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.
Zachary Radcliff, a youth pastor and music director at Oakwood Church in Ypsilanti, Michigan, was arrested and charged with one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, two counts of aggravated child sexually abusive activity, two counts of child sexually abusive activity and six counts of using a computer to commit a crime. Oakwood Church is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. Radcliff is also a Christian rock singer, a supporter of Donald Trump, and has performed at several high-profile Trump events. His father, Frank, is the pastor of Oakwood Church. (Note the timeline of the alleged crimes. Radcliff has been preying on church teens since he was nineteen years old.)
A Michigan church youth pastor who moonlights as a Christian rock singer and has performed before high-profile conservative audiences has been accused of preying on teenagers in his father’s flock for more than 10 years.
Zachary Radcliff, 29, was fired Oct. 12 from his job as the music and youth director of Oakwood Church in Ypsilanti, an Ann Arbor suburb, 10 days after the Michigan State Police launched an investigation. His father, Frank Radcliff, is the church’s senior pastor.
Zachary Radcliff was arrested over the weekend and charged with one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, two counts of aggravated child sexually abusive activity, two counts of child sexually abusive activity and six counts of using a computer to commit crime, according to court records. He was being held on $3 million bond.
“The investigation shows the alleged offenses have been occurring since as early as 2011,” the Michigan State Police said on its official X account, which noted that the alleged victims ranged in age from 12 to 17.
The date of offense for the charges against Radcliff is June 27, 2014, according to court records. The state police said that is because the majority of the alleged offenses happened around that time.
But the church, which is cooperating with the police investigation, shed more light on what Radcliff is accused of doing in its statement.
“The information that we received was shocking,” it said. “We were told that Zachary had been soliciting inappropriate photos and possibly videos from teens. We have also heard other stories. This information has ripped our hearts apart.”
Radcliff, who lives just south of Ann Arbor in the town of Saline, faces anywhere from 20 years to life in prison if convicted on the most serious charges against him, according to court records.
We received some very disturbing news about our music and youth director, Zachary Radcliff who is also the son of our senior pastor, Frank Radcliff. We realized while talking to him that there was more to the situation than was being expressed. He was suspended with pay on October 3rd, pending further investigation. More information was given to us on Saturday, October 12th, at 4:00 in the afternoon. Pastoral staff met with our church that evening and Sunday morning. Zach was terminated from his job, without pay effective Saturday, October 12th.
The State Police were notified by families that were involved and our church staff. We are not aware of the full extent of his crimes, and we are doing everything we can to cooperate with the ongoing police investigation.
The information that we received was shocking. We were told that Zachary had been soliciting inappropriate photos and possibly videos from teens. We have also heard other stories. This information has ripped our hearts apart. The safety and protection of the individuals in our church is what is paramount to us. We are devoted to doing what we can for the care of the victims of these crimes.
Every one of our staff members and individuals working with our children, teens, and adults go through background checks. We do our level best to make sure all are protected.
We have counseling that is being set up and provided for any youth or adults who have been impacted by this crime. What is being done will be provided to our church family in the next few days. Like you, our hearts are broken. We have a desire to serve our Master in this community, with the understanding that the church family should be one of the safest places we can be involved in. Part of that trust has been broken. Our commitment is to be completely transparent and do what we can to help with this investigation.
Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Trooper Ryan of the Michigan State Police Brighton Post at 517.899.6174
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.
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.
Mark Eichorn, a preschool teacher at St. John’s Episcopal School in Abilene, Texas, was accused of possessing child pornography.
An Abilene preschool employee has been accused of possessing child pornography.
Mark Penfield Eichorn was booked into the Taylor County Jail Thursday on charges of Possession of Child Pornography Under 10YO and Possession of Child Pornography with Intent to Promote.
A press release from the Abilene Police Department states investigators found lewd images of children on Eichorn’s cell phone, as well as other electronic evidence.
Eichorn’s LinkedIn and Facebook pages list him as an employee of St. John’s Episcopal School. LinkedIn states he is a substitute teacher, and Facebook claims he is a Preschool Teacher Assistant.
St. John’s sent a letter to parents after his arrest, which states “this afternoon, Thursday, May 9, the leadership of St. John’s Episcopal School was made aware of an investigation of a staff member by the Cyber Crimes Unit of the Abilene Police Department when a search warrant was served upon the staff member. The school is working in concert with the Police Department.”
The school also told KTAB and KRBC investigators do not believe any child at St. John’s Episcopal was affected by Eichorn’s alleged crimes, which were cyber in nature.
More information has been released on an Abilene preschool employee who was arrested and charged with possession of illicit media depicting children. According to court documents, he looked at himself as a “sugar daddy” to his victims.
More information has been released on an Abilene preschool employee who was arrested and charged with possession of illicit media depicting children. According to court documents, he looked at himself as a “sugar daddy” to his victims.
In an interview with Eichorn, he confessed to obtaining and paying for child pornography from the 13 and 12-year-olds for his sexual gratification. He also admitted to other acts, such as inappropriately touching a child and trading child pornography on social media.
Looking for an opportunity to serve as a mentor to children and their families so they can come to know Christ. Show all people that through Christ nothing is impossible.
U.S. Magistrate Judge John R. Parker ruled Thursday in Abilene’s federal court that Mark Penfield Eichorn would be subject to detention in a federal facility prior to his trial in connection with a charge of production of child pornography.
Eichorn stands accused of one count of production of child pornography.
According to allegations in the federal indictment filed June 5, Eichorn enticed and coerced two juveniles under 18 to produce child pornography.
The charges stem from an incident on Oct. 22, 2023, in which Eichorn allegedly paid and directed two boys, 12 and 13, to produce a sexually explicit video, according to court proceedings.
If convicted, Eichorn faces 15-30 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine, along with possible restitution to victims or the community. He also faces a possibility of supervised release of five years to life.
One of his defense attorneys, Christopher Solis, entered Eichorn’s plea of not guilty Thursday in federal court.
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The lengthy set of hearings on Thursday took over four hours to complete. Federal prosecutor Whitney Ohlhausen represented the interests of the United States versus Eichorn.
Before the detention hearing could begin, however, Solis filed a motion to seal the courtroom.
“I suspect you want to have the hearing in a closed set?” Parker asked Solis, who then began to explain his position.
Solis noted that he was afraid an open courtroom could “influence the public consciousness before he even goes to trial.”
Parker, however, was having none of it.
“Why should I sanitize what the public knows?” the judge said.
Parker went on to say that he was aware that it could be uncomfortable or embarrassing.
“That’s not a reason to close the courtroom,” he said.
Ohlhausen expanded on the point.
“Potential victims have a right to be present,” she said. “The public has a right to know what’s going on in their community.”
Federal homeland security investigator Michael Baker took the stand Thursday to detail the charge and the interview that Eichorn had with the Abilene Police Department.
Baker testified that Eichorn confessed to the charge in the interview and admitted to having two boys in Georgia make a sexually explicit video after he paid them $200 dollars via an online payment app.
Eichorn went so far as to admit that he knew they were minors, Baker testified.
Baker also testified that in 2019, there was an incident with Abilene Christian University police in which Eichorn admitted to them that he was “sexually attracted to children.”
In the interview with APD, Eichorn also admitted to inappropriately touching a child at St. John’s Episcopal School in Abilene while he was employed as a preschool teacher there, Baker testified.
While there had apparently not been an outcry of abuse at the school, Ohlhausen pointed out that some of the victims in the allegations “were as young as 4 years old when interviewed.”
Baker then stressed the importance of one of Eichorn’s responses to APD detectives.
The detectives asked him about the two juvenile boys in Georgia, Baker testified, and Eichorn responded with, “Just those two?”
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When it was defense attorney Russel Lorfing’s turn to present his case to the court, he called an expert witness, Dr. Scott Nelson, who had apparently treated Eichorn as his psychologist for over three years.
Nelson testified that Eichorn “has been diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum.”
Nelson testified that he was “worried about his physical and emotional safety” if Eichorn were to be incarcerated.
When Ohlhausen asked Nelson about Eichorn’s sexual desire for children, however, Nelson said “that has never come up” in his treatment of Eichorn.
Parker’s commanding presence in the courtroom was felt when he brought up serious questions for Nelson and pointed out his lack of knowledge about the charges or accusations of child pornography.
In an exchange that lasted several minutes, the judge scolded Nelson for his unawareness.
“You formed your opinions without knowing what he is accused of doing?” Parker asked Nelson.
When it was federal prosecutor Ohlhausen’s turn for closing arguments, she told the judge that Eichorn allegedly was “coercing other children across state lines to produce child pornography.”
“This was deliberate,” she said. “No conditions of release could guarantee the safety of children across the United States.”
Ohlhausen added, “The weight of the evidence against him is insurmountable,” and “this definitely is a hands-on predator.”
Defense attorney Lorfing then noted that while Eichorn should be held accountable, he has no criminal history other than a dismissed parking ticket.
Lorfing said that the defense was “open to anything” but prison. They would accept GPS monitoring, house arrest or an in-treatment facility instead of detention.
The judge, however, had strong words.
Parker said Eichorn “appears to be high functioning” and educated, given his master’s degree. Parker noted he did not find Nelson credible as a witness.
“The facts of this case are very disturbing,” the judge said.
Parker ruled that Eichorn would be incarcerated until the trial begins.
A woman in the audience said, “Yes, thank you, Jesus,” as a U.S. marshal placed Eichorn in handcuffs.
Mark Penfield Eichorn, a former preschool teacher’s assistant at St. John’s Episcopal School in Abilene, is facing a federal charge of production of child pornography.
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Taylor County court records indicate, however, that Eichorn is facing additional charges at the state level of possession with intent to promote child pornography and indecency with a child.
Eichorn has yet to be indicted on these two new charges.
He was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service after his federal detention hearing June 13.
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Eichorn, 27, was initially contacted by the Cyber Crimes Division of the Abilene Police Department in April, according to court documents. APD had received information that he was allegedly “paying children to provide him with naked pictures and videos of themselves.”
During the interview, he allegedly admitted to officers that he had viewed pornography of children as young as infants. He also gave officers permission to look through his cell phone.
Officers found multiple lewd images on his cell phone and later on his iPad after they had obtained a search warrant, according to allegations. Eichorn further admitted to “trading images of child pornography” via an online application.
As of June 18, he faces a second-degree felony charge of possession with intent to promote child pornography in connection with the admission in the interview.
In that same interview with APD officers, Eichorn also allegedly admitted to “having encounters with children in the past,” according to court documents.
He specifically mentioned an incident with an ex-girlfriend’s son who was 10 years old at the time.
While the unnamed child did not have an outcry of abuse, he became “very emotional during the interview and stated that he didn’t want Eichorn to get in trouble.”
Eichorn faces a second-degree felony charge of indecency with a child as a result of the alleged incident. The state charges are each punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Tuesday Eichhorn pleaded guilty to federal child pornography charges.
A 27-year-old man who paid two young boys $200 to produce a sexually explicit video pleaded guilty today to federal child pornography charges, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.
Mark Penfield Eichorn, a former preschool teacher’s assistant, was indicted in June. He pleaded guilty Tuesday to production of child pornography before U.S. Magistrate Judge John R. Parker.
According to plea papers, Mr. Eichorn admitted that he contacted two young boys, ages 12 and 13, via Snapchat and asked them to produce a sexually explicit video of themselves.
The children, who lived in Georgia, later confided to law enforcement that they produced a 90-second video as instructed and sent it to Mr. Eichorn, who paid them $200 via Venmo. Financial and phone records corroborated their accounts.
In an interview with law enforcement, Mr. Eichorn admitted that he knew the children were roughly 13 years old when he asked them to produce the video, and that he paid them $200 for it.
At a detention hearing shortly after he was indicted, federal law enforcement testified that when asked about the children in Georgia, Mr. Eichorn responded, “just those two?”
Mr. Eichorn now faces 30 years in federal prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release.
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.
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.
Rodney Locklear, pastor of now-closed Victory Church in Ruckersville, Virginia, stands accused of aggravated sexual battery of a minor, abduction with intent to defile a minor, indecent acts with a minor, and other charges alleged by a teenage victim. Locklear pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
A Ruckersville pastor charged with child sex crimes pleaded not guilty in Greene County Circuit Court Tuesday.
Rodney Martin Locklear, 48, was arrested Feb. 1 after a grand jury indicted him on charges of aggravated sexual battery of a minor, abduction with intent to defile a minor, indecent acts with a minor, and other charges alleged by a teenage victim. The alleged sexual assaults occurred May 5 of last year at Locklear’s residence as well as the now-closed Victory Church, where he was pastor.
The assaults occurred over multiple hours during a Cinco de Mayo celebration held at Victory Church, the victim alleges. The party began at church near the intersection of state Routes 29 and 33 in Ruckersville. But Locklear and multiple teenagers later left the church for his residence, where the first alleged assault occurred.
Locklear reportedly approached the young girl in his house, pushed her against the kitchen counter and inappropriately touched her against her wishes. Even though she protested and told him to stop, Locklear continued touching her without her consent while she repeatedly told him to stop, according to court documents.
The assault continued until Locklear heard someone coming up the stairs, the victim alleges.
The youth group and Locklear returned to the church later in the day to continue the Cinco de Mayo party. The alleged victim and others from the group planned to go together to a Wendy’s fast food restaurant, across the parking lot from the church.
“She [the victim] went back inside to get her wallet. While alone in the church, she went to the bathroom and she heard someone’s keys lock the door,” according to court documents.
Alone together again, Locklear proceeded to assault the young girl again a second time, she alleges.
“Locklear pushed her against the wall and began touching her. She refused again and told him to stop,” according to court documents.
Locklear had been ministering in the Greene County area for more than a decade prior to his February arrest. He served as pastor at Victory Church for six years before his arrest and the church’s closure. Before that, he attended and preached at Solid Rock Full Gospel Church in Barboursville, 5 miles away from Victory Church. He and his wife, Becky Morris Locklear, also founded Abundant Life Pentecostal Outreach Church in Ruckersville in 2012.
Solid Rock and Victory churches both still have sermons and material credited to Rodney Locklear on their social media.
Locklear and his wife also served in the gospel singing group Restoration, which toured in the 2000s throughout Central Virginia, West Virginia and Georgia.
Restoration won Group of the Year 2008 at the Music City Gospel Showcase Convention and Awards Show in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Larry Morris, pastor of Solid Rock Full Gospel Church, was also in the Southern gospel group.
Locklear’s trial begins March 17 of next year in Greene County Circuit Court.
If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.
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.
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 Bellinger, a professor at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Texas, was arrested on suspicion of possession of child pornography.
Law enforcement authorities have arrested on suspicion of possession of child pornography a man who was a Brite Divinity School professor and theological librarian when police allege he obtained illicit images. Charles Bellinger, 62, was taken into custody on Oct. 2 after Fort Worth police Internet Crimes Against Children Unit detectives, TCU police officers, and United States Secret Service special agents served a search warrant at Bellinger’s house in Arlington and at his office on the TCU campus.
Bellinger was a professor of theology and ethics. References to Bellinger on the divinity school’s web pages appear to have been removed, but the pages are archived. TCU and the Divinity School share resources but are separate institutions.
The Rev. Stephen Cady, Brite Divinity School’s president, wrote in an Oct. 3 statement that the alleged behavior is repugnant.
“When Brite administration was made aware of this situation, we immediately initiated our own investigation, cooperated with law enforcement, shut down his access to school technology, personnel, and facilities, and placed him on immediate administrative leave before terminating his employment shortly thereafter,” Cady wrote. “He did not teach a single class after we learned of the concern.” “I am mindful of the ways that some faith institutions have failed in the wake of these situations and am determined that Brite handle this situation consistent with our values and be a part of a more faithful narrative,” Cady wrote. “We will, as a community, get through this difficult moment as we have difficult ones in the past, prayerfully and together. Please do be in prayer for Brite.”
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According to the school’s website, “Although Brite Divinity School and Texas Christian University are independent institutions, they have a rich historical relationship and enjoy a shared heritage, affiliation, traditions, and values with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).” According to Bellinger’s biography from the divinity school’s website, he obtained a master’s degree from TCU in 2013, and also earned degrees from the University of Illinois, the University of Virginia, Pacific School of Religion and Portland State University.
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“During my years in graduate school I studied both theology and ethics because the concept of narrow disciplinary boundaries separating the two fields never made sense to me,” Bellinger wrote in the biography. “I also developed a strong interest in reflecting on human psychology from a theological point of view. … My major theme over the years since college has been reflecting on violence psychologically and ethically.” Bellinger remained at the Tarrant County Jail on Thursday. A bond has not been set. It is unclear whether a defense attorney has been appointed or retained in the case.
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.
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.
Gabriel “Gabe” Mills, guest experience pastor at Journey Church in Kenosha, Wisconsin, stands accused of capturing an intimate representation without consent.
A Kenosha pastor has been charged with two felonies after, prosecutors say, he used a man’s cellphone during a group meeting to send himself nude photographs of the man’s wife.
Gabriel E. Mills, a 41-year-old former pastor at Journey Church in Kenosha, was charged Wednesday with two counts of capturing an intimate representation.
The Kenosha Police Department issued a statement Wednesday announcing that Mills made his initial appearance in court that same day where bail was set at $7,500.
According to a criminal complaint, a detective met with a married couple on Sept. 28 regarding Mills, who they accuse of using the husband’s cellphone and sending himself nude or partially nude photos of the man’s wife without her consent during a life group meeting the night of Sept. 22.
The husband said Mills had his phone because he needed help downloading an audio book. An analysis of the phone found that the texting and AirDrop apps were used while Mills had the phone, according to the complaint, and police found two photos of the man’s wife on Mills’ phone when they executed a search warrant on the device.
Mills was listed as a “Guest Experience Pastor” on the Journey Church website but has since been removed, the complaint states. He was terminated on Sept. 29 and arrested on Sept. 30.
As a condition of his bail, Mills cannot contact Journey Church or its staff members, the couple and cannot posses a device of others.
Pastor Kevin Taylor with Journey Church, whose Kenosha campus is located at 10700 75th St., issued a statement.
“This news has come as a great shock to our church and school community,” he said. “We hold our leaders to the highest standards of moral conduct, and any violation of these values is deeply troubling. We terminated Gabe’s employment upon learning of the allegations that led to his arrest.
“Our hearts go out to anyone who may have been impacted by this situation. We are offering counseling and pastoral care to those affected. We ask that you respect their privacy during this time.
“We are committed to transparency and accountability throughout this process and will await further information from the authorities.”
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.
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.
James Swanson, pastor of Rome Wesleyan Church in Rome, New York has been sentenced to three years in prison for child pornography possession.
A former pastor at Rome Wesleyan Church has been sentenced to three years in federal prison for possession of child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
James H. Swanson, 59, of Rome, was sentenced by Chief Judge Brenda K. Sannes on Friday to three years in prison, followed by 15 years of post-release supervision, on a charge of activities constituting child pornography. Swanson was also ordered to pay at least $8,000 in fees and restitution.
Authorities said Swanson, for years, would download child pornography from the internet and then upload it to a Google Gmail account. The authorities were tipped off by Google in March 2022, leading to an investigation and interview with Swanson, officials said. Swanson admitted to the conduct while being interviewed, authorities said. He was taken into custody in September 2023.
According to court documents, Swanson served as the pastor of the Rome Wesleyan Church for several decades.
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.
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.
Marvin Scales, a youth pastor at an unreported church in Waxahachie, Texas, was recently sentenced to fifty years in prison without parole after pleading guilty to four felonies including two counts of continuous sexual abuse of a young child, one count of aggravated sexual assault of a child, and one count of sexual assault of a child. He is also accused of impregnating a fourteen-year-old child.
Astoundingly, Scales was a registered sex offender, stemming from a 1998 conviction of sexually assaulting an eleven-year-old girl and sexual indecency with a thirteen-year-old girl. Oh, the grace of God and unconditional forgiveness, right? Scales spent ten years in prison for his crimes. How in the hell, did a church, any church hire him as a youth pastor? It took me all of TEN SECONDS to find Scales in Texas’ registered sex offenders database. The church in question is culpable in Scales’ crimes. Absolutely NO EXCUSE.
A Waxahachie youth pastor who impregnated a 14-year-old girl was sentenced to 50 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually abusing four minors.
Marvin Scales, 53, received a 50-year sentence on Monday after pleading guilty to two counts of sexual abuse of a young child, one count of aggravated sexual assault of a child, and one count of sexual assault of a child.
An investigation into Scales began in August 2023 when a 14-year-old girl gave birth at Baylor Scott & White – Waxahachie.
Hospital staff tipped off police when Scales went to the hospital with the young girl and was “overly involved” in the delivery process.
Waxahachie police then obtained a warrant for the newborn’s DNA and confirmed Scales was the biological father.
Scales was the youth pastor of a local church. However, authorities did not specify the name or location of the church.
Once church members learned about the first victim, several more came forward.
The DA’s office says Scales would regularly have children from the church on overnight trips and would have them sleep over at his house.
Victims told investigators Scales would have sex with them on the trips and overnight stays.
Investigators say Scale had an extensive security system at home that caught several of the sexual assaults. They say he even recorded several of the assaults himself and kept them at home.
The security footage helped authorities find even more child sex abuse victims.
According to the Texas Public Sex Offender website, Scales first became a registered sex offender in 2006. He verified his registration with the Waxahachie Police Department on June 5, 2023.
Online records show Scales was convicted of three child sex abuse crimes in 1998 and was released from jail after 10 years.
It’s unclear when the local church hired Scales or if they knew about his sex offender status before hiring him.
Scales is not eligible for parole.
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.
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.
Bertheophilus Maurice Bailey, pastor of St. Andrew Christian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, stands accused of sexually assaulting his daughter for years.
A pastor’s daughter was in sixth grade when he prayed over her, then started to touch her inappropriately, Oklahoma police said. Bertheophilus Maurice Bailey, of Tulsa, then sexually assaulted her and continued to do so for years, police said. “For too long, I suffered in silence, afraid of the repercussions of speaking out against someone with such influence and power,” the daughter, Harmony Bailey Oates, said in a Sept. 17 Facebook post, coming forward about a decade of mental and sexual abuse by her father.
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Tulsa police said the victim filed a report about the abuse in August 2023, but they said she was not ready to press charges until this month. On Sept. 25, 45-year-old Bailey was arrested and charged with rape, child sexual abuse, incest, forcible sodomy and burglary, according to jail records.
The abuse that started when Oates was a child continued into her adulthood, police and Oates said. Bailey raped the victim when she was 16, and he later broke into her home and sodomized her after she moved out as an adult, police said. “The damage he has done is immeasurable. It has poisoned my relationships, poisoned my mind,” she said. “It has filled me with doubts, with fears, with a sense of worthlessness that I struggle to overcome.”
Her father was a pastor at St. Andrew Christian Church until Sept. 21, according to the church’s website. He had been there since 2018. McClatchy News reached out to St. Andrew Christian Church for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
“He took away my innocence, my sense of self, my ability to trust,” Oates said. “He left me broken, shattered, a shell of the person I could have been. And yet, I refuse to let him define me.” Family members said they learned about the abuse on the same day Oates made her Facebook post, according to a statement posted on Sept. 18. “No one should ever have their trust and safety violated in such a horrific way, especially by their own father. We are all so deeply sorry that this happened to you,” the statement said.
In a recorded telephone phone call sent to the police by Harmony Oates’ mother, Oates confronts Bailey about the abuse, and Bailey begs Oates not to tell her husband saying, “the secret getting out would be a total catastrophe to the whole kingdom of God,” the affidavit states. “
In a series of text messages between Bailey and his wife, where she confronts Bailey about the alleged sexual abuse and his alleged lying, Bailey confesses to lying and saying, “He had planned on taking the secret to his grave.”
In another text message Bailey says he “feels ashamed and humiliated from the exposure of the abuse.” After confessing his guilt, Bailey texts that “jumping from touching to sex is not a big deal for me,” court documents show.
The affidavit states Bailey admitted to watching pornography with his daughter saying, “seeds of sin grow” and acting out the scenes because that’s “what people do.”
Oates told police the alleged sexual abuse started when she was in sixth grade and her father would pray over her body and touching her inappropriately. Oats said the abuse eventually escalated to rape when she was 16 or 17 years old.
After Oats married and had a child, she accused Bailey of coming to her home and sexually assaulting her there and also peeping through her windows.
Bailey reportedly told a therapist in emails of the alleged crimes, who then reported it to authorities. The minister reportedly “he felt tricked and thought he was safe to disclose in therapy,” the affidavit states.
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.
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.
Rocky Goodwin, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, and CEO of Evangelistic International Ministries, both in Warren, Arkansas, stands accused of distributing, possessing, and viewing sexually explicit conduct involving a child. Goodwin has been scrubbed from the websites of Calvary Baptist and EIM. Currently, their Facebook profiles are inoperative.
A year-long child porn investigation led to charges filed against an 86-year-old pastor of an Arkansas church, authorities said. Rocky Goodwin, a pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Warren, was charged Sept. 16 with 10 counts of distributing, possessing, and viewing sexually explicit conduct involving a child, court records show.
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The investigation began in May 2023 when Microsoft informed officers that a suspected child porn image had been uploaded on a user’s computer into a reverse image search on Bing, according to an affidavit. Two similar images were uploaded months later, authorities said.
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Investigators learned all three reverse image searches contained child sexual abuse material, investigators said. Officers executed a search warrant at Goodwin’s home in May 2024, seizing his laptop, according to the complaint. Files on the computer included .zip files with sexual labels, including one labeled with the words “12 year old girl,” authorities said. The computer contained 71 child porn images, investigators said. “Mr. Goodwin denied any knowledge of the child sexual abuse material and denied operating the laptop in that illegal manner,” police said. “Mr. Goodwin stated he knew no other person that could have had access to that laptop.” When Goodwin was initially arrested in August, he said through his attorney that he “vehemently denies all charges and allegations.” “They are false,” lawyer David P. Price told the Magnolia Reporter. “We are looking forward to Mr. Goodwin’s day in court and are confident that he will be exonerated.”
A Magnolia attorney for a Warren man accused of several pornography-related offenses has issued a statement saying charges against his client are false.
Arkansas State Police Special Agents arrested Rocky Goodwin, 86, of Warren on Thursday, August 15, 2024.
“On August 17 and 18, several reports were published regarding the arrest of Rocky Goodwin of Warren, Arkansas, for the viewing, downloading and/or distribution of child pornography,” said lawyer David P. Price.
“Mr. Goodwin vehemently denies all charges and allegations. They are false. We are looking forward to Mr. Goodwin’s day in court, and are confident that he will be exonerated,” Price wrote.
According to Arkansas State Police, in May, agents with ASP’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) executed a search warrant at Goodwin’s residence in Warren after multiple cyber tips were reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
A laptop computer located at the home was seized and analyzed during the investigation. That analysis identified several known child sexual abuse material (CSAM) images along with an internet history related to CSAM material.
Goodwin is free on $150,000 bond.
Where oh where did the child porn images on Pastor Goodwin’s computer come from?
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.
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.
At one time, Jordan Daniel “JD” Hall was a big name in Evangelical discernment ministry circles. Hall used his blog, Pulpit & Pen (now named Protestia), social media, and podcasts to maintain the Book of Life, “discerning who is in and who is out of God’s Kingdom.” Hall was fond of going after preachers he deemed heterodox or heretical. He was unafraid to name names. Now it is time for his name to be named. Hall has reaped what he sowed. While many Evangelicals considered Hall a defender of the faith, I always thought of him as a bully. I had several conversations with Hall over the years, but nothing substantial.
The founder of a controversial Christian website known for its criticism of evangelical leaders for being too liberal has resigned from his church for “serious sin.”
Montana pastor Jordan Daniel “J.D.” Hall is no longer listed as pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church in Sydney, Montana, and has been removed from the staff of Protestia, a website originally known as Pulpit&Pen.
While the church has not yet publicly acknowledged Hall’s departure, as of Sunday (June 26) the church’s leadership page can no longer be found. Also on Sunday, Protestia issued a statement saying Hall had resigned as pastor of Fellowship Baptist and is “disqualified from pastoral ministry.”
“Earlier this week, the team at Protestia received allegations of serious sin committed by our brother JD Hall,” the statement reads. “After correspondence with leadership at Fellowship Baptist Church, we learned that JD was determined by the church to have disqualified himself from pastoral ministry, had resigned from the pastorate, and submitted himself to a process of church discipline. Due to JD’s removal from pastoral ministry, we likewise have removed him from ministry with Protestia.”
Hall’s resignation is the latest bad news for the Montana pastor and blogger.
In February, Hall filed for bankruptcy after being sued for libel for a story the Montana Gazette, another of Hall’s publications, had run about Adrian Jawort, a Native American activist. Then in mid-May, he was arrested for driving under the influence and carrying a concealed weapon while intoxicated.
Hall later settled with Jawort, retracting the story that prompted the lawsuit and issuing an apology, saying he had fabricated the story. As part of the settlement, Jawort can make a $250,000 claim against Hall in bankruptcy court. Hall currently faces an additional lawsuit filed by the WhiteFish Credit Union, for stories published in the Montana Daily Gazette, according to the Sydney Herald.
In the past, Hall’s congregation—a self-described fundamentalist, independent Baptist Church—has stood by their pastor, despite his legal problems. The church issued a statement supporting Hall in February, saying he faced “trials and persecution” from liberal activists.
“We rejoice in our pastor’s persecution and suffering for the sake of our Lord, Christ. And we, as a congregation, we stand behind him 100%, as has already been established by the unanimous, united voice of our congregation,” the statement read.
After Hall’s arrest, the church also issued a statement of support, claiming Hall suffered from a vitamin deficiency that caused “poor coordination, slurred speech, word displacement.” The church also said at the time that Hall was overworked and would take several months off to rest. According to that statement, Hall could not return to work without his wife’s approval.
Hall has pled not guilty to the DUI and weapon charges. He also addressed the church following his arrest, according to the church’s statement in May.
“He cautioned us solemnly to be ready for what enemies of Christ would do with his situation and to brace themselves,” the statement read. “The congregation spoke openly to assure Pastor Hall he should not be ashamed, that we do not care what the world thinks, as we know the truth.”It is unclear whether Hall’s departure from the church is related to his previous arrest.
Hall is best known for his role as Pulpit&Pen founder, where he criticized what he saw as liberal and worldly influences affecting the evangelical church and especially the Southern Baptist Convention. Among the site’s regular targets were Bible teacher Beth Moore, former Southern Baptist ethicist Russell Moore (no relation), Religion News Service columnist Karen Swallow Prior, former SBC President J.D. Greear, and Tennessee preacher and Trump supporter Greg Locke.
After Facebook banned the Pulpit&Pen, the site was renamed “Protestia.” Hall also heads the Gideon Knox Group, which runs a church-based collection of media sites and other media ministries, including the Polemics Report, the Bible Thumping Wingnut podcast network, and an AM radio station.
Hall’s church echoed his political views. Along with listing the church’s views about the Bible, the Trinity, baptism and other Christian doctrines, the Fellowship Baptist statement of faith includes a “repudiation of the Social Justice Movement, Critical Theory, Liberation Theology, and Marxism in all of its various forms.”
A report from the Sidney Police Department cited by The Sidney Herald said Hall was arrested on May 11, 2022, at approximately 11 p.m. on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon and multiple traffic violations while driving under the influence.
An incident report shows that when police approached Hall, he spoke slowly, his eyes were watery, closed slowly and deliberately, and his speech was slurred and mumbled.
He also stumbled, displayed poor balance, and performed poorly on a field sobriety test. No alcohol was found in his system when a blood alcohol test was administered. He also had a Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 Shield handgun, which was found under his coat in an inside-the-waistband holster during his arrest, the report added.
Fellowship Baptist Church leaders say they were unaware of Hall’s addiction to Xanax when they defended him publicly and rejected his initial offer to resign.
As the scandal erupted, Hall was also accused of physically assaulting his wife, Mandy, and son, and embezzling $10,000 from his church.
It is now known that Hall was a Xanax addict. This, however, would not be Hall’s biggest problem. Earlier this month, Hall was convicted of felony embezzlement after he pleaded no contest. The judge ordered Hall to pay $15,000 restitution to Fellowship Baptist Church. That’s right, he stole money from the church. Not only that, but some people are alleging that Hall stole more than $100,000 from the church.
Jordan “J.D.” Hall, once a prominent religious and political figure in Montana right-wing circles, was ordered earlier this month to pay more than $15,000 to the Sidney church he once led after a Richland County District Court judge found him guilty of felony embezzlement.
As part of a deferred sentencing agreement filed Sept. 10, Hall, who was ousted from Fellowship Baptist Church in 2022 amid claims of drug abuse, domestic violence and embezzlement, must also report to a probation officer and abstain from drugs and alcohol. He also may not own any weapons or enter bars or casinos, among other restrictions. If Hall complies with the terms of his three-year sentence, he will not be considered a felon.
“It’s with my deepest regret and full admission of my own personal failures, and to be clear, sins, that I have deeply hurt the church I loved and formerly served for so long a time,” Hall wrote to his former church in a court-ordered apology. “I pray that resolution of this issue might bring healing and wholeness with your body. As I move forward to a different, better, and more quiet life, with these things behind me, I pray that you are able to move forward with your very important mission as well.”
According to court documents, Hall, who operated the now-defunct Montana Daily Gazette, routinely and improperly used the church’s funds for personal and political expenses. Documents filed by Richland County Attorney Charity McLarty alleged that Hall’s improper expenditures surpassed $100,000 over a five-year period.
These expenditures, according to court records, included payments on a gun safe, personal travel, cell phones for his family and payments to employees of Hall’s political blog. One witness, a former treasurer of the church, told Sidney police that when her husband was diagnosed with cancer in 2021, Hall took her copy of the church checkbook and said he would start paying the bills.
The treasurer “mentioned that she now suspected that Hall did this so she did not have the need to look at bank statements,” according to court documents.
The conclusion of the investigation into Hall’s embezzlement — allegations of which have floated since the firebrand pastor was forced from the church two years ago — was first reported by Montana 1st News, a right-wing blog operated by former Daily Gazette contributor Brenda Roskos. Hall could not be reached for comment through his attorney. A representative of the church did not return a request for comment.
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Hall courted frequent controversy as he built a profile but avoided any real blowback until 2022 when he settled a libel lawsuit brought the previous year by a trans woman lobbyist he’d accused of intimidating a lawmaker in a story he wrote and published in the Montana Daily Gazette. Facing sanctions and mounting legal fees, Hall declared bankruptcy and even posted an apology to the lobbyist — authored by her attorneys and published out of legal necessity, he was quick to note — in the Daily Gazette.
The church pulled its support for Hall when he was arrested on drug and firearms charges following a traffic stop later in the year. From that point, Hall’s world unraveled. Church leadership removed Hall as pastor, explaining that he had shown up to Sunday service while high on Xanax, and that many in the congregation had suspected Hall’s drug use but kept quiet for fear of stirring conflict. The church also said that Hall’s wife had come to them with allegations of domestic violence against her husband. The church filed two police reports, one related to the claims of violence and another alleging that Hall had embezzled funds from the church.
When Montana Free Press reported these allegations in 2022, the police reports were heavily redacted and the state had only brought charges against Hall for drug possession, driving under the influence and possession of a concealed weapon while under the influence. (Prosecutors ultimately dropped all but the second charge, and Hall was found guilty last year).
In July 2022, the church’s newly elected treasurer, Deedra Erickson, told Sidney police that she suspected Hall had stolen funds from the church, according to court records. The last suspicious use of church funds, she noted, was in June of that year — just before Hall left the church.
“When asked what brought this matter to the attention of the church and herself, Erickson stated Hall had begun to behave erratically. Erickson said they began looking into the first month of purchases and saw several suspicious transactions,” court records said.
It’s one thing for Hall to use his church debit card to cover travel, gas and other expenses related to his ministry, Erickson told police, but Hall seemed to be using church funds to cover all manner of other costs: trips to Helena, Great Falls and Mexico, and a buy-now-pay-later loan Hall obtained to purchase a gun safe. He was also using church funds to pay contributors to his various publications, she contended.
When a police lieutenant showed the church’s former treasurer, Joyce Nesper, an “excel printout of all Hall’s expenses all over the United States … she made the statement that those were political trips that should have not been paid for by the Church,” according to court documents.
Nesper told police that Hall had taken over responsibilities related to financial transparency, like reviewing bank statements and submitting financial reports to church leadership.
But the more than $100,000 in expenditures that Hall’s accusers questioned is not reflected in the relatively meager restitution Hall paid the church.
In a memo to the court, Hall contested the prosecution’s accounting of his expenditures. Had the case gone to trial, he argued, he would have shown that all but 55 of the 1,186 transactions the church presented to police as fraudulent or unauthorized were proper or made without his knowledge. He asserted these 55 charges amounted to $15,454.44, the amount the court ultimately ordered him to pay as part of his plea agreement.
Many of the travel expenses the church questioned, Hall argued, were legitimate. It was Hall’s duty as pastor, he said in court documents, to “proclaim the Gospel” through “personal evangelism” and “any other means,” including representing the church in “civic matters.” This often meant travel out of state or even the country.
And he said his schedule was public, his travel destinations known to his congregants and church leaders. He said that in 2010, for example, he attended a Tea Party event.
“He was given a warm reception and he continued to ‘proclaim the Gospel’ at many subsequent events,” Hall’s memo said. “His sermons were published on YouTube and elsewhere and the FBC congregation knew about them, watched them, encouraged them, and often met to send him off to the next one with prayer and hope those who listened would be persuaded to love God in the way the FBC did.”
He blamed several expenditures identified as improper on mistakes by church treasurers or his secretary. And to the extent that the church’s money was going to, for example, his podcast, it was in service of his evangelical aim, he argued in the memo.
“In these podcasts, Mr. Hall discussed his evangelical strategy: Instead of bringing politics to religion, he would bring religion to politics and invade political events with religion,” according to the memo.
Since his forced departure from Fellowship, Hall has almost entirely avoided the public eye. In October of 2023, he appeared in an interview for the Christian polemics website Protestia. In the interview, he claimed he became accidentally addicted to Xanax because of medical negligence.
Hall doesn’t seem repentant, grudgingly admitting some financial improprieties, but denying the rest or blaming the church treasurer or his secretary for improperly accounting for his expenditures. It remains to be seen what the future holds for Hall and his family.
Protestia claims that Hall is INNOCENT. They, too, are high on Xanax, if this is the conclusion David Morrill and his merry band of Pharisees have come to.
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.
