The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.
Jesse Claybon, pastor of New Age Missionary Baptist Church in St. Louis, Missouri, faces four counts of child molestation.
The Belleville News-Democrat reports:
A St. Louis pastor was charged with child molestation of a girl under age 17.
Jesse Claybon, 47, of St. Louis, faces four counts of child molestation. According to the St. Louis County Police Department, he is accused of sexual contact with a girl under the age of 17 between Aug. 1, 2017, and Sept. 29, 2017.
The girl was known to Claybon, who is a reverend at the New Age Missionary Baptist Church, according to police.
The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.
Robert Batcho, pastor of Saint Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church in Elmira Heights, New York, was accused today of illegally giving alcohol to four minors.
A local church leader was arrested after being accused of giving alcohol to minors.
According to the Elmira Heights Police Department, 60-year-old Robert J. Batcho is facing four counts of unlawfully dealing with a child. Batcho is the pastor at the Saint Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church in Elmira Heights.
Police say he gave beer to four minors, where he lives on McCann’s Boulevard.
The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.
Viktor Lishavsky, formerly the pastor of an unnamed Evangelical church, stands accused of sexually assaulting numerous foster children who were under his care.
Viktor Lishavsky, 37, carried out sickening sex attacks on mostly victims aged 13 or under in his care and treated them as his “personal harem”.
The “monster” abused five schoolgirls for five years when he was their legal guardian, it is claimed.
Cops arrested him in June 2017 in Komsomolsk-on-Amur after one of the foster girls complained to a teacher.
But details of his alleged depraved offending over five years have only just emerged.
Social services in the Khabarovsk region have now been accused of negligence in putting vulnerable children including orphans under his supervision.
Igor Komissarov, a senior official of the Russian Investigative Committee, expressed dismay over the alleged reign of terror.
He said: “Just imagine these girls who were given to a rapist.
“Why in Khabarovsk region did the so-called foster dad have the opportunity to rape children under his control for five years?”
Lishavsky, the former head of an evangelical church who ran a shoe repair shop, was seen as a “model foster father”.
He even appeared on local TV with his wife Olga as an example of a successful fostering family.
The “trouble-free family” had passed repeated inspections by social care workers.
The couple are reported to have had three children of their own, and to have fostered up to nine more youngsters.
No charges have been brought against her.
Lishavsky was paid £265 a month by the state to care for each of the five adolescent girls he abused.
A local media report claimed: “With the money that the government paid him as a foster parent, he rented an apartment where he had sex with either one or another foster daughter every other day, or every third day.”
Lishavsky is accused of more than 900 offences including 248 rapes and 358 “violent sexual acts” against girls aged 13 and under, according to a leaked charge sheet.
He also faces more than 270 further sex abuse charges involving girls aged between 12 and 17.
The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.
Twenty years ago, Andy Savage, teaching pastor at Highpoint Church in Memphis, Tennessee, sexually assaulted a church teenager. He was never prosecuted for his crime. His church, at the time, Woodland Parkway Baptist Church in Spring, Texas, covered up his “sin.” Thanks to fine people at The Wartburg Watch, Savage’s victim’s story is being heard far and wide, forcing the not-so-good pastor Savage to shed crocodiles tears before his church as he confessed his crime. Astoundingly, the tone-deaf, clueless sheep at Highpoint Church gave their pastor a standing ovation.
Lisa Gutierrez and Adam Darby, reporters for the Kansas City Star, wrote:
Members of a Memphis megachurch stood and applauded their pastor on Sunday when he admitted to and apologized for engaging in a “sexual incident” with a high school student 20 years ago.
Jules Woodson, who accused Highpoint Church Pastor Andy Savage of sexually assaulting her when she was 17, told The New York Times she watched the moment, streamed live on the church’s YouTube page, in disbelief.
“It’s disgusting,” she said.
Though Savage, an author and podcast host, remains on the Highpoint staff, repercussions have begun for what Woodson says happened two decades ago.
The Times reported that on Monday afternoon, Christian publishing company Bethany House canceled the July publication of Savage’s book “The Ridiculously Good Marriage.”
Also on Monday, The Commercial Appeal in Memphis reported that the Austin Stone Community Church in Austin, Texas, placed staff member Larry Cotton on leave.
Cotton was associate pastor at Woodland Parkway Baptist Church in Texas, where Savage worked at the time of the alleged assault.
Woodson has said a pastor at the church urged her to stay quiet about what happened.
“We grieve for what happened to Jules Woodson,” said a statement to the Commercial Appeal from Austin Stone’s communications director John Young. “… No person should ever be subject to sexual sin from any church leader.”
The church felt it was “appropriate to ensure (Cotton’s) qualifications for his current role of leadership,” the statement read.
“In order to remove our potential bias from the situation, we have placed (Cotton) on a leave of absence while an investigation by a third-party organization is undertaken. We will provide a full report to the church after its completion.”
Woodson graphically shared her story on Friday with The Wartburg Watch, a site started by two Christian women who pursued their faith but saw “disturbing trends within Christendom.”
After she did, Savage went on social media to say he “had a sexual incident with a female high school senior” when he was a college student working for a Texas Baptist church now known as StoneBridge.
Savage, who helped found Highpoint Church, said he responded in a “biblical way.” He said he had apologized to Woodson immediately and asked for her forgiveness, Fox 13 in Memphis reported.
During his remarks on Sunday he did not tell the congregation what happened, but he said he had sinned and had not keep it a secret from Highpoint’s leaders. He also said he believed the episode had been “dealt with in Texas.”
“Until now, I did not know there was unfinished business with Jules,” he said, reading a statement off his cell phone.
“Jules, I am deeply sorry for my actions 20 years ago. I remain committed to cooperate with you toward forgiveness and healing.”
When he finished, church members stood and applauded.
Chris Conlee, Highpoint’s lead pastor, said he supported Savage, one of the people “hurt by the ripple effect of the consequences of that sin.”
Woodson told The Times the episode had not been “dealt with” because it had never been reported to law enforcement authorities.
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She told The Times she sent an email in December to Savage at Highpoint, asking him, “Do you remember that night that you were supposed to drive me home from church and instead drove me to a deserted back road and sexually assaulted me?”
She said she decided to go public when he didn’t respond after more than a month.
Here’s some of what she wrote in the blog post.
“One evening, in the early Spring of 1998, I was hanging out with my youth minister, Andy Savage, at my church, Woodlands Parkway Baptist Church located at 10801 Falconwing Drive,” she wrote.
“I was 17 years old at the time and a senior at The Woodlands High School. There had been multiple kids there at the church after school, but as the night got later I was the only student left, alone in the church with Andy. I did not have a vehicle at the church, so Andy offered to take me home to my Mom’s house. …
“We reached a dead end and he turned the truck around before putting it in park. We were stopped, and he turned the headlights off. Suddenly, Andy unzipped his jeans and pulled out his penis. He asked me to suck it. I was scared and embarrassed, but I did it. I remember feeling that this must mean that Andy loved me. He then asked me to unbutton my shirt. I did. He started touching me over my bra and then lifted my bra up and began touching my breasts.
“After what I believe to have been about 5 minutes of this going on, he suddenly stopped, got out of the truck and ran around the back and to my side before falling to his knees. I quickly buttoned my shirt back up and got out of the truck. Now I was terrified and ashamed. I remember him pleading, while he was on his knees with his hands up on his head, ‘Oh my god, oh my god. What have I done? Oh my god, I’m so sorry. You can’t tell anyone …”
She said she felt manipulated and used, and that guilt and anxiety were “eating at her soul.” She said she took her accusations to the church’s leaders, but police were never called.
She said she was told that the associate pastor would inform the head pastor and the church would deal with the situation.
Savage, she said, went on as though nothing was outside of the norm, teaching a workshop titled “True Love Waits” about sexual purity and abstinence.
The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.
Camerius Mills, pastor of St. Paul Baptist Church in Abbeville, Alabama, was sentenced last Friday to twenty years in prison for having sex with a fifteen-year-old church member.
A repentant Alabama pastor who confessed to luring a 15-year-old member of his church into sexual acts with the promise of teaching her how to play the piano was sentenced to 20 years in prison Friday.
Pastor Camerius Mills was the 29-year-old leader of St. Paul’s Baptist Church when he was arrested in 2015 and charged with rape, sodomy, and traveling to meet a child for the purpose of unlawful sex. He had served in the position for about three years.
“He was a pastor and he had befriended this young lady in his congregation,” Sheriff’s Investigator Keith Cauthen, who arrested Mills, told the Dothan Eagle in the summer of 2016. “He picked her up under the pretenses on teaching her the piano.”
Cauthen said Mills first met the teenager when she started attending his church in November 2014. It wasn’t until February 2015 that Mills initiated unlawful contact.
“He knew better, he was a pastor. He befriended her and he took advantage of her,” Cauthen added. “With the Henry County Sheriff’s Office our goal is to protect the citizens, and we’re going to make sure he does not prey on anyone else again.”
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Mills, who is a married father with two young children, admitted to having sex with the teenager and even showed remorse, officials said.
“I just want to say that I apologize and I hope God can forgive me,” Mills had publicly confessed after his arraignment.
Investigators say at least one instance of the unlawful sex between the pastor and the minor occurred at The Hardridge Creek Campground in Henry County. Federal investigators were brought in to investigate the case because the campground is government property.
The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.
Gerald Hechenberger, associate pastor of Holy Childhood of Jesus Catholic Church and school in Mascoutah, Illinois, stands accused of possessing child pornography.
The Belleville News-Democrat reports:
The associate pastor of Holy Childhood Church and school in Mascoutah was taken into police custody Monday morning, according to the state’s attorney.
The priest was identified as the Rev. Gerald R. Hechenberger.
“We have been working with Belleville (Police) and the task force for several weeks and we anticipate they will be submitting evidence collected pursuant to a search warrant we issued within the next 48 hours to be reviewed for charges involving Gerald Hechenberger,” St. Clair County State’s Attorney Brendan Kelly said.
Earlier in the day, Belleville Police issued a statement saying a Mascoutah resident was identified as being in possession of child pornography, but the police statement did not identify the resident. A police captain confirmed that Belleville police officers were at the church at 419 East Church St. around 7 a.m. Monday.
A statement from Bishop Edward K. Braxton said Hechenberger was taken into custody by St. Clair County authorities, but did not say why.
“This is a very serious matter for Father Hechenberger,” the diocese statement said. “At this point, the diocese has no reason to believe that any parishioners are affected by this matter. The diocese is awaiting an update on information from the civil authorities, and has assured them of the diocese’s full cooperation.”
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Holy Childhood School parents received an email Monday morning from the Principal Claudia Dougherty, saying Hechenberger was being investigated.
“Good morning, Father Jerry is under investigation. We will share more information when we have it. Your children are safe and sound — primary children are enjoying lunch! Blessings, Claudia,” the email read.
The email, sent at 10:51 a.m., followed a previous message from Dougherty sent at 8:15 a.m., which read, “Good morning, the Belleville police are at the rectory/church. I was notified that they were there, however was not informed as to why. Your children are here, they are safe and sound. Please know that we keep a close eye on all of them! Blessings, Claudia.”
The priest at St. John the Baptist parish in Smithton abruptly took a leave of absence last week to address “very serious personal, pastoral and legal challenges,” according to a letter circulated by the Belleville Diocese.
The letter, obtained by the Post-Dispatch, said the Rev. Gerald R. Hechenberger spoke with Belleville Bishop Edward Braxton and agreed the temporary leave was necessary. The letter, sent to priests and deacons, didn’t directly state the source of the challenges.
“In the present climate, it is important for you to know that the serious matters we are addressing do not involve the abuse of a minor,” wrote the Rev. John McEvilly, the diocese’s vicar general.
It added: “It will probably be several months before it can be determined when or if Father Hechenberger will be able to return to parish ministry.”
A Catholic priest with a checkered history was arrested on child pornography and drug charges.
Rev. Gerald R. Hechenberger of the Holy Childhood Catholic Church in Mascoutah, Illinois, was arrested on Monday morning and held on $2 million bail.
Acting on a tip from the Attorney General’s task force, police seized electronic devices at the church and found multiple photographs and a video involving children under the age of 13.
“It is unknown at this time if Hechenberger produced any of the images himself, or if he has had any inappropriate contact with children directly,” the Belleville police said, adding that parents with suspicions regarding the priest’s behavior should contact authorities.
Hechenberger, who was charged with eight counts of possession and eight counts of disseminating child porn, was also found with methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
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Hechenberger was charged with drunken driving in 1983 and driving under the influence in 1989, although both charges were later dismissed.
In 2004, Hechenberger pleaded guilty to trespassing after he was found shirtless in a parking lot, according to a police report cited by the News-Democrat.
On January 20, 2018, Hechenberger’s superior, Bishop Edward K. Braxton, issued the following letter:
May the Peace of Jesus Christ be with all of you!
I am writing to you concerning the very sad and distressing event of the departure of the Reverend Gerald R. Hechenberger, who had served as Associate Pastor of your parishes from August 15, 2014 until I relieved him of his positions on January10, 2018. Since he was arrested, taken into custody by law enforcement authorities, and charged with multiple felonies having to do with the possession and dissemination of inappropriate images of children and the drug crystal methamphetamine on January 8, 2018, I have been praying for all of you. I have been praying in a special way for anyone who may have been adversely affected directly or indirectly by his behavior. I am praying for Father Hechenberger as well. I am deeply sorry for the distress that these events may have caused you and your families, especially your dear children.
I am aware that you may have questions about many aspects of this scandalous event. I will answer some of your questions in this letter. However, I cannot answer all of your questions because, like you, I do not know the answers. For, example, like you, I do not know what the eventual legal consequences of all of this will be for Father Hechenberger. The Diocese has assured civil authorities of its full cooperation. I write not from a legal perspective but from the perspective of your Bishop. I write with a genuine pastoral concern for the personal and spiritual wellbeing of each of you and everyone in the Diocese of Belleville. For this reason, counselors have already been made available to the communities involved. I have also informed Father Wienhoff that I would be happy to meet with him and representatives from your parishes to listen to your observations and discuss these matters further, if that would be beneficial.
First, I must assure you that neither I, nor my Vicar General, Monsignor John W. McEvilly, nor your Pastor, Reverend Paul R. Wienhoff, nor any Diocesan personnel had any knowledge that Father Hechenberger had inappropriate images of minor children in his possession before the morning of his arrest. We have no record of any allegations of any prior possession of such materials. His files do not contain any expressions of concern in this regard from priests, parishioners, parents, or staff members and any of his previous pastoral assignments. We have no documents suggesting any past misconduct with minors. Our records show that he was compliant with our Diocesan Child Protection Policy through September 19, 2017, when his refresher course expired. Compliance includes clear background checks conducted by the Department of Child and Family Services, specific to child abuse allegations (CANTS) and a namebased criminal investigation through the Illinois State Police. None of his prior leaves of absence or sabbaticals were related to allegations of inappropriate conduct with minors.
Second, because of the serious charges filed against him, I have placed Father Hechenberger on Administrative Leave from ministry when I terminated his pastoral assignments. I further instructed him not to exercise the ministry of the Priesthood at any time in any place. Nor may he present himself in public as a Priest. Therefore, he is not to wear clerical attire including the Roman collar.
Third, when I met with Father Hechenberger at the St. Clair County Jail on Tuesday morning, January 16, 2018, he asked me to express to all of you how deeply remorseful he is for the pain, confusion, frustration, and anger that he has caused you and everyone in the Diocese. He specifically asked me to tell you that he has never physically harmed or abused a child in any circumstance throughout his years of ministry. He wanted me to assure you of his prayers for you and he asks that you pray for him as well. Obviously, considering the seriousness of his offense, he is aware that some of you might find his expressions of sorrow and regret to be insufficient to warrant your forgiveness, or even your prayers.
Fourth, when something of this nature happens, it is only natural to think that surely someone must have known that this was happening or at least that it was a possibility. But we all know that there is no foolproof way of knowing what misdeeds a person might commit, even if they are receiving counseling for unrelated matters. Every human being is quite complex and some individuals might be unaware themselves of things they might do in certain circumstances.
Finally, I am aware that events such as this, involving only one priest, have the potential of casting a cloud of suspicion or mistrust over other priests. I ask you to remember that we are all redeemed sinners who must make every effort to avoid judging others. Please renew your support, concern, encouragement, appreciation and affection for all of our priests who serve you so unselfishly in this Diocese. Pray for them as well, as they pray for you at every Mass.
In this Sunday morning’s gospel, Jesus proclaims: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” We all, priests and people alike, need to hear and heed these words, today more than ever.
Let us all pray for one another!
A March 1, 2018 Belleville News-Democrat report states:
Almost two months after a Mascoutah priest was accused of possessing child pornography and drugs, parents and church members say they’re frustrated they haven’t received answers from the Belleville Catholic Diocese.
Specifically, they want to know whether any local children were abused — and to what extent the diocese knew about the Rev. Gerald Hechenberger’s troubled past when they assigned him to Mascoutah.
The community also asks why the diocese won’t provide answers.
On Jan. 9, Hechenberger, former associate pastor of Holy Childhood Church and School in Mascoutah, was charged with possessing and distributing child pornography and possession of methamphetamine.
“I think it would be a good idea to explain why this man was passed along and say, ‘why did you do that?’ and not just leave us in the dark,” said Sandra Parks, a former Holy Childhood school board member. “I just wish Bishop Braxton would explain why, in the light of these problems, you would retain and pass the problems along to the next place.”
Bishop Edward K. Braxton did not respond to repeated requests for comment from the BND.
Hechenberger also declined a request for an interview. He has been freed on $25,000 cash for bond after a judge lowered his original $2 million bail.
In response to the charges, a lifelong friend of Hechenberger’s, Anne Hannigan of Belleville, said Hechenberger has a drug problem and blamed the church for not helping the priest with his addiction.
“I think this is a high-tech crucifixion,” Hannigan said in an interview. “They said terrible things about Christ and they said terrible things about Gerald Hechenberger. Furthermore, the church cannot wash their hands in this blame game and the tragedy which has occurred in his life.”
Hannigan, who said she’s been friends with the priest for 40 years, said the church knew of Hechenberger’s alleged drug problem about five years ago and did not offer him help in fighting his addiction.
The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.
Andrea Baber, a teacher at Logos Christian Academy in Springfield,Oregon, was arrested and charged with “third-degree rape, third-degree sodomy, unlawful delivery of marijuana to a minor, online sexual corruption of a child and contributing to the sexual delinquency of a minor.”
An Oregon teacher has been accused of having a sexual relationship with a student.
Lt. Chris Merrifield of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said Monday that 29-year-old Andrea Baber was arrested after investigators obtained a warrant to search her Cottage Grove home.
Baber taught at Logos Christian Academy in Springfield.
Merrifield says the relationship began in 2016, when the male student was 15 years old. Merrifield says the relationship continued on a regular basis, with Baber also providing the boy with marijuana.
Baber is charged with third-degree rape, third-degree sodomy, unlawful delivery of marijuana to a minor, online sexual corruption of a child and contributing to the sexual delinquency of a minor.
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The sheriff’s office identified Baber as a former teacher, but she remains on the school’s online staff directory. The website says Baber teaches writing and literature, and is married.
“Andrea has always felt called to work with youth and is very excited that God opened the door for her to be part of the Logos team,” her biography says, according to KPIC.
The Register-Guard adds:
The victim’s father reported the sexual relationship Dec. 12 after he and his wife received an anonymous email asking if they knew about their 17-year-old son and Baber, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Douglas County Circuit Court on Monday.
Attached to the email were several photographs of Baber and the boy, together in Baber’s bed, according to the affidavit.
Authorities interviewed the teen, who told deputies that he and Baber had been in a relationship since 2016, when the boy was 15.
According to the affidavit, the boy told deputies that their relationship started with flirting at school, kissing at the movies and eventually progressed to sexual acts. He estimated having sex with his teacher once or twice a week at her residence on Territorial Highway, the affidavit states. He also told deputies that Baber occasionally gave him marijuana and alcohol.
During the investigation, authorities discovered that Baber’s husband recently made a report with Child Protective Services after he caught his wife and the teen in the Baber home, partially unclothed, according to the affidavit.
Baber’s husband told CPS that he also found topless photos of his wife that had been sent to the teen via text message, the affidavit states.
The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.
Several female members of Kitty Hawk United Methodist Church in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, have accused their pastor, Jonathan Mills, of sexually harassing them.
The North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church has confirmed that four women have made sexual harassment complaints about Pastor Jonathan Mills of Kitty Hawk Methodist.
Conference communications director Derek Leek says Pastor Mills is suspended for up to 90 days as part of the complaint process, effective December 19.
Kitty Hawk police say no one has filed any criminal complaints against Mills.
Mills has been pastor at Kitty Hawk United Methodist since July of 2016.
It’s unclear how many of the women who have complained are Kitty Hawk Methodist members, but Leek says he believes they do attend church there.
Church officials say the Bishop’s office in Raleigh is handling the investigation of the claims of sexual harassment, and is working toward “a just resolution with healing and accountability.”
Leek says they are currently trying to determine the nature of the alleged behavior and whether the allegations can be substantiated.
When we tried to reach Reverend Mills by his church email and phone to get his response to the claims, we got this response instead from the North Carolina Conference:
“Due to the complaint process, Reverend Mills is not allowed to talk to anyone at this time. This creates a time of safety for the complainants, for Reverend Mills and the church.”
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.
Heather Cook, the associate pastor at College Church of Seventh-day Adventists in Lancaster, Massachusetts, has been accused by parents of skinny dipping with their children while on a church camping trip. The fallout from the nude bathing resulted in conflict between Cook and church member Randall Gifford, leading to Cook requesting a restraining order against Gifford.
An incident of outdoor nude bathing during a camping trip between chaperones and students from religious private school and church may have actually been skinny dipping between a pastor and students.
A state Department of Children and Families investigation launched earlier this year after a concerned parent reported the incident to the principal of South Lancaster Academy, a Seventh-day Adventist school in Lancaster, MassLive reported earlier this month.
Fallout from the incident led to Heather Cook, the associate pastor at the College Church of Seventh-day Adventists in Lancaster, seeking a restraining order against a congregation member after that member spoke to her about the apparent skinny dipping incident.
Cook allegedly took off her clothes and went into a public body of water in Maine with the female students, some of whom were minors, during an annual “senior survival” trip held by South Lancaster Academy.
“There was a field trip involved with minor children where the pastor disrobed and went skinny dipping with them,” attorney Danielle Thomason, counsel for Randall Gifford, the congregation member, said at Clinton District Court on Tuesday. “Parents were outraged. Some parents weren’t, some parents were.”
The hearing was the first time the incident at the senior survival trip was publicly referred to as skinny dipping.
“She has been accused of inappropriate sexual misconduct with students at the school on a trip in Maine,” Thomason said, according to audio of the hearing.
The Southern New England Conference, which oversees South Lancaster Academy as well as other schools and churches in the area, stated earlier this month that there was a “nude bathing” incident on the trip.
Cook filed an affidavit asking for a restraining order against Gifford, a longtime member of the congregation.
In her affidavit, Cook wrote that Gifford met with her and two other parties on Nov. 27 to “reconcile perceived misunderstandings.” However, Cook claimed that Gifford then threatened her.
“During the course of the meeting, Randy stated he was the most powerful man in town and could ‘make me disappear,'” Cook wrote. “He also claimed connections to the government and said he ‘would be watching me in ways I couldn’t imagine.’ He also stated he could destroy me and take everything I had.”
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An investigation into the incident by DCF has been completed. Findings by the agency are not public.
“Your honor, there has been an investigation, which is now closed,” Cook told the judge. “It went to the DA’s office in Maine and all criminal charges were dropped. There was absolutely nothing found.
“The DCF investigation is also closed,” she added. “This is purely a harassment order. This has nothing to do with what happened in Maine.”
The Maine trip took place in September. A parent reported concerns about the trip to South Lancaster Academy Principal Jeffrey Lambert in October.
While Cook acknowledged that something did happen in Maine, she did not use the term “skinny dipping” or make any specific statements about the incident during her testimony.
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Two chaperones went on the trip in Maine. The conference identified one as a female church employee, who was placed on paid administrative leave and asked not to participate in any church activities. That leave was later lifted.
The other chaperone was just identified as a female chaperone.
Both chaperones have stated the nude bathing was for hygienic reasons, a letter previously released by Lambert read.
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Senior Pastor Luis Garcia, who was with Cook and Gifford during the Nov. 27 meeting, was called to testify regarding the restraining order.
In recounting the meeting in which Cook claims Gifford threatened her, Garcia said Cook became emotional at one point in the meeting.
“Tears were even shed as Mrs. Cook was expressing how terrible she felt about the whole situation with the camping trip in Maine,” Garcia testified.
He told the court that the meeting was civil and seemed like it was leading to a resolution.
Thomason asked Garcia if he meant that Cook “felt awful about the incident in Maine.”
“No,” he said, clarifying that she “felt awful about how everything has developed and transpired since then.”
Garcia said that some church members have asked him about the trip in Maine, but he could not disclose details of those conversations because they were confidential exchanges with a pastor.
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Thomason also brought up some nude photos that Cook reportedly “liked” using her Instagram account, saying that Gifford felt it was inappropriate for girls in the congregation to see that material through Cook and the social media platform.
“Everything that’s going on here again surrounds the controversy with what some feel is inappropriate behavior of the youth pastor and this is what my client has stated,” Thomason said. She told the judge that there were two parents in the courtroom whose children were “deeply affected by the stripping in Maine.”
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Earlier this month, a teacher was placed on paid administrative leave from South Lancaster Academy after multiple former students contacted the principal alleging inappropriate behavior by the teacher during their time as students.
Scott Fellows will remain on leave until Worcester County District Attorney’s office investigates further and decides on a legal course of action, Dennis, of the Southern New England Conference, wrote in a letter dated Dec. 20.
Fellows, the chairman of the school’s English department, also went on the senior survival trip in Maine.
“In regard to Scott Fellows, our initial review of allegations did not reveal any connection to Senior Survival,” Dennis said Friday. “The police and District Attorney are conducting the investigation and we await their report.”
….. Heather is an associate pastor at the Atlantic Union College Church in South Lancaster, Massachusetts. She has spent seven years in ministry, two as the youth pastor at the Connecticut Valley Church, two as an ethics and religion teacher at Hong Kong Adventist College, and three in her present position. Heather holds a BA in theology from Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, Tennessee. She says, “I love people, creating, travel, running, pushing myself, and my babies.” Married to Dustan Cook, physical education teacher at South Lancaster Academy, Heather has twin girls …. **** and ****.
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.
A group of Catholic sex abuse victims and their survivors are suing the bankrupt Diocese of Great Falls-Billings in Montana for $70 million.
Representatives of sex abuse victims and their survivors are suing a bankrupt Roman Catholic diocese in Montana in an effort to ensure more than $70 million in assets are available for those abused by church officials.
The Diocese of Great Falls-Billings entered bankruptcy protection in March as part of settlements involving more than 400 people in sex abuse lawsuits. Church officials said at the time the diocese and its insurers would contribute to a fund to compensate victims and set aside additional money for those who had yet to come forward.
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A committee of unsecured creditors representing eight sex abuse survivors sued the diocese in U.S. Bankruptcy Court this week, aiming to reach a negotiated settlement. California attorney James Stang, who represents the committee, said the complaint was “part of the process,” the Billings Gazette reported.
U.S. Catholic leaders have been grappling with a clergy sexual abuse crisis that exploded in 2002 following reporting by The Boston Globe. Nationwide, the church has paid several billion dollars in settlements since 1950. More than 6,500 clergy members have been accused of abuse and hundreds have been removed from church work.
In the Montana bankruptcy case, the church says the disputed assets are held in trust for its parishes and therefore unavailable for creditors. The creditors argue the property is part of the church’s estate and should be available for victims.
Stang has represented unsecured creditors in 11 other Catholic church bankruptcies since 2004, including the Diocese of Helena’s bankruptcy. He said every case has resulted in a negotiated resolution.
Bishop Michael Warfel said in a statement that the creditors’ lawsuit was an “unfortunate and unnecessary distraction” to the church’s efforts to resolve victims’ claims.
Two sexual abuse lawsuits were filed against the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings, including one in which a woman in her 60s said she was molested and raped by the Rev. Emmett Hoffman while she was a student at the St. Labre Parish and School between 1955 and 1962. Hoffman died in 2013.
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The Diocese of Helena filed for bankruptcy in early 2014 to settle about 360 claims of abuse and sexual abuse by priests, nuns and lay workers who served in the diocese.
That settlement, negotiated before the bankruptcy filing, created a $21 million fund for victims named in the lawsuit and any others that might come forward.
The Diocese of Great Falls-Billings has a comprehensive Child Protection Policy. I found it to be interesting reading. One can only hope that this policy is strictly enforced.
