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.
Stacy Simmons, the wife of Pastor Mike Simmons of New Beginnings Crossroads Fellowship in West Salem, Ohio stands accused of:
Count 1: Grand Theft (fourth-degree felony) — alleging that between Oct. 4, 2019, and Dec. 14, 2023, she knowingly obtained or exerted control over $20,893.77 without consent, with the alleged victim listed as (REDACTED). The indictment states the value falls between $7,500 and $150,000.
Count 2: Telecommunications Fraud (third-degree felony) — alleging a scheme to defraud during the same 2019–2023 time frame, using telecommunications to further that scheme, with the value of the benefit/detriment also listed as between $7,500 and $150,000.
Count 3: Forgery (fourth-degree felony) — alleging that on or about April 22, 2024, she forged a document described as a “Verification Of Receipt Of Fund By Minor” without authority, with the indictment again citing a value/loss between $7,500 and $150,000.
Stacy Lee Simmons, identified in court records as a resident of Ashland County and the wife of Pastor Mike Simmons of New Beginnings Crossroads Fellowship, has been indicted on three felony counts and entered not guilty pleas in Ashland County Common Pleas Court.
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The materials provided state Simmons was arrested Dec. 12, 2025, and booked into the Ashland County Jail. During a video hearing for arraignment and bond on the Common Pleas case, the court identified the case as State of Ohio v. Stacy Lee Simmons and noted the hearing was conducted by video with the state represented by Assistant Prosecutor James Reese and Simmons represented by defense attorney Norman Miller.
During arraignment, defense counsel indicated Simmons had received a copy of the indictment, waived defects in time or manner of service, and waived a formal reading. Counsel then entered a not guilty plea to all charges, which the court accepted.
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On bond, the state asked for a $22,000 cash bond, citing the alleged theft amount and the desire to ensure appearance. Defense requested a recognizance bond, arguing Simmons has lived in Ashland County for more than 20 years, has no criminal history, is married, works locally, and was aware of the allegations without attempting to leave.
The court imposed a two-part bond structure:
Personal recognizance bond (promise to appear), and
$10,000 posted bond with a 10% option (with posting options described on the record).
No contact whatsoever with the alleged victim
As with all criminal cases, an indictment is an allegation, and the charges must be proven in court.
Bruce Gerencser, 69, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 48 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.
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.
Kenneth Edwards Jr., a minister at Church of Living God in Del Ray Beach, Florida, stands accused of multiple counts of lewd or lascivious behavior and obscene communication with a minor girl.
A Delray Beach minister is behind bars after he allegedly received nudes and performed oral sex on a teenage girl in exchange for vape pens.
According to an arrest affidavit from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office (PBSO), the investigation began on Friday, Dec. 12, after the Boynton Beach Police Department contacted the sheriff’s office about the crime.
At PBSO headquarters, detectives spoke with the victim’s mother, who explained that the previous day she had confiscated her daughter’s phone, and while searching the phone, she found a hidden Instagram account, the arrest affidavit says. The mother went through the Instagram account and discovered her daughter was having a conversation with a man, identified as Kenneth Edwards Jr., PBSO later confirmed he was a minister at the Church of Living God, the arrest report reads.
The arrest report says the messages included sending nude photographs of herself and allegedly allowing Edwards to perform oral sex on her in exchange for vape pens.
Detectives made contact with the 15-year-old girl, who told law enforcement that she met Edwards Jr. while shopping at DD’s Discount store. The arrest report says Edwards Jr. allegedly approached the victim and asked if they could be friends, and obtained her Instagram.
The two allegedly began messaging each other on the app, the arrest report says. The affidavit says, according to the messages, he asked whether she attended Boynton Beach High School, to which she responded that she was enrolled at another institution.
Edwards Jr. allegedly expressed a desire to see her again, and she agreed to meet with him again, but requested he bring a vape pen to the meeting, the arrest report says.
The report says the two met on a Friday morning. She entered his vehicle and gave him the vape pen he had requested. In exchange, he attempted to perform oral sex on her, which she allowed. According to the criminal complaint, the encounter lasted only a few minutes before she exited the vehicle.
The two continued to communicate through Instagram, where she allegedly sent him nudes, the arrest report says. The two met again a week later at Ninja Kids Trampoline Park, where he gave her a vape in exchange for oral sex, the arrest report continues.
On Saturday, December 13, the victim participated in a controlled video call where they discussed Edwards Jr. performing oral sex on her and discussed their age gap, the arrest report says. Edwards Jr. said if he had known the victim was 15, he would have never touched her, the affidavit says.
The arrest report alleges that Edwards Jr. later contradicted himself, stating that when he first met the victim, he was attracted to her and believed she was 18.
The criminal complaint says that after discovering her age, he said their relationship was going to have to end. The report continues that during the controlled video call, he admitted to meeting with her on two separate occasions, the first time being in the parking lot where she does volunteer work, and the second time at the Ninja Park. Both times he admitted to performing oral sex on her, the arrest report reads.
A criminal complaint says detectives met Edwards Jr. at his home, where he gave a full confession.
Edwards Jr. was booked on counts of lewd or lascivious behavior and obscene communication.
Bruce Gerencser, 69, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 48 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.
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.
Andrew Apple, an Evangelical youth leader in Bentonville, Arkansas, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting minor church girls and was sentenced to thirty-two years in prison.
A former volunteer at a Bentonville church accused of multiple criminal charges has been sentenced to more than three decades in prison, according to court documents.
Andrew Apple, 28, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree sexual assault on Monday as part of a plea agreement, Benton County Prosecuting Attorney Josh Robinson confirmed to KNWA/FOX24. He was sentenced to 32 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
Court documents filed in February said Apple was a volunteer at a church where incidents of sexual assault took place on church grounds.
The affidavits do not specify which church Apple volunteered at, but a pastor at Calvary Church in Bentonville previously confirmed to KNWA/FOX24 that Apple was a youth volunteer before his arrest.
“It is with deep sorrow that we address a situation affecting our church family,” Dean said. “We have been made aware of serious allegations against Andrew Apple, a former volunteer at our church.”
Dean said Apple was serving as the church’s media coordinator “around three or four years ago” when the alleged incidents took place.
In January 2024, Apple became a volunteer youth mentor and was in that role until Feb. 1, 2025, after the church was made aware of the allegations and removed him.
Dean said the church was cooperating with law enforcement on the case.
A probable cause affidavit said the investigation began when police received a child abuse hotline tip from Arkansas State Police on Feb. 4, 2025, alleging inappropriate behavior by Apple.
As the investigation unfolded, two victims came forward with accounts of prolonged abuse.
The first victim, whose identity was redacted, reported that the abuse started when they were around 13 years old while volunteering with Apple at the church.
A second victim, also a minor at the time, disclosed an alleged pattern of abuse that escalated over time.
When interviewed by police, Apple reportedly admitted to some of the accusations and having “a sexual relationship” with the second victim since they were 13 years old, according to a probable cause affidavit.
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Apple was previously facing rape, second-degree sexual assault and sexual indecency with a child charges. His trial was scheduled to begin on Dec. 16.
Bruce Gerencser, 69, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 48 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.
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.
Clarence Hungerford, pastor of Aurora Baptist Church in Benton, Kentucky, stands accused of soliciting nude photos from an eleven year old church girl.
A Kentucky pastor remains jailed after confessing to soliciting photographs of a preteen and trying to destroy the evidence, according to the Marshall County, Kentucky, Sheriff’s office.
Clarence Barry Hungerford, 58, of Mayfield is being held on $10,000 bail, the sheriff’s office said Friday.
He was arrested Wednesday on charges of unlawful use of electronic means with the commonwealth to induce a minor to engage in sexual or other prohibited activities and with tampering with physical evidence.
These came after telling authorities he destroyed his cellphone to try to prevent law enforcement from searching the contents of his phone, a press release stated.
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The sheriff’s office said the allegations surfaced when the family of an 11-year-old girl contacted them after the child reported she had been solicited for photographs of her body by her pastor.
The case against Clarence “Barry” Hungerford was continued to January during a Tuesday, Dec. 9, court appearance.
Hungerford was charged in the summer with tampering with physical evidence and unlawful use of electronic means within the commonwealth to induce a minor to engage in sexual or other prohibited activity.
During the Dec. 9 court appearance, no new information was made available, and the case was continued to Jan. 13, 2026.
Charges were first brought against Hungerford in late June 2025. On June 25, a report was made by the family of an 11-year-old girl. The family reported to the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office that she had been asked for pictures of her body by the pastor of her church. Following a brief investigation, it was determined that Hungerford was the one to send the messages.
According to a news release, Hungerford was arrested the same day, and admitted both to contacting the girl and to destroying his cell phone in an attempt to prevent the contents from being accessed.
Hungerford is a resident of Mayfield, Kentucky, but was a pastor of a church in the Aurora community of Marshall County, and kept a part-time residence in Marshall County. It is believed that he was at that residence when the messages were sent.
Bruce Gerencser, 69, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 48 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.
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.
Jacob Barnett, a youth pastor at Catawba Valley Baptist Church in Troutville, Virginia, recently pleaded guilty to child sex crimes.
Authorities say Jacob Barnett used various social media accounts to solicit sexually explicit material from underage girls across state lines while serving as youth pastor at Catawba Valley Baptist Church, leading to his arrest on Aug. 7.
Barnett, 34, was apprehended by FBI agents Aug. 6 in North Carolina and is being held at the Catawba County Detention Center in North Carolina without bond, according to media reports.
A May 18 tip led the FBI to investigate a TikTok account appearing to beling to a teen boy named “Jodie Johnson.” That individual had contacted a 15-year-old girl in Michigan and, after leading her to exchange phone numbers and days of persistent messaging, convinced her to send a sexually explicit video of herself.
The investigation revealed that the account belonged to Barnett, with phone records confirming he had sent the messages and routinely interacted with minors online. His TikTok account followed “thousands of young girls.” Barnett also used other social media accounts such as Snapchat and Discord to pose as a teenager and solicit sexually explicit videos from minors.
Catawba Valley Baptist church released a statement on Aug. 8, stating the congregation was “devastated” over the news.
“We are deeply grieved by these allegations. Our prayers are with anyone who may have been impacted, and we ask the Lord for comfort, healing, and justice,” it read.
“As a church, we remain fully committed to the highest standards of protection, safety, and care for every child, student, and family who is part of our fellowship. We continue to take every measure possible to maintain a safe environment for all.
“We are cooperating with the proper authorities and will refrain from additional public comment while the legal process continues. In this difficult moment, we are leaning on the grace of God and seeking His wisdom and peace.
A youth pastor pleaded guilty Monday, December 9 in a case involving attempted child sex crimes, according to court records.
Jacob Ryan Barnett, 34, former youth pastor at Catawba Valley Baptist Church, was arrested by FBI agents in North CarolinaAugust 6, 2025 on charges of solicitation of sexual material from minors.
The FBI received a tip that Barnett had attempted to groom a 15-year-old girl living in Michigan. Investigators discovered Sunday, May 18, 2025, the 15-year-old girl received a message that appeared to belong to a teen boy who called himself “Jodie Johnson”, according to court records.
Barnett faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum punishment of life.
Bruce Gerencser, 69, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 48 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.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
When you read articles like this who say people are leaving Christianity, they are not really leaving at all. What is happening is that fake Christians are leaving long dead churches that have the appearance of life.
Kevin Schaal would have us believe that the people leaving Christianity are all fake Christians; that anyone who deconverted is a fraud. Surely Schaal knows this claim is a lie. Surely he knows people who left Christianity who were committed followers of Jesus Christ. Does he really believe that these former Christians, who were pastors, evangelists, missionaries, youth pastors, worship leaders, deacons, Sunday school teachers, or junior church workers — all people who were devoted believers — are all frauds?
No, the real issue here is Schaal’s Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) soteriology. Once a person is saved, they never, ever can lose their salvation. Whether called once-saved-always-saved or the perseverance/preservation of the saints, the bottom line is this: once a person prays the sinner’s prayer, they are forever saved. The problem, of course, is that born again church members can and do walk away from Christianity. Some IFB preachers claim that these scoffers are saved, no matter what; that they will lose rewards in Heaven because they weren’t faithful until the end.
I suspect Schaal finds the very thought of people such as the Evangelical-preacher-turned-atheist Bruce Gerencser being in Heaven with him disgusting, so he cooks up ways to claim that these defectors were never Christians. According to the quote above, Schaal believes people like me were fake Christians. Talk about a conspiracy theory. Schaal would have us believe that these former servants of the most high God deceived everyone around them. Does he realize how absurd this is? I would have had to deceive scores of people, including close friends, colleagues in the ministry, professors, IFB family, and five IFB preachers in my wife’s family. This is about as believable as the moon landing hoax or the existence of God.
Regardless of Schaal’s rigid theology, followers of Jesus do deconvert. They do reach a place in their lives where the central claims of Christianity no longer make any sense to them. The deconversion process is messy, but in the end, those who deconvert do so because they can no longer buy what Christianity is selling.
Bruce Gerencser, 69, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 48 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.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
I attended a large public high school in the early 1970s. After I became a born again Christian at the age of fifteen, I purposed to carry my KJV Bible to school every day, hand out tracts to my classmates, invite them to church, and witness for Christ at every opportunity. I was one of the most religious students in the school. I wore my Christianity proudly, even when I was mocked and ridiculed. I still remember several of my classmates “stealing” my Bible and playing keep away with it, tossing it from student to student. Eventually, they tired of their game and let me have my Bible back. Was I embarrassed? Nope. I was proud to have been persecuted for Jesus.
I took biology in tenth grade — an anti-Evangelical class if there ever was one. My teacher expected me to give science answers to test questions, which I did. However, I also wrote Bible verses on my test paper, complete with theological commentary, making sure my teacher knew the TRUTH! I also wrote for my English class a report about the Baptists being the “true” Christian church. I got an A on the report. My teacher wrote “interesting” on my paper in red pencil.
Recently, University of Oklahoma student Samantha Fulnecky received an “F” for giving Bible verses and personal opinions as an answer to an essay question. Fulnecky screamed PERSECUTION, and the teacher was placed on administrative leave.
A University of Oklahoma student is in the national spotlight for claiming religious discrimination after she failed a psychology essay.
Samantha Fulnecky, a junior at OU, received a zero on an assignment, asking students to react to an article on gender roles. After receiving her grade, she filed a complaint with the university.
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Fulnecky is a junior at OU. She is from Nixa, Missouri, according to a biography on OU Women’s Tennis page. She was listed on the Women’s Tennis roster for the 2024-25 season.
She spoke to KOCO 5 after filing the complaint against the professor.
“I gave my opinion, and, not just my opinion, but that’s like the Bible says that God created male and female, and anything that’s not from God, is glorifying to God, is glorifying to the enemy,” Fulnecky said.
Fulnecky said she reached out to the teaching assistant to reconsider the grade before filing a formal complaint with the university.
“It’s that I think I should have gotten 100. I’ve gotten 100 on every single essay in this class, and I write them all the same—exactly the same. The TA has never had a problem with how I write my papers in this class. So, it has nothing to do with the title, or grammar, or how I write, or anything like that,” Fulnecky said.
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On the essay rubric, the grading was based on whether there was an understanding of the article, whether it was a clear reaction, and whether the main ideas were organized in a coherent discussion.
The assignment was worth 25 points.
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The graduate instructor, who did not wish the comment on the story, said the essay did not follow the assignment guidelines and was “at times offensive.” The instructor said it lacked empirical evidence.
“Please note that I am not deducting points because you have certain beliefs, but instead I am deducting points for you posting a reaction paper that does not answer the questions for this assignment, contradicts itself, heavily uses personal ideology over empirical evidence in a scientific class, and is at times offensive,” the instructor said in the grading comments, according to screenshots posted by OU’s Turning Point USA chapter.
“While you are entitled to your own personal beliefs, there is an appropriate time or place to implement them in your reflections. I encourage all students to question or challenge the course material with other empirical findings or testable hypotheses, but using your own personal beliefs to argue against the findings of not only this article, but the findings of countless articles across psychology, biology, sociology, etc. is not best practice”
The instructor also responded to Fulnecky’s claims that society pushing the idea of multiple genders is “demonic.”
“Additionally, to call an entire group of people “demonic” is highly offensive, especially a minoritized population. You are entitled to your own beliefs, but this isn’t a vague narrative of “society pushes lies,” but instead the result of countless years developing psychological and scientific evidence for these claims and directly interacting with the communities involved. You may personally disagree with this, but that doesn’t change the fact that every major psychological, medical, pediatric, and psychiatric association in the United States acknowledges that, biologically and psychologically, sex and gender is neither binary nor fixed,” the instructor, who is a transgender woman, commented.
Fulnecky told KOCO that she did not mean for the “demonic” comments to be offensive.
A second instructor for the course also commented on the essay, saying they agreed with the grade given to Fulnecky.
“This paper should not be considered as a completion of the assignment,” said the second instructor’s comments, according to screenshots from Turning Point USA.
When Fulnecky received zero out of 25 points on the assignment, filed a complaint against OU, claiming her religious freedom was violated.
The instructor was placed on administrative leave. The university confirmed to KOCO that the essay would not count toward Fulnecky’s final grade.
Welcome to the wonderful world for whiny, butthurt Evangelical Christians who scream persecution anytime they don’t get their way. The essay question in question required the student to access academic materials and respond accordingly. You know, materials specifically related to disciplines such as sociology, biology, and psychology. She refused to do this, choosing instead to give personal opinions and Bible proof texts. That she got an F was deserved.
Fullnecky will be lionized by the religious right. She will soon be featured on Fox News, ONN, and platformed at Turning Point USA events. She will likely sue the teachers and the university. Why? Cuz that’s what Evangelicals do.
This is yet another example of the preferential treatment Evangelicals demand, and if they don’t get it, there will be hell to pay. What say ye? Please leave your astute thoughts in the comment section.
Bruce Gerencser, 69, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 48 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.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
And I [God] will cause them [Jews] to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat every one the flesh of his friend in the siege and straitness, wherewith their enemies, and they that seek their lives, shall straiten them. (Jeremiah 19:9 KJV)
It is clear from this passage of Scripture that God CAUSED the Jews to eat the bodies of their children and neighbors. In other words, God (Jesus) turned the Jews into cannibals. This is no rare occurrence. Any cursory reading of the Bible reveals a God who has no problem maiming and slaughtering fetuses, babies, children, men, women, and developmentally disabled people who dare to cross him. I can’t find one story in the Bible where the punishment and judgment meted out by God is justified for any other reason than he could. And that’s the argument Evangelicals often use to justify God’s violent, immoral behavior. “God can do whatever he wants,” Evangelical shout. Does this mean that the allegedly “moral” law of God doesn’t apply to an allegedly “moral” God himself?
Why did God judge the Jews so harshly? Jeremiah 19:3-5 says:
Hear ye the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle. Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents; They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind.
Evidently, the Jews were worshipping other deities before the God of Israel. Is this a behavior worthy of the judgment God (Jesus) meted out upon the Jews? “Hey, you worship Baal, so I plan to cause a famine that will leave you so hungry that you will kill, roast, and eat your children and neighbors.” What an awesome God, right?
If anything God commands is moral, just, and right, Evangelicals are forced to justify behaviors that most of us consider immoral. Evangelicals often appeal to “divine command theory” to justify their immoral behavior. “If God commands me to do something, I am duty bound to obey him, even if the world thinks I am behaving immorally.” Thus, when asked if God (Jesus) commanded them to build an altar and sacrifice their son — as Abraham did — they would do it! Why? Cuz God told them to do so!
“Oh, Bruce, God would never command that today.” Really, have you read the book of Revelation? Talk about a violent deity, who goes to the ends of the earth to torture and murder everyone who refuses to worship him. Besides, doesn’t the Bible say that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever? If so, the God of the Hebrew Bible is the same God as in the New Testament. Did he not say, “I am the Lord, thy God, and I change not.” Sorry, but if you are Trinitarian, your Jesus is God and he is just as culpable for all the deity-driven violence in the Bible as his Father. Ditto for the Holy Spirit.
One of the first things Evangelicals need to learn to do is say NO to God, Jesus, and their pastors. If God commands you to do something you know is unethical or immoral, just say NO. Further, just because the Bible commands you to do something doesn’t means you should. THINK before giving in to the voice that is allegedly whispering in your ear.
Bruce Gerencser, 69, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 48 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.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
From there he [Jesus] set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter. (Mark 7:24-29 NRSV)
Based on the this passage of Scripture, it is clear that the Syrophoenician woman with a demon- possessed daughter was called a dog by Jesus. Some stupid apologists will argue that Jesus was calling the Syrophoenicians (Gentiles) dogs, and not the woman herself. Was the woman Syrophoenician? Yes. This means, then, that Jesus was calling her a dog. I live in Ohio. If Jesus said all Ohioan are dogs, would that include me? Of course, it would.
Other stupid apologists will claim that Jesus or the author of Mark was just reflecting the social norms at the time. Perhaps, but when it is it ever right to call a woman a “dog”? Donald Trump has hurled all sorts of misogynistic, racist invectives at people. Are such verbal attacks on others appropriate? Of course not. Surely, we should hold Jesus to a higher standard than Trump, yes?
Jesus was a first century Jew who lived in rural Palestine. He likely viewed Gentiles much as his fellow Jews did. Remember, when Jesus jumped in his celestial space shuttle and came to earth, he didn’t come to save Gentiles. He came, to quote the Bible, to save the Jews from their sins. Gentile salvation was an afterthought. There’s no reason for us to believe that Jesus’ social norms were different from that of his parents, grandparents, and his neighbors.
Bruce Gerencser, 69, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 48 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.
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 2019, Jeriah Mast, a former Mennonite aid worker for Christian Aid Ministries in Berlin, Ohio, was arrested and charged with sexually abusing five minor boys.
Jeriah Mast, 37, of Millersburg, Ohio, was indicted Monday by a Holmes County grand jury for offenses that occurred in that county, according to the indictment. Mr. Mast turned himself in to the Holmes County jail on Tuesday evening and is being held on a bond of $250,000 cash surety, according to the jail. He is scheduled for arraignment Wednesday afternoon.
He faces seven felony charges of gross sexual imposition and seven misdemeanor counts of sexual imposition.
He is accused of sexual offenses against five different minors.
he charges of felonies are for alleged offenses against minors under 13, and the charges of misdemeanors are for alleged offenses against minors under 16. The indictment says that the offenses took place between 1999 to 2008.
A Haitian court is seeking Mr. Mast’s return to that country for him to face similar allegations. He left Haiti this spring after allegations arose of his sexually abusing minor boys over a period of years. A Haitian attorney told the Post-Gazette he represents five alleged victims of Mr. Mast.
Christian Aid Ministries of Berlin, Ohio — which is supported by various Mennonite, Amish and related groups — said in an earlier statement it “promptly discharged” Mr. Mast earlier this year when it learned of recent allegations against him in Haiti. He has not yet returned to appear before the Haitian court in the city of Petit-Goave to face the allegations.
Both Christian Aid Ministries and Mr. Mast’s church said he made confessions of sexual offenses.
The ministry placed two of its leading staff members on leave last month after its board learned that they knew as far back as 2013 that Mr. Mast had confessed to “sexual activity with young men that had taken place several years prior,” yet allowed him to remain at work for the ministry until this year.
Did you catch the fact that two Christian Aid Ministries staff members were put on leave for failing to report Mast’s predatory sexual activity with young men? Put on leave? Really? How about firing and excommunicating them for helping to facilitate the ongoing abuse of Haitian children?
Mast later pleaded guilty to sexually abusing two Holmes County, Ohio boys.
Jeriah Mast, 38, of Millersburg, Ohio, had faced 14 counts alleging he abused five minors between 1999 and 2008. On Wednesday, 12 counts were dismissed as part of a plea agreement. Mr. Mast pleaded guilty to two felony counts of gross sexual imposition in connection with molesting two boys.
One incident happened in late 1999 or early 2000 and involved a 12-year-old boy; the second happened in 2005 or 2006 and involved an 11- or 12-year-old boy, Holmes County Prosecutor Sean Warner said during the hearing at the Holmes County Courthouse.
Mr. Mast denied that he abused the boy in the first incident — in which the boy’s mother said she walked into her son’s bedroom to find Mr. Mast under a blanket with her son — but he nevertheless pleaded guilty.
He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine, although both the prosecution and defense as part of the plea agreement recommended he serve no more than five years in prison.
Holmes County Judge Robert D. Rinfret emphasized in a hearing Wednesday that he was not bound by that sentencing recommendation.
“This is horrendous,” Judge Rinfret said of the crimes. “This is awful.”
Sentencing was set for Nov. 5.
The Ohio charges were filed in July after Mr. Mast confessed to the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office in May that he abused boys over a period of about 15 years in both Ohio and Haiti, where he was working for Christian Aid Ministries, a Berlin, Ohio, organization supported by various Mennonite, Amish and related groups.
Mr. Mast told authorities that he abused four victims in Holmes County; a fifth victim — the one Mr. Mast denies abusing but pleaded guilty to — later came forward.
Mr. Warner, the prosecutor, said Wednesday that the plea agreement was offered in large part because further investigation of Mr. Mast’s May confession showed that all but two of the victims were 13 or older at the time of the abuse. That meant five of the seven felony charges Mr. Mast had faced became misdemeanor charges — and that meant the charges were beyond the statute of limitations to prosecute.
Please see the Post-Gazette series Coverings for complete coverage on Mast’s crimes and sexual abuse within Amish/Mennonite communities.
Mast was sentenced to nine years in prison for his crimes. Mast served six years before he was released from prison.
Recently, Mast was indicted for more sex crimes, this time against Haitian children.
A former missionary with an Ohio-based ministry has been indicted on federal charges of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with four different minors in Haiti over multiple years.
Jeriah Mast, 44, of Millersburg, Ohio, was indicted for alleged actions during his multiple visits to Haiti between 2002 and 2019. Mast — who according to authorities admitted to abusing about 30 victims in Haiti and more in Ohio — worked for part of that time for the Millersburg-based Christian Aid Ministries, which coordinates missionary activities for Amish, conservative Mennonite and related groups.
It marks the second court case against Mast, who was sentenced in Holmes County court in 2019 to nine years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually abusing two minors in Ohio.
Mast received an early judicial release in October after serving just under six years, according to Ohio’s inmate database. As a condition of his release, he was placed on three years’ supervised probation and required to complete an intensive supervision program, including sex-offender specific programming.
Court records indicate that presiding retired Judge Edward Emmett O’Farrell of Tuscarawas County granted Mast’s release based on “an exemplary record” behind bars and “most importantly, the Defendant’s stated and demonstrated remorse for the crimes he committed, and the emotional and psychological pain and suffering he inflicted upon the child victims and their families in this case.”
Mast was arrested on the federal charges on Nov. 5 and formally indicted on Tuesday. He is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in federal court in Cleveland.
“Crimes against children, like those mentioned in these allegations, are reprehensible,” U.S. Attorney David M. Toepfer for the Northern District of Ohio said in a statement. “Such appalling and morally corrupt behavior will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. We commend the work of Homeland Security Investigations and the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office, whose thorough work led to these federal charges being filed today.”
The charges are based on a U.S. law that prohibits citizens from “traveling in foreign commerce and engaging in any illicit sexual conduct with another person,” according to court filings.
The court docket indicates Mast is represented by a public defender, who did not immediately return email and phone messages seeking comment late Wednesday.
The Mast scandal came into public view in 2019 after he abruptly returned home from Haiti. In a subsequent interview with Holmes County authorities, he admitted to molesting about 30 children in Haiti between about 2003 and 2019, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court by Special Agent Jason M. Guyton of Homeland Security Investigations. Details of his admission indicate many if not all of the reported victims were boys.
The federal charges accuse Mast of abusing four different minors in 2004, 2007 and 2011. One was a 13-year-old boy Mast met through his missionary work and allegedly molested in a tent, according to the criminal complaint.
Judge Edward Emmett O’Farrell of Tuscarawas County granted Mast’s release based on “an exemplary record” behind bars and “most importantly, the Defendant’s stated and demonstrated remorse for the crimes he committed, and the emotional and psychological pain and suffering he inflicted upon the child victims and their families in this case.”
Are you fucking kidding me? This judge should be immediately removed from office. Surely, he knew there were other alleged victims; that predators such as Mast typically have far more victims than they are ever prosecuted for.
Bruce Gerencser, 69, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 48 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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