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.
Kevin Straughan, pastor of Agape Ministries Church in Ossipee, New Hampshire, stands accused of strangulation and sexual assault.
A former New Hampshire minister is accused of strangulation and sexual assault and is being investigated for similar charges in Florida.
Ossipee police said at the time of the allegations, Kevin Straughan, 67, was the head minister of Agape Ministries Church in Ossipee and Moultonborough.
Straughan has been indicted on several charges, including four counts of sexual assault and second-degree assault. Police said the victims are people he knew, including children.
Police said Straughan is no longer preaching at the church but is still involved there. He is also under investigation in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Police said they worked with multiple agencies as part of the investigation, which started in October. Liz Kelley-Scott, executive director of the Child Advocacy Center, said she couldn’t speak to the specifics of the case, but she said the organization’s role is to make sure children are protected throughout such investigations.
“That’s why we really work as a team, to have an open line of communication between law enforcement and prosecutors and our child protective services, but also to make sure all the needs of the kids are being met,” she said.
People at the church said they had no comment on the investigation. News 9 left a message at a phone number for Straughan but has not heard back.
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 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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