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.
Christopher Codding, a youth pastor at Cassville Baptist Church in Cartersville, Georgia, recently pleaded guilty to molesting two young church boys. According to prosecutors, there were other victims who likely will never see justice. According to Floyd County Assistant District Attorney Emily Johnson, Codding was “one of the most sophisticated predators I have encountered in my career so far.” Cassville Baptist is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.
Despite the fact that a former Cartersville youth pastor pleaded guilty to molesting two young boys who attended his church, prosecutors said there were many more victims who may never see justice.
Christopher Matthew Codding, 44, pleaded guilty to two counts of felony child molestation and one count of sodomy in Floyd County Superior Court on Thursday.
“He is one of the most sophisticated predators I have encountered in my career so far,” Floyd County Assistant District Attorney Emily Johnson said.
As part of that plea, Codding will be sentenced to 60 years on probation and serve a sentence in prison of up to 19 years. The amount of serve time will be determined by a judge during a sentencing hearing on May 16.
The case involves the anal penetration of two boys, both approximately 10-years-old at the time, who attended the church where Codding was a youth pastor between 2012 and 2017.
“Most of these kids had troubled home lives,” Johnson told the court. “He would basically step in as a father figure to these kids…Basically he set up his house as a man cave and would have boys over to his house.”
Using the apologue of a frog not noticing that it’s boiling to death in water if the heat is slowly increased, Johnson said Codding would slowly manipulate the boys to do what he wanted.
She described how Codding, once the boys were at his home, would walk through the house naked or while on a trip tell them they could swim naked. That would graduate to viewing pornography with the children and then to molesting the children.
Despite the timeline of the charges in this case, prosecutors said there is evidence of prior incidents as well.
According to court records, one of the associated cases prosecutors intended to use as evidence occurred sometime between 2002 and 2005. That incident occurred in New York where Codding, who watched pornography with a minor, also instructed the young boy to masturbate. Another incident concerned what may have been several boys trips, between 2014 and 2017 to Berry College where Codding would swim naked with the young boys.
Codding is not criminally charged in either of those incidents.
At the time of his arrest in 2022, Codding was employed as a radiologic technician, often working in Baltimore, Maryland, and an instructor at Georgia Northwestern Technical College. He volunteered as a youth pastor at Cassville Baptist Church in Cartersville.
To add insult to injury, Codding taught child abuse prevention and youth protection classes at the church, Johnson said.
The case began when one of the victims learned that Codding was attempting to adopt two young boys, and stepped forward, Johnson said. Once the floodgates were opened, more and more victims came forward.
“Every time we turned around there was another individual who stepped forward,” Johnson said.
In the hearing, Codding’s attorney Alicia Lanier sought to enter the plea as an Alford plea, essentially a legal formality in which a defendant acknowledges the evidence while still maintaining their innocence.
“This case was a horrible situation and my client’s agreed to the plea as the evidence is overwhelmingly against him,” Lanier told the judge.
“I’m not going to go along with an Alford plea,” Floyd County Superior Court Judge John “Jack” Niedrach said. After a brief recess, Codding chose to enter the guilty plea.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 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.
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.
Leo Riley, a Roman Catholic priest, stands accused of sexually molesting four altar boys when he was an associate pastor at Resurrection Parish in Dubuque, Iowa in the 1980s.
A Port Charlotte priest was arrested Wednesday on multiple counts of capital sexual battery, with allegations connected to his previous tenure in the 1980s as a priest in Iowa.
Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office detectives and Dubuque, Iowa, police worked together to arrest Leo P. Riley, 68, at his Port Charlotte home.
According to the Dubuque Police Department, four people reported being sexually abused by Father Riley from 1984 to 1986, when he was the associate pastor of Resurrection Parish in Dubuque. The victims were identified as grade school-aged boys, all serving as altar boys of Resurrection Parish.
The Diocese of Venice told NBC2 that in May of 2023, they learned of sexual misconduct allegations involving Riley. He was immediately put on administrative leave.
CCSO said Riley was last assigned to San Antonio Catholic Church in Port Charlotte. The news caught some parishioners at the church by surprise.
“When we first were told about it, I couldn’t believe it,” parishioner Geraldine Oswald said. “I didn’t know him when he was in Iowa, but when he was here, I just enjoyed him very much.”
Dubuque police arrested Riley for five counts of capital sexual battery within their jurisdiction, CCSO said.
Capital sexual battery refers to an adult over 18 years old sexually battering a child under 12 years old.
Previously, Riley served as a priest at Resurrection Church in Dubuque, Iowa. During the early 2000s, he spent time as a priest at Saint Charles Borromeo in Port Charlotte, St. Peter the Apostle in Naples and Sacred Heart in Punta Gorda.
“Our faith is in Jesus Christ, who founded Catholic Christian Church,” Giacomo Thompson said. “We fully support the police in pursuing their investigation and trial to the full extent of the law. We don’t know any other Catholics that aren’t in agreement with this same position.”
Thompson has been a member of Saint Charles Borromeo for a year and has met Father Riley once.
“We don’t abandon Jesus because of Judas. We will pray for all the victims of abuse, the parishioners and the possible perpetrator,” Thompson said.
CCSO arrested Riley at his home and took him to the Charlotte County Jail overnight.
On Thursday, Riley stood virtually before a judge who is holding him without bond until his hearing on Friday.
NBC2 spoke with Riley’s attorney, who issued the following statement:
“Father Leo Riley has dedicated his life to the Catholic church. He has multiple decades of exemplary and honorable service as a catholic priest. He is baffled by these forty-year-old allegations and vigorously denies any wrongdoing.”
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 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.
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.
Vernon Williamson, a former associate pastor at Assembly of the Body of Christ (the church is defunct) in Jacksonville, Florida, was recently sentenced to life in prison on four counts of sexual battery. Williamson’s fellow pastors, Paul Dyal and Jerome Teschendorf were arrested on similar charges and await trial. These men are 87, 80, and 70, respectively. According to news reports, their alleged crimes date back to the 1970s.
In the first of three sexual assault cases against a pastor and two associates charged with offenses that began in the 1970s at a Jacksonville church, Vernon Lavern Williamson was found guilty Thursday and sentenced to life in prison.
Williamson, now 87, was arrested in Oklahoma and charged with four counts of sexual battery in March 2022. It followed a raid at the Jacksonville Assembly of the Body of Christ on Old Kings Road, where the pastor, 80-year-old Paul Brady Dyal, was jailed and charged with capital sexual battery on a child 11 or younger, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
In addition to Williamson, authorities also arrested Jerome Teschendorf, 70, on related capital sexual battery charges in Oklahoma. Both Dyal and Teschendorf are awaiting trial.
The ages of the children were redacted in arrest documents, but an information report cites they were younger than 12. Williamson’s arrest report says he was living on the church’s property at the time. One girl who came forward as an adult said her mother left her in his care when the sexual abuse occurred.
She reported it to the Sheriff’s Office in 2008 and told investigators she disclosed the incidents to the pastor, Dyal, in 2004. Williamson denied the allegations, and Dyal told investigators he didn’t believe the child at the time.
The investigation was suspended, but in 2019 another woman was interviewed stating Williamson would take care of her and her brothers during the day while their father worked. She said the incidents started out as molestation when he would bathe and dress her. It progressed, and about a year later it became rape, according to the arrest report.
The time frame was not included in the report, but it states Williamson was about 61 to 63 years old during the incidents. A separate information report lists the years as 1996 to 1999.
The victim said she was scared and had urinary tract infections and would frequently urinate on herself. After noticing this at school, a woman asked her what was wrong and she told her what Williamson was doing, the report states.
The woman at the school told Dyal’s wife. Once it was made known to Dyal, the girl and her brothers were separated and sent to live with other families in the church, which is what the girl said she feared would happen if she disclosed the assaults. Williamson was allowed to stay at the church until the girl told another woman about him, and he was sent away, according to the report.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 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.
Every year or two, I ask readers to submit questions they want me to answer. That time has arrived once again. Any question. Any subject. Please leave your questions in the comment section or send them to me via email. I will try to answer them in the order received.
I look forward to reading and answering your questions.
Dr. David Tee, whose real name is Derrick Thomas Thiessen, continues to write posts about me and my British friend, Ben Berwick. I have largely ignored him. Thiessen is a rabid Fundamentalist, and at his advanced age, it is unlikely that anything will move him away from Bible literalism and young earth creationism. He is not interested in debate, argument, or discussion. He is convinced that he is one hundred percent right, and that atheists, agnostics, liberal Christians, and other people he deems “unsaved,” are one hundred percent wrong. Thiessen has no room for question, doubt, or nuance. As a true-blue Fundamentalist, everything to him is black and white. So, I no longer try to reason with Thiessen. I have kicked the dust off my sandals and left him to his own devices.
I do, however, want to respond to a post Thiessen wrote yesterday titled I Have a Question. As you will see, Thiessen really doesn’t have any questions to ask me. He just wants to attack my person and besmirch my character. I will be the better man and answer him anyway.
All spelling and grammar in the original.
BG [Bruce Gerencser] may say that we are not banned on his website but we are not going to post there and give him the opportunity to ban us. We will address any information we glean from his website here. That way nothing can be edited or changed on us.
Thiessen is NOT banned from commenting on this site. Any assertion that suggests otherwise is a lie. Thiessen is free to comment any time he wants. I have also offered to debate him. I have even offered to publish a guest post of his. He claims that he is afraid to do so because I might edit or change his words. I have told him several times I will publish exactly what he writes — unedited. I will even leave his misspellings and grammar errors as is. Come on Derrick, time to man up.
Currently, he has this annual theme where he allows his readers to ask him any question they want. it goes under the same title heading above – I have a question- and I guess he selects the ones he will answer.
Note that Thiessen tries to suggest that I pick and choose which questions to answer. This, of course, is untrue. I answer every question I receive, even from him and his bunkmate Revival Fires.
Question One: Why does a guy with nothing to offer keep posting ‘his’ story which hasn’t changed in 10 or 11 years?
As you can see, Thiessen makes a value judgment: a guy with nothing to offer. I am a guy who has nothing to offer closed-minded Fundamentalists like him. It seems thousands of other people disagree with him; people who found value and support from my writing. I know my work is not for everyone, so why doesn’t Thiessen stop reading it and mosey on his way? If certain foods constipate you or aggravate your hemorrhoids, change your diet. Instead, Derrick would rather bitch about how much his anus hurts.
I suspect I have a lot more of my story to tell, even from my Christian days. Unlike Thiessen, my life continues to move forward, and as I continue to walk this path called life, I will have new and varied experiences. And when I do, I will write about them. I am a story-teller, Thiessen is not. He chooses, instead, to preach, teach, and rage. And that’s fine, but there’s no reason for him to criticize me for choosing a different path.
My story is not the only subject for my writing. I write about sports, politics, humanism, atheism, cooking, chronic illness, chronic pain, the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) church movement, Evangelicalism, and a plethora of other subjects. And even if I did ONLY write about my story, what’s wrong with that? Every blog has a niche, Thiessen’s included.
His previous answer to us was ‘he wanted people to know his story’. Yet, he could have done that in one website page or one post. However, he keeps repeating the same thing over and over, and over, as if no one has read it before.
I have explained this to Thiessen several times, so I can only conclude that he is being deliberately obtuse. A majority of readers on any given day are new. They don’t know my story, so as a good writer, I believe it is incumbent upon me to share with them who I am, who I was, what I believe, and where I’m headed. Yes, regular readers know my story, but most first-time readers don’t. I make no apology for making sure people know my storyline.
Thiessen shares nothing about his past and present life. He hides from accountability and responsibility in the Philippines, not letting anyone see and know the man he really is. Again, this is his choice, but I shouldn’t be faulted for choosing another path.
Thiessen must live a boring, uneventful life if it fits on a single website page or blog post. I have had an interesting life, filled with all sorts of experiences. Take my short stories series. I am sitting on over a hundred short story draft posts I have not published. I enjoy telling stories, and I plan to tell a lot more of them in the months and years ahead. Hopefully, many of these stories will be published in book form.
The obvious answer is that he is a narcissist and wants everyone to think he is a victim. His continuous reference to ‘his story’ makes his content useless, boring, and out of touch. He needs the attention.
Now Thiessen makes things personal, asserting without evidence that I am a narcissist and a victim. I will leave it to others to decide whether I am a narcissist, but as far as being a victim is concerned, I have faced a lot of trauma in my life. In a clinical sense, I am a victim, a survivor. Should I ignore these experiences in my life? I choose to use them to fuel my passion and help other people. My therapist tells me that my continued writing is essential to managing my depression.
Thiessen expresses his feelings when he says my writing is useless, boring, and out of touch. He is entitled to his opinions, but my email inbox and social media messages suggest that a lot of people find my work useful, engaging, and relevant. That Thiessen doesn’t is his problem, not mine.
Question Two: Why does he keep beating a dead horse?
The “dead horse” Thiessen speaks of is any subject I write about that he disagrees with. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. Thiessen writes about the same subjects over, and over, and over. Again, he is free to do so. But why is Thiessen so obsessed with policing the content on another creator’s website. This would be like me telling the writers at Science-Based Medicine that they are beating a dead horse. All they talk about is science and medicine. Duh, right. I read their writing because it especially deals with these subjects. I don’t go to their site to find information on Evangelical Christianity. They have a wheelhouse, as do I. I talk about what I know. Too bad Thiessen doesn’t do the same.
Question Three: Why do you continually make yourself look bad?
This is a question about his black-collar series. As we have talked about this before, it does not make BG look like a saint for his reporting of these arrests. Actually, it makes him look bad as he piles on those unfortunate souls as well as rubbing it in their and their families’ faces.
Those types of postings are not making BG look good. It makes him look like some hate-filled person who does not have an ounce of sympathy, forgiveness, or kindness in him. One reason for that is because he is rifling through law enforcement and news outlet files to get the information LONG AFTER the ‘crimes’ have been committed.
He is not helping anyone but he does look vindictive and mean-spirited in his actions. he also looks void of any love and compassion as love does not rejoice in evil. He is rejoicing as he gets clicks when he posts those articles.
Thiessen wants me to “care” and “love” these predators. Give me a fucking break. I’ll tell you who I care for: the children they molest and rape; the church women they take sexual advantage of; the teens they seduce and assault; the church people whom they steal from and take advantage of. My care and love is reserved for the victims and the families of predators. The criminals themselves? I want to see them prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I want to make sure they never, ever pastor a church or have an opportunity to harm people again.
Thiessen, on the other hand, thinks these perverts should be forgiven and restored to the ministry. How sick is that? I have often wondered why he is so anti-victim. What’s the story behind his support of sexual deviants, while at the same time deriding their victims?
As long as preachers continue preying on innocent, vulnerable children, teens, and adults, I plan to continue publishing the Black Collar Crime Series.
It will be interesting to see what his responses will be. He won’t be allowed to post them here. So hopefully we will get a pingback.
Thiessen refuses to let anyone comment on his blog. He also has disabled his contact page. He is immune from criticism and accountability. Nothing I can do about that.
I have sufficiently answered Thiessen’s comments. I am sure he will object to my answers, which he is free to do. As always, I will leave it to readers to weigh the worthiness and value of my writing. Thiessen not liking it is a badge of honor.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 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.
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.
Joshua LeDuc, a pre-K teacher at Bethel United Church of Christ’s “Bethel Buddies” preschool in Evansville, Indiana, recently pleaded guilty to sexually molesting children in his care.
A former Evansville preschool teacher accused in August of molesting a student is behind bars again after prosecutors charged him with two additional child sexual abuse offenses.
Evansville police arrested 21-year-old Joshua Brandon Leduc on Wednesday evening on charges of child seduction, a Level 3 felony, and child molesting, a Level 3 felony. Leduc formerly taught pre-kindergarten classes at Bethel United Church of Christ.
Leduc was arrested and charged with two counts of child molestation in August after he was allegedly recorded by classroom surveillance cameras sexually assaulting a 4-year-old girl, police said.
Leduc was out on bond in that case when he was arrested Wednesday, court records show.
Bethel United Church of Christ terminated Leduc’s employment Aug. 2 after it was made aware of the first allegation, lead pastor Samuel Buehrer told the Courier & Press.
According to EPD Detective Cameron Werne, a second student accused Leduc of molestation in February.
Writing in an affidavit of probable cause, Werne said the 6-year-old victim attended Bethel Buddies, the church’s preschool, from August 2021 to July 2022. During a forensic interview conducted at Holly’s House, a victims’ advocacy center in Evansville, the child reportedly said Leduc touched her inappropriately as she built a puzzle in his classroom.
According to the affidavit, the victim identified Leduc in a randomized photo lineup as the man who molested her.
….
The church informed the Vanderburgh County Department of Child Services in August that Leduc had been accused of molesting a student, according Buehrer. The EPD took up the investigation and spoke to the victim’s mother about the alleged abuse.
In a written affidavit, Werne said he reviewed surveillance footage recorded by a camera in Leduc’s classroom that appeared to corroborate the first victim’s account. The footage, according to Werne, showed Leduc molesting the victim behind a cabinet.
Surveillance footage captured in the school’s hallway also appeared to show Leduc following the victim into a restroom, where he remained with the victim for more than three minutes, Werne wrote.
Buehrer said the church installed cameras in classrooms prior to the August incident in order to protect students and teachers. After the footage showed Leduc allegedly using furniture to block the cameras, Buehrer said the school reorganized classroom layouts.
“We’ve also moved some cameras to what we think might be better locations,” Buehrer said. “We moved the rooms around and the furniture in the rooms to eliminate any blind spots.”
Leduc is currently being held at the Vanderburgh County jail on a $100,000 bond, according to court records. Vanderburgh County Superior Court Judge Robert Pigman set Leduc’s bond during his initial court appearance Thursday morning.
Gray said the EPD encourages any parent who feels their child may have been victimized “to call 911 and report it so it can be investigated.”
Buehrer said the school took a “proactive” approach to improve child safety following Leduc’s first arrest in August.
“It’s painful when these things happen; you never wish them to happen on your watch,” Buehrer said. “We’re just praying for everybody and praying for justice in this case.”
A former pre-kindergarten teacher who stood accused of molesting two students in Evansville pleaded guilty Tuesday, nixing the prospect of a jury trial in the case.
The former teacher, 22-year-old Joshua Brandon Leduc, faced charges of child seduction and three counts of child molesting across two criminal cases, according to Vanderburgh County court records.
Those cases were joined, and a trial had been scheduled to begin this week. The proceedings were called off on Friday when Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Audrey Beckerle and Leduc’s defense attorney, Barry Blackard, informed the court both sides had reached an agreement.
Leduc formally pleaded guilty Tuesday, court filings show, but the terms of the agreement were not listed in public court records as of Tuesday afternoon.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 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.
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.
Keith Holt, former assistant pastor (or fill-in pastor) of House of Prayer Church in Blackwell, Oklahoma, and his wife, Candy, stand accused of child abuse and neglect.
Keith Lynn Holt, 57, and Candy Denise Holt, 53, both of Blackwell, are scheduled to appear in Kay County District Court on March 1.
Keith, a former assistant pastor at House of Prayer Church in Blackwell, is facing three felony counts of child abuse and one count of child neglect, while his wife Candy, is facing three felony charges of enabling child abuse and one charge of child neglect.
The pair were arrested by Blackwell police on Jan. 17. (see story)
Police report in the affidavit that the couple were arrested following an investigation that started with the Department of Human Services.
DHS workers report in the affidavit that they received a report that the couple went to Arkansas and left eight children ranging from ages two to 17 home alone.
Officials report they went to the residence and found an adult friend checking on the juveniles.
The next day, Jan. 12, officials returned to the home and made contact with the Holts. The couple reportedly admitted that they went to Arkansas to attend a funeral.
During an investigation, they reportedly stated that the kids have items taken away for punishment and claimed that they do not spank the children. They explained that the two of the teens are biological children of Keith, three of the children are Candy’s nieces and nephews, and that three of the juveniles were left to them in a will.
On Jan. 14, DHS workers report that they received photos showing the 14-year-old with bruising on her face and a video of a juvenile male stating that Keith had punched him and thrown him down the stairs.
After receiving the information, DHS and a police officer went to the home two times. But no one answered.
On Jan. 16, officials returned and Candy answered the door.
A representative of the Dearing House interviewed one of the teens.
The teen’s arms and legs were reportedly covered in bruises. She claimed that Keith hits her with a board. The teen reportedly retrieved a 28-inch-long board from behind the television. The board was reportedly just over two inches wide and about an inch thick.
The teen was interviewed by a Dearing House official. During the interview she reportedly removed her make up, revealing bruising around her left eye.
She alleged that Keith would hit the juveniles with a belt and or the board and would start at the waist and work his way down.
She claimed that Keith threw one of the teens down the stairs and that the couple locked one of the teens in a bathroom for three days with out food or water. The teen said she was able to sneak some crackers and water to the juvenile.
Another teen was interviewed and claimed that Candy does nothing around the house. The teen reportedly said she is responsible for taking care of the three small children and that Keith whipped her on her legs for not having their clothes picked out. The teen reportedly said she was the one locked in the bathroom because the Holt’s believed that she said they were bad parents. The teen reportedly told officials that one time she received 30 swats with the belt from Keith and that he has switched to the board. She claimed that one time Keith swatted one of the females 40 times with the board because Candy couldn’t find her make up and believed the teen took it.
The juvenile male in the video reportedly denied making the tape.
Another juvenile male reportedly told officials that the Holt’s do not hit him because he threatened to hit them back. He backed up allegations made by the other teens.
Another juvenile male reportedly also backed up the claims made by the others and said that the couple leave him alone because he can’t control his anger and that he will hurt them.
The couple were arrested and questioned at the Blackwell police station.
Chief Jay Brewer reports that Candy stated that the kids are honest and that if they said something happened, she believes them. She reportedly spoke of an incident in which Keith spanked one of the juveniles with a belt 16 times and that she had to stop him. She reportedly denied being present for beatings and denied knowing about the teen locked in the bathroom.
Brewer reports that Keith stated that the kids are trustworthy and don’t lie. He reportedly initially denied hitting any of the juveniles since moving to Blackwell but reportedly changed his story. He reportedly admitted to hitting one of the juveniles two times on the buttocks with the board. He claimed that he only whips the children on the buttocks and not the legs and reportedly admitted that he never checked to see of he left bruises on the kids. He reportedly said that it is possible that he hits them so much he doesn’t remember each incident.
Brewer reports that Holt said that he might black out and doesn’t know how many times he hits them.
He reportedly claimed the kids must by lying but doesn’t know what their motivation would be. Holt also reportedly denied locking a teen in a bathroom for three days but admitted that there is a lock outside the upstairs bathroom door.
The couple are being held in the county jail on $100,000 bond and defense attorney Jarrod Stevenson has been appointed to the case.
House of Prayer pastor John Jack released the following statement:
The Blackwell House of Prayer rebukes all statements and actions carried out by Keith Holt. The Bible speaks against child abuse or any mistreatment of children, and we stand firmly by that. The House of Prayer was also never made aware by these children of any indication that this was being carried out.
Really, Pastor Jack? Not one person ever saw a bruise or injury on these children? Never?
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 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.
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 December 2021, Estevan Diaz, a youth pastor at Cascade Community Church in Cascade, Idaho, was accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl.
A youth pastor at the Cascade Community Church was arrested last week for felony sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl, according to Valley County court records.
Estevan Diaz, 45, was arrested Dec. 29 and charged with five counts of lewd conduct with a child younger than 16 and two counts of enticing a child through the internet, video image or other communication device.
Diaz was fired from his position at the church, Pastor Andy Wegener said.
“The church is shocked and grieved over what has happened, and we are working with all individuals who have been impacted to get them every resource available for healing,” Wegener said.The victim’s mother reported to the Valley County Sheriffs Office that there were more than 700 inappropriate texts between Diaz and her child, court records said.
Police questioned Diaz and uncovered seven incidents of sexual contact between Diaz and the victim in December, the records said.
….
Diaz had been a youth pastor at the church at 109 W. Pine St. in Cascade since July 2021.
In November 2022, Diaz pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
A former Cascade Community Church youth pastor has been convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison for lewd conduct with a child under 16 years old, the Valley County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday.
45-year-old Estevan Diaz must serve five years minimum in a state prison before he is eligible for parole.
The sheriff’s office said Diaz was arrested in December 2021.
The prosecutor’s office said the victim was a 13-year-old girl, and Diaz was a pastor at the time the crime was committed.
Online court records indicate prosecutors initially charged him with five counts of lewd conduct and two counts of enticing children through the internet. In a plea agreement, prosecutors moved to dismiss the enticement counts and all but one of the lewd conduct counts.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 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.
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.
Dennis McCranie, a pastor at Lakeside Church in Eastman, Georgia, stands accused of sexual battery involving three children under the age of sixteen.
The GBI has arrested and charged Dennis McCranie, age 59, of Eastman, GA, with three counts of felony sexual battery. The GBI was requested to assist with this investigation by the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday, March 28, 2024.
The preliminary investigation indicates on Sunday, March 24, 2024, McCranie intentionally had inappropriate physical contact with three children under the age of 16 years old.
On Wednesday, April 3, 2024, McCranie was arrested and booked into the Dodge County Law Enforcement Center.
Before McCranie worked in Dodge County, he was employed for more than 30 years with the Georgia Department of Corrections. In 2013, he was promoted to Deputy Warden of Security at Wilcox State Prison. McCranie was also a pastor at Lakeside Church in Eastman but “due to the seriousness of these allegations, he has been released of all duties and been asked to refrain from the church campus until further notice”, according to a spokesperson for the church.
As many of you may have heard, Dennis McCranie was taken into custody. He was arrested on charges of sexual battery. The charges that have been made against him involve alleged misconduct towards children and/or underage minors. Dennis served as volunteer associate here at Lakeside and due to the seriousness of these allegations he has been released of all duties and been asked to refrain from the church campus until further notice. While the leadership of Lakeside regards these allegations very seriously, we have not, nor will we, prejudge those involved in this matter. We have taken all appropriate steps to protect the vulnerable and traumatized to the greatest extent possible in a responsible, professional, and Biblical manner. We pray for all involved and ask everyone else to kindly do the same.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 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.
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 2023, Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) evangelist Benjamin Garlick was accused of five counts of Aggravated Rape of a Child, five counts of Aggravated Sexual Battery of a Minor who was under the age of 13, one count of Soliciting Sexual Exploitation of a Minor who was under the age of 13, and one count of Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child. Garlick’s wife, Shaantal, was also charged with one count of Facilitation of Aggravated Rape of a Child and one count of Aggravated Child Abuse/ Endangerment to a child age 8 and younger.
An evangelist who calls the Blackman area home is facing a slew of charges that revolve around the rape of a child. Benjamin Garlick was taken into custody under a sealed indictment that was handed down by a Rutherford County Grand Jury.
According to court documents, Garlick was charged with 5-counts of Aggravated Rape of a Child, 5-counts of Aggravated Sexual Battery of a Minor who was under the age of 13, 1-count of Soliciting Sexual Exploitation of a Minor who was under the age of 13, and 1-count of Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child.
Prior to Garlick’s arrest, he led church services in Texas, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama and Arkansas, just to name a few. The suspect spoke Spanish fluently and frequented Spanish speaking congregations, events and organizations. Over the past few years, Garlick amassed thousands of views on YouTube and Facebook as a guest pastor, speaking at a variety of churches both large and small throughout the country.
The 32-year-old child rape suspect is currently behind bars in the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center in Murfreesboro. Garlick is being held under a $750-thousand-dollar bond, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The suspect was taken into custody this past Tuesday on September 12, 2023, which was the same day that his wife Shaantal Garlick was arrested.
The courts show that Shaantal Garlick is facing 1-count of Facilitation of Aggravated Rape of a Child and 1-count of Aggravated Child Abuse / Endangerment to a child age 8 and younger.
Shaantal Garlick, who is free after posting a $75-thousand bond, was in court just one month prior to her arrest. Mrs. Garlick filed for an Order of Protection against Benjamin Garlick last month on August 14, 2023. The order was filed in the Rutherford County Chancery Court under the Honorable Howard W. Wilson.
MPD Public Information Officer Larry Flowers told WGNS News on Tuesday the detective over the investigation says the Garlick case remains active and is ongoing. The crimes that Mr. Garlick is accused of committing date back to February of 2021, but again, the investigation is ongoing.
Police told WKRN they don’t know how many total victims there are, where they occurred or how Benjamin Garlick knew them. Police say the rapes allegedly happened on Feb. 13, 2021, and that the case is still under investigation.
The pastor was indicted Sept. 12 and booked into the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center, where he still remains. His was booked into jail and released on a $75,000 bond two days later.
One pastor in Murfreesboro told WKRN that he has known Garlick since he was a child, and called him a father with a “role model” family.
The preacher with the “perfect” family with the “perfect” wife, yet both of them are charged with sex crimes. Hmm . . .
According to multiplereports, the couple has ministered as itinerant Christian evangelists with their six children. In recent years, the Garlicks have led church services in multiple states including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Texas, and their home state of Tennessee.
Authorities arrested Benjamin Garlick on Sept. 12 at his residence in Blackman, a suburb of Murfreesboro. Garlick remains in custody at Rutherford County Adult Detention Center on a $750,000 bond.
Shaantal Garlick was also arrested on Sept 12. She bonded out on Sept. 15, paying $75,000 in fees. The charges against both Garlicks stem from actions that were alleged to have occurred on Feb. 13, 2021.
The Garlicks have been supported in their itinerant ministry by First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana, a flagship church of the Independent Fundamental Baptist movement. As of publication time, the couple was still listed on the church’s website as church-supported missionaries.
Last month, a grand jury indicted the Garlicks on additional charges.
Murfreesboro police are doubling down on their call for potential victims to speak up in the case against a traveling pastor and his wife, both facing serious child rape charges. Benjamin Sean Garlick, 32, a minister known for preaching across the nation, particularly within the Hispanic community, and his wife, Shaantal, 30, are presently entangled in a legal maelstrom following a spate of charges that have come to light surrounding their alleged sexual abuse of minors.
According to WSMV, Benjamin Garlick was slammed with a litany of charges in September but now faces additional ones after a Rutherford County Grand Jury handed down a new indictment in March. The new charges include seven counts of aggravated rape of a child, six counts of aggravated sexual battery, along with two counts each of sexual exploitation of a minor and violation of the child protection act.
His spouse, Shaantal, also faces updated charges. As reported by FOX17, she has been reindicted on two counts each of facilitation of aggravated rape of a child and aggravated child neglect. Shaantal made bond last year but found herself under arrest again last month after the new indictment was served.
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Murfreesboro police have been highlighting the urgency for any additional victims to come forward, particularly those from the Hispanic community who may have crossed paths with the Garlicks in their nationwide ministry.
For those potentially affected, the call is not merely an announcement—it is a beacon, a chance to speak, to be heard, and to potentially find a semblance of justice in a situation where power and trust have been so flagrantly exploited. The Garlicks’ travel across this country was not, as it seems, a mission of faith healing and community building, but perhaps one that left behind a darker, indelible mark on the lives of the vulnerable.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 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.
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.
Hipolito Gomez-Perdomo, formerly a youth pastor at Vida Abundante Church in Fort Collins, Colorado, stands accused of sexually assaulting multiple church girls over the past three decades.
The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office arrested a former youth pastor in March on charges of sexually assaulting multiple children over the course of three decades.
The former youth pastor has been identified as Hipolito Gomez-Perdomo, 65, of Fort Collins. He was involved with the Vida Abundante church in northern Fort Collins, where he served as a youth pastor. Before that, Gomez-Perdomo lived in Fort Morgan and Houston.
Because of his position and the pattern reported by several victims, police are concerned that there may be additional victims who have yet to come forward.
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The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office began investigating after a report was made in early 2023. A teenage victim identified Gomez-Perdomo and told police that he sexually assaulted her in the early 2000s when she was a child. LCSO said she told law enforcement that she did not report the assault because she was afraid of the repercussions.
She came forward, the sheriff’s office said, because she learned other teenagers had allegedly experienced similar abuse by Gomez-Perdomo.
The sheriff’s office investigators found Gomez-Perdomo was reported for sexual assault in 2019 by a different victim, but the district attorney’s office declined to file charges then. Gomez-Perdomo is alleged to have left the Vida Abundante church after these allegations.
Investigators said the 2019 case was reopened in conjunction with the newer allegations.
During this, another victim came forward, according to the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office. She described a similar pattern of abuse during the late 1990s that occurred when she was a young child. She told investigators that Gomez-Perdomo met her family through church and after he was a trusted family friend he assaulted her.
Gomez-Perdomo was arrested in March on five counts of sexual assault on a child from a person in a position of trust and one count of sexual assault on a child. He was booked into the Larimer County Jail and a judge issued a $200,000 cash or surety bond. Additional charges are pending.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 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.
