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Update: Black Collar Crime: Findlay Catholic Priest Michael Zacharias Convicted of Sex Trafficking, Sentenced to Life in Prison

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Michael Zacharias

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 2020, Michael Zacharias, pastor of St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Findlay Ohio, was accused of grooming and sexually assaulting minors for years. (I attended high school in Findlay in the 1970s. Several of my friends attended St. Michael’s.)

The Toledo Blade reported:

The Federal Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday arrested the pastor of St. Michael the Archangel Parish, alleging that he groomed and sexually assaulted minors for years, beginning in Toledo.

Special Agent in Charge Eric Smith said the Rev. Michael Zacharias, 53, is believed to have groomed and sexually assaulted minors since the late 1990s.

The Northwest Ohio Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force took the priest into custody after he presided at a 7 a.m. Mass at St. Michael the Archangel Parish. Father Zacharias faces charges of coercion and enticement, sex trafficking of a minor, and sex trafficking of an adult by force, fraud, or coercion, according to court documents.

….

Agent Smith addressed the media at a morning news conference outside the priest’s residence on Greendale Avenue in Findlay, which abuts the parking lot of the parish grounds. He said the criminal complaint filed against the priest includes accounts from two victims, but his department believes there have been others.

….

“It’s imperative that those other individuals out there come forward,” he said on Tuesday. “Your contact with us will remain strictly confidential.”

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Toledo announced that Father Zacharias was put on administrative leave effective immediately upon hearing word of his arrest. This means he cannot exercise public ministry, administer sacraments, or present himself as a priest. Administrative leave is a precautionary measure while an allegation is being investigated.

Bishop Daniel Thomas responded in a statement:

“I am profoundly shocked and grieved to learn of these charges against one of our priests,” he said. “The Church cannot and will not tolerate any such behavior and takes any sexual abuse or misconduct on the part of a cleric with the utmost seriousness. As we await the outcome of the criminal investigation, our prayers go out to anyone affected by this situation.”

The diocese indicated that these are the first allegations raised against Father Zacharias.

Father Zacharias was ordained in 2002, according to the diocese.

He is most recently the pastor of St. Michael the Archangel in Findlay since 2017. The parish serves about 3,300 households, and is affiliated with St. Michael the Archangel School, which covers preschool through eighth grade.

The diocese identified his previous assignments as St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Toledo as a seminarian between 1999 and 2000; St. Peter Parish in Mansfield, Ohio as an associate pastor between 2002 and 2007; St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Van Wert as pastor between 2007 and 2011; St. Joseph and St. Ann Parishes in Fremont as pastor between 2011 and 2017; and St. Michael the Archangel in Findlay since 2017.

Investigators allege in court records that he began to groom two male victims, currently ages 32 and 26, while he was a seminarian and they were students at St. Catherine of Siena. One met Father Zacharias in the sixth grade, the other in the first grade, according to the complaint.

Each described to agents drug addictions that began in their teen years, and alleged that the priest would help fund their drug habits by paying them for oral sex. This began while they were underage and, in the case of one of the victims, continued until as recently as July.

The complaint indicates that these exchanges occurred at times in parish rectories, including Father Zacharias’ diocese-owned residence in Findlay.

The complaint also indicates that in the case of the victim with whom he was in touch as recently as July, Father Zacharias would request and at times pay for videos in which he performed sex acts on the victim and in which he confessed to grooming the victim. The complaint references multiple text messages between the victim and the priest.

….

Father Zacharias was one of several ordinands who spoke with The Blade in 2002, reflecting on their vocations amid seismic revelations of widespread clergy sexual abuse in the Catholic Church as reported by the Boston Globe.

Then-Deacon Zacharias said that his cohort of priests would bring with them an understanding of sexuality as a part of who they are.

“In the past I don’t want to say they denied it, but it seems as though they were told, ‘You’re going to be a priest, you’re going to be celibate,’” he told The Blade then. By contrast, he said contemporary seminarians were taught to have healthy and appropriate relationships.

Findlay Mayor Christina Muryn responded to the news in a statement on Tuesday.

“I am distraught by the news of the arrest of Father Michael Zacharias,” she said. “These allegations are not taken lightly, and the Findlay Police Department and our community at large will support the full and thorough investigation by the FBI. Such abuse of power, and perversion of sexuality is unacceptable and cannot be tolerated by any organization, individual, or society.”

Three years later, Zacharias was convicted of sex trafficking and sentenced to life in prison.

NBC-4 reports:

A former priest has been sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of his role in a sex trafficking scandal in Toledo, Ohio.

According to the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Ohio, 56-year-old Michael Zacharias was sentenced to life in prison, five years of supervised release, and fines of $25,500 after a jury found him guilty in May of five counts of sex trafficking.

Zacharias, of Findlay, was a priest-in-training when he first met three victims at a parochial school in Toledo in 1999. At the time the victims were five, 11, and 13 years old, though the release states they were victimized into their adult ages.

Evidence showed that Zacharias groomed the boys and became close with their families before eventually coercing the victims to engage in commercial sex acts. He then continued to victimize the boys into their adulthood by exploiting their opioid addictions to cope with the trauma of their abuse.

Zacharias served as a Catholic priest in northwest Ohio for over 20 years. His victims struggled in school, fell into opioid addiction, developed criminal histories and became financially dependent on him to avoid opioid withdrawal and homelessness.

Zacharias was arrested in August 2020 and charged with sex trafficking of a minor, sex trafficking of an adult by force, fraud or coercion, and coercion and enticement. At that time, the Diocese of Toledo said Zacharias was a priest and pastor of St. Michael the Archangel parish in Findlay and had been placed on administrative leave. 

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor Zachry Petree Pleads Guilty to Asking Minor Church Girl for “Sexy Pictures”

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Zachry Petree

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.

Zachry Petree, pastor of The Field Church in Markle, Indiana, pleaded guilty to one felony count of dissemination of matter harmful to minors.

Mercer County Outlook reports:

A former Markle, Indiana pastor, Zachry Petree (25), admitted in Huntington Circuit Court yesterday that he asked a 16-year-old girl connected to his congregation for “sexy” pictures while also showing her nude pictures of another woman.

Petree faces up to one year in prison as part of a deal where he pleaded guilty to one felony count of dissemination of matter harmful to minors. Huntington County prosecutors will drop charges of sexual battery and child seduction against Petree if a judge accepts the deal at a scheduled sentencing January 8th.

Petree is also accused of sending pizzas to the girl’s home while he was free on bond, breaking the no contact order issued against him.

He is scheduled to appear in court again on the obstruction of justice charge later this month, where a judge will go over the status of his legal counsel.

After he pleaded guilty the judge revoked his bail and is now incarcerated in the Huntington County Jail.

Petree at the time of the incidents was the pastor of The Field Church, a part of the Church of God Mountain Assembly, in Markle.

WANE-15 adds:

Allegations that Petree, who was the pastor of The Field Church in Markle, sent sexually explicit messages to the girl surfaced this past February when she told a woman she was living with about the messages, according to court documents.

Shortly thereafter, Huntington Police and the Indiana Department of Child Services became involved and interviewed the girl as well as the couple who are her guardians, court documents said.

The girl told investigators some of the messages from Petree asked for inappropriate pictures while some sent from him showed another woman undressed, court documents said.

Some of the messages Petree is accused of sending asked the girl for sex, according to court documents.

He’s also accused of giving the girl a phone already loaded with sexually explicit images, court documents said, and of trying to kiss her.

According to court documents, church leaders with the Church of God Mountain Assembly, which oversees The Field Church, were made aware of the allegations during the investigation and were also interviewed by police investigators before charges were filed. The accusations also spread through the small congregation, court documents said.

Petree was removed from church leadership at some point during the investigation, court documents said.

….

In his guilty plea, filed in late November, Petree admitted to asking the girl for “sexy” pictures of herself, sending her sexually explicit pictures of another woman and giving her the phone with more sexually explicit pictures.

He also admitted in court documents that he “quickly grabbed” the girl by the upper arm one night at his home and “pulled her into me and kissed her lips.”

“I now admit that I did knowingly or intentionally disseminate matter to (the girl), a minor, that is harmful to minors,” Petree’s plea agreement reads.

While Petree awaits sentencing on that charge, he now also faces a felony count of obstruction of justice and a misdemeanor count of invasion of privacy prosecutors filed against him this past November.

In that case, Petree is accused of sending pizzas to the girl’s home while he was free on bond, breaking the no contact order issued against him, court documents said.

He’s also accused of messaging the woman the girl lived with through social media, pleading that she convince the girl to tell police investigators the girl lied about the allegations against him, according to court documents.

“I can’t get a job,” Petree is accused of writing to the woman. “My car’s getting repoed (sic) and we’re going to lose the apartment. So we are trying to find a place to live. We can’t get health or food because I’m in the system.”

“I have always tried to be a good person,” he’s accused of writing. “I don’t understand why she’s wanting me to be put in prison and be a sex offender for the rest of my life…It’s a shame that me and my wife and children are having to go through this hell because of a girl who is known to be a pathological liar. She is lying.”

“I need you to get her to tell them nothing sexual happened and that she lied,” Petree’s accused of writing. “And she stole my phone and set me up.”

“I need u (sic) to send my children some money since u all lied on me and started this crap,” Petree is accused of writing to the woman at one point.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Black Collar Crime: Southern Baptist Youth Pastor Jarrett Booker Accused of Sexual Abuse, Kills Himself

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jarrett booker

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.

Jarrett Booker, pastor of worship and youth ministry at Nashua Baptist Church in Nashua, New Hampshire, was accused of sexually assaulting several minors. Nashua Baptist, affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, fired Booker. Two days later he killed himself.

The Messenger reports:

A New Hampshire youth pastor killed himself two days after he was fired amidst a police investigation into “credible allegations” of child sexual abuse against him, according to members of his church.

Jarrett Booker, 37, who served as pastor of Worship and Youth Ministry at Nashua Baptist Church for nearly a decade, took his own life on Nov. 27 “refusing to face the consequences of his actions,” church elders and deacons said in a lengthy statement on the congregation’s website last week.

“Nashua Baptist Church unequivocally condemns all forms of abuse. It is evil and our God hates it,” the church leaders said. “We are committed to transparency and to supporting the healing process for victims.

“We have been, and will continue to, fully cooperate with law enforcement in this investigation and had encouraged Jarrett to do the same.”

A Facebook profile for Booker says he was previously the youth pastor at Childrey Baptist Church in Nathalie, Virginia.

A request for comment was not immediately returned from that church to The Messenger on Tuesday.

Officials at Nashua Baptist Church said that on Nov. 22, they became aware that Booker was the subject of a “criminal investigation concerning credible allegations of sexual abuse against minors.”

Church leaders opened an internal review “which revealed further evidence of misconduct,” and Booker was fired on Nov. 25, the statement said.

To preserve the integrity of the police probe, congregants were initially only told on Nov. 26 that Booker was the subject of an investigation and that the church had decided to fire him, officials said.

Booker died from suicide the next day, according to the church.

“This event has added immeasurably to the complexity and pain of the situation,” the church officials said, adding that congregants were later informed of the allegations against Booker on Nov. 29, after his death.

Spokesmen for police departments in both Nashua and neighboring Hollis confirmed to The Messenger on Tuesday that Booker was under investigation for allegations of child sex assault at the time of his death, but said they were unable to comment further.

In his Facebook profile, Booker described himself as “just an unfaithful and unholy sinner changed by a faithful and Holy God.”

Nashua Baptist released a statement, which you can read here.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Update: Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor William Oswald Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison for Sexually Abusing Children

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william oswald

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, William Oswald, the former pastor of Dunn’s Chapel Church in West Columbia, South Carolina, was accused of sexually assaulting two minors numerous times over the space of ten years.

WBTV-3 reported:

A former pastor of Dunn’s Chapel Church in South Congaree is charged with 12 counts of criminal sexual conduct with a child, after two victims came forward last week.

William Oswald, 56, was denied bond on Wednesday morning and remains jailed at the Lexington County Detention Center ahead of his next court appearance in May.

According to investigators, two victims allege the sexual abuse took place between 1996 and 2001 at Dunn’s Chapel Church, where Oswald was a pastor. According to the incident report, the victims described in graphic detail the alleged sexual assaults, each stating they were assaulted more than a one hundred times during the time period. The victims said the alleged abuse began when they were around the age of eight and continued until their early teens.

…

he two victims were inside the courtroom Wednesday morning during Oswald’s bond hearing. One said she feels empowered by stepping forward and reporting the alleged abuse.
“I just finally feel safe because he’s not going to be able to touch me again or get out,” she said. “Over the years he just always manipulates the situation so no matter how many boundaries you try to put up he ends up getting back in and he can’t do that anymore, I hope.”
The victim said she knows of other victims that have yet to come forward. South Congaree Police said there are likely other victims in different jurisdictions.

….

“I know of several already, some that are still too afraid to speak,” she said.

She said she wanted to speak in hopes of encouraging other victims to step forward.

“There’s hope and it’s okay to speak and even if it takes you a while and years to feel safe and be separated enough it’s okay to speak, you can feel safe again,” she said.

Four years later, Oswald was convicted and sentenced to forty years in prison.

The Lexington Ledger reports:

William “Bill” Oswald, the former pastor at Dunn’s Chapel in South Congaree, has been sentenced to 40 years in prison after being convicted of sexually assaulting two minors over a period that exceeded 10 years. According to testimony from the now grown women, there were hundreds of instances when these assaults occurred.

While at Dunns, Oswald was active in the community. He was the volunteer chaplain at the fire station in the town and was raising his family in the parsonage on the church grounds. These assaults happened during the period from 1996 to 2001 when Oswald was at Dunns.

His crimes went undetected for many years. The victims only told their stories after becoming adults. South Congaree Police Chief Josh Shumpert and other members of his department investigated the crime. Because of his age, Oswald, who is now 62 years old, will most likely spend the rest of his natural life in prison.

Black Collar Crime: Southern Baptist Pastor Charles “Randy” Free Sentenced to 90 Months in Prison for Theft and Money Laundering

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Randy-and-Michelle-Free

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.

Charles Randall “Randy” Free, pastor of Cedar Cross Country Church in Alvarado, Texas, was convicted of theft, two counts of money laundering, and one count of misappropriation of fiduciary property, all related to amounts over $300,000. Free was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in prison and 10 years of probation. Free’s wife, Michelle, was also indicted but has not yet faced trial.

Ministry Watch reports:

Charles Randall “Randy” Free, former pastor of Cedar Cross Country Church in Alvarado, Texas, was convicted of four first-degree felonies and sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in prison and 10 years of probation, to be served concurrently.

According to Johnson County Assistant District Attorney Tim Good, on December 1 the jury found Free guilty of theft, two counts of money laundering, and one count of misappropriation of fiduciary property, all related to amounts over $300,000.

Free and his wife Michelle were accused of taking control of the church’s assets by making himself the president and registered agent for the Cedar Cross Country Church. The Frees then set up a separate non-profit corporation, Team Heritage International, in order to move the church’s assets and sell the church property for between $1 million and $1.5 million. Some of those funds were apparently used by the Frees to buy themselves a house.

“The tithes went to [Free], and he made his life better off the sacrifices of the church members,” Good told MinistryWatch.

As part of his probation, Good said they want to ensure Free can’t engage in these kinds of financial crimes again. While his terms of probation won’t prohibit him from ministry, they will require he disclose his conviction and prevent him from sitting on the board of a church or nonprofit with control over the finances.

The civil case seeking the recovery of church funds was resolved in May after the receiver was able to acquire and deposit over $1.2 million of the church’s funds with the court. The funds have now been returned to the church.

The district attorney’s office also plans to seek restitution for the remaining $255,000 that was not recovered in the accompanying civil case.

Cedar Cross Country Church lost their building due to Free’s actions, but the Southern Baptist Convention learned of a nearby building that was being vacated by an older congregation and allowed Cedar Cross to use it.

At the trial, testimony was given that Free is still leading Cedar Cross Country Church, but it consists of somewhere between five and 15 people and meets in homes across the area now.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor Jose Saez, Jr, Accused of Sexual Exploitation of Church Children

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jose saez jr

The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.

Jose Saez, Jr, pastor of Iglesia Cristiana Alumbrando el Camino in Brentwood, New York, stands accused of sexual exploitation of children, coercion, and enticement of children, distribution of child pornography, and possession of child pornography.

The Long Island Press reports:

Brentwood pastor Jose Saez Jr., 28, is set to be arraigned in court on Wednesday for multiple charges of child sexual abuse.

The charges include sexual exploitation of children, coercion and enticement of children, distribution of child pornography, and possession of child pornography. There are up to eight counts against Saez Jr.

Saez Jr. was arrested on Sept. 28, with the alleged incidents taking place between Aug. 14 and Sept. 28.

During that time, Saez Jr. allegedly spoke with several minors and an undercover police officer, telling them he had sexually abused an infant, enjoyed molesting children between the ages of 11 and 15, and sought out victims through his church  — Iglesia Cristiana Alumbrando el Camino in Brentwood.

Following a search, the FBI found images and videos of child pornography in Saez Jr.’s possession.

….

If convicted, he faces between 15 and 30 years in prison.

Earlier, the Independent reported:

A Long Island pastor charged with the production of child pornography reportedly apologized to federal agents following his arrest, telling them “I’m sorry, I cannot stop.”

Father-of-three Jose Saez Jr was detained on Thursday following an online tip received by the FBI about an individual being sexually active with minor children.

Agents from the bureau’s Long Island Child Exploitation Task Force executed a search warrant at Saez Jr’s home in Brentwood, New York, and said they found multiple child-porn videos on his mobile phone.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor Herman Rushing Jr. Charged With Inappropriate Sexual Contact with Minor Church Girls

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herman rushing jr

The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.

Herman Rushing, Jr, pastor of By His Grace Ministries in Butler, Pennsylvania, stands accused of inappropriate sexual contact with two young girls, ages ten and thirteen. Rushing, Jr, is also accused of having inappropriate sexual contact with an adult woman.

Penn Live reports:

A Butler County pastor is behind bars Wednesday and is facing charges for what authorities say was inappropriate sexual contact with two young girls and a member of his congregation, according to news reports.

Herman Rushing Jr., 67, of Portersville, is a pastor at By His Grace Ministries and is facing charges of corruption of minors, endangering the welfare of children and indecent assault.

After an “extensive investigation,” Rushing is accused of having inappropriate sexual contact with two girls, aged 10 and 13, both from Prospect. The investigation tracked activity spanning from January 2021 to this September, WTAE and WPXI reported.

He is also accused of having inappropriate sexual contact with a woman who is a member of his congregation. The incident took place at By His Grace Christian Ministries in Butler.

Rushing has been arrested and is being housed at the Butler County Prison after failing to post bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 14.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Church Financial Director Sara Ann Mock-Butler Pleads Guilty to Identity Theft

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sara mock-butler

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.

Sara Ann Mock-Butler, the financial director of Pike Peaks Christian Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado, has agreed to plead guilty to identity theft and pay nearly a quarter of a million dollars in restitution. She will also serve four years unsupervised probation, and 100 hours of community service.

In June 2023, Fox-21 reported:

An arrest affidavit for Sara Ann Mock-Butler, the former financial director for Pikes Peak Christian Church, shows that Butler allegedly used almost $350,000 of the church’s money for her own personal benefit, including the purchase of a boat, truck, family vacations, and even lingerie and adult toys.

According to the arrest documents, Butler was employed with the church from 2017 to 2022 as its financial director. In that position, Butler had “sole responsibility for the church’s financial accounts without oversight.”

Beginning in March of 2018, the affidavit states that Butler used increasingly larger sums of the church’s funds every year and deleted evidence of transactions, as well as forged documents to make her purchases appear legitimate.

The first instance of theft occurred on March 7, 2018, in which Butler withdrew $7,000 in cash from the church’s checking account, then an additional $2,700 the following day. Later that month, Capitol One received a payment for $17,700 from Butler, paying off an auto loan. There was never any annotation in the church’s bookkeeping records stating the purpose of the cash withdrawal.

The affidavit shows that shortly after the first instance, Butler then used church funds for purchases from Chipotle and Amazon, and also paid her own personal insurance bill.

Following those purchases – years of snowballing financial crimes using church funds:

Paid her mother’s credit card accounts to the tune of more than $38,000

Abundant personal purchases of groceries, camping supplies, clothing, home improvement, electronics, and even an adult toy and rechargeable batteries

Checks made out to Butler herself, her mother, and her husband

Utility payments and mortgage payments

A Tahoe boat and a down payment on a new 2020 Ford F-350 truck

Vacations to Jellystone Park and Disney World for her family

According to an interview conducted by law enforcement, Butler said most transactions made on behalf of the church required prior authorization by at least two people. The affidavit reveals that Butler would frequently double sign her own name as authorization, submit duplicate purchases, or utilize the authorization stamps of other church leaders without their authorization or knowledge.

Some purchases had no receipts or authorization at all. In one instance, Butler used the authorization stamp of a church employee who was ill to approve her own purchases. That employee later passed away, and the current and former pastors of the church told law enforcement that they believed Butler “took advantage of [the employee’s] signature stamp” during his illness to make her purchases appear legitimate.

Butler utilized multiple methods of accessing the church’s money for her own gain, the affidavit states, including personal checks, cash withdrawals, direct transfers, and credit and debit card purchases. The Colorado Department of Revenue also investigated Butler in connection to these crimes and found her liable for evading $16,723 in taxes.

According to the affidavit, Butler’s crimes were discovered after a new pastor took over duties at the church and requested a financial board to approve expenses, and Butler then resigned in May of 2022. She stayed on to train her replacement for a time, and her replacement and the pastor ultimately discovered the financial discrepancies nearing a $200,000 deficit, which the pastor said led to the church being forced to “make decisions about laying off employees and cutting specific ministries.”

In an interview with law enforcement during the investigation, Butler declined to explain many of the purchases. When questioned about her transfer of nearly $20,000 from the church’s checking account to her own in order to purchase a Tahoe boat, along with a memo attached to the documentation of the purchase stating “buying a boat,” Butler said “I honestly can’t tell you that right now.”

In total, she utilized $341,519.25 of the church’s money for her own use.

In October 2023, KKTV reported:

The former Financial Director of an El Paso County church took a plea deal on Tuesday after originally facing nearly 900 charges.

According to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, Sara Ann Mock-Butler was suspected of stealing, as she defrauded and forged documents between March 2018 and July 2022 that resulted in a large loss of money from Pikes Peak Christian Church in Security-Widefield.

On Tuesday, Butler took a plea deal and pleaded guilty to one count of identity theft. She agreed to pay restitution of $225,000 after admitting to stealing money by using a credit card from Pikes Peak Christian Chuch. Butler also agreed to 100 hours of community service.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Black Collar Crime: Baptist Pastor George Lee, III Charged with Various Drug Crimes

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pastor george lee iii

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.

George Lee, III, pastor of St. John the Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia has been charged with purchasing, pressing, manufacturing, or distributing marijuana as well as possession of illegal mushrooms, MDMA, and THC oil. Lee was previously convicted of drunk driving.

The Christian Post reports:

Officials at the historic St. John Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia, remained tight-lipped Wednesday about the recent arrest of their pastor for possession of controlled substances and the use of drug-related objects during a traffic stop on U.S. Highway 80.

When asked if their 50-year-old leader, George Perry Lee III, would remain in the pulpit of the largest African American congregation in historic Savannah, in the wake of the arrest, a church spokesperson who did not give her name told The Christian Post that they couldn’t answer that question.

Lee, who has been the pastor of St. John Baptist Church since Dec. 19, 2005, was arrested by Tybee Island Police around 4 a.m. Saturday, WJCL reported. While he bonded out of jail the same day, WSAV noted that the pastor was charged with purchasing, pressing, manufacturing or distributing marijuana as well as possession of illegal mushrooms, MDMA and THC oil.

When contacted for further details Wednesday, Tybee Island Police said the case was still under investigation. Jail records show that in addition to his drug related charges, Pastor Lee was charged with speeding and failure to maintain his lane.

Lee was previously arrested by Savannah Police in Chatham County in March 2018 for drunk driving. He was sentenced to probation in 2021 after he pleaded guilty to the DUI charge. In addition to his recent arrest, Lee also has an open case in Chatham County for driving on a suspended license and operating an unregistered vehicle.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

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Why IFB Churches Are Breeding Grounds for Sexual Predators

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sexual predators

MAX is currently streaming a four-part documentary titled Let Us Prey: A Ministry of Scandals. Let Us Prey focuses on allegations of sexual abuse in the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) church movement. Over 6,000 churches claim the IFB moniker, yet most Americans have never heard of the IFB church movement.

While this post is specifically about IFB churches, it could also be applied to Southern Baptist churches and other independent Evangelical congregations. Tens of millions of Americans are members of and affiliated with churches that may have denominational names but are independent governmentally. Control of their churches rests with their pastors and adult members, not a denomination or other outside authority. There are no checks and balances to keep abuse and misconduct in check. As a result, sexual misconduct by pastors, youth leaders, evangelists, missionaries, deacons, Sunday school teachers, worship leaders, choir directors, Christian school administrators and teachers, daycare workers, and church volunteers is common, far more than just a few bad apples in a barrel of otherwise good apples. If Let Us Prey does anything, it shines a bright light on the secrets and coverups that plague the IFB church movement. Years ago, 20/20 reported on sexual abuse in the IFB church movement. Other news reports, documentaries, books, podcasts, and articles have revealed that the IFB church movement has a big problem with sexual predators; so-called men of God who prey on children, teens, and vulnerable, impressionable adults. Adulterous affairs between preachers and church members are common too.

Why are IFB churches breeding grounds for sexual predators? The reasons are many, but let me give you a few.

IFB churches are governmentally independent. Most are pastored by one man. While IFB churches might have deacon boards and elders, typically the pastor is the CEO and has the final say on virtually everything. This means that there are few, if any, checks and balances on the pastor’s power and authority.

The pastor is considered a “man of God”; someone who is uniquely called by God to be a pastor — an irrevocable calling. How does a man “know” he is called by God to be a pastor? He “feels” it. He just knows in his heart of hearts that God wants him to be a pastor. How dare anyone suggest otherwise. This, of course, thanks to strict, rigid hierarchal structures, leads to authoritarianism — especially in churches where a pastor has been there for a long time.

Congregants are taught from the womb that they are to trust, respect, and obey their pastors. Challenging or standing against the so-called man of God is verboten. His words are final. Conditioning and indoctrinating church members to think this way about their pastors leads them to blindly trust their shepherds. How could it be otherwise? Is it any surprise, then, that sexual predators find that IFB churches are hunting grounds teeming with vulnerable, innocent potential victims?

While an increasing number of IFB preachers are prosecuted for sex crimes, way too many of them escape prosecution (or even detection). Why? Most IFB churches investigate sex crime allegations in-house. In other words, instead of immediately going to law enforcement or child protective services, alleged victims are encouraged (expected) to keep their allegations in the church (as commanded in Matthew 18). The most important thing to the church is protecting their “testimony.” If this means covering up sex crimes, so be it. It is not uncommon for victims of clergy sexual predation to be ignored, marginalized, or revictimized by being blamed for the pastor’s “weakness.” Teens, in particular, are often shipped off to IFB group homes or “ministries.” Out of sight, out of mind, the thinking goes.

Women and sexually aware teen girls are viewed as temptresses; people who prey on the sexual weaknesses of men and teen boys — including pastors and other church leaders. While male-on-male sex crimes are perpetrated by IFB preachers, the overwhelming majority of sex crimes committed by these men are against girls and women. Sadly, many victims never report the crimes against them. They know that they will be blamed or disbelieved. I have received countless emails and messages from IFB church members who, upon reading a Black Collar Crime post about their pastor, refuse to believe that he could ever do such a thing; that the accusing girl/woman is to blame for coming on to or seducing their pastor. They cannot or will not believe that their pastor could ever get a boner looking at another woman, let alone sexually assault them.

IFB churches have a warped understanding of sin and forgiveness. According to their understanding of forgiveness, no sin, including rape and sexual assault, is beyond the blood of Jesus; that any sin confessed to Jesus will be forgiven and the penitent’s slate wiped clean as if the act never happened. (1John 1:9) While an offending preacher might be expelled from the church for sexual misconduct, there’s nothing that keeps him from pastoring elsewhere or starting a new IFB church. David Hyles, an IFB preacher who committed numerous sex crimes, is still in the ministry today. Why? No one can tell him that he can’t. He’s been forgiven by God for raping church teenagers and bedding numerous adult church members, so why shouldn’t Hyles still be in the ministry? If God forgives you, so should everyone else — including the people you sexually assaulted.

I am sure this post will evoke outrage in the IFB church movement. How dare I paint with such a broad brush. However, the sheer number of allegations, crimes, arrests, and prosecutions suggests that the IFB church movement is rotten at its core. Not every church, of course, but enough churches that it makes me wonder why ANY church would want to self-identify as IFB. The same can be said for SBC churches and other independent Evangelical congregations. The problem is structural and theological. I can’t imagine many IFB churches being willing to change their theology, practice, or governance. Locked in by their belief that the Bible is inerrant and infallible, IFB churches often find it impossible to change. So they continue the multigenerational dysfunction and scandal, harming countless people in the process.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.