The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.
In 2021, Kevin Madden, a youth pastor at Discover Church in Rogers, Arkansas, was accused of two counts of sexual indecency with a child and engaging children in sexually explicit conduct for visual and print medium.
The Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported:
A former youth pastor was released Saturday from the Benton County Jail after posting a $50,000 bond following his arrest in connection with sex crimes involving two teen girls.
Kevin James Madden, 31, of Rogers was arrested in connection with two counts of sexual indecency with a child and engaging children in sexually explicit conduct for visual and print medium. Prosecutors haven’t filed formal charges against him.
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Madden was the youth pastor at Discover Church in Rogers, according to a probable cause affidavit. The church said in a statement that Madden was placed on administrative leave when church authorities were made aware of the allegations. The church then contacted the girls and their parents, according to the statement.
“On Monday, May 3, we were told that the allegations seemed to be valid, but the detective could not give us a definitive answer at that time,” according to the statement. “On Friday, we were officially made aware that all allegations were true.”
….
Cassandra Brewer, the wife of the church’s pastor, reported to police that a church member told her Madden had sent photographs of his “private parts to a 17-year-old girl,” according to the affidavit. Brewer told police he started sending the images when the girl was 16.
Brewer reported Madden also may have been sending photographs to another girl, according to the affidavit.
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One girl told police Madden started paying close attention to her when she turned 16, and he grabbed her and attempted to kiss her in the game room at the church, according to the affidavit. She told police Madden sent her a photograph of him in the shower.
The teen said she stopped going to the church because Madden was making her feel uncomfortable, according to the affidavit.
The second teen, a 15-year-old girl, told police Madden asked her to send him a nude photograph, according to the affidavit.
Madden told police he sent a photograph of himself to the older girl, according to the affidavit.
On April 30, 2021, a member of the Discover Church in Rogers reported a crime involving a minor. The tipster told police that a juvenile female from the church had come forward saying that the youth pastor, Kevin Madden, had sent sexual pictures to her and that he had sent inappropriate text messages to another minor in the church.
During the course of their investigation, detectives learned that Madden had allegedly tried to kiss one of the girls at a church event and that he harassed her while she was at work. The girl also accused Madden of sending pictures of his penis and photos of himself showering to her over Snapchat. That other girl stated that Madden asked her to send him nude photos.
A detective spoke with Madden at his home, where he initially denied the allegations against him. He said he had made mistakes with the juveniles but that he had not touched them. Madden went on to say what started as talks about one of the girl’s relationships and boyfriends had turned into inappropriate conversations. He then admitted to sending a picture of his penis to the girl and photos of him in the shower.
Madden denied asking the other female to send him nude photos, according to a court affidavit.
The detective requested a warrant for Madden’s arrest for engaging children in sexually explicit conduct for use in visual or print media and two counts of sexual indecency with a child.
Three years later, Madden’s case is finally headed to trial.
The trial for a former Rogers youth pastor accused of sending nude pictures of himself to a minor has been set, according to court documents.
Kevin Madden, 34, was arrested on May 7, 2021, for engaging children in sexually explicit conduct and two counts of sexual indecency with a child charges.
Madden will have a pretrial hearing on Aug. 28. The trial is set to begin on Sept. 17.
On April 30, 2021, a member of Discover Church in Rogers reported to Rogers police that a pastor at the church, identified as Madden, had sent sexual pictures to a minor. The member told police that a girl from the church came forward saying the youth pastor sent sexually explicit pictures to her and sent inappropriate text messages to another in the church.
During the investigation, police found that Madden allegedly attempted to kiss one of the girls at an event at the church and harassed her while she was at work. She also accused Madden of sending sexual photos over Snapchat of him showering.
The other girl said to police that Madden had asked her to send him nude photos.
Madden spoke to detectives at his home and he initially denied the allegations and said he made mistakes with juveniles but didn’t touch them. He said what started as talks about relationships and boyfriends turned into conversations that became inappropriate.
He then admitted that he sent nude photos of him in the shower.
After his arrest, Discover Church released a statement saying, “We do not take the safety of our members, our students, and our children lightly. We acted swiftly to contact authorities and ensure a path to finding the truth in the situation.”
Madden pleaded not guilty to the charges in June 2021.
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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