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.
Owen Robertson, education minister at First Baptist Church in Easley, South Carolina, has been charged with “nine counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.”
Mike Ellis, a reporter for the Independent Mail, writes:
Owen Robertson, a former education minister at Easley First Baptist Church, has been charged with nine counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.
Warrants allege that the images investigators found show minors “engaging in sexual activity or appearing in a state of sexually explicit nudity” and the incidents occurred at the same address as the church. Robertson has not been on staff at the church since approximately March, when the church became aware of “issues,” said Nelson Ponder, a deacon who spoke on the church’s behalf.
Ponder said he could not detail what issues led to the separation, but he said the church became aware Friday that Robertson had been formally charged. Robertson had been at the church for several years, Ponder said.
He said church leaders will be listening to their congregation for any reports of Robertson’s conduct, but he has not heard from anyone as of Wednesday morning.
The warrants indicate that the alleged crimes happened on or about Feb. 10, and the warrants were signed on DeC. 14. The warrants say the images were in Robertson’s possession.
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According to Robertson’s bio on First Baptist’s website:
Dr. Owen Robertson grew up in Greenville, SC, where he attended Mauldin First Baptist. He graduated from Mars Hill College, Southwestern Seminary, and Southern Seminary. Owen loves acting, writing, reading, going to movies, and spending time with his family. He secretly dreams of one day owning a humongous television and a catamaran. Owen uses his gifts to communicate the Good News of Jesus Christ in new and creative ways.
Picture of children on First Baptist Church’s Youth Page. I wonder if this is what Pastor Crawford’s photos looked like.
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.
Ryan Crawford, assistant pastor, choir director, Sunday school director, youth/teens director at First Baptist Church in Pineville, Missouri, stands accused of having “illicit and inappropriate photographs of a young female on his cell phone.”
KOAM-7 reports:
A 32-year-old Youth Pastor Pineville, Missouri, man is arrested after a report to the local police department alleging he had illicit and inappropriate photographs of a young female on his cell phone. Initially, the investigation of Ryan Crawford was conducted jointly by the Pineville Police Department and the McDonald County Sheriff’s Office.
The children were referred to the Children’s Center in Joplin, MO, and subsequent to those interviews, Crawford was interviewed by the investigator of the McDonald County Prosecutor’s office. During that interview, Crawford made statements that were corroborative of the allegations against him.
Prosecutor Bill Dobbs initially filed charges of child molestation in the first degree, a class A felony, and sexual misconduct in the first degree, a class E felony. However, based upon additional allegations, the initial complaint has been amended to reflect an additional four (4) counts of child molestation in the first degree, bringing the total number of felony counts to six. These acts allegedly occurred in Crawford’s home.
A Pineville man waived a preliminary hearing Monday on child molestation charges and was ordered bound over for trial.
Ryan D. Crawford, 32, waived the hearing in McDonald County Circuit Court on five counts of first-degree child molestation and a single count of sexual misconduct with a child. Associate Judge John LePage set Crawford’s initial appearance in a trial division of the court for Feb. 26.
The defendant was arrested on the charges in December following an investigation by Pineville police and the McDonald County Sheriff’s Department of a report that he had illicit photographs of a minor on his cellphone.
A probable-cause affidavit states that Crawford had told of having “had a porn problem” and that he had been “watching” porn on his cellphone. The McDonald County prosecutor later indicated in a news release that an unspecified number of suspected child victims were interviewed at the Children’s Center in Joplin before an interview of the defendant in December when he allegedly admitted having touched a child younger than 14 inappropriately while she was sleeping.
The affidavit states that the defendant further acknowledged that his addiction to pornography and related misconduct with children had been “going on for a long time.”
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 Broussard, pastor of St. Bernard Roman Catholic Church in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana is still awaiting trial on child pornography charges. According to a previous news report, Broussard “repented” after every time he looked at child porn [the blood of Jesus making pedophiles and sexual predators “clean” for 2,000 years].
Ken Stickney, a reporter for The Daily Advertiser, writes:
The Rev. F. David Broussard, charged 16 months ago with 500 counts of possession of child pornography, may yet get his day in court.
But it didn’t happen Monday in 16th Judicial District Court in St. Martin Parish, where he was scheduled to appear before Judge Vincent J. Borne. Broussard’s name was called in court simply as “Felix Broussard,” but he did not appear before the judge after court officials scoured the courtroom to see if the defendant was present to stand. Court officials said they were not fully certain why Broussard was absent.
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A priest for more than two decades, Broussard was arrested in July 2016 after a repair technician discovered more than 500 images of child sex abuse on Broussard’s personal computer. Broussard had brought the computer in for repairs and the technician, after discovering the images, was required by law to report the crime.
Broussard had been assigned to St. Bernard Roman Catholic Church in Breaux Bridge at the time of his arrest; he was also chancellor at the church school.
A police investigation revealed the images were on Broussard’s computer for about two years. None of the images were of local children, authorities said.
On the weekend after his arrest, Broussard sent a letter of apology to his parishioners by way of Most Rev. Douglas Deshotel, bishop of Lafayette, who offered Masses at St. Bernard that weekend and read the letter to parishioners.
Nonetheless, Broussard personally entered a plea of not guilty to the possession of child pornography charges in May before Judge Paul de Mahy.
At his arrest, Broussard was suspended from his priestly duties by Deshotel. Church law says sex with minors is a sin of adultery and are considered criminal. If he is convicted, the church could convene a tribunal for Broussard, and remove him from the priesthood.
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In August 2016, KATC-3 reported:
The Breaux Bridge priest arrested on child pornography charges told investigators he knew viewing the images was wrong and that he “‘repented’ after every episode,” according to an arrest warrant obtained by our investigative team.
Father David Broussard was arrested on July 27 on 500 counts of child pornography after images allegedly were found Broussard’s computer. The images included both male and female children ranging in age from infancy to 12 years old, and included photos of children involved in sexual activity with other children and adults, according to the arrest affidavit.
During an interview with investigators, Broussard allegedly admitted that he used the computer to search and view child pornography.
The computer was found at Broussard’s office or living quarters at St. Bernard Roman Catholic Church, where Broussard was a priest, according to the affidavit.
Investigators examining the computer learned that it had be used from July 2014 to July 2016 to search for child pornography. Genealogy searches for the surname Broussard were also made on the computer in close proximity of searches for child pornography, according to the arrest affidavit.
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The initial report in the case of David Broussard, the priest arrested on child pornography charges, indicates State Police were initially contacted by the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office on July 15. The State Police Special Victims Unit found that multiple searches for child pornography were made on Broussard’s computer between July 2014 and July 2016, the document states.
The computer was “personally owned” by Broussard. The desktop had more than 500 images of child sexual abuse saved, the document states.
The computer was located a Broussard’s living quarters at the St. Bernard Roman Catholic Church in Breaux Bridge where he was pastor.
James Johnson, associate pastor of Mountain Valley Baptist Church in Martinsville, Virginia, was convicted and sentenced to eleven years in prison for sexual battery and distributing child pornography.
Paul Collins, a writer for the Martinsville Reporter, reports:
A former Henry County associate pastor will spend 11 years in prison, as his sentence in a child pornography case.
James Arthur Johnson, who had previously served as associate pastor at Mountain Valley Baptist Church, had been convicted June 30 of the charges, including four counts of aggravated sexual battery and one count of distributing child pornography. At the time, the 58-year-old entered an Alford plea in Martinsville Circuit Court. In an Alford plea, a defendant maintains his innocence but admits that sufficient evidence exists with which the prosecution likely could convince a judge or jury to find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The prosecution nolle prossed (dropped but could reinstate) five other charges of aggravated sexual battery against Johnson at that time.
The charges stem from incidents that took place between April 2014 and February 2015 at Johnson’s residence in the 200 block of Martinsville and then in the 200 block of Pine Street, after he moved. The victim, who was 12 to 13 years old at the time, said Johnson would inappropriately touch her when she visited his house. Johnson was a friend of the girl’s family and their neighbor for part of that time. Johnson would also have neighborhood boys visit him at times and, according to the testimony, would instruct them to inappropriately touch the girl as well. The girl testified that at the time, Johnson said he would hurt her if she told anyone what was going on.
Johnson also filmed the girl touching herself and then showed the video to another person between Jan. 1, 2015 and July 28, 2015.
During Thursday’s sentencing hearing, the victim, now 16, read a letter she wrote about how she had been traumatized and suffered some mental health issues. She said she knows now not to trust people like Johnson and added that she hopes he burns in hell.
Keith Fender, testifying as an expert in sexual offender treatment, said one concern he had when evaluating Johnson is that the man is not convinced he needs treatment. The evaluation, Fender said, showed that Johnson has pedophilic disorder. That refers to adults who have a sexual desire for young children.
Johnson’s lawyer, Roscoe Reynolds, called several people who testified as character witnesses for his client. They described Johnson as a good worker, reliable, of good conduct to their knowledge, someone who helped and encouraged other people, active in church and preached in nursing homes. Several of the witnesses said they were shocked to learn of the charges against him. Johnson’s sister also testified, saying that he has some serious health issues and asked the judge to take that into consideration. Prior to this case, Johnson also had no criminal record.
….
Greer sentenced Johnson to 85 years in prison, with 74 of those suspended under conditions including indefinite supervised probation and good behavior for life. Greer also ordered Johnson to register as a sex offender upon release from incarceration.
Wayne Buchanan, pastor of Tremont Congregational Church in Bass Harbor, Maine and St. Brendan’s Anglican Mission, pleaded guilty last Friday to “one count of possessing sexually explicit material of a minor under the age of 12.”
Mark Good, a reporter for Mount Desert Islander, writes:
The former pastor of a Tremont church will serve a suspended sentence and probation after pleading guilty to a child pornography charge Friday in Hancock County Unified Criminal Court.
Wayne Buchanan, 63, of Southwest Harbor pleaded guilty to one count of possessing sexually explicit material of a minor under the age of 12, a Class C felony level crime.
Buchanan was sentenced to a suspended one-year prison term and to two years probation with conditions that include no unsupervised contact with children under the age of 12. He also is required to register with the Maine Sex Offender Registry.
Justice Patrick Larson noted that the sentence was the result of a negotiated plea between the defendant and prosecutors. Buchanan, who will serve no time behind bars if he complies with his conditions, faced up to five years in prison and up to a $2,000 fine.
The prosecuting attorney, Assistant District Attorney Toff Toffolon, told the court that there is no evidence that Buchanan disseminated child pornography or that he had any sexual contact with minors. Since being charged, Buchanan has “engaged in extraordinary rehabilitation efforts,” Toffolon said.
Buchanan’s attorney, Richard Hartley, told the court that “a lot of work” went into the case.
“What sets this apart is what my client has done since,” Hartley said. “It really is exceptional.”
According to Hartley, Buchanan sought counseling to deal with “what has been a long-recognized condition” and has gone as far as to start “a sex offenders anonymous program here in Ellsworth.”
….
Detectives with the computer crimes unit executed a search warrant at Buchanan’s home in January 2016, seizing computers, thumb drives and a memory card. In an affidavit filed to support the search warrant, Detective David Armstrong stated another detective downloaded “numerous sexually explicit images” involving children from Buchanan’s computer.
Buchanan resigned as pastor of the Tremont Congregational Church and St. Brendan’s Anglican Mission on Jan. 7, 2016, the day after state police executed the search warrant.
….
Buchanan…. has been “removed from his holy orders in the Anglican Church by action of the bishop according to the canons of the church and no longer is a member of the Anglican clergy.”
Buchanan, according to published reports, was active in boy scouting and at one time was president of the Katahdin Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
The former pastor of a Tremont church held up as an example of rehabilitation at his sentencing last month for possession of child pornography was arrested Sept. 7 for violating his probation.
Wayne Buchanan, 63, of Southwest Harbor allegedly violated his probation by using his computer to access websites and perform internet searches that are prohibited by his court-ordered conditions, according the Hancock County District Attorney Matthew Foster.
Buchanan, the former pastor of the Tremont Congregational Church and St. Brendan’s Anglican Mission, pleaded guilty Aug. 25 in Hancock County Unified Criminal Court to one count of possessing sexually explicit material of a minor under the age of 12, a Class C felony level crime. That same day, he was sentenced to a suspended one-year prison term and to two years probation with conditions that include no unsupervised contact with children under the age of 12. He also is required to register with the Maine Sex Offender Registry.
Buchanan was released from the Hancock County Jail on Friday, after posting $5,000 bail.
According to Foster, one of the search terms used by Buchanan was “rubbin butts,” which the Southwest Harbor man claimed was a search for a brand of barbecue sauce. While there is an actual brand by that name, “law enforcement feels that explanation is somewhat convenient,” the district attorney wrote in an email.
Buchanan’s probation conditions allow him to use the internet only as part of his sex offender treatment, Foster said.
The sentence handed down in August was the result of a plea agreement between the defendant and prosecutors. Buchanan faced up to five years in prison.
At the time, Assistant District Attorney Toff Toffolon told the court that Buchanan had “engaged in extraordinary rehabilitation efforts.”
Buchanan’s attorney, Richard Hartley, said the work his client had done “is exceptional.” Buchanan sought counseling to deal with “what has been a long-recognized condition” and had gone as far as to start “a sex offenders anonymous program here in Ellsworth,” Hartley said.
By violating his probation, Buchanan could be ordered to serve his one-year prison sentence. That will be determined at a hearing, which Foster said is scheduled for Oct. 13.
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Today, October 20, 2017, Mark Good, a writer for the Mount Desert Islander, reports:
A judge last week denied a motion to revoke the probation of a Southwest Harbor man convicted of possessing child pornography but did approve stricter conditions regarding his sex offender treatment program.
Wayne Buchanan, 63, was in Hancock County Unified Criminal Court Friday for a hearing to revoke his probation and to amend the conditions of his probation.
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In court last week, Buchanan’s former probation officer, Kurt Dyer, testified he had the former pastor arrested on the probation violation charge after receiving notification from monitoring software that Buchanan’s computer was used to access Facebook accounts, Amazon, YouTube, a drop box and other sites.
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“His probation conditions state he can only access a computer for treatment purposes,” Dyer said, explaining that he could see no therapeutic reasons to visit Facebook and other websites.
Buchanan’s attorney, Richard Hartley, asserted it was Buchanan’s wife, Nola Buchanan, who had used the family’s sole computer, a laptop, for the searches and accused Dyer of not following up on the Southwest Harbor man’s claim of that being the case.
Nola Buchanan also took the witness stand, testifying that she had used the computer on the family’s visit to New Hampshire, visiting the sites along with her daughter. “Rubbin Butts,” she said, is a barbecue restaurant in New Hampshire.
Nola Buchanan said her husband has never had a Facebook page and the drop box is used by him for his therapy.
Deputy District Attorney Toff Toffolon suggested Nola Buchanan was covering for her husband, saying she faced no legal jeopardy for not telling the truth.
“But you certainly see a legal downside as to why your husband is here today,” Toffolon continued.
Toffolon questioned her claim that Buchanan has never had a Facebook page after she admitted she didn’t know her “husband was collecting child porn.”
The deputy district attorney also challenged her reason for not contacting Buchanan’s probation officer after he was arrested to explain the circumstances of their computer use.
“I never thought I had access to Wayne’s probation officer,” she said.
Toffolon said the state had never accused Buchanan of accessing pornographic sites at the time of his arrest.
….
Justice Pat Larson denied the motion for revoking Buchanan’s probation but the state was successful in having his conditions amended regarding treatment.
According to Toffolon, Buchanan is under the care of Harl Hargett of Alpha Forensic Psychological Services LLC of Lakewood, Colo.
Hargett’s website states that, along with treatment in his office, he offers therapy by Google hangouts, Skype and telephone. He claims to be certified as a sex addiction therapist, sex therapist and a substance abuse professional.
Buchanan’s current probation officer, Timothy Quinn, told the court that Buchanan’s therapy with Hargett was not what was required by the state for sex offenders. Quinn, a sex offender specialist with the Maine Department of Corrections, took over for Dyer after Buchanan was assessed to be a high risk for reoffending, according to testimony.
Quinn said Buchanan should be undergoing sex offender therapy, not sex addiction therapy. The two types of therapy are quite different, he said. With a state-certified sex offender counselor, a probation officer is able to monitor an offender’s treatment, he said.
Hartley argued that the plea agreement between the district attorney’s office and Buchanan included information on what counseling his client was to receive.
Toffolon pointed out that, at the time, prosecutors were unaware that Buchanan was a high-risk offender.
Larson ruled that Buchanan’s conditions be amended to require that he undergo state-ordered sex offender treatment and that his computers be subject to random search and seizure. Computers used by other family members are subject to random search and seizure upon reasonable, articulable suspicion.
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.”
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, 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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Craig Wieneke, assistant worship leader for Ridgecrest Baptist Church in Springfield, Missouri, has been charged with “receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet.”
A federal grand jury indicted a former music director of a church in Springfield for receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet. The charge against Craig Wienke [sic], 31, of Springfield, was unsealed on Monday after being handed up on June 13.
Wienke [sic] made his first court appearance on Monday. He remains in jail pending a detention hearing on June 22. A judge put him on an accelerated track for trial, which could be held as early as Aug. 21.
Investigators believe Wienke [sic] received and distributed child pornography over the Internet between last Nov. 10 and April 4. Wienke [sic] was music director at Ridgecrest Baptist Church in Springfield in that period.
The FBI, the Springfield Police Department and the Greene County Sheriff’s Department investigated this case. It’s part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
KSPR-33 adds:
Craig Wienke [sic], 31, is charged with distributing and receiving child porn online. The executive pastor says he was the assistant worship leader at Ridgecrest Baptist Church.
Church leaders say Wienke [sic] worked at the church while kids were present but did not work with them directly. They say none of the children at the church are involved in the case against him.
Church leaders say they fired Wienke [sic] in April when they found out about the investigation. They say had no way to tell ahead of time.
“Everyone gets a thorough background check,” said Executive Pastor Wayne Barron. “For Craig, he had just never, there was no record there because he had never had any issues with the law regarding this. So he’d been through all the process, and we’ll continue to do that.”
Former pastor Scott Nesbitt was recently charged with “one count of use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, attempted second degree sexual assault of a child under the age of 16 and possession of child pornography.”
A 48-year-old man from Monroe was busted at a Waterford McDonald’s restaurant as he attempted to meet up with a person he believed was a 15-year-old girl with whom he’d been chatting online, prosecutors say.
Scott Nesbitt faces one count of use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, attempted second degree sexual assault of a child under the age of 16 and possession of child pornography.
According to a criminal complaint, an investigator with the Racine County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force on April 22nd was using an undercover profile on a website, and began investigating an individual with the user name: “MoxyMan.” The investigator said MoxyMan contacted his profile and he was advised that the profile user was a 15-year-old girl. MoxyMan then stated he has “a fetish for using young girls,” and he was “thinking of ways to defile your innocence” — telling the undercover investigator: “I can’t stop thinking about how much I want to corrupt your innocence.”
Prosecutors say Nesbitt, through the MoxyMan profile, described inappropriate things he wished to do to the girl.
When reminded that the girl was only 15, the complaint indicates Nesbitt said: “I think age of consent laws are arbitrary. We should all be allowed to engage in whatever we are comfortable doing whenever we’re ready. In an ideal world, young people should be tutored by their elders in sex, just like we do everything else.”
The complaint says Nesbitt told the girl: “With enough aggressive training and psychological games, I will fashion you into the perfect little slave.”
Prosecutors say MoxyMan eventually disclosed his name is Scott and he’s married. Investigators say Nesbitt agreed to meet with the person he believed was a 15-year-old girl at McDonald’s in Waterford. That’s where he was arrested, on June 10th.
At the Racine County Jail, Nesbitt agreed to speak with investigators. He admitted to making the MoxyMan profile and having sexually explicit conversations with a person he believed was a 15-year-old girl. He told investigators there would be child porn videos and photos on his phone and laptop. A search warrant was executed on his phone and laptop, and investigators say one image was found on his phone, and hundreds were found on his computer.
A former area pastor is in Racine County Jail in Wisconsin.
Scott Nesbitt, 48-years-old, faces three felony charges. Charges include use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, 2nd degree sexual assault of a child, and possession of child pornography. Bond is set at $50,000.
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Once Nesbitt was taken into custody, Search Warrants were served on his cell phone and his residence in Monroe, WI. Multiple images of child pornography were obtained at his residence and the cell phone he had in his possession.
Further investigation of Scott A. Nesbitt revealed that before moving to Wisconsin, he lived in Dubuque, Iowa where he was employed at several area Churches.
Sheriff Christopher Schmaling states, “although challenging and labor intensive, the arrest of this pedophile is a shining example of our ongoing effort to keep the children of Racine County safe”.
John Mraz, pastor of St. Ann Catholic Church in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty last week to possession of child pornography, illegal use of a communication facility, and obtaining obscene/sexual images.
A former Emmaus priest admitted on Thursday to downloading nude pictures of children for sexual gratification.
John Mraz, a monsignor and pastor of St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Emmaus before being removed from public ministry, pleaded guilty to all three charges against him: possession of child pornography, illegal use of a communication facility and obtaining obscene/sexual images.
He is slated to be sentenced at a later date, following a presentence investigation. Under the plea deal, Mraz’s minimum sentence is capped at 6 months in jail, meaning the judge could sentence him to less than that.
The 67-year-old Mraz has “serious medical issues,” according to prosecutors, and used a walker to walk into court and up to the judge’s bench. Mraz currently lives at Holy Family Villa for priests in Bethlehem while being free on $50,000 unsecured bail.
Lehigh County prosecutors said the images were discovered by a church parishioner and friend of Mraz’s, who was updating the priest’s computers in July.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Matt Falk said the dozen images would be described as child erotica, and depicted nude images of children between the ages of 10 and 15 performing everyday activities.
“The vast majority were not children engaged in sexual activity,” Falk said.
Search terms on the laptop included “little boy” or “young teen” performing a sex act, Falk said. Mraz told Judge Maria Dantos he did not recall the file names or descriptions of the images, but that if they were on the laptop, he downloaded them.
Robert Trueblood, pastor of St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northrop, Minnesota (affiliated with the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod) has been charged with possessing child pornography. The Fairmont Sentinel reports:
The pastor at St. James Lutheran Church in Northrop has been charged with possessing child pornography, a felony.
Robert Cairl Trueblood, 56, of Fairmont is charged with possession of pornographic material on a work computer, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
According to the complaint:
On March 7, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension received a tip from the company Chatstep. According to company representatives, a user identified as “PervyPastor” accessed a chat room through the service and uploaded a photographic image identified to be consistent with child pornography. Chatstep provided information about the user’s IP address, and indicated the incident occurred on March 7, at about 4:14 p.m.
The Bureau received information from Frontier Communications in response to a subpoena that indicated the IP address was assigned to a subscriber identified as St. James Lutheran Church and School in Northrop.
The agent accessed the website for the church and school and located the staff directory. Given the name utilized by the reported user as “PervyPastor,” the agent identified Reverend Robert C. Trueblood as the school’s superintendent. The agent noted that all other staff consisted of females.
The Bureau received information from Chatstep that indicated the identified user of “PervyPastor” had accessed the chat room in question at various times on March 6-7, and utilized the previously reported IP address on both dates. Chatstep officials also provided historical data from Nov. 4, 2016, through April 19, 2017, for access to their site from the reported IP address. The agent reviewed the comprehensive list of data and confirmed that on numerous occasions user “PervyPastor” accessed chat rooms on the service, and also noted that additional users “TrueRev,” “Kyle” and “Robert,” also accessed Chatstep chat rooms from the reported IP address, and the rooms were the same or similar to the ones accessed by “PervyPastor.”
In an undercover capacity, the agent accessed Chatstep, located a chat room and noted that “TrueRev,” was present and active in the room. The agent took the opportunity to engage in correspondence with the active participants.
The agent initiated correspondence with a greeting “Hi from MN.” “TrueRev” responded with “Minnesota here as well,” and indicated he was from Fairmont. During the conversation, the agent questioned “TrueRev” with regard to his username, and asked if it meant that the reference to “Rev” was related to his occupation as a reverend. “TrueRev” responded, “yes”
The agent asked “TrueRev” what his preferences would be given his occupation, and “TrueRev” replied that the “job itself has nothing to do with the preferences.”
The agent then engaged “TrueRev” in a private correspondence during which “TrueRev” provided his cell phone number and email address, indicating the information was to be used for “clandestine conversations.” The email given was “erastes@tutanota.com,” and the agent confirmed that the telephone number given is a VOIP service number and that tutanota.com is an encrypted email service that provides end-to-end encryption of a subscriber’s email contents and attachments. This information led the agent to believe that “TrueRev” is actively engaged in taking steps to conceal his identity.
The agent conducted an open source search of the name “erastes” as noted in the email, and found that erastes is a noun to refer to an adult male in ancient Greece who courted or was in a pederastic relationship with an adolescent boy who was called an eromenos. The reference to erastes gave the indication that “TrueRev” has potential interest in adolescent boys.
The agent continued in an undercover capacity, and engaged in communication with “TrueRev” through the email address. “TrueRev” advised that his name is “Kyle” and stated that he was 5-foot-8, 175 pounds, red hair and goatee, and sent an accompanying photograph. It was noted that the physical description matched that of Trueblood. The photograph depicted a nude male seated in a chair pictured from the chin down, and matched the general physical description of Trueblood.
In email communication, “TrueRev” indicated he had been propositioned for sexual contact by individuals under the age of legal consent, but indicated he had not followed through with physical contact.
On April 24, “TrueRev” established a privated chat room with Chatstep, and the agent corresponded with “TrueRev,” who was in the room under the username “Pastor.” During this time “TrueRev” sent several sexually explicit photographs of young males. Many were of young boys whose ages were questionable as it relates to them being 18 years of age.
During the chat, “Pastor” stated he taught elementary and secondary levels at a local parochial school, consistent with Trueblood’s position within St. James Lutheran School.
….
A trial date has been set for February 21, 2018. (link no longer active)
