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.
Shaun Hertlein, a youth pastor at South Coast Church in Goleta, California and an assistant coach at Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta, stands accused of sending sexual images to a minor, communicating with a minor with the intent to commit specific crimes, and possession of obscene images of a child.
A Goleta pastor who also coached high school students has been arrested on felony sex crime charges involving minors.
Shaun Donald Hertlein, 42, was taken into custody Friday, May 9, after Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s detectives served him with a warrant. Detectives began investigating Hertlein in April.
He faces charges including sending sexual images to a minor, communicating with a minor with the intent to commit specific crimes, and possession of obscene images of a child. His bail is set at $500,000.
Sheriff’s officials said Hertlein worked with children at a church in the 5800 block of Cathedral Oaks Road. Online videos list him as a pastor at South Coast Church at that same address. Social media posts also show his affiliation with the Santa Barbara Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Superintendent Hilda Maldonado confirmed Hertlein is an assistant coach at Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta on Monday.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.
Cody Robinson, a camp youth director at Pine Lake Bible Camp in Caldwell Ohio, stands accused of numerous crimes related to the possession of child pornography.
A youth director at Pine Lake Bible Camp has been arrested following an investigation into child sexual abuse material by the Noble County Sheriff’s Office as part of the Southeastern Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force.
According to Your Radio Place, Cody S. Robinson, 29, was taken into custody on May 17, 2025, just outside of Caldwell.
Authorities say the arrest followed a cyber tip received by the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, which reported video files of child pornography linked to Robinson.
A search warrant was executed at Robinson’s residence, leading to his arrest. He is facing a range of charges, including:
One count of first-degree misdemeanor Falsification
One count of second-degree felony Pandering Obscenity Involving a Minor
Two counts of third-degree felony Attempt to Commit an Offense
Two counts of fourth-degree felony Pandering Obscenity Involving a Minor
Two counts of fourth-degree felony Pandering Sexually Oriented Matter Involving a Juvenile
Two counts of fifth-degree felony Illegal Use of Minor in Nudity
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The investigation remains ongoing. Authorities urge anyone with relevant information to contact the Sheriff’s Office directly.
The Southeastern Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force is part of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission, which coordinates multi-agency responses to combat human trafficking and related crimes.
In the wake of the arrest, Pine Lake Bible Camp announced on social media that all camps scheduled for June 2025 have been canceled.
The announcement cited “unforeseen circumstances” and offered an apology to affected families for the short notice.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.
Jim Mustain, the former pastor of Preston Trail Community Church in Frisco, Texas, stands accused of the possession of material depicting the sexual abuse of children.
A former North Texas pastor and elementary school volunteer faces charges related to possession of material depicting the sexual abuse of children, officials said. Lewisville police issued arrest warrants for Jim Mustain on April 23, the department said in a statement. He was arrested April 25 in Ashe County, North Carolina.
Mustain, former community pastor at Frisco’s Preston Trail Community Church, was extradited to North Texas. Court records show he was booked into the Denton County Jail on May 14. The 64-year-old faces one count of possession of child pornography and four counts of possession or promotion of lewd material depicting a child. Mustain served at Preston Trail from 2019 to 2023, according to a statement on the church’s website. He wasn’t directly responsible for student or children’s ministries during his time on staff. Law enforcement told church leadership of the allegations against Mustain on April 24. The church immediately hired a third-party law firm to conduct an independent investigation, the statement says.
A pastor who previously served several prominent Baptist churches in Texas, Georgia and Virginia is being held in the Denton County, Texas, jail on a $500,000 bond while facing charges of possession of child pornography.
Denton County public records show Jim Mustain was booked May 14 on one count of possessing more than 50 pieces of child pornography and four counts of possession or promotion of lewd visual materials depicting a child. The arresting division was the Lewisville, Texas, Police Department.
Mustain was not currently on a church staff but previously served on the ministerial staff at Preston Trail Community Church in Frisco, Texas; Valley Ranch Baptist Church in Coppell, Texas; New Life Bible Church in Oklahoma City; Dunwoody Baptist Church in Atlanta; and Shenandoah Baptist Church in Roanoke, Va.
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Mustain also volunteered with student groups for Durham Middle School and Creekside Elementary School in Lewisville Independent School District as recently as the last school year. Lewisville ISD officials said in a letter to parents that there’s no indication any of those students were affected by his alleged crimes, but asked parents to come forward if they have relevant information.
He served as pastor for community and life transformation at Valley Ranch Baptist Church, a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship congregation, from 2005 to 2014. After leaving there, he founded his own ministry group called Loving Community, which he described as “being good neighbors by connecting people into relationships and serving the needs of the community.”
Loving Community is a partner organization with Mentor America to provide services to school children and senior adults. In 2016, his organization was named Nonprofit of the Year in the Lewisville, Flower Mound and Highland Village communities. Mustain also served on the boards of several other nonprofits and was a frequent officiant at weddings in the community.
From 1999 to 2005, Mustain served as associate pastor of New Life Bible Church in Oklahoma City. From 1993 to 1999, he served as executive pastor at Dunwoody Baptist Church in Atlanta, a congregation that has been affiliated with both CBF and the Southern Baptist Convention. Prior to that, he served as senior associate pastor at Shenandoah Baptist Church in Roanoke, Va., an independent Baptist church.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.
James Henry, pastor of Crossroads Assembly of God Church in Delight, Arkansas and a foster parent to over 70 children, pleaded guilty to 11 counts of possessing child sexual abuse material and was sentenced to 110 years in prison.
An Arkansas pastor has been sentenced to 110 years in prison after he plead guilty 11 counts of possessing child sexual abuse material.
The pastor, James Vincent Henry, received 10 years per count, which he will serve consecutively for a total of 110 years.
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A warrant for Henry’s arrest was issued on October 14, 2024, after two cyber tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children were made regarding Henry’s activity on the social messaging platforms Snapchat and Kik.
The pastor, who worked at the Crossroads Assembly of God Church in Delight, Arkansas, originally faced 100 counts of Possession, Viewing, and Distribution of Child Pornography.
James Vincent Henry, pastor of Crossroads Assembly of God in Delight, Arkansas, has been charged with 100 counts of possessing, viewing, and distributing child sexual abuse material.
According to the church’s website, the 43-year-old pastor has been married to his wife Brittney for 12 years, and the couple has three children.
Henry’s wife is also listed as a pastor of Crossroads Assembly of God.
Before becoming pastor of Crossroads Assembly of God, Henry served as a youth pastor at four different churches: Lacey Assembly of God, McGehee First Assembly of God, Mountain Pine First Assembly of God, and Newsong Church in Centerton, Arkansas.
An Arkansas State Police (ASP) Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigation led to the arrest yesterday (Oct. 15) of James Vincent Henry, 43, of Delight, for 100 counts of crimes related to the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM),” ASP said in a statement. “Henry is the pastor of [a] church in Delight.”
ASP reported that on Wednesday, Sept. 25, “Special Agents with the ASP ICAC Task Force executed a search warrant in Delight in reference to two cyber tips from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children made through the online messaging applications Snapchat and Kik.”
Agents then reviewed “digital evidence” before obtaining an arrest warrant on Monday (Oct. 14). Pike County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Henry less than 24 hours later.
Henry has been charged with “100 counts of Possession, Viewing, and Distribution of Child Pornography (CSAM).”
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.
Daniel Menelaou, a youth pastor at the Alpharetta, Georgia campus of the sixteen-campus Australian global megachurch Futures Church (formerly Influencers Church), stands accused of child pornography possession. Futures Church is affiliated with the Assemblies of God.
Officials at Futures Church headquartered in Australia were left in shock last Wednesday after Daniel Menelaou, a youth pastor with the Alpharetta, Georgia, campus of the global megachurch, was arrested and charged with possession of child pornography.
Arrest records from the Roswell Police Department lists six counts of possession “or control any material depicting minor in sexually explicit conduct,” against Menelaou who began working at the Alpharetta campus of the church in August 2023, according to his LinkedIn profile.
A report from Fox5 said Roswell Police and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation raided 28-year-old Menelaou’s home after receiving a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
“During the course of that search warrant, we seized several electronic devices that will be analyzed for additional evidence,” Roswell Police Officer Tim Lupo told the news outlet.
Investigators said the youth pastor, who also worked as a student mentor at Temple Christian College in Australia prior to his work in Georgia, uploaded multiple videos that “depict a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct” and shared the images using the messenger app called Kik.
“Our hearts are heavy as we share heartbreaking news with you. In recent days, one of our youth [pastors] working overseas, Daniel Menelaou, was arrested and charged with possession of materials depicting minors in sexually explicit content. Like you, we are deeply shocked, grieved, and blindsided by this news. We also want to be absolutely clear that these charges have no connection to anyone in our church community,” wrote Pastor Tony Cornbridge of Futures Church in Australia.
“We understand that this is difficult to process, and our hearts go out to all those affected, as well as Emma and their families. In moments like these, we lean into the grace, wisdom, and justice of God, trusting Him to bring healing, clarity, and comfort.”
Futures Church, which is formerly Influencers Church, is a Pentecostal church affiliated with the Assemblies of God denomination. According to the church’s website, it has 16 campuses located in Australia, the United States and Indonesia.
Reacting to the charges, another spokesperson for the church said in a statement to The Christian Post that they condemned Menelaou’s actions in “the strongest possible terms.”
“Until his arrest, we had no prior knowledge of any allegations or indication of wrongdoing. The details outlined in the arrest warrant are deeply disturbing and stand in total opposition to our unwavering commitment to protecting children,” the spokesperson said.
“Our hearts go out first and foremost to any victims who have been harmed. We remain committed to standing with all survivors of abuse, particularly children, whose suffering should never be ignored or minimized,” the spokesperson continued.
“Futures Church has a zero-tolerance policy regarding any form of abuse. The moment we became aware of Daniel Menelaou’s arrest, we placed him on immediate administrative leave. However, the full extent of these charges was unknown to us until the last few hours and his position has now been terminated. Let us be unequivocally clear this behavior is reprehensible and has no place in our church.”
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.
In 2018, Brian Werth, a youth worker at St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church in Rockville, Maryland, was sentenced yesterday to three years in prison for the sexual abuse of a church teenager.
A former youth minister at St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church in Rockville was sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison for the sexual abuse of a teen parishioner, according to Montgomery County prosecutors.
Brian Patrick Werth, 34, had been arrested in 2016 in connection with the abuse of a then-16-year-old girl, to whom he had sent explicit text messages for two years and had sexual contact with her earlier that year. He was charged with a fourth-degree sex offense, sexual abuse of a minor and second-degree assault.
Judge Karla Smith sentenced Werth to one year for the sex offense charge and two years for the assault charge, according to a State’s Attorney’s Office press release. The two terms will be served consecutively, followed by five years of probation with COMET, a sex offender monitoring program that will include periodic polygraph and psychosexual testing. Werth is also required to register as a sex offender for 15 years.
Smith went beyond state guidelines, which recommend zero to six months for the charges, in the sentencing. Ramón Korionoff, a spokesman for the State’s Attorney’s Office, said the sentence was appropriate.
“It is our hope that this above-the-guidelines sentence will send a strong message that people in position of authority and trust must not abuse that power over the young people they are supposed to be serving,” he said in a statement. “Hopefully, yesterday’s sentence will be the first step in healing for the victim and the church community in this matter.”
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Werth, who lived in Montgomery Village at the time, had known the victim through the church, and learned that she “adored him,” according to prosecutors. They began texting, and police later discovered he had sent graphic and sexual texts to her since the summer of 2014.
On about May 20, 2016, Werth kissed the teen and had other inappropriate sexual contact with her during a youth event at the church, according to police.
St. Elizabeth’s had fired Werth in 2016 after the pastor received a complaint against him that summer, according to a statement from the Archdiocese of Washington at the time. The pastor contacted the Archdiocese’s Child and Youth Protection Office, which then reported the case to county police.
After his release from prison, Werth was accused of one count of solicitation of a minor to engage in the production of obscene matter, three counts of possession with intent to distribute pornography, and ten counts of possession of child pornography.
A Prince George’s County man was arrested and charged Tuesday after a Maryland State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigation developed evidence supporting charges of possession of child pornography and the attempted solicitation of a minor.
The suspect is identified as Brian Werth, 37, of Beltsville, MD. Werth, a registered sex offender, is charged with solicitation of a minor to engage in the production of obscene matter, three counts of possession with intent to distribute pornography and 10 counts of possession of child pornography. He was taken to the Maryland State Police College Park Barrack for processing before being transferred to the Prince George’s County Detention Center, where he is being held without bond.
On June 24, the Maryland State Police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force received a CyberTip report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children involving the distribution of child pornography online. The investigation led to the identification of the suspect and his residence in Prince George’s County.
Through the course of the investigation, troopers discovered that Werth had also been communicating with a minor in North Carolina. Troopers, with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations, arrested Werth Tuesday as he went to visit his probation officer in Hyattsville, Maryland. Investigators also served a search warrant at the identified suspect’s residence.
Finally, Werth had his day in court and was convicted of on two counts of production of child pornography; coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity; and committing a crime involving a minor by a registered sex offender. Werth was sentenced to 37 years in prison.
A 39-year-old registered sex offender was convicted by a jury Wednesday on multiple charges related to creating pornography involving minors.
After a three-day trial, Brian Patrick Werth, a 39-year-old from Beltsville, was found guilty by a jury on two counts of production of child pornography; coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity; and committing a crime involving a minor by a registered sex offender.
Prosecutors said between January and June 2021, Werth pressured a 14-year-old and 15-year-old girl to create sexually explicit content and share it with Werth via apps. The teens testified that he used coercion methods such as showing them porn with other teens, flattering them and helping them buy lingerie and “school girl outfits.”
During that same time period, prosecutors said Werth was also talking to an 11-year-old girl and asking her for nude photos.
Werth faces a minimum of 25 years in federal prison, up to 50 years for the child pornography charges, and an additional 10-year mandatory consecutive sentence for the commission of a new offense involving a minor while being required to register as a sex offender, and between 10 years and life in prison for coercion and enticement of a minor. If and when he’s released from prison, he will be required to continue registering as a sex offender.
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Werth’s previous conviction stems from a 2016 case where he was accused of sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl he allegedly spent two years grooming.
“There was an extended period of grooming,” Assistant State’s Attorney Hannah Gleason said at the time of his arrest. “He’s a danger to this juvenile and to the community.”
Werth was a youth minister at St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church in Rockville at the time and was accused of abusing her at a youth ministry “lock-in” overnight event.
“She felt helpless to resist or object to the defendant’s advances and solicitations based upon their historical relationship and her belief the defendant had been so helpful and kind to her in the past,” investigators wrote in court documents.
Beltsville resident Brian Patrick Werth, 40, has been sentenced to 37 years in prison after being convicted by a jury at a three-day trial for producing child sexual abuse material.
Werth was convicted of coercing and enticing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct and engaging with a minor as a registered sex offender.
According to court documents, between January 2021 and June 2021, Werth communicated with underage girls, ages 11 and 15, through Internet-based applications WhatsApp and Kik.
During these interactions, prosecutors said that Werth persuaded, coerced, and enticed the minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct by producing sexually explicit videos of themselves.
Additionally, Werth engaged in child sexual abuse as a member of the Maryland Sex Offender Registry for a previous sex offense conviction.
In addition to his prison term, Werth was also ordered by a judge to serve 25 years of supervised release. He also must register as a sex offender where he resides, is employed, and where he is a student when he is released.
Werth also is barred from having contact with children under the age of 18 without prior permission. He also will submit to computer monitoring.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.
Jason Yates, the former CEO of My Faith Votes –an Evangelical voter ministry that supported Donald Trump in the last election — has been charged with eight counts of possessing child pornography.
The former president of an evangelical get-out-the-vote nonprofit, which seeks to motivate Christian voters to promote family values and “biblical truth” in the public square, was charged Monday (Nov. 4) with eight counts of possessing child pornography.
Jason Yates, former CEO of My Faith Votes, was charged during a video court hearing in the District Court of McLeod County, Minnesota. State officials allege that from February 2023 to July 2024, Yates possessed a hard drive with digital pornographic images of minors under 14 years of age.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension began investigating the 55-year-old Yates at the end of July after a relative, identified in court documents as “Witness #2,” accidentally discovered a hard drive containing over 100 images of child porn in Yates’ office, according to a statement of probable cause filed in the case. That relative told a second relative, identified as “Witness #1,” who turned the hard drive over to law enforcement. According to court documents, the hard drive allegedly contains both still images and videos of pornography involving minors under 14.
During an interview on Sept. 13, Yates allegedly confirmed that the hard drive did not belong to Witness #2 but declined to give law enforcement a password for encrypted files on the hard drive.
“Defendant stated that he had a prior conviction, which had been expunged, related to CSAM/child pornography,” the complaint filed against Yates alleges.
An attorney for Yates declined to comment.
For much of its history, Jason Yates was the CEO and president of My Faith Votes. He was still listed as CEO on the group’s website as of Aug. 19 but his name and image were removed sometime after that date.
“In early August 2024, the My Faith Votes board of directors separated Jason Yates from My Faith Votes and board member Chris Sadler assumed the position of Acting CEO. Over the last three months Chris has been working with the dedicated My Faith Votes team to encourage millions of Christians to vote, pray and think biblically about this election in America,” a spokesperson for My Faith Votes told RNS in an email.
The group’s website blames Christians for failing to stand up against “secular progressives” — which the group faults for a host of social ills.
“As a result of apathy at the voting booth and in public life, we’ve suffered devastating moral decay, declining religious freedom, immoral national debt, and the erosion of traditional family values,” the group’s website reads.
In early July, a few weeks before the hard drive allegedly containing child porn was turned over to police, Yates wrote an op-ed for The Washington Times, urging Christians to fight “sexually deviant” messages aimed at children, mainly about LGTB issues.
“This infernal programming is being downloaded into our children, and it becomes far easier when it finds no resistance in our public square — when it is allowed to fill the void left by the absence of our faith,” he wrote.
A biography of Jason Yates from April 2024 describes him as having left a corporate career in 2015 to become CEO of My Faith Votes. Along with promoting voting among Christians, he served on the board of several other ministries.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.
Arturo Alarcon, an assistant pastor at 121 Community Church in Grapevine, Texas, stands accused of child porn possession. Law enforcement found the pornography while investigating a report of invasive visual recording.
A Grapevine pastor, volunteer, and substitute teacher is facing charges after allegedly being caught with hidden cameras and child pornography.
Grapevine police say 38-year-old Arturo Alarcon, who was an associate pastor at 121 Community Church, set up spy cameras inside a trailer neighboring mobile home park that the church uses as a temporary place to stay for visiting families.
“The person who planted those cameras knew what they were, and they were intentionally put there,” said Grapevine Police Spokesperson Amanda McNew. “He was the pastor who would bring families into that home. He had the codes to get into it.”
A missionary couple was staying in the home and discovered the cameras.
According to an arrest warrant, the man noticed a clicking noise from an alarm clock and discovered it took a memory card. He then noticed the camera. The church contacted police soon after.
“Through that investigation, detectives uncovered a downloaded photo of child pornography,” McNew said.
The child porn found on Alarcon’s phone was unrelated to the spy cameras, according to an arrest warrant. It’s unclear if additional crimes are suspected, but police say there’s no evidence indicating so at this time.
“We’re going to keep looking, but we haven’t found anything else at all,” said McNew.
In a statement to FOX 4, 121 Community Church says it placed Alarcon on leave after it made its report to police. He was later fired when he was arrested.
“The Grapevine Police Department has stated that the investigation is ongoing and there is no evidence of additional crimes. We have been in contact with the Grapevine Police Department and continue to cooperate with the investigation,” the church said. “We currently have no indication from law enforcement or any other source that local children were involved with the alleged conduct.”
No one on Friday answered the door at Alarcon’s trailer just two streets away from the trailer where he allegedly installed spy cameras.
Alarcon was known around the neighborhood for his work with the nearby church and with the Grapevine Community Outreach Center, an extension of the Grapevine Police Department.
Alarcon was also a substitute teacher within Grapevine-Colleyville ISD since March 2022.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.
Felix Sung, an IT specialist at Church of the Good Shepherd in Durham, North Carolina, stands accused of 10 counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. Good Shepherd is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).
A Durham church employee faces 10 counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor for incidents dating back to 2014.
According to a search warrant, on Oct. 31, officers with the Durham Police Department responded to the Church of the Good Shepherd, where the pastor reported numerous pornographic files of children were located on a computer managed by Felix Sung, a former IT specialist.
The pastor told officers Sung worked with the church for years, maintaining computers, the security camera system and the computer server from a locked office, according to the warrant.
According to the warrant, the pastor said Sung had a history of ongoing disagreements with office staff over administrative issues and resigned in late October, turning over his keys, church credit card and computer passwords.
On Oct. 30, new IT specialists began working at the church.
The new employees alerted the pastor to suspicious pornographic content on church computers, including “files labeled with names of female children who attended church” and “concerning photos” of girls, including one child’s face on “various nude female and male adult bodies,” the warrant states.
Some of the images were made from child pornography and others were computer-generated, the warrant states.
According to church staff, Sung was the only person who had previously had access to the computer. The warrant states Sung was seen on security camera removing computers and hard drives on the day of his resignation.
Sung appeared in court for the charges on Nov. 13. He was given a $250,000 bond and has since bonded out. His next court date is scheduled for Jan. 14, 2025.
WRAL News on Monday interviewed Norman Acker, a church elder and spokesperson.
Acker said the images were found on Oct. 30, and police were notified the following day.
“The police interviewed staff and looked at the photos, and the church was fully cooperative with police and turned over those photos to the police,” Acker said.
To be transparent, Acker said the congregation was immediately notified in a meeting following church services.
“We know that these kinds of allegations have happened in the past where churches have not been transparent and have tried to hide things, and we do not want to be in that category,” Acker said. “We want to be fully transparent.”
Acker said Sung did not work with the church youth group, either in a paid or volunteer position, but the warrant says “He was also involved with photography for the church and assisted with many programs within the church, including the youth ministry.”
The church offered to pay for professional counseling for people were affected and created a committee made up of a nurse, a mental health professional and church members — all female — to help in case hands-on abuse was reported.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.
Geoffrey Carter, pastor of Apostolic House of Deliverance in South Bend, Indiana, and director of the Children’s Choir of Michiana, stands accused of child exploitation, possession of child pornography, sexual battery, child seduction, and voyeurism using a camera.
WNDU 16 News Now is learning 36-year-old Geoffrey Carter is in the St. Joseph County Jail on multiple charges, including child exploitation, possession of child pornography, sexual battery, child seduction, and voyeurism using a camera.
According to court paperwork, the 17-year-old unnamed victim filed a police report earlier this month against Carter. A few days later, the victim revealed to Mishawaka police investigators they were staying with Carter at his Mishawaka home.
The victim claimed they were awakened on Halloween morning after feeling someone rubbing their leg and “squeezing” their buttocks. They said they turned around and saw Carter in the bedroom, pulling his pants up and quickly hiding his phone. They also reportedly observed a camera flash. The victim also indicated later seeing a video of Carter masturbating near them around the time this happened.
Court paperwork goes on to talk about how the victim knew the passcode to Carter’s phone. He accessed it, looked through his camera roll and discovered numerous pictures and videos in the phone’s hidden folder. That victim handed the phone to police as evidence.
A search warrant was executed on Carter’s home, and more nude pictures and videos of the victim were reportedly discovered in Carter’s phone from the bathroom. The video was consistent with the victim’s allegations from Halloween morning. Officials also found a fake smoke detector and hidden camera in the home.
On Monday, Carter spoke to police and said the victim was staying with him since October as “his mother” was having housing issues. He admitted to putting cameras in his bathroom and recording the naked victim. He also admitted to recording himself masturbating while standing over the victim.
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Carter was arraigned in court on Thursday. His bond is set at $15,000 cash. As of Thursday night, he remains in custody.
He’s due back in court for an initial hearing on Dec. 2.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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