Tag: Getwell Church Hernando

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.

Please read my previous post about Lindsey Whiteside.

Lindsey Whiteside, a youth pastor at Getwell Church in Hernando, Mississippi, and high school basketball coach, was accused of having sex with a minor girl under her care. She was later sentenced to house arrest for her crimes, leading to widespread condemnation of the judge.

Recently, Whiteside was rearrested, this time on federal charges.

Channel 8 reports:

Convicted child sex offender Lindsey Whiteside is back in custody.

Chief Judge Debra Brown reversed Whiteside’s bond decision Wednesday, and she was taken back into custody by U.S. Marshals pending her federal trial.

The former DeSoto County youth pastor and basketball coach has been out of jail since October 31 and living at her mother’s house after Federal Magistrate Judge Jane Virden ruled to allow house incarceration as she waits for a federal trial for federal charges.

Judge Brown stated that she weighed a few different things when making her ruling Wednesday, including Whiteside’s previous bond conditions, GPS monitoring, and the defense’s downplay of the relationship between Whiteside and the then-16-year-old victim.

Whiteside walked into the federal court building with her family and attorney on Wednesday, but she did not walk out with them.

Last month, she pleaded not-guilty to federal charges of transporting a minor across state lines for sexual purposes.

During the four-hour evidentiary hearing Wednesday, the defense argued that Whiteside was not a danger to the community.

Her attorney, Tony Farese, said she has been out on bond and in home incarceration since Halloween with no issues.

He also said this case stems from a consensual relationship between Whiteside and the teenage victim.

Farese said it was not predatory, and that is why he argued Whiteside is not a danger to the community. 

Farese mentioned a report by Desoto County Deputy Miranda Fox that said “what was done to one, was done to the other,” and Fox also testified Wednesday that the victim was not forced into the relationship.

The prosecution disagreed with the arguments made by the defense. U.S. Attorney Parker King said Whiteside groomed the victim and the victim’s mother by gaining their trust.

During a brief recess before the ruling, the victim’s mother, teary-eyed, told Action News 5, “A minor can not consent.” 

The mother went on to say that her daughter has to keep the memories of what happened to her and shared that she is going through a lot. She mentioned this after the defense argued this was a consensual relationship.

The judge mentioned she was “troubled” by the defense’s reference that this was a “sexual dating relationship.”

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.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

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.

Lindsey Whiteside, a youth pastor at Getwell Church in Hernando, Mississippi, and high school basketball coach, was accused of having sex with a minor girl under her care.

Whiteside’s church bio states:

My deepest passion is for everyone to experience Jesus in the same way I have. Through student ministry, missions, or any other ministry, I am so thankful that the Lord has called me to Getwell Hernando where I can pursue that passion both inside and outside the walls of the church. It is an honor that the Lord calls us all to participate in His Kingdom, and I am grateful to be able to do it within and alongside the community of Hernando.

“For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:26-28

Channel 5 reported:

A grand jury has returned an indictment charging a former DeSoto County youth minister with having sex with a child under her guardianship.

Court documents allege Lindsey Aldy Whiteside, 26, intentionally and knowingly had sex with an underage girl between May 14 and November 6, 2024.

An indictment was returned earlier this month, charging Whiteside with one count of felony sexual battery of a minor.

Prior to the indictment, Whiteside worked at Getwell Church Hernando as a student and outreach coordinator, and also previously served as an assistant basketball coach at DeSoto Central High School.

“We can confirm that the December Grand Jury of DeSoto County has indicted Lindsey Whiteside on the charge of sexual battery of a minor child by a person of trust or authority,” DeSoto County District Attorney Matthew Barton said in a statement. “Prior to this indictment, Lindsey Whiteside served as a youth ministry leader and basketball coach—positions that carry a profound responsibility to protect and guide others.”

Whiteside served as the assistant girls’ basketball coach at DeSoto Central High until she was hired by Getwell Church Hernando in August 2022.

Church members claim she was terminated after the sexual battery allegations arose.

Getwell Church did not immediately answer Action News 5’s calls for comment.

Whiteside faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

Recently, Whiteside pleaded guilty and was sentenced to house arrest. House arrest? She was facing thirty years in prison, yet the judge gave her a slap on the wrist, with NO PRISON TIME. Sadly, all to often judges give lesser sentences to women than they do men. I suspect that is the case here. The victim and others are rightly outraged by the light sentence. The district attorney stated: “This sentence is an absolute abomination of justice. It is not right; it is everything that’s wrong. This is why people actually question whether our institutions actually serve people.”

Fox-13 reports:

There will be no immediate jail time for a female youth pastor who admitted to the sexual battery of a teenager who attended her church.

Lindsey Whiteside’s case first came to light in November 2024. On Monday, the former youth pastor for Getwell Church in Hernando pleaded guilty to a single count of sexual battery, a charge that could mean up to 30 years in prison.

But Whiteside left the DeSoto County Courthouse sentenced to a decade of supervised release, beginning with three years of house arrest, virtually the complete opposite of the sentence sought by DeSoto County District Attorney Matthew Barton.

“We, the State of Mississippi, and frankly, I am extremely disappointed,” Barton said. “The sentence ended up being three years of house arrest, followed by seven years of post-release supervision, for a total of ten years of supervision. This sentence is an absolute abomination of justice. It is not right; it is everything that’s wrong. This is why people actually question whether our institutions actually serve people.”

Whiteside’s victim was nearly 17-year-old at the time of the sexual battery, which by the former youth pastor’s own admission occurred multiple times, though she only faced a single count.

Those crimes occurred while the victim was being mentored and counseled by Whiteside, in her role of trust within the church the victim was attending.

The victim’s family was outraged Whiteside didn’t receive any prison time. Pam Pegram, a member of that family, spoke on behalf of the victim and her family following the sentencing.

“Let me be clear: no adult should ever engage in sexual contact with a child. In no way, shape, or form is the victim ever at fault,” Pegram said. “This adult could at any time have said, ‘Mom, help me; pastor, help me; friend, help me.’ She never did. She plotted and she planned, she deceived and she manipulated so that she could have her way.”

The district attorney said that, as shocking as the sentence was, so was the fact that educators and even a sitting school board member offered letters and even testimony in support for Whiteside, which he said is detrimental for the victim.

“It is true that when you support the abuser, you victimize the victim, and for that, that’s part of the reason that I was so disturbed by the amount of pedophile sympathizers that wrote into the court, and specifically Michelle Henley is an elected member of our school board,” Barton said. “Our victim at the time was a student at one of the schools that Michelle Henley is supposed to help govern. And yet she wrote a letter in support of the defendant; she testified on behalf of the defendant’s good character. Which I submit: there is no good character to someone that would sexually abuse a child.”

Just before handing down the sentence, the judge said no one was going to be happy with the decision. In addition to the ten years of supervised release, Whiteside will also have to register as a child sex offender for the rest of her life. She will face jail time if she violates any of the terms and conditions of her house arrest..

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.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.