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 2021, David Nims, a children’s church leader at Calvary Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida, was arrested several times on child porn and voyeurism charges.
Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons says the Pensacola church children’s director who has already been arrested multiple times may have more victims.
37-year-old David Nims was arrested late Friday for a third time after investigators say he secretly recorded people in public restrooms at a church in Escambia County.
Simmons says deputies recently discovered that eight additional victims were secretly recorded. This follows Nims’ initial arrest back in June regarding a secret camera hidden in a church’s men’s bathroom.
According to Nims’ most recent arrest report, investigators reviewed over 180 videos that showed multiple people using the restroom.
Sheriff Simmons told Channel 3 that there is a chance they could find more victims as they continue their investigation.
According to Sherriff Simmons, the videos were taken in three locations: Calvary Baptist Church (where Nims volunteered as a children’s director), his home and his wife’s work.
Reports indicate he was recording men, women and children.
“Every time we arrested him and we seize more storage devices and more computer equipment then we end up finding more,” Simmons said. “Unfortunately we end up finding more evidence of video voyeurism.”
Nims was charged with 25 counts of child pornography possession and 16 counts of video voyeurism. Yesterday, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
40-year-old David Nims was charged with 25 counts of child pornography possession and 16 counts of video voyeurism. He faced more than 500 years in prison, but he took a plea deal. Some charges were dropped, and Nims was sentenced to 50 years in prison on Friday.
Nims set up a camera under a sink in a restroom at Calvary Baptist Church. In March 2021, he recorded not just adults but kids between the age of 6 and 14 years old. Investigators later found SD cards with more than 100 child porn images in his home.
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.
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 2022, David Walther, pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Round Rock, Texas, was accused of distribution, receipt, transportation, and possession of child pornography. Faith Baptist is an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) congregation affiliated with the Baptist Bible Fellowship.
David Lloyd Walther, 56, of Georgetown, was arrested on Thursday and charged with distribution, receipt, transportation and possession of child pornography, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney’s office. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.
Walther told an FBI agent that “he had a pornography addiction and would often go through cycles ofdownloading and viewing pornography depicting both adults and minors,” the complaint said.
He also said that he would download child pornography files, “but would often feel guilty and go through a ‘purging’ of files, i.e., deleting the images and associated files, because he knew it was wrong, and that he last purged files on November 08, 2022, the night before the search warrants were served,” according to the complaint.
Walther was a pastor at the Faith Baptist Church in Round Rock for the past 18 years, said David Clawson, a deacon at the church.
“We regret anything along these lines that has happened,” Clawson said on Friday about the charges against Walther. “The church will continue to move forward as God has led,” Clawson said. He declined further comment.
“The criminal complaint alleges that Walther downloaded and made available child pornography using BitTorrent, a peer-to-peer file sharing network,” the release said. It said this happened when Walther, who is a Georgetown resident, was still a pastor.
When authorities searched Walther’s home and vehicle on Thursday, they found two large computer hard drives that contained child pornography, the release said.
Walther told authorities that he didn’t know he was sharing child pornography through the BitTorrent network and also apologized “for his actions,” the complaint said.
He said when he viewed the child pornography the children in it were between 8 and 17 years old, according to the complaint.
According to the affidavit, which Law&Crime is not sharing in this instance because of how detailed it is, the pastor had a “BDSM” folder containing an image of a nude boy with a collar on his neck and being sexually abused, a similar image of a female toddler, and images of nude young boys and girls being restrained by ropes and tools. A “Zoo” folder allegedly contained a bestiality video involving a dog and a female toddler “likely less than three years old.”
The feds allege that the defendant also downloaded several videos through BitTorrent showing young girls being sexually abused by adult men.
Walther has been scrubbed from his church’s website.
Last July, Walther pleaded guilty to an enhanced charge of possession of child sex abuse images.
A Texas pastor pleaded guilty to an enhanced charge of possession of child sex abuse images after he admitted having downloaded some of the materials at his church, according to federal prosecutors and court documents.
David Lloyd Walther, 57, “knowingly searched for, downloaded, distributed and possessed” child sex abuse images, some of which depicted prepubescent minors, on a peer-to-peer file sharing network while he was the pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Round Rock, a city 18 miles north of Austin, the U.S. attorney’s office for Western Texas said Thursday.
Walther was arrested Nov. 9 after a search of his home and car turned up two large computer hard drives with more than 100,000 images and more than 5,000 videos of child sex abuse material, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
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He pleaded guilty in federal court in Austin on June 27, court records show.
Walther could face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
It was not immediately clear when he would be sentenced. A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office said a sentencing date had not yet been scheduled.
In a statement, Worth Carroll, an attorney representing Walther, said: “David’s guilty plea is the next step in the healing process after he experienced horrendous childhood abuse where ‘trusted adults’ and the system repeatedly failed to protect him. Since his arrest, David and his family have courageously worked to confront his own abuse, address how he was neglected and abused, and begin making amends for the harm he has caused. I am proud of him, encouraged by the work he has done, and amazed by the love and compassion of his family.”
Last Wednesday, Walther was sentenced to seventy months in prison.
A Georgetown man was sentenced in a federal court in Austin on Wednesday to 70 months in prison [5.8 years] and 10 years of supervised release for an enhanced charge of possession of child pornography.
According to court documents, David Lloyd Walther, 57, knowingly searched for, downloaded, distributed and possessed child sexual abuse material, including child pornography—some of which depicted prepubescent minors—using BitTorrent, a peer-to-peer file sharing network. During a search of Walther’s home and vehicle in November 2022, two large computer hard drives were located and found to contain more than 100,000 images and more than 5,000 videos of child sexual abuse material. At the time of his arrest, Walther was the pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Round Rock.
In addition to the prison and supervised release terms, the judge also ordered Walther to pay restitution of $61,000.
“Many families in the Round Rock area placed their trust in this man when he served as a leader in faith for their community,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas. “I hope that those families can find comfort in knowing our law enforcement partners and justice system are committed to protecting them, ensuring that predators such as Walther cannot continue to pose a threat to innocent children.”
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.
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.
Corey Herthel, pastor of Green Bay Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Green Bay, Wisconsin, was accused of attempted production of child pornography and transfer of obscene material to a minor.
A Green Bay pastor, Cory J. Herthel, has been arrested and charged with multiple online crimes allegedly aimed at a child in Venezuela, according to an article by WeAreGreenBay.com. The charges were brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin and include attempted production of child pornography and transfer of obscene material to a minor. The complaint alleges that the 40-year-old pastor had first encountered the child during his missionary work in Venezuela, subsequently maintaining contact through online channels.
Herthel is alleged to have solicited inappropriate videos from the minor in exchange for monetary payments, further incriminating himself by reportedly sending the child explicit images of himself. The sustained contact and transaction of obscene materials form the basis of the charges, exposing the child to grave psychological and emotional harm.
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Investigation into this case is being jointly conducted by the FBI offices in Green Bay and Milwaukee, working in collaboration with the Green Bay police department. These combined efforts aim to thoroughly assess the extent of Herthel’s actions and secure all necessary evidence to strengthen the prosecution’s case.
If convicted, Herthel faces significant legal consequences. The charge of attempted production of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years, extendable up to 30 years in federal prison. The charge related to the transfer of obscene materials could add another ten years to his prison sentence. In addition to the potential jail time, a conviction on either charge would necessitate that Herthel register as a sex offender, marking him permanently in the public record.
Today, Herthel pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing.
Cory J. Herthel, 40, pled guilty to attempted sexual exploitation of a minor on Thursday.
According to a plea agreement, the church where Herthel worked as a pastor contacted the FBI in May regarding information it had obtained about a potential inappropriate sexual relationship between Herthel and a Venezuelan minor.
An investigation revealed that Herthel had sent the child videos of himself masturbating, and the child sent similar photos and videos at Herthel’s request.
Herthel said he met the child begging on the streets during a mission trip to Ecuador. After the child and the child’s mother returned to their native Venezuela, Herthel kept in touch with the child.
When confronted with the explicit images and videos, Herthel admitted to asking the minor to send him the content, as well as to sending monetary payments to the child using various online applications.
Herthel will receive his federal prison sentence of at least 15 years on Dec. 4. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.
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.
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.
Allen Jones, pastor of Lifeway Community Church in Loxley, Alabama, stands accused of child pornography possession. Lifeway Community is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.
A 48-year-old pastor at a Loxley church has been arrested and charged with four counts of possession of child pornography, the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday.
Allen Kyle Jones of Loxley was taken into custody after a weeks-long investigation which began after the sheriff’s office received a tip Jones was downloading child porn.
After the initial tip, investigators developed enough probable cause to obtain a search warrant for Jones’ cell phone, with child pornography found on the device.
According to both his own LinkedIn profile and the church’s Facebook page, Jones has been a pastor at Lifeway Community Church since January 2015. The address listed for Jones on the Baldwin County Jail docket is the church’s address at 16373 Thompson Road in Loxley.
Jones has been formally charged with four counts of possession of obscene matter containing the visual depiction of a person under 17 years of age. He was booked into the Baldwin County Jail Tuesday morning and released later that day after posting $60,000 bond.
The sheriff’s office says the investigation remains open and more charges are possible after additional evidence is analyzed.
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.
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.
Earlier this year, Isaiah W. Mikkelson, a youth pastor at Hope Lutheran Church in Quincy, Illinois, was charged with one count of criminal sexual assault, four counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, and two charges of child pornography. Hope Lutheran is affiliated with Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ.
A 22-year-old Quincy man who faces seven felony charges related to criminal sexual behavior had his bond placed at $250,000 on Thursday in Adams County Circuit Court by Judge Mark L. Harkin.
Isaiah W. Mikkelson is charged with one count of criminal sexual assault, four counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and two charges of child pornography.
According to court documents, two different females who were over the age of 13, but under 18 at the time of the incidents, have accused Mikkelson of fondling their breasts and sex organs over their clothes.
Court documents also allege that Mikkelson “knowingly solicited, used, persuaded, induced, enticed, or coerced” both females who he should reasonably know to be under the age of 18 to appear in a video involving an act of masturbation.
The documents also state that one of the females reported that Mikkelson used his finger to penetrate her.
The documents allege these incidents all happened in 2021.
A November jury trial has been set for the Quincy man facing multiple sex abuse charges.
Court records show that Isaiah W. Mikkelson’s trial is scheduled for Nov. 6.
Mikkelson, 22, faces, two counts of child pornography, one count of criminal sexual assault and four counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
He was arrested March 7 following a Quincy Police Department investigation that started in January when a report of a child being sexually abused by a youth director/pastor at Hope Lutheran Church in Quincy was received.
During the investigation, multiple children interviewed by the Child Advocacy Center alleged abuse by Mikkelson and that the abuse occurred at the church.
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.
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.
Todd Baldwin, an employee for Valley Christian Schools in San Jose, California, stands accused of felony possession and distribution of child sexual material.
Police in California are calling on victims to come forward to assist a child pornography investigation into a San Jose Christian school system facility worker arrested for allegedly giving students money to send him explicit images and videos.
Todd Baldwin, a 43-year-old employee at the Valley Christian Schools, was arrested last week and charged with felony possession and distribution of child sexual material.
On Aug. 16, the Silicon Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force’s Child Exploit Detail was notified that a member of the facilities department at Valley Christian Schools was “in possession of explicit digital media of juveniles,” according to a public notice from the San Jose Police Department.
Investigators identified Baldwin as the staff member who “allegedly paid students for providing the explicit images and video.” The task force arrested Baldwin the next day and served a search warrant for his campus office and San Jose residence.
Baldwin was booked at Santa Clara County Main Jail.
According to investigators, Valley Christian Schools immediately cooperated and assisted with the investigation. Authorities have not yet released information about where the alleged crimes took place or the ages of students involved.
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In a statement released to media, the school stated that it is “deeply disturbed by the actions outlined in these charges” against Baldwin and that those actions are “antithetical to our Christian faith, values, and standards.”
“Upon learning of the allegations, we fully cooperated with authorities,” the statement reads. “Additionally, we placed the individual in question on administrative leave.”
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.
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.
Benjamin Roberts worked for several church-sponsored childcare facilities in Abilene, Texas. He was arrested in 2018 on child sex crime and child pornography charges. Law enforcement focused on Wylie Baptist Church Child Development Center.
An Abilene man with a history of working with kids has been arrested on child sex crime and child porn charges.
Benjamin Russell Roberts, 24, is charged with indecency with a child and possession of child pornography. His bond was set at $150,000 on each charge.
Roberts was arrested Wednesday after police served a warrant in a north Abilene home. Roberts “admitted to and was found to be in possession of child pornography,” according to the arrest report.
Abilene police said they had info that an unknown person downloaded child pornography from July 19 through Sept. 26, 2017. The investigation began on Feb 27.
On Wednesday, the cyber crimes division was able to identify Roberts as the person who was downloading child porn at his residence. Police said he lived at a community outreach home.
Police seized several devices — a Dell laptop, two iPhone 4s, a Samsung Galaxy, Sony USB — which contained child pornography. They also found “one pair of children’s underwear,” said Sgt. Lynn Beard. No children lived at the home.
Beard said Roberts admitted “to inappropriately touching a child under 12 years old last year.”
According to police, Roberts has worked at least three places where he was in contact with children, including the Wylie Baptist Church’s Child Development Center, Southern Hills Church of Christ daycare and the Beltway Park Church youth program.
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Beard said each of the entities was “completely shocked” when they told them. He said one of them described Roberts as one of their best teachers.
The director of the child development center at Wylie Baptist Church has been fired.
The director’s dismissal comes in the wake of the arrest of a 24-year-old Abilene man on child sex crime charges. Before being taken into custody last week, Benjamin Russell Roberts had previously worked at Wylie Baptist Church’s Child Development Center and youth programs associated with at least two other Abilene churches.
Wylie Baptist Church’s Senior Pastor Mike Harkrider issued a statement Wednesday.
“As you all know Wylie Baptist Child Development Center has been working closely with the Abilene Police Department and the Department of Family and Protective Services in regards to the Benjamin Roberts investigation. At this point in the investigation, the acting director of the Wylie Baptist Child Development Center, has been released from her position as per the Department of Family and Protective Services. The investigation is still ongoing and this is all we know at this time. We are in heartfelt prayer for all of those involved in this difficult situation — Wylie Baptist Church CDC Board of Directors”
When asked the name of Wylie Baptist CDC director, Harkrider said, “The information given on the previous email is all that we can give at this time.”
A south Abilene church daycare involved in a child sex crime investigation has been cited 19 times by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services since March of 2016.
Abilene Police Chief Stan Standridge said that they have been working closely with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services during this investigation.
On the DFPS website, it states that the Wylie Baptist CDC was cited 19 times for deficiencies during inspections, with risk levels ranging from medium to high.
Three of the citations involved supervision of children and had a high risk level.
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Police also said on Wednesday that the director was fired and could face charges. Wylie Baptist CDC was cited March 9, 2016 after “it was determined that the director is not routinely present at the operation,” according to DFPS.
Roberts, who did not have a previous criminal record, had passed a background check, but the child care center was twice cited, April 28, 2016 and August 10, 2016, for not updating background checks on its employees.
After police reviewed surveillance footage at Wylie Baptist Church and spoke with concerned parents, they discovered six of his victims.
There are a total of eight confirmed victims, according to police, and the crimes that Roberts is accused of include indecency with a child and “two or more acts of sexual abuse against children younger than 14.”
A mother reported to police that she found her child in the bathroom with Roberts, and while Roberts reportedly denied any sexual contact, the child told his mother that Roberts kissed him on the mouth and on other parts of his body.
On April 4, the child was interviewed at the Child Advocacy Center, where he also told authorities what Roberts had done to him.
Another child was interviewed at the CAC and told police that “Mr. Ben” would “tickle his tummy and rub his back.”
The child also reported that Roberts touched his private area at least two times.
A mother of one of the children in Roberts’ room at the daycare reported that she observed her child sitting on Roberts’ lap on three occasions and that she felt it was “inappropriate.” During a forensic interview, the child reported that Roberts would “slide his hands up her legs when he picked her up.” The child also reported that he would tickle her “belly and feet.” The child also reported that when she was in the playground, she ran up to Roberts and he touched her chest and then “said he was sorry.”
In surveillance footage captured between September and December of 2017, police discovered more evidence of Roberts inappropriately touching victims at Wylie Baptist Church CDC.
In March 2019, Roberts was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison,
Benjamin Roberts was sentenced March 1 to 20 years in prison by a federal court, Abilene police said in a news release Friday.
He was charged at the federal level with child pornography and still faces state charges for continuous sexual abuse of a child and second degree felony indecency with a child by sexual contact.
Roberts was a worker at Wylie Baptist Church’s Child Development Center when he was accused of indecency with a child and possession of child pornography, according to Reporter-News archives.
Abilene detectives began investigating Roberts in February 2018 after serving a search warrant on a residence in the 400 block of Cockerell Drive in northeast Abilene, where a resident was downloading child pornography, police said Friday.
Roberts was arrested March 28 on charges of possession of child pornography, a third-degree felony, and indecency with a child, a second-degree felony.
In addition, a Taylor County grand jury in June indicted him on one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child.
In August, police said the local charge of possession of child pornography had been dropped.
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Roberts, who had been working at Wylie Baptist Church Child Development Center for two years, previously was employed at a daycare at Southern Hills Church of Christ and with youth programs at Beltway Park Church.
Last year, police said Roberts had at least five different victims, all under the age of 14.
Police said they reviewed surveillance footage from the Wylie child care center.
In the footage, court documents said, Roberts acted inappropriately with children, including forcing them to straddle him, tickling them until they squirmed and touching them in inappropriate places.
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.
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.
Christopher Fourcade, a children’s minister at First Christian Church of Norman, Oklahoma, stands accused of four counts of lewd acts to a minor and two counts of possession of child pornography. First Christian is affiliated with The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
Christopher Fourcade was arrested and charged with four counts of lewd acts to a minor and two counts of possession of child pornography. The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy said he was in a position of authority as a trusted adult, fostering children and working in a church.
“Oftentimes, these predators will enter as a ruse with churches because they feel that is a safe place where they’ll be trusted,” Dorman said.
The First Christian Church of Norman, where Fourcade worked, said he’s no longer an employee, and the investigation doesn’t involve any of their children. They also said no adults work one-on-one with children.
Fourcade also volunteered at multiple local organizations. Some told KOCO 5 volunteers are under the direct supervision of staff, while others said they didn’t have contact with children.
Fourcade was arrested Thursday evening and was in the Cleveland County Jail but has since bonded out.
An affidavit revealed more details in the case describing Fourcade making the victims feel comfortable to be alone with him. The OICA said it may be an example of grooming, but there are ways parents can spot potential predators.
Christopher Fourcade, 48, director of children’s ministries at First Christian Church in Norman, has been arrested on four counts of lewd acts with a child and two counts of child pornography possession, according to the Norman Police Department.
The Norman Police Department responded to a Norman residence on Dec. 28, 2022, where the reporting party said a caregiver facilitated lewd acts with a child.
An investigation was immediately initiated, and additional juvenile victims were identified, officials said. Norman police obtained an arrest warrant Thursday.
Fourcade was also a member of Fostering Futures, a Cleveland County nonprofit organization that provides “financial and emotional support for children and their families who receive services from the Cleveland County Child Welfare System.”
The church is aware of the arrest of Chris Fourcade. He is no longer employed by the church. While the investigation and arrest does not focus on any children from the church, our staff is fully committed to the truth, and is fully cooperating with any requests regarding the investigation. It is the church’s practice to never have adults alone with children, and we remain vigilant in that practice.
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.
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.
I found no further information on Brian Werth’s 2021 arrest. He could have been violated and returned to prison. I found no news story on the adjudication of Werth’s case. Maryland uses a convoluted sex offender registry. After several attempts to use it, I gave up. Come on, Maryland, it’s 2023.
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.
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 November 2022, Leonard Eley, pastor of Storm Shelter Ministries in Laurel, Delaware, was accused of soliciting nude photos from a runaway child and using church funds to pay for them. Eley later blamed PTSD from a traumatic brain injury while he was in the military for his behavior.
A Delaware pastor allegedly paid a runaway child for several nude photos of herself, and authorities suspect he may have done the same with other minors.
Leonard Eley, 62, who heads Storm Shelter Ministries on U.S. 13 in the Sussex County town of Laurel, used $200 of church funds to pay the child electronically through CashApp, and paid her cell phone bill, authorities said in court records. The child, whose age was not disclosed, was a former member of the church, police said.
Only one alleged victim is specified in Eley’s arrest affidavit and indictment but Mat Marshall of the Attorney General’s Office said that based on interviews with witnesses, authorities suspect there are more victims.
Eley faces charges of sexual solicitation of a minor, two counts of possession of child pornography, and theft by false pretenses.
Laurel police began investigating in late July after calls to hotlines run by the state’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Division of Family Services that reported a child was possibly “being sexually trafficked.”
The pastor was arrested then just on the solicitation charge, and released on a $30,000 secured bond. A Sussex County grand jury indicted Eley on all four charges on Nov. 28, and this week authorities announced the alleged crimes in a news release.
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In one exchange, Eley told the girl she “has too much clothes on in one picture,’’ and asked her to remove some and send another picture. He added that he “is sending $50 on CashApp,” the detective wrote.
In another text exchange, Eley asked her to do the same thing, promised to send $150 this time, and that “no one will ever see the pictures but him,’’ the affidavit said.
Eley also asked her numerous times to “delete the messages” between them, Whitehouse wrote.
The child told authorities she did what he asked, and received $200, Whitehouse wrote, adding that he “observed CashApp receipts” sent from Eley to the child.
The indictment said the money came from “church donations made to the Storm Shelter Ministries CashApp Account.”
WHYY News reached Eley by phone Wednesday, but in response to queries, the pastor said “no” three times and then hung up.
Whitehouse wrote in the arrest affidavit that “pastor eley” was listed as a contact in the girl’s cell phone, and the number matched Eley’s number.
The girl’s phone also included a “selfie” photo sent from Eley’s number that matched his driver’s license picture, Whitehouse wrote.
Whitehouse reviewed several texts between Eley and the child, the affidavit said.
When detectives confronted him, police said Eley confessed to asking and paying for the pictures. He told police he had PTSD from a traumatic brain injury he encountered in the military. He cited his PTSD as the reason he requested the pictures. Police said they captured Eley’s confession on a body cam.
Detectives said Eley instructed the victim several times to delete the conversations between them and made other lewd statements to her.
Storm Shelter Ministries was incorporated in September 2005, but its listed status is “unknown,” according to Bizapedia. The church’s Facebook page is currently unavailable.
The child is the only victim mentioned in Eley’s arrest affidavit and indictment, but based on interviews with witnesses, authorities believe there are more.
The Delaware DOJ continues seeking more information from the public and is asking for help identifying more victims.
Authorities released Eley from custody on a $30,000 secured bond. In November, a Sussex County grand jury indicted Eley on all four charges.
Eley remains out on bond as he awaits his court date. He has not entered a plea yet.
His arraignment will be in early January.
On April 5, 2023, Eley pleaded guilty to the sexual solicitation of a minor.
Leonard Eley, a former pastor of Storm Shelter Ministries in Laurel, pleaded guilty to Sexual Solicitation of a Minor on April 5th.
As previously reported, Eley used money stolen from the church to pay a minor to send nude photos.
Eley had already served 31 days in prison and was sentenced to 6 months home confinement, according to the Delaware Department of Justice. That confinement is set to be followed by 18 months of probation as well as lifetime registration as a Tier II sex offender.
Additional terms of his probation reportedly include mandatory treatment, a no contact order, and agreement to not seek employment working with children or as a pastor.
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.
