Menu Close

Tag: Black Collar Crime

Black Collar Crime: Pastor’s Son James Holvick Accused of Stealing $28,000 From Church

1 Comment

theft cartoon

James Holvick, a pastor’s son and treasurer for Riverview Bible Baptist Church and Christian School in Forsyth, Missouri, stands accused of stealing $28,000 from the church.

KY-3 reports:

A Forsyth man is facing a felony stealing charge after allegedly stealing $27,758 from the churched he worked at – and where his father was once pastor.

James Holvick, 42, allegedly wrote himself checks and then cooked the books while working as an accountant for Riverview Bible Baptist Church.

Pastor Jim Brooks, who declined a formal interview, said Holvick has repaid the church for the missing money.

Prosecutors say that someone found a check made out to Holvick in June, and began asking questions, which eventually uncovered the larger fraud.

Court documents say that Holvick claimed he’d only been taking money for a year, but that checks were found dating back further than that.

Holvick’s father was pastor of Riverview Bible Baptist Church for 31 years before retiring in the late 2000’s. Pastor Brooks says his congregation was stunned when they learned of the embezzlement, but they’re healing.

The felony count of stealing could carry a 10-year prison sentence. He’s scheduled to be arraigned Thursday.

According to various news reports, Holvick has already repaid the stolen money to the church.

Black Collar Crime: Pastor Fred Mack Jr. Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison for Sexual Assault

0 Comments

fred mack jr

Pastor Fred Mack Jr. was sentenced Monday to ten years in prison for repeatedly sexually molesting a girl.

The Chicago Tribune reports:

A Bolingbrook man who sexually assaulted a girl repeatedly from 2002 through 2004 was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Monday.

Fred Mack Jr., 65, was a family friend and pastor who assaulted the girl, now in her 20s, on multiple occasions between September 2002 and July 2004, Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow said. The crimes occurred when the girl was around the age of 12.

She reported the assault to Bolingbrook police in 2016, while working in a dance production that dealt with sexual abuse.

“This woman showed remarkable courage coming forward years after she was assaulted by this predator,” Glasgow said in a prepared statement.

The victim testified that Mack molested her on as many as 100 occasions when the two were alone. Mack told investigators that he’d molested the girl on fewer than 25 occasions.

A jury on Aug. 23 convicted Mack of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child. On Monday, Judge Carla Alessio Policandriotes imposed the sentence.

….

Black Collar Crime: More Charges Filed Against IFB Preacher Garry Evans

0 Comments

pastor garry evans

I have posted several previous stories about the ongoing sexual abuse scandal at Rushville Baptist Temple in Rushvillle, Indiana. You can read those stories here and here. Last Thursday, the Rush County prosecutor filed additional charges against Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) pastor Garry Evans, alleging that he molested a six-year old.

The Rushville Republican reports:

The Rush County Prosecutor’s Office filed more charges Thursday against Garry Evans, the Pastor of the Rushville Baptist Temple Church. The new charges stem from allegations from a new alleged victim, identified in Court filings as a six-year-old. The new charges include Child Molesting, a Level 4 Felony, and Child Solicitation, a Level 5 Felony.

Evans previously was charged with Child Molesting, Child Solicitation, and Sexual Battery involving five alleged victims. Evans posted the $20,000 bond soon after it was set by the Judge. Along with the new charges, the Prosecutor filed a motion to increase Evans’ original bond. Rush County Prosecutor Phil Caviness explained that the fact that these charges bring the number of alleged victims to six justifies a higher bond than the standard Level 4 Felony case, and added that his office was seeking Evans to be monitored by the Rush County Community Corrections Program if he is released on bond. “We feel that given the charges, GPS monitoring and protective orders for all of the alleged victims and their families are important conditions of bond in this case,” Caviness said.

Court documents indicate that these new alleged incidents occurred sometime between the Fall of 2016 and Summer, 2017, but were disclosed after the first charges were filed against Evans. Trial for these charges currently is scheduled to begin on Feb. 20, 2018.

After these latest charges were filed, Evans attempted to commit suicide.

ABC-6 reports:

Because of the new charges, Evans was ordered to be placed on GPS monitoring as a condition of his bond and he surrendered himself to community corrections that evening.

Emergency crews were called to Evan’s home on 5th Street around 5:30 p.m. Friday for a report of an attempted suicide. When they arrived they found Evans unresponsive inside the home. He was resuscitated at the scene and rushed to Rush Memorial Hospital before being airlifted to IU Methodist Hospital.

His condition is unknown at this time.

Evans next court date on the previous charges was scheduled for November 28.

The Free Republic reports:

An Indiana pastor appears to still be the leader of his church despite the child molestation and solicitation charges he faces and his attempt to take his own life after additional charges came down on Friday.

Garry Evans is listed as pastor on the sign in front of Rushville Baptist Temple Church, and now people living doors away want to know why no one from the church is speaking out.

“It’s wrong. Pure evil. There’s evil in that church,” said Tim Guck, who lives next door.

The man the church says leads their worship has led the Rushville Police Department down a frightening path of child molestation allegations.

In October, 14 counts were filed against him, and another two filed on Friday when authorities say a 6-year-old came forward with child molesation claims. But neighbors of the church building said Evans continued to preach after the charges in October, when he got out on bail.

“The church is saying they back him, and they don’t believe children,” said Carrie Simmeron, who lives down the block.

After Friday’s charges, Evans tried to take his own life at his Rushville home. He had to be flown to IU Health Methodist Hospital.

24-Hour News 8 reached out to the hospital multiple times for information on Evans’ condition but did not hear back on Friday or Saturday.

“I don’t understand it. I don’t get the whole ordeal. I don’t know what’s going on,” said Guck.

Police said there are six victims between the ages of 3 and 7, and that the abuse happened within the last few years inside his churches’ walls.

These allegations stopped the Simmermon family from trying out the church a few doors down from their home.

“Especially since I have little ones,” said Carrie Simmermon. “I wouldn’t want to take that chance.”

Police couldn’t charge Evans in connection with other victims who claimed abuse from 30 years ago.

“That’s why I say it needs to be shut down as a common nuisance, because I believe they’re all in on it. I mean why would they have his name up there?” said Guck.

 

….

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor Elliot Wickboldt Charged With Sexual Assault

0 Comments
elliot wickboldt

Elliot Wickboldt, a pastor at Awaken Church in McAllen, Texas, was arrested Tuesday and charged with sexually assaulting a church teenager.

Valley Central/Channel 4 reports:

Police arrested a pastor Tuesday after a member of his McAllen church accused him of sexually assaulting a teenager for more than two years.

Elliot James Wickboldt of McAllen is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old girl from July 2015 to Oct. 12, 2017, according to a criminal complaint.

On multiple occasions, Wickboldt sexually assaulted Jane– a pseudonym assigned to the teen in the criminal complaint–at an Edinburg home and at Awaken Church, according to the criminal complaint.

On Oct. 24 during an interview at the Children’s Advocacy Center, Jane said “Wickboldt would tell her not to tell anyone or he would go to jail,” according to the criminal complaint.

Awaken Church Lead Pastor Bentley Sargeant issued the following statement to CBS 4 News:

“Elliot Wickboldt was removed as pastor of Awaken Church due to a moral failure. He was not the pastor at the time of his arrest. Please direct additional questions regarding the alleged crime to the local authorities.”

McAllen police met with an Awaken Church “overseer” on Monday, who said Wickboldt “had admitted to kissing, holding hands and touching Jane’s privates and vice versa,” according to the criminal complaint.

After obtaining several statements, police issued an arrest warrant for Wickboldt on Tuesday, according to the criminal complaint.

Wickboldt was charged with sexual assault, a second-degree felony; and indecency with a child with sexual contact, a third-degree felony.

….

Update

A November 14, 2017 Valley Central/Channel 4 report states:

A former McAllen pastor has been charged with indecency with a child—again.

Elliot James Wickboldt was charged with indecency with a child with sexual contact, a second-degree felony, on Nov. 1.

….

The incidents allegedly occurred in both McAllen and Edinburg, and were reported to both police departments.

Wickboldt’s third charge is in connection to the alleged sexual assault of Jane Doe at the Edinburg home, according to a criminal complaint from the Edinburg Municipal Court.

According to the criminal complaint, Wickboldt assaulted Jane Doe “during game/movie nights” at an Edinburg home. The criminal complaint doesn’t specify dates.

….

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Elder James Stangle II Charged with Soliciting a Prostitute

0 Comments

james stangle ii

James Stangle II, lead elder at New Life Assembly of God (New Life Church)  in Circleville, Ohio was arrested Wednesday and charged with soliciting a prostitute.

ABC-6 reports:

A lead elder for New Life Church was arrested by police and charged with soliciting a prostitute.

Plain clothes officers were working a busy part of the city when they busted James Stangle II in broad daylight Wednesday afternoon. Stangle was later released from the PIckaway County Jail.

Nobody answered the door at the Stangle family home. Neighbors said they were shocked that Stangle was arrested. “They have been pretty private and to themselves other than I guess probably church people coming over to see them,” said Kenny Hunt who lives across the street.

Nobody of New Life Church would talk on camera about the arrest. But the lead pastor Tim McGinnis said the following statement:

My name is Tim McGinnis, lead pastor of New Life Church. The church is aware of the alleged situation, and will fully cooperate with authorities. There is no other evidence except for information that is available to the general public to make any further comments regarding the alleged charge. We fully support the judicial process and believe truth prevails. The alleged charge did not take place on church grounds and was not associated with any church activity. We support Jim, his family and everybody involved with our prayers. New Life will continue as a growing fellowship to promote the love of Jesus to our hurting community.
Hunt said he thinks people of faith should be held to a higher standard.

“I have nothing for ministers. He is just another man that had an urge and decided to try to get it satisfied other than at home,” said Hunt.

 

….

Black Collar Crime: Catholic Priest Louis Brouillard Faces 87 Lawsuits over His Sexual Abuse of Minors

1 Comment

louis brouillard

Louis Brouillard, 96, spent a lifetime sexually molesting church children. Told  by Catholic church officials to ” try to do better and say prayers as a penance,” Brouillard now faces eighty-seven lawsuits over lifelong predatory behavior.

Haidee V Eugenio, a reporter for the Pacific Daily News, writes:

A priest accused of sexual abuse was sent from Guam to Minnesota for “help with his personal problems” in 1981, and later barred from serving as a priest after questions arose about a house guest from the island, according to a statement from the Diocese of Duluth.

Louis Brouillard, 96, is accused of sexually abusing minors in 87 lawsuits filed since the beginning of the year. He served as a pastor, teacher and Boy Scout leader on Guam, and he has admitted to molesting 20 or more boys here.

In three recent lawsuits, he is accused of paying to bring boys from Guam to Minnesota, where he continued to abuse them. One of the lawsuits alleges he moved a boy into a two-bedroom retirement home apartment where he lived with his elderly parents.

Brouillard would have been about 60 at the time.

“Father Bouillard was sent to the Diocese of Duluth in 1981 in the hope that he would receive help with personal problems,” said Kyle Eller, communications director for the Diocese of Duluth.

“While in the diocese, he did assist at several parishes. In 1985, Father Bouillard’s faculties to serve as a priest in the Duluth Diocese were revoked after questions were raised about a guest from Guam staying with him,” Eller wrote.

Brouillard, who continues to receive a monthly retirement check from the Archdiocese of Agana, was ordained as a priest on Guam in 1948 and served here until 1981. He is being deposed in Minnesota this week in connection with the Guam lawsuits.

In 2013, Brouillard’s name appeared on a list of priests released by the Diocese of Duluth with credible allegations of child sexual abuse against them.

Although the Diocese of Duluth did not specify the nature of Brouillard’s personal problems, he had at least one criminal sexual conduct complaint filed against him shortly before leaving the island, according to a lawsuit.

In 1980, Brouillard was moved to St. Williams Catholic Church in Tumon, now the Blessed Diego de San Vitores Church, according to a lawsuit. While at St. Williams, according to a separate lawsuit, he was named in a criminal sex abuse complaint filed with police.

Former altar boy and Boy Scout Felix Manglona said he was abused by Brouillard when he was 13, and “after several years passed, Felix was assisting the statistician at the Guam Police Department under the cadet program. While performing his daily duties to review police reports and collect data, Felix reviewed a police report pertaining to Brouillard. Upon information and belief, an incident occurred at the St. Williams Catholic Church in Tumon involving Brouillard and a minor boy, resulting in a sexual abuse complaint being filed against Brouillard,” the lawsuit states.

Brouillard’s sexual activities involving children had been known to church officials for at least a decade before he left the island, according to an affidavit Brouillard signed last year.

“My actions were discussed and confessed to area priests as well as Bishop Apollinaris Baumgartner who had approached me to talk about the situation. I was told to try to do better and say prayers as a penance,” he said in the affidavit.

Baumgartner died in 1970.

While at St. Williams, according to a lawsuit, Brouillard abused an altar boy, identified in court documents only as F.S.L. to protect his privacy. In 1981,when Brouillard moved to Minnesota, he invited F.S.L. and a friend to spend the summer with him. While there, according to the lawsuit, the boys were sexually abused.

Another lawsuit, filed by plaintiff J.T., stated that he was abused by Brouilard on Guam from 1972 to 1976. Around 1981, Brouillard brought him Minnesota, telling his parents he would be able to attend college there.The lawsuit said Brouillard tried to rape him in Minnesota.

More than 140 sex abuse lawsuits have been filed against the Archdiocese of Agana, 16 clergy members and three others affiliated with the church since the beginning of the year.

Black Collar Crime: Catholic Priest Richard Jacklin Charged with Sexual Assault

0 Comments

busted

Richard Jacklin, who is a priest affiliated with Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Goodrich, Illinois, was charged yesterday with sexually assault a disabled adult.

The Daily Journal reports:

Father Richard E. Jacklin, who assists with Masses at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Goodrich, is scheduled to be in court today for his bond to be set after he was arrested by Illinois State Police on Tuesday and charged with sexually assaulting a resident at Shapiro Developmental Center in Kankakee.

The 65-year-old Jacklin has been preliminarily charged by state police with criminal sexual assault by force and sexual misconduct of a person with a disability.
“We are still gathering information,” Kankakee County State’s Attorney Jim Rowe told the Daily Journal on Wednesday.

Rowe said he would not comment further until after Jacklin’s bond is set in Kankakee County court today. Jacklin, who was ordained June 2, 1984, has been assigned to Sacred Heart since 2005, according to the Diocese of Joliet. Jacklin was assigned as resident at St. Rose of Lima Church in Kankakee from 1996-2005.

….

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor Shane Cruse Arrested in Sex Sting

0 Comments

pastor michael shane cruse

Shane Cruse, pastor of Restoration Life Church in Hamilton, Mississippi,  was arrested Saturday and charged with “illegal sex act with a minor and prohibited use of electronic communication system to procure a minor.”

The Clarion Ledger reports:

A Mississippi business owner and pastor was arrested in Kentucky as part of an online sex sting operation.

Michael Shane Cruse, 46, of Columbus, was arrested Saturday in Danville, Kentucky, WCBI reported, and charged with an illegal sex act with a minor and prohibited use of electronic communication system to procure a minor, also a sexual offense.

Cruse is accused of communicating with whom he believed was a 16-year-old boy online and arranging to meet for a sex act. Cruse was actually communicating with an undercover law enforcement agent in Boyle County, Kentucky.

He was released by the Boyle County Sheriff’s Office on a $20,000 bond.

….

The Dispatch reports:

A Hamilton pastor and local businessman is behind bars in Kentucky on a charge of an illegal sex act with a minor through use of electronic communications.

Shane Cruse, 46, was arrested in Danville, Kentucky, on Saturday as part of a Boyle County Sheriff’s Office online sting operation targeting child sex offenders.

BCSO said a detective, posing as a 16-year-old male, met Cruse online and agreed to meet Cruse in Kentucky to have sex.

Cruse came into public attention in 2012 when, on behalf of the church he pastored, he offered a $175,000 bid to purchase the Lee Middle School property, which had been put on the market a year earlier. Then the pastor at Point of Grace Church on 18th Avenue in Columbus, Cruse told the Columbus Municipal School District board he hoped to expand his church’s operations through the purchase. His offer was declined because it did not comply with state criteria governing the sale of school properties.

Cruse later moved into the restaurant business, purchasing Cattleman’s Steak and Fish on Tuscaloosa Road in Columbus in October 2016 and, just three weeks ago, purchasing the Highway 45 North restaurant Little Tokyo, which he renamed Samurai Sushi and Steakhouse.

Cruse is listed as pastor at Restoration Life Church in Hamilton. According to the church’s Facebook page, it was launched in July 2016 ….

Black Collar Crime: Catholic Priest Chris Cunningham Stands Accused of Sexual Abuse

0 Comments

father chris cunningham

Chris Cunningham, former priest at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Palmdale, St. Lawrence Martyr Catholic Church in Redondo Beach and St. Louise de Marillac Catholic Church in Covina, (all in California) stands accused of sexually abusing numerous children.

Stephanie Baer, a reporter for the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, writes:

A former priest who served in Southern California and was named in a 2015 child sexual abuse lawsuit allegedly molested at least four additional children at parishes in Palmdale, Redondo Beach and Covina, according to lawsuits recently filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Civil complaints filed in July and October allege former Rev. Chris Cunningham sexually molested boys ages 10 to 15 from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Palmdale, St. Lawrence Martyr Catholic Church in Redondo Beach and St. Louise de Marillac Catholic Church in Covina.

The lawsuits, which name the churches and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles as defendants, also allege the archdiocese knew of the allegations against Cunningham.

The archdiocese did not investigate, opting instead to transfer the priest to various assignments and destroy the complaints, according to the court filings. None of the plaintiffs is named in the lawsuits.

Robert Flummerfelt of Canon Law Services, which is representing Cunningham, said in an email that the former priest denies the allegations and has “never sexually abused anyone.”

he new lawsuits come after a 2015 case filed by the same attorney, Anthony DeMarco, on behalf of a plaintiff who he said was sexually molested as a 12-year-old boy at St. Louise in Covina from 2001 to 2002.

“We’ve since that time learned of quite a few more victims of his abuse,” DeMarco said Tuesday. “Folks in charge of youth at every parish he was at leading up to St. Louise and at St. Louise were aware of that conduct and nearly all of them reported their suspicions and concerns to their superiors.”

All three complaints describe Cunningham as regularly having underage boys alone with him in his church living quarters, regularly wrestling with them on church grounds and regularly meeting with them without chaperones outside of church.

Cunningham was removed from active ministry in 2006.

The archdiocese said in a statement that Cunningham was reassigned from St. Louise in 2004 “due to management issues not related to misconduct” and that the church “was not aware of any alleged sexual misconduct until 2015,” when the initial lawsuit was filed.

“The archdiocese received allegations of improper boundary violations concerning Fr. Cunningham in August 2005,” the archdiocese said in the statement. “According to archdiocesan policy, the matter was investigated and an announcement concerning the allegations was made at the parish informing the parish community.”

….

Black Collar Crime: Methodist Pastor Stephen Howard Convicted of Sexual Child Abuse

0 Comments

pastor stephen howard

Stephen Howard, pastor of Muscoy United Methodist Church in San Bernadino, California, was convicted last week of  ” 32 counts of sexual abuse, including lewd acts upon a child, oral copulation of a person under 16 years old and sodomy of a person under 18.”

Stephen Ramirez, a reporter for The Sun, writes:

The pastor of the Muscoy United Methodist Church, charged with multiple counts of child molestation involving boys who attended the church, was found guilty by a San Bernardino County jury last week, the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s office said.

Stephen James Howard, 58, was convicted Friday, Oct. 27, of 32 counts of sexual abuse, including lewd acts upon a child, oral copulation of a person under 16 years old and sodomy of a person under 18, court records showed. He is being housed at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga with no bail, according to jail records.

Howard is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 29 in San Bernardino.

Howard was arrested and charged in March 2014, according to court records.  Detectives had investigated reports that month that Howard had molested boys at several locations, including San Bernardino, Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana, San Bernardino County sheriff’s officials have said.

The department’s Crimes Against Children took over the case and found two victims, a 14-year-old boy and a 23-year-old man from Rancho Cucamonga, sheriff’s officials said. The older victim said the abuse began when he was 9, and continued into adulthood, authorities noted.

Twelve of the counts involve acts committed between 1990 and 2000, according to court records. The most recent charges involve acts committed between 2011 and 14.

“I am deeply grieved by this sad situation and earnestly ask for your prayers for all who are affected,” United Methodist Bishop Minerva G. Carcano said in a 2014 interview. “As United Methodists we stand firmly against child abuse, sexual abuse and sexual misconduct.”

Howard had been lead pastor at the Muscoy United Methodist Church since 2001. He was also youth director at a United Methodist Church in Ontario from 1989 to 2001.

….