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Black Collar Crime: Former Evangelical Youth Pastor Roshad Thomas Charged with Sexually Molesting Children

Bruce Gerencser 0 Comments

roshad thomas

Roshad Thomas, former youth pastor at Calvary Chapel in Tallahassee, Florida and founder of Crosswild Ministries, (link no longer active) has been arrested for sexually molesting children.

WTXL-27 reports:

A former youth pastor has been arrested for sex acts with children.

The Leon County Sheriff’s Office arrested 41-year-old Roshad Thomas on six counts of sex offense against a child.

On July 11, special victims unit detectives spoke to a victim who said Thomas had fondled the victim about 10 years ago when the victim was 13 years old.

As detectives investigated, they found four more victims.

Deputies say each one described sexual encounters with Thomas from 2007-2014. Thomas voluntarily spoke to detectives Monday.

After the interview, he was taken to jail.

According to his LinkedIn page, Thomas was the director of student programs at Live the Life and co-author of Champions, a curriculum for teenage boys.

He is also the founder of realife Inc. and CRosSwild Ministries.(link no longer active)

Prior to that, Thomas served as a high school guidance counselor, community activist, and youth pastor at Calvary Chapel Tallahassee.

The Tallahassee Democrat adds:

A Tallahassee youth counselor who worked at Maclay School as a life management teacher has been arrested in connection with molesting children.

Roshad Thomas, a 41-year-old former director of student programs at Live the Life and Maclay life management, was arrested by the Leon County Sheriff’s Office Monday on six counts of child fondling.

Court documents detailing the incidents have not yet been filed, but Thomas’ name appeared in Tuesday’s Leon County Jail booking report. He is being held at the jail without bond and appeared before a judge Tuesday morning.

LCSO detectives say a victim came forward to say Thomas had fondled him or her about 10 years ago at age 13. Four others came forward during the investigation, according to an LCSO news release. The victims described sexual encounters with Thomas between 2007 and 2014.

After Thomas voluntarily spoke with investigators Monday, he was arrested.

A statement from Maclay’s Director of Communications Kim McWilliams confirmed Thomas was contracted to teach three life management classes in the upper school but that none of the allegations surrounding his arrest involve Maclay students.

“Earlier today, it was brought to our attention that Roshad Thomas, a former member of the Maclay School faculty, who taught Life Management in the Upper School during the 2016-2017 school year, was arrested for alleged sexual misconduct committed prior to 2015,” McWilliams wrote. “Mr. Thomas also worked with several of our sports teams and Middle School Life Management classes. After speaking with the authorities, the allegations do not involve any students from Maclay.”

Emails obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat between parents and Maclay’s Headmaster James Milford that indicate Thomas was hired in 2016 as the lead of a program for character education.

Parents express concern with the contracted “Get Real” program’s connection to Live the Life’s faith-based messaging and teachings. The optional “risky sexual behavior” reduction program was directed at seventh and eighth-grade students and described as secular without mention of faith or religion.

“Get Real training is a highly successful skills course approved by the federal government which teaches students how, why and when to exercise self-control and how to develop healthy relationships,” an email detailing the program to parents said.

McWilliams said Thomas used the “Get Real” curricula along with others in his teaching.

….

Thomas hasn’t worked at the Tallahassee offices of Live the Life since January 2016, said Zac Funari, an executive assistant to the organization’s Founding President Richard Albertson. Funari said the organization was in the middle of reemploying Thomas for a South Florida position but those talks have stopped.

Albertson in a statement said Thomas worked fr Live the Life, along with other organizations, around the time of the incidents but the organization has not been contacted by law enforcement leading him to believe the allegations did not involve children in the program.

“Live the Life was one of a number of agencies that Roshad was associated with during part of the time frame that the incidents allegedly took place,” Alberrtson wrote. “We have not been contacted by the sheriff’s department, any of the victims, or any of the families of the victims, which leads us to believe that all of the incidents occurred outside of Roshad’s involvement with our organization. And if we are contacted by the authorities, we will cooperate in any way possible. If these allegations are true, our primary concern is for the students whose lives have been turned upside down because of the faith and trust they gave innocently to an adult in a position of power and great influence.”

A bio for Thomas appeared on the website of John Rosemond, a parenting and family raising psychologist, public speaker, author and syndicated columnist. It was taken down Tuesday (link no longer active) but included the number for the Tallahassee office of Live the Life and a link to the organization’s website.

….

According to Thomas’ bio page:

Roshad Thomas is an accomplished and world-renowned public speaker, counselor, consultant, and mentor for teens and parents of all races and cultures. He has spoken at numerous organizations, seminars, retreats, churches, and events and has an unparalleled ability to quickly connect with his audience whether it is one person or hundreds. His laid back humorous style coupled with his vast experience allows him to address any issue in a way that is comfortable yet informative.

Having been on the front lines as a high school guidance counselor and community activist for almost 10 years, Roshad is extremely knowledgeable about issues that teens and parents deal with on a daily basis and is able to consistently provide practical guidance and solutions on many levels. This has earned him the title of expert in the eyes of many. When he speaks or presents, his passion, love, and excitement are revealed in a way where you not only leave feeling full of wisdom and inspired, but you’ll immediately want to bring him back.

Roshad is the founder of realife inc. and CRosSWILD Ministries. He received his B.S. in Psychology with honors distinction from Florida State University. He continued his graduate education at Florida State University and received his Master’s and Specialist degrees in Counseling and Human Systems, specializing in children and adolescents. He was certified in Guidance counseling for 12 years by Florida Department of Education. Trained personally under worldwide parent guru John Rosemond in parent coaching. He is also one of the few nationally certified Sexual Risk Avoidance Specialist in the state of Florida as certified by the NAEA and has been invited to be featured on the national website parentguru.com.

– Masters and Specialist degree in Counseling from Florida State University

– Certified High School Guidance Counselor from 2000-2012

– Trained personally under parenting expert John Rosemond

– Certified Parent Coach

– Co-Author of Champions Curriculum for Teenage Boys

– 15 years experience working with teens in Tallahassee

– Certified Specialist in Sexual Risk Avoidance

– Certified Get REAL (Relationship Education and Leadership) Training

– Features on National parenting website parentguru.com

Thomas’ LinkedIn profile states: (link no longer active)

Roshad Thomas is an accomplished and world-renowned public speaker, counselor, consultant, and mentor for teens and parents of all races and cultures. He has spoken at numerous organizations, seminars, retreats, churches, and events and has an unparalleled ability to quickly connect with his audience whether it is one person or hundreds. His laid back humorous style coupled with his vast experience allows him to address any issue in a way that is comfortable yet informative.

Having been on the front lines as a high school guidance counselor and community activist for almost 10 years, Roshad is extremely knowledgeable about issues that teens and parents deal with on a daily basis and is able to consistently provide practical guidance and solutions on many levels. This has earned him the title of expert in the eyes of many. When he speaks or presents, his passion, love and excitement are revealed in a way where you not only leave feeling full of wisdom and inspired, you’ll immediately want to bring him back.

Roshad is the Director of Student Programs at Live the Life and founder of CRosSWILD Ministries. He received his B.S. in Psychology with honors distinction from Florida State University. He continued his graduate education at Florida State University and received his Master’s and Specialist degrees in Counseling and Human Systems, specializing in children and adolescents. He was certified in Guidance counseling for 12 years by Florida Department of Education. Trained personally under worldwide parent guru John Rosemond in parent coaching. He is also one of the few nationally certified Sexual Risk Avoidance Specialist in the state of Florida as certified by the NAEA.

To set up an appointment or book him as speaker, call Live the Life at 850-668-3700 or visit www.livethelife.org.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Thomas was a youth pastor at Calvary Chapel in Tallahassee, Florida for almost fourteen years. For seven years, Thomas was the student life director for Live the Life. Live the Life’s website states that their mission is:

Communities will become “divorce-free zones”, where divorces are rarely, if ever, wanted or needed, and where strong marriages are encouraged, nurtured, developed, and maintained. As our dream comes true, more children will grow up in safe, happy, and healthy married families characterized by nurturing parents, permanence and better life outcomes.

Update

The Tallahassee Democrat reports:

As many as 10 men have come forward telling Leon County Sheriff’s Office investigators they, as teens, were fondled by Tallahassee youth counselor and pastor Roshad Thomas.

Thomas, who already is facing six counts of child fondling, was charged with an additional five counts of lewd and lascivious acts or exhibitionism with children on Tuesday.

After the 41-year-old was first arrested on July 17, LCSO investigators learned more about how he used his position to gain access to young boys. Five others came forward to say they too were victims.

One man, who was 12 at the time of the incident, said his parents asked Thomas to counsel him during their divorce. The first time he was “groped,” the now adult victim told investigators, was when his parents dropped him off at a Walmart parking lot and he left with Thomas.

From that encounter in 2009, according to court records, he was fondled by Thomas as many as 10 times.

The victim said after he turned 15, Thomas called to say, “I hope you understand I love you and anything I might have done to you was purely out of godly love,” according to court records.

The other four victims leveling accusations against Thomas, who at one point worked as a counselor at various churches in Tallahassee and as a life management teacher at Maclay School, said they were groped while spending time at his home.

The victims ranged in age from 11 to 15, according to court records. The reported incidents date back to 2007.

Each told LCSO investigators Thomas would grab their genitals in a joking manner and would create a feeling of trust between them. One said Thomas told him he had been approached about being too playful when he touched the boys and indicated he would stop if asked.

….

 

Black Collar Crime: Youth Pastor Ellis Simmons Accused of Sexually Assaulting Two Girls

Bruce Gerencser 0 Comments

ellis simmons

Ellis Simmons, former youth pastor of St. Mark African Methodist Episcopal Church and Calvary Baptist Church in Duluth, Minnesota, has been charged with “two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct.” Simmons previously served five years in prison for sexually abusing other girls.

The Duluth News Tribune reports:

A former youth pastor who recently served five years in Illinois prison for sexually abusing several young girls is now facing similar charges stemming from a stint in Duluth more than a decade ago.

Ellis William Simmons, 38, is accused of assaulting two girls between 1999 and 2005, when he was living and working in Duluth. The girls were 11 and 14 years old at the time of the reported incidents.

Simmons was formally charged last month with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. If convicted, the most-serious charges each carry a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

While the incidents were reported to police in the early 2000s, St. Louis County prosecutor Jon Holets said the victims only recently came forward with the alleged perpetrator’s name and other information that made charges possible.

“It still bothered them, and they realized what he had done in Illinois,” Holets said Monday. “It was their desire to continue coming forward (that led to charges).”

Simmons served as a pastor to the alleged victims and a babysitter for the family of at least one of the girls, according to a criminal complaint. The charging document indicates that one victim reported two incidents that occurred when she was 11 years old; the other reported an incident when she was 14.

Both alleged victims told police that they were sleeping when they awoke to sexual contact from Simmons, according to the charges. The contact allegedly included penetration.

Simmons served as a pastor at St. Mark African Methodist Episcopal Church and Calvary Baptist Church in Duluth, while also attending the College of St. Scholastica and the University of Minnesota Duluth, according to News Tribune articles from the time.

….

The decision by the alleged victims to provide additional information came around the same time Simmons was being released from prison in Illinois.

He was arrested in January 2012 and charged with sexually abusing three girls ranging in age from 7 to 10, according to a report in the Rockford (Ill.) Register Star. Simmons at the time was working at a juvenile detention center; authorities said the abuse was not related to his employment, but the victims were known to him.

Records indicate that Simmons was released from prison in December after serving nearly five years of a seven-year sentence. He was re-arrested in California after a warrant was issued in the Duluth case on June 19.

Simmons made an initial appearance in State District Court in Duluth last week. His bail was set at $300,000, and he remained in the St. Louis County Jail on Monday.

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Worship Leader Chad Robison Caught with Child Porn

Bruce Gerencser 0 Comments
chad robison

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.

Chad Robison, worship leader for Seven Rivers Presbyterian Church in Lecanto, Florida, was arrested Thursday and charged with “three counts of lewd and lascivious exhibition, specifically intentionally masturbates live over a computer online services knowing that the transmission is viewed by victim less than 16 years of age; 1 count of knowingly promoting sexual performance by a child; and 3 counts of Video Voyeurism for own use.”

Fox-17 reports:

Florida deputies arrested a former worship director early Thursday morning after finding thousands of sexual pictures and videos of young girls and filming them in his bathroom without their knowledge.

According to the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office, 36-year-old Chad Robison was arrested on several sex charges including video voyeurism and lewd and lascivious exhibition.

Back in May, a coworker alerted detectives about inappropriate videos on Robison’s laptop. Shortly after, he was fired as worship director at Seven Rivers Presbyterian Church.

Investigators found more than 3,000 videos and 350,000 pictures on his laptop with hundreds featuring young girls performing virtual sex acts with Robison.

Deputies said Robison also filmed young girls using the bathroom in his home without their knowledge. The videos range anywhere from several years old to some made just a few months ago.

“We believe there could be multiple victims. Some may be local here in Citrus County, and others across the states and abroad,” Capt. Brian Spiddle said. “It’s going to be a very difficult and long process to find those who have been victimized by this man.”

Several victims are out-of-state including some as far away as Canada and New York.

“I commend the detectives that have been working on this case,” Citrus County Sheriff Prendergast said. “We’ve just scratched the surface and already we know there are several victims out there. I’m so proud of this unit and what they’ve done to bring charges against this very sick man.”

Robison was charged with three counts of lewd and lascivious exhibition, specifically intentionally masturbates live over a computer online services knowing that the transmission is viewed by victim less than 16 years of age; 1 count of knowingly promoting sexual performance by a child; and 3 counts of Video Voyeurism for own use.

His bond was set at $26,000.

Seven Rivers Presbyterian is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America — a Fundamentalist Christian sect.

Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

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Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Youth Pastor Fernando Ponce Charged With Sexual Battery of Church Girl

Bruce Gerencser 0 Comments

fernando ponce

Fernando Ponce, youth pastor at Sembrador De Fe Church in Miami, Florida, was arrested Wednesday on “charges of sexual battery and promoting the sexual performance of a child.”

ABC-10 reports:

A youth pastor was arrested Wednesday on charges of sexual battery and promoting the sexual performance of a child.

According to an arrest report, Fernando Misael Ponce, 24, met the 15-year-old victim several years ago at the Sembrador De Fe church at 2614 NW 21st Ave.

Police said Ponce showed interest in the girl when she was between the ages of 11 and 12, but her mother told him to stay away from her.

Police said Ponce asked the victim to be his girlfriend when she was about 14 years old, and they began a relationship.

According to the arrest report, Ponce and the girl were “girlfriend and boyfriend” for eight to nine months and engaged in sexual activity, including oral and anal sex.

Police said Ponce told the teen not to tell anyone about their relationship or else “her family would suffer.”

During their so-called relationship, police said the youth pastor and victim would video chat with each other, and Ponce would secretly take photos of the teen without her knowledge.

Detectives said Ponce confessed to all of the allegations against him.

….

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor Cesar Lopez Guilty of Sexual Assault

Bruce Gerencser 0 Comments

cesar lopez

Cesar Lopez, pastor of Ministerios Soldados de Jesucristo in Avoca, Arkansas, was found guilty of second-degree sexual assault and sentenced to fifteen years in prison.

The Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette reports:(link no longer active)

A deputy prosecutor told jurors Cesar Lopez should have been a shepherd who guided his flock. Instead, he was a wolf who picked out his prey, she said.

“He uses his position of power for his own sexual gratification to get what he wants,” Carly Marshall told jurors Wednesday as she requested the maximum sentence for Lopez.

A jury found Lopez, 60, a pastor of an Avoca church — Ministerios Soldados de Jesucristo — guilty of one count of second-degree sexual assault, a felony punishable with a prison sentence ranging from five to 20 years. The jury recommended Lopez serve 15 years.

The jury, which deliberated for four hours, acquitted Lopez of another count of second-degree sexual assault.

Lopez was arrested May 11, 2016.

The investigation began with a tip to the Arkansas State Police hotline a 15-year-old girl and a 16-year-old girl had been molested, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Investigators interviewed the 15-year-old girl, who said Lopez touched her inappropriately multiple times. She told investigators she had known Lopez since she was 6 and thought of him as a grandfather, according to court documents.

The 16-year-old girl told investigators Lopez touched her in ways that made her uncomfortable, but didn’t tell anyone in case it was a misunderstanding, according to court documents.

The jury found Lopez guilty of the charge involving the younger girl.

The two girls and their families were members of the church where Lopez is the pastor.

The girls testified and prosecutors presented witnesses who said Lopez apologized and begged for forgiveness.

Lopez testified Tuesday and denied any sexual contact with the two girls when questioned by his attorney Jim Rose. Lopez speaks Spanish, so an interpreter was needed.

Marshall told jurors Lopez preyed on the younger girl, who was depressed and began to cut herself to mask her pain.

Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren followed the jury’s recommendation and sentenced Lopez to prison. Lopez will have to serve slightly more than two years before he’ll be eligible for parole. He will be required to register as a sex offender.

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor John Scheline Charged With Attempted Rape

Bruce Gerencser 3 Comments

John Scheline

John Scheline, executive director of Ignite Youth Mentoring in Richland, Washington and former pastor at  Faith Assembly in Pasco, Washington and  Bozeman Christian Center in Bozeman, Montana, was charged today with attempted second degree rape.

The Tri-City Herald reports:

All 26 men swept up in a five-day Tri-City operation to combat online child predators have now been charged, with five more appearing Wednesday in court.

William J. Barrett and Andrew L. Sanders both face Sept. 5 trials in Benton County Superior Court, while John M. Scheline, Darren J. Kerbyson and Gabriel Saenz have Oct. 2 dates.

Four of them are charged with attempted second-degree rape of a child and have been released from jail after posting $10,000 bond each.

Barrett is locked up on $25,000 bail because he has additional charges, including bringing methamphetamine and a glass smoking device to the meet-up.

They were arrested as part of a multi-agency effort, dubbed “Tri-Cities Net Nanny Operation,” between July 5 and 9.

Undercover detectives answered postings on various websites and placed their own ads claiming to be kids as young as 11 or parents who were offering their children for sex. Some of the suspects showed up to the predetermined location with condoms and sex toys.

The first three men arrested when authorities were still setting up the operation had Tuesday court hearings. The remaining 18 men are scheduled to appear Thursday.

Scheline, 40, was fired from his job as executive director of Ignite Youth Mentoring after the allegations surfaced. The Pasco father previously served as a pastor at Faith Assembly in Pasco and lead pastor of Bozeman Christian Center in Montana.

Investigators found an advertisement Scheline placed June 13 on Craigslist suggesting that a married dad was looking for a young boy, court documents said.

When a detective responded July 5 as a father offering up his 13-year-old son for sex acts, Scheline allegedly discussed in explicit detail what he would do with the boy.

Scheline eventually was given the address of an apartment. When “the (undercover) son” answered the door, Scheline turned and left and was taken into custody as he tried to get out of the complex, documents said.

….

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Student Pastor Clayton Hand Charged With Indecent Behavior With a Juvenile

Bruce Gerencser 2 Comments

clayton hand

Clayton Hand, student pastor at Feliciana Baptist Church in Clayton, Louisiana, was arrested and charged with having an inappropriate sexual relationship with a minor.

WAFB-9 reports:

A youth pastor is facing criminal charges for an alleged sexual relationship he had with a female when she was a juvenile.

According to the Zachary Police Department, detectives arrested and charged Clayton Hand, 25, and charged him with indecent behavior with a juvenile.

The investigation against Head as launched in May 2017 after allegations about inappropriate relationships surfaced.

Zachary Police Chief David McDavid confirms that three victims came forward with allegations. However, investigators were only able to confirm that one victim was underage at the time the contact occurred.

The alleged relationship occurred roughly four years ago.

Hand is a youth pastor at a church located in Clinton, but the interaction between Hand and the teen happened in the Zachary area.

Chief McDavid noted that the case is ongoing and additional charges are possible.

Hand was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. He was released after posting a $2,500 bond.

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor Reuben Chizor Convicted of Rape

Bruce Gerencser 1 Comment

reuben chizor

Reuben Chizor, pastor of Hope Restoration Ministries in Queens, New York was convicted last month of first-degree and second-degree rape, first-degree sexual abuse and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Chizor was given a 15-year prison sentence.

QNS reports:

A minister from Queens Village is now serving a 15-year prison term for raping two teenage girls in the basement of the church he formerly led, prosecutors announced on Tuesday.

Reuben Chizor, 56, the former head of the Hope Restoration Ministries based at his home on Springfield Boulevard, was convicted last month of first- and second-degree rape, first-degree sexual abuse and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, according to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown.

“The defendant took advantage of his position as a man of the cloth and the trust placed in him by his followers to satisfy his depraved desires,” Brown said in a statement. “Through manipulation and conniving control, he sexually abused his two young victims for nearly two years. What the defendant forced his victims to endure was horrendous, and as punishment, he now will be spending a lengthy term behind bars.”

According to the charges, on July 27, 2011, Chizor took the first victim, a then-14-year-old girl, to his residence in the basement of the church and raped her. The next month, on Aug. 22, 2011, he allegedly brought the victim’s then-12-year-old sister to the basement and sexually assaulted her.

Prosecutors said the two girls were repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted over a two-year period. The girls confided in each other in July of 2015 that they had been raped by Chizor, and police were notified soon after.

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor Gregorio Martinez Convicted of Molesting Teenager

Bruce Gerencser 0 Comments

gregorio martinez

In February 2015, Evangelical pastor Gregorio Martinez was convicted of “aggravated criminal sexual contact, child abuse and endangering the welfare of a child.” Free on bond, Martinez fled the country, and a year later he was arrested in Honduras and returned to the United States for sentencing. Martinez was a deacon at Third Bethesda Pentecostal Church in Union City at the time he committed his crimes, and was co-pastor of Elohim Church in North Bergen when he was convicted. [That’s right, a church actually made Martinez pastor while he was on trial for criminal sexual contact, child abuse, and endangering the welfare of a child.]

NJ Advance Media reported in August 2016:

An evangelical preacher who has been on the run since a jury convicted him last year of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy has been arrested in Central America, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office said Sunday.

Gregorio Martinez, whose flight from justice was chronicled in a special report by NJ Advance Media this spring, was detained in Danli, Honduras, on Tuesday, Prosecutor Esther Suarez said in a statement.

Few details were immediately available, but Suarez said Honduran police made the arrest. The U.S. Marshals Service and the FBI had been involved in the hunt for Martinez. It was not clear if representatives of either agency were present when the fugitive was detained.

In February of last year, a jury took less than 30 minutes to convict Martinez of aggravated criminal sexual contact, child abuse and endangering the welfare of a child. Free on $250,000 bail, the Jersey City resident failed to appear for a pre-sentencing review weeks later.

During the trial, Martinez was charged with sexually assaulting a 19-year-old man. After his conviction, authorities charged him with sex crimes against two other men, also 19. Martinez knew the 13-year-old boy and the three alleged victims through churches in Hudson County.

“This was a tremendous effort by our dedicated detectives and prosecutors, who persisted with this case by following a money trail until Gregorio Martinez was detained Tuesday night in Honduras,” Suarez said. “This investigation involved the teamwork of several law enforcement partners and we are appreciative of the tenacious effort and dedication which led to his apprehension.”

The prosecutor said her office would be “exploring all options” to return Martinez to New Jersey, where he would face sentencing for the molestation conviction and stand trial on the charges related to the three other teens.

NJ Advance Media had traced Martinez this spring to Esteli, Nicaragua, where he had been living in a church compound. He is now accused by a parishioner of molesting a teenage boy there as well.

The news organization’s report kick-started the stalled criminal investigation, leading authorities to renew their search.

Martinez, a native of the Dominican Republic, had jumped from church to church in Hudson County’s Latino Pentecostal community. At the time of the sexual assault, he was a deacon at Third Bethesda Pentecostal Church in Union City.

He later served as co-pastor of Elohim Christian Church in Jersey City. Martinez’s father, Arturo, now serves as pastor there.

Two of Martinez’s close friends, a mother and son, knew the preacher was in Nicaragua but did not tell authorities. Jersey City residents Paula Martinez and Kelvin Martinez, who are not related to Gregorio Martinez, attended a lavish birthday party for the fugitive in Esteli last November, according to people who were present.

….

The pastor of the church where Martinez had been staying in Nicaragua said he was unaware of the man’s past and that he had received a letter of recommendation for Martinez from a New Jersey pastor associated with the Assemblies of God, the world’s largest Pentecostal denomination.

That pastor, Verardo Acosta, acknowledged writing the letter after Martinez’s conviction but said he did not know about the criminal case.

….

In December 2016, NJ Advance Media reported:

The last time Gregorio Martinez stepped foot in a Hudson County courtroom, a jury pronounced him guilty of molesting a 13-year-old boy.

….

On Friday, 22 months after he vanished, the former Jersey City resident finally returned to a Hudson County courtroom, this time in handcuffs.

Superior Court Judge John A. Young Jr. ordered Martinez, 49, held without bail in connection with the February 2015 conviction on charges of aggravated criminal sexual contact, child abuse and endangering the welfare of a child.

Additionally, Young set bail at a combined $1 million cash on other counts alleging Martinez sexually assaulted three other people, all 19-year-old men he had met through churches in Hudson County.

“It’s obvious Mr. Martinez, but for the extraordinary effort of law enforcement to secure his return, had no intention of coming back,” Young said. “If given the opportunity, he would again leave.”

….

In court, Assistant Prosecutor Linda Claude-Oben described Martinez’s extraordinary efforts to avoid capture, hopscotching from one Central American nation to the next.

When Honduran authorities detained him in the town of Danli, near the country’s southern border with Nicaragua, all 10 of his fingertips were bloody and bandaged, suggesting he intentionally tried to obliterate his fingerprints, Claude-Oben said.

….

In a brief press conference after the hearing, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said her office, in conjunction with federal authorities, worked tirelessly to find Martinez, who has connections throughout Latin America because of previous evangelical missions.

She also credited NJ Advance Media, which reported in May that Martinez had been hiding in the city of Esteli, Nicaragua. The fugitive, with help from a New Jersey pastor, had secured a position at a church there.

Two reporters traveled to Esteli in late February but missed Martinez by little more than two weeks, according to residents of the community. It’s unclear if he went directly to Honduras.

Martinez had been living in a church compound affiliated with the Assemblies of God, the world’s largest Pentecostal denomination. Members of the congregation called him a charismatic figure who regularly preached at religious festivals and churches across the city, inspiring the faithful with spirited sing-song messages about heaven and hell.

He claimed he could cure illness and cast out demons. On many occasions, he spoke in tongues.

Today, Martinez’s sentencing was postponed until Monday. The Jersey Journal reports:

The sentencing of a North Hudson preacher and self-proclaimed exorcist who disappeared into Central America after being convicted of groping a 13-year-old boy was postponed Friday morning and rescheduled for next Monday.

On Feb. 25, 2015, Gregorio Martinez, of Jersey City, was found guilty of touching the 13-year-old’s genital area and kissing him on the lips inside a minivan in a North Bergen parking lot on June 10, 2012.

….

Hudson TV adds: (link no longer active)

At least three others were also sexually assaulted by the 49-year-old.

Though Martinez was offered a 10-year sentence for pleading guilty to sexual assault in 2009 of a now-19-year-old man, he rejected the state’s plea offer in May.

Allegedly, the incidents took place at church events, even prayer services.

ABC News reports that Martinez faces five more years in jail for bail jumping.

Black Collar Crime: Episcopal Priest William Rian Adams Arrested Over Road Rage Incident

Bruce Gerencser 2 Comments

william rian adams

Williams Rian Adams, pastor of Calvary Episcopal Church in Fletcher, North Carolina, was arrested last Wednesday and charged with “two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.”

The Charlotte Observer reports:

A 150-year-old church in the Fletcher community west of Charlotte was without a priest last week, after he was arrested in Florida for allegedly pointing a gun at another motorist during a road rage incident.

Episcopal priest William Rian Adams, 35, is facing two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for pointing the weapon at two people in a pickup truck late Wednesday on the Florida Turnpike near Palm City, reported the Palm Beach Post.

….

The Florida Highway Patrol said Adams was driving a red Chevrolet Corvette when he attempted to brake check a Chevrolet Silverado pickup that he said was closely following his vehicle, reported the Palm Beach Post.

The driver of the pickup attempted to go around Adams’ vehicle, prompting Adams to allegedly point a Glock 22 at the pickup, reported the web site ChristianToday.com.

Adams told investigators that the pickup drew alongside him and the passenger screamed at him and threw a soda at his car, reported ChristianToday. He was arrested under a $15,000 bond, according to a web site for the Martin County jail. Adams listed the church as his employer, according to the jail records.

The Palm Beach Post reported a 24-year-old man and a 54-year-old woman from St. Cloud, Florida, were in the pickup truck.

Adams confirmed to troopers that he had a weapon, but said the gun was not loaded and had been kept under his passenger seat the entire time, reported the Asheville Citizens Times.

 

Bruce Gerencser