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.
Timothy Wells, a youth pastor at First Baptist Church in Wylie, Texas, stands accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl.
A former minister of a Wylie church was arrested on Friday, Jan 7 on a charge of sexually assaulting a child after accusations surfaced last month.
On Dec 12, 2021, a staff member of the First Baptist Church of Wylie contacted the Collin County Sheriff’s Office to report another staff member for alleged sexual assault.
During their investigation, the Sheriff’s Office investigators identified a 15-year-old girl who disclosed that she had been inappropriately touched by First Baptist Church of Wylie Junior High Minister Timothy Wells.
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Wells had been an employee of the church since January 2019. He was immediately placed on leave and his employment was later terminated.
Sheriff’s Office investigators obtained a warrant for Timothy Wells’ arrest, charging him with indecency with a child by sexual contact, a second-degree felony. Wells turned himself into the Collin County Detention Facility where he was booked and is being held in lieu of a $25,000 bond.
The Dallas Morning News reports:
The sheriff’s office said the First Baptist Church of Wylie, where Wells had worked as a junior high minister since January 2019, reported the allegation of sexual assault on Dec. 12.
The sheriff’s department said in a written statement that a 15-year-old girl told investigators that Wells touched her inappropriately off church property. The sheriff’s department declined to provide further details, including whether the girl knew Wells through church or the alleged incident was at an event affiliated with the church.
Authorities said the church immediately suspended Wells from his position and later fired him. The church said in a statement that it cooperated with authorities throughout their investigation but did not comment further about the investigation.
Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 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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