling to acknowledge his misconduct. The fact that the pornography depicted men engaged in sexual acts with toddlers and Schneider blamed the victim “should be enough to lock him up and throw away the key,” said Reynolds.
Defense lawyer Stephanie Wong asked for the minimum sentence on the sexual charges and consecutive probation, or six years on the child pornography charges.
“There’s no question these offenses are very disturbing,” said Wong, adding Schneider “experienced a very dark period in 2017,” but arguing the former music teacher “is absolutely capable of rehabilitation.”
In his statement to the judge, Schneider said the topless photos sent to him by the victim “triggered an addiction” to the child porn.
Schneider denied downloading illegal images on various dates, claiming one file with graphic images existed. He said he was “shocked and disgusted“ by the images. “I realized that is not who I was,” he said.
Schneider apologized to the victim, her family and friends. “I deserve to be up here,” he said.
Judge William Yoder characterized the images as “repugnant and beyond belief,” adding the harm to the victim was severe, and “her life may never be the same.”
In a partially negotiated plea agreement, Schneider pleaded guilty in December to two counts of criminal sexual assault and one count of production of child pornography in one case and 15 counts of child pornography in the other.
State’s Attorney Erika Reynolds said her office offered a plea agreement “to save the victim from having to testify” in a trial in the sexual assault case.
Before his arrest, Schneider taught private piano lessons and was director of worship arts at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Bloomington, having previously been the church’s choir director and a member of the arts ministry team that organizes and performs productions and other presentations, according to the church’s annual reports, as previously reported by The Pantagraph.
The victim and her mother read victim impact statements during the sentencing hearing Wednesday.
The victim said Schneider groomed her for years before she realized it was happening, and that she lost her teenage years and her love of music because of the assault, which occurred in 2017.
She said she had taken piano lessons from him and babysat for his children.
In the years since, she said, her mental health has suffered, including depression, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts that led to multiple attempts on her life.
“It’s impossible for me to express the true agony of every sleepless night, every night terror, every scar on my body in the moments of silence in which I still remember every detail of what happened to me,” she said through tears.
Now an adult, the woman said she came forward, “reopening this wound,” for her younger self who could not.
“For that young girl who thought she couldn’t speak about this. … This had to be about justice, for me and any other young women who this has or could happen to,” she said. “… I couldn’t stand up for myself then, but now I can.”
Reynolds said that in Schneider’s sex offender evaluation, he blamed the victim for causing him to become interested in child pornography, though the prosecutor said the digital evidence from indicates that interest already existed earlier in 2017.
She said she does not believe Schneider has any rehabilitative potential and he would be at “moderate to high risk” to reoffend if he were given a community-based sentence.
….
Reynolds said she and co-counsel Assistant State’s Attorney Mary Lawson had agreed to limit their recommendation for the sexual assault and child pornography production case to 20 years in prison as part of the plea agreement.
They asked Judge William Yoder to sentence Schneider to a total of 130 years in the DOC, asking for seven-year sentences on each of the child porn possession charges.
Schneider’s attorney, Stephanie Wong, said the defendant entered a “very dark period” in 2017 — “nothing happened before 2017; nothing happened after that.”
She said this shows Schneider is very capable of rehabilitation and “conforming his conduct” with the support of family, friends and his faith. She noted that no other students or babysitters who interacted with Schneider’s family came forward with criminal claims against him.
“The evidence is consistent that in 2017 Michael did go through a very dark period in his life that is consistent with a horrible — for lack of a better term — addiction,” Wong said. “There’s no question that these offenses are very disturbing. There’s no question about that.”
Reynolds said the sex offender evaluation indicated Schneider believed no one was hurt by his actions, but “he has nearly destroyed her for his own pleasure.”
Reynolds noted the impact of every victim whose image could be seen in the child pornography Schneider possessed, “and some of which were toddlers.”
She submitted 40 letters from family members, friends and at least one former student who wrote in support of Schneider. Wong said the letters express how uncharacteristic the charges are of Schneider.
In a statement to the court, Schneider said he understands that the trust instilled in him by his communities is now broken.
Schneider said the victim “triggered my addiction to pornography,” which “continued a secret struggle for years.”
He said he sought videos of underage teenage girls, which led him to download the numerous child pornography pictures and videos “as one file.”
Schneider said he did not realize the content that was on the file until after he had downloaded it and was “shocked and disgusted” by the number of photos, the ages of those depicted, and the sexual acts shown.
“I promptly exited the file and realized that was not who I was, and I did not view that folder again,” he said.
He said he has had suicidal thoughts since his arrest and was “truly sorry for the pain I have caused” his family, community, his “former student” and her family.
Wong asked Yoder to give Schneider the minimum sentence of 12 years in prison on the sexual assault case and a probation sentence in the child pornography case. She said if Yoder disagreed with a community-based sentence in that case, she suggested a six-year sentence as a combination of concurrent sentences.
Yoder said a community-based sentence would deprecate the seriousness of the offenses and would not be consistent with the ends of justice.
The judge said he did not believe Schneider’s statement regarding a single download of child pornography, and that “anybody who suggests child pornography is a victimless crime quite honestly doesn’t know what they’re talking about.”
Yoder noted the attorneys had agreed to limit the sentence in the sexual assault case, but he said he was not bound by it.
He sentenced Schneider to 28 years in that case — 10 years for each of the criminal sexual assault charges and eight years for the production of child pornography.
He sentenced him to four years in each of the child pornography possession charges, totaling 60 years in that case.
Schneider was also fined more than $17,000.
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen 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.
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 Reiber, pastor of New Life Christian Church in Chickasha, Oklahoma, stands accused of five counts of lewd acts to a child under the age of sixteen.
Chickasha Police officials say Matthew Reiber has been booked into the Grady county jail on the following charges listed in the image below from a Grady County affidavit:
Police officials confirm that earlier this month, they were contacted about a possible Sexual Assault, and allege that Reiber touched a child in an inappropriate manner.
A senior pastor at a church in Grady County resigned after police said he inappropriately touched a 7-year-old girl.
Matthew Reiber, 38, was charged with three counts of lewd or indecent acts to a child under 12. Each count carried at least 25 years in prison.
According to the probable cause affidavit completed by the investigating Chickasha police officer, a woman contacted him on Feb. 7, saying two girls may have been sexually assaulted.
One of those girls, a 7-year-old, said she and a 6-year-old girl were playing with Reiber’s own 6-year-old daughter, the affidavit stated. The 7-year-old said Reiber then took her to his bedroom, where he allegedly touched her genitals and made her touch his genitals, according to the affidavit.
New Life released the following statement:
The leadership of New Life Christian Church learned this weekend of serious allegations made against senior minister Matt Reiber. His alleged actions did not occur at our church or during a church function,” the church said in the statement. “Such allegations, if true, are reprehensible and inexcusable but were not consistent with what we observed of Matt’s service to our church and community for over a year. Matt has denied these allegations and although he is presumed innocent under the law, the legal system will determine the merits or lack thereof in due time. Regardless, Matt has resigned his position and is no longer associated with our church, effective immediately. We ask for prayers on behalf of everyone involved in this horrible situation.
Someone affiliated with New Life posted the following text messages on my Facebook page:
According to news reports, contrary to the texts above, Reiber has been arrested and charged with three counts of lewd or indecent acts to a child under 12. Each count carries at least 25 years in prison.
The person above also posted the following court document:
According to Reiber’s LinkedIn page, he is a graduate of Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. Previous work history includes: youth pastor at First Baptist Church in Aberdeen, North Carolina, and youth pastor at His Grace Community Church.
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen 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.
