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.
Reynaldo Crispen, pastor of New Horizon Christian Church in Las Vegas, Nevada, and a school teacher, pleaded guilty to lewdness with a child charges and was sentenced to six to fifteen years in prison.
A man who was a Las Vegas schoolteacher and pastor is wanted on suspicion of multiple sex crimes, according to authorities.
A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Reynaldo Crespin, 59, on 10 counts involving sex assault against a child, lewdness with a child and open and gross lewdness, court records indicate.
Las Vegas Metro Police want you to be on the lookout for this man: 59-year-old Reynaldo Crespin.
There’s a warrant for his arrest for nine felony charges, including lewdness with a child and sexual assault against a child.
….
Court documents say police went in there [the church] last Wednesday with a search warrant.
Sunday services have been canceled. And officials posted this letter that reads: “Crespin committed acts of domestic violence, stalking, or aggravated stalking against his wife and minors. Also, Crespin’s daughter allegedly disclosed her father had been inappropriately touching her over the past several years.”
When I went to the church this afternoon, Crespin wasn’t there, but this lady who wouldn’t identify herself was.
“The family would like respect. If you have any respect, we ask that you leave,” said the unidentified woman.
“We didn’t know this was the family’s home. Is this not the church?” asked News 3 Reporter Kay Dimanche.
“It does not matter,” said the unidentified woman before slamming the church door shut.
In addition to being a preacher, police say Crespin was a CCSD teacher.
Found on Crispen’s church’s Facebook page. Evidently, Crispen had a clean Bible.
Crespin was later located and arrested. In May 2022, Crispen pleaded guilty to attempted lewdness with a child. Last Monday, he was sentenced to six to fifteen years in prison. Astoundingly, Crispen’s lawyer asked for probation.
The Midland Daily News reports:
A former Las Vegas elementary school teacher and church pastor has been sentenced to six to 15 years in prison and lifetime supervision as a sex offender after pleading guilty to a child sex crime.
Reynaldo Cruz Crespin, 59, apologized Monday before a Clark County District Court judge who rejected his lawyer’s request for probation.
If there was a case that warranted punishment, I believe this is that case,” Judge Kathleen Delaney said, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
….
Crespin was arrested in February in Albuquerque, New Mexico, more than a week after he was named in a warrant in Las Vegas on multiple charges including sexual assault involving children.
All but one lesser charge were dismissed when Crespin avoided trial and pleaded guilty in May to attempted lewdness with a child under 14.
KLAS-TV in Las Vegas reported that Crespin taught second grade from 2016 until this year and was a pastor at New Horizon Christian Church in northeast Las Vegas. The television station said none of the charges related to his students.
The Review-Journal reported that Crespin and his wife founded the church in 2002. His wife sued in February to take custody of their children.
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.
Jack Schaap, an IFB pastor who served twelve years in prison for repeatedly sexually assaulting a church teen he was counseling
I am talking with a man about being on his podcast later this year. The focus of his podcast is the sexual abuse of boys. As we were talking, it dawned on me that the overwhelming majority of predatory Evangelical preachers prey on girls, teen girls, and older females. In the Catholic church, pedophile priests tend to go after boys, but in the Evangelical and IFB churches, the focus is on females. Why is that?
In Evangelical churches, homosexuality is considered perversion, the sin above all sins. Further, many Evangelicals believe that most child molesters are homosexuals. Does this aversion toward homosexuality ward preachers off from molesting boys? Or is it, as my counselor suggested today, that boys are less likely to talk about being molested due to their church’s hatred of all things LGBTQ? Or is it a combination of things?
What are your thoughts on this subject? I do want to hear from you. I am also looking to talk to Evangelical men who were molested by preachers and other church leaders as children or teenagers. If you know someone who would be willing to talk with me or share their story, please contact me via email.
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.
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.
John Lowe II, the pastor of New Life Christian Church & World Outreach in Warsaw, Indiana, recently stood before his church and admitted that he committed adultery twenty years ago. After Lowe’s “confession,” his victim, Bobi Gephart, and her husband stood before the church and told them the truth about what happened between Gephart and Lowe. First, Gephart was SIXTEEN when Lowe had sex with her. Sex with a minor is sexual abuse, not “adultery.” Lowe used his position of authority to take advantage of a vulnerable church teenager and did so on multiple occasions.
Pastor John Lowe II stepped down from the New Life Christian Church after being confronted on stage by Bobi Gephart, a 43-year-old woman who came forward with a microphone to tell their church in Warsaw, Indiana, how he’d groomed her as a teen, starting when she was 16 – the legal age of consent in the state.
Pastor Lowe II had just told the church that he ‘sinned’ 20 years ago by committing adultery, without mentioning how old the woman or girl was at the time.
He begged for the church’s forgiveness, then received a standing ovation.
Bobi then stormed towards the stage with her husband, Nate, to say it ‘was not just adultery’ because she was so young at the time.
‘For 27 years I lived in a prison… I lived in a prison of lies and shame. Lying to protect the Lowe family. For years I thought I was a horrible person, having suicidal thoughts and not realizing what had been truly done to me.
‘I would still be in a prison if my brother had not just approached me two weeks ago with what he had seen as a teenager that bothered him all these years: his pastor in bed with his younger sister.’
Turning to Lowe, she continued: ‘I was just 16 when you took my virginity on your office floor. Do you remember that? I know you do.
‘You did things to my teenage body that should have never been done. If you can’t admit the truth, you have to answer to God. You are not the victim here.’
Bobi’s husband Nate then added: ‘This is a lie. This is not just adultery.
‘It’s another level. It happened for nine years. When she was 15, 16, the grooming started.’
He presented a pearl necklace that his wife had been given by the church and a ‘purity ring’ that he said the pastor gave her during their affair.
Nate returned both items and said the pair ‘were not stretching the truth’, but encouraged other women who had been these ‘gifts of the ministry’ to return them too.
As the couple left the stage, the pastor then faced angry calls from the congregation.
‘If you did it you need to admit it!’ said one angry church-goer.
Another yelled: ‘We need to hear from our pastor!’ A third then cried out: ‘Give him the microphone!’
Lowe returned to the stage.
At first he said: ‘I told you I committed adultery and that it went on far too long.’
A member of the congregation then shouted out: ‘You didn’t tell us she was 16!’
He then relented: ‘It was wrong. I can’t make it right. I can’t make it better. That’s just the way it is.
‘It’s not all true but it did happen, yes.’
Because the legal age of consent in Indiana is 16, Lowe is not likely to face criminal charges for the relationship.
He has stepped down from the church and has been scrubbed from its website.
In a statement, the church said: ‘This long-held secret first came to light when a woman in the church came forward and disclosed the relationship to various people within the church.
‘When confronted by others in church leadership concerning that report, Pastor Lowe confessed privately that the adultery did, in fact, occur.
Please watch the video below to see Lowe’s “confession,” and Gephart’s brave confrontation of the man who robbed her of her innocence.
New Life released a statement. That’s what churches do. Make of it what you will. Note the statement does not use the term “sexual assault.” Also note how it paints Lowe as a “good man, gone wrong.” And does anyone seriously believe that no one over the past twenty years knew about Lowe’s assault of Bobi Gephart? Not one person? I see a lot of whitewashing and ass protecting going on in the church’s statement, couched in religious words meant to hide the fact that they had a sexual predator in their midst. Further, it is incumbent on the church to make clear exactly what Lowe’s wife knew, and when. And finally, New Life should immediately discipline Lowe, kicking him out of the church. His criminal behavior, prosecuted or not, should be widely publicized so Lowe never has another opportunity to pastor. And it should go without saying, the church must, without delay, make a confession of its own to law enforcement.
On Sunday, May 22, 2022, Pastor John B. Lowe II addressed the congregation of New Life Christian Church & World Outreach (“New Life”) at the conclusion of morning worship service and confessed that he had committed adultery on several occasions and over the course of time many years ago. When Pastor Lowe offered his confession, he also announced that he would be stepping down from his ministerial role and responsibilities with New Life.
This long-held secret first came to light when a woman in the church came forward and disclosed the relationship to various people within the church. When confronted by others in church leadership concerning that report, Pastor Lowe confessed privately that the adultery did, in fact, occur. The woman in question and her family did attend together and addressed the congregation, indicating that improper sexual conduct first occurred when she was 16 years of age and continued into her twenties. She tearfully described living with deep shame and pain over the ensuing years.
In the wake of what has now been revealed, we are hurting and broken for a woman who has lovingly attended and served in the church for many years, as well as for her husband and family. It is our deepest prayer and commitment to love, support, encourage and help her through a process of healing in any way in which we are able. New Life is likewise devoted to ministering to and with all of our members through this difficult season, that we might not only survive this, but experience together abundant grace, unity healing – all for the glory of God, and the preservation of His church.
Our brokenness extends to Pastor John B. Lowe II, his wife and family as well. For 42 years, New Life has taught and preached a Cross-driven message of repentance, forgiveness and restoration; a ministry of reconciliation which has been both led and modeled by Pastors John and Debbie Lowe. As healing occurs in their hearts, their marriage and family, we are committed to demonstrating the same support, encouragement, counsel and forgiveness that has come to define the collective heart and ministry of this body. As of Monday, May 23, 2022, Pastor John B. Lowe II tendered His resignation with New Life Christian Church and World Outreach.
To all concerned, please be assured that, until now, none of this was disclosed to or known by any of the staff, ministers or personnel of New Life. As with the church in general and the public at large, we too are responding to this without anticipation; praying and striving only to see that the Lord’s good, perfect and eternal plans will ultimately and visibly prevail. Life is messy. Believers are messy. Church is messy. God is not.
Pay particular attention to the end of the video, as the victim walks away from the platform to the back of the church. Notice what many of the congregants did. Rally around Bobi Gephart? Hell no. They gathered around the true victims in this story, Pastor Lowe and his wife. Gaze on the visage of “Christian love,” which on this night, complete with prayers and shouts of praise, gave the appearance of victim shaming. What mattered in their eyes was poor Pastor Lowe, a good man, deserving of love and forgiveness. Yes, he made a mistake, but LOOK! at all the good he has done over the years. And no doubt there will be members who will say to themselves, “well, Bobi was sixteen!” Let the victim-blaming and shaming begin. What’s next? She seduced him (as defenders IFB pastor Jack Schaap’s said about his teen victim)?
To the church members who did express their outrage over Lowe’s “confession,” thank you for speaking truth to power. It’s troubling that you are a minority at New Life, but your willingness to challenge Lowe’s “adultery” claim hasn’t gone unnoticed here in the “world.”
Lowe’s church bio states:
Pastor John B. Lowe II has been faithful in full time ministry for over 35 years. He carries a heart for the local church, yet has reached a world wide audience with an Apostolic calling. His ministry has taken him from the local church to many nations of the world where he mentors lead pastors, conducts faith conferences, marriage and family conferences and more.
Marriage and family ministry, are of high value to Pastor and his wife Debbie. They desire to impart the truth that, God is good His word is true, and it works in our lives.
Pastor John and Debbie Lowe have ministered together for many years and they emphasize living a life empowered by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit.
Through New Life Christian Church they have started ministry to the homeless, community marriage seminars, private Christian education for 21 years, the gift of warmth program to offset heating cost in the winter to the needy, prison ministry, local jail ministry and Celebrate Recovery.
Lowe’s wife, Debra is New Life’s co-pastor. Lowe’s son, Bryan, is the associate pastor, and his daughter Brittney is the community pastor — truly, a family-run business. This alone speaks volumes.
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.
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.
Jeffrey Anthony Charles, former pastor of Neighbors to Nations Church in Princeton, Minnesota (previously named Open Door Fellowship Church, Vineyard Christian Fellowship, and now Souls Church), stands accused of sexually assaulting a three-year-old child. Charles was previously convicted of Sexual Abuse, 3rd Degree, in the state of Iowa in 1997, yet he was still pastoring a church when these crimes were allegedly committed. I hope authorities will investigate whether Neighbors to the Nations Church (now Souls Church) was complicit in Charles’ crimes.
Attorney General Josh Kaul and Douglas County District Attorney (DA) Mark Fruehauf today announced that Jeffrey Anthony Charles, age 61, has been charged with one count of Repeated Sexual Assault of a Child, Persistent Repeater, for incidents that occurred from 2005 to 2010.
“We are committed to holding perpetrators of sexual assault accountable,” said Attorney General Josh Kaul. “Thank you to DA Fruehauf for his continued partnership with the Clergy and Faith Leader Abuse Initiative, and for the work of his office and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office in seeking justice in this case.”
According to the criminal complaint, Charles served as the pastor for Neighbors to Nations church in Princeton, Minn. at the time of the assaults and parishioners routinely traveled to Charles’ cabin in the Town of Summit, Wis. The complaint states that Charles sexually assaulted a victim three to four times at his cabin in the Town of Summit, Wis. over the course of five years, when the victim was between the ages of 3 and 7. Charles was previously convicted of Sexual Abuse, 3rd Degree, in the state of Iowa in 1997.
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.
Men have been sexually preying on women for as long as anyone can remember. Millions of women have been sexually harassed, assaulted, or raped. Worse yet, many of these crimes are never reported, let alone prosecuted. Some women feel shame after being assaulted and don’t want anyone to know what happened. Others fear retribution, job loss, or family ostracization. Still others fear they will not be believed. One such woman was my mother.
Mom was sexually molested as a child by her father. (Please read Barbara.) I know this because she told me. As an adult, Mom tried one day to confront her father over his “sins.” His response? Without ever acknowledging what he had done, he told Mom that his past sins had been forgiven by God, and if God had forgiven him, so should she. Mom’s lack of forgiveness became an issue when Grandpa’s wife, using Bill Gothard’s Basic Life Principles, decided to “confront” Mom’s bitterness. She let it be known that Mom’s bitterness was due to her unwillingness to forgive. Needless to say, the discussion turned into an angry shouting match. (Please read Dear Ann.)
In the late 1960s, we lived west of Farmer, Ohio in a rented farmhouse owned by my Dad’s sister, Mary. I attended fifth and sixth grade at Farmer Elementary School. One day, I was home sick from school. Unbeknownst to me, my uncle, whom I will call Bob out of respect for his wife and son, unexpectedly came to our home. Bob only stayed for a short while, but what he did during that time left a lasting impression on a mother and her twelve-year-old son.
I learned as an adult that Bob was known for sexually harassing and assaulting women, including teen girls. Many of the women in my family have stories to tell about Bob inappropriately touching them or coming on to them. Everyone knew about Bob. Oh, that’s just how Bob was, one close family member told me. As far as I know, no one has ever publicly accused Bob of sexually assaulting them; except for my mom, that is.
Whether Bob stopped at our house on a whim or knew that Mom would be home alone and wanted to use that opportunity to take sexual advantage of her, I’ll never know, but one thing is for certain: Bob raped my mother. I know, because she told me he did. After Bob left, Mom had me run down to the neighbor’s house to use their phone to call someone. For the life of me, I can’t remember whom she had me call. I do know that no one believed her. She was Crazy Barb, the woman with mental problems.
Is it any wonder Mom had mental health problems? Born into a family where both parents were violent alcoholics, she suffered significant trauma, including being sexually molested by her father. At age seventeen, she had an unplanned pregnancy, and by age eighteen she was married and had a redheaded baby boy — yours truly. Mom married a young Hungarian man, but he was not my father. Two years ago, I learned that my father was a married truck driver from Chicago. He met my teen mom at the truck stop where she worked in Bryan. (Please see What an Ancestry DNA Test Revealed About Me.)
A few years ago, Bob died. His funeral was held at First Baptist Church in Bryan, Ohio — the family church. Bob’s parents, Mom and Pop Daugherty, were instrumental in starting First Baptist, and they were lifelong members, as were several of their children. Bob didn’t attend First Baptist. As far as I know, he didn’t attend any church and hadn’t been to First Baptist in decades. The church is an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) church, pastored by John MacFarlane, a man who was a boy in the church when I was a teenager. This boy, now a college-educated man of God, conducted Bob’s funeral.
Barbara Gerencser, 1957, age 18. Holding her newborn son Bruce (Butch)
Having attended numerous IFB funerals, I knew what to expect: preaching and an invitation to accept Jesus as my Savior. I endured this nonsense for the sake of my family. During the service, the pastor spoke glowingly of Bob’s life. I began to feel anger rise up in me, knowing that the pastor was painting faux gold on a piece of shit. Even worse, the pastor shared a story about Bob coming to the church altar as a teenager and asking Jesus to save him. And glory to God in the highest, God saved Bob and he is, thanks to Jesus, in Heaven today, said the pastor, or something to that effect. I’m sure hearing that Bob was in Heaven brought great joy and peace to his elderly mother. But what about my mother — who at age fifty-four, turned a Ruger .357 magnum towards her heart and pulled the trigger, killing herself instantly? What about all the girls, who are now grownups, and their mothers, who endured the indignity of Bob groping and sexually harassing them (and who knows what else he might have done, secrets never spoken of)? How is it that everyone who took sexual advantage of my mother died and went to Heaven — all praise be to the one who overlooks the sexually predatory ways of his followers — yet my mother is burning in Hell because she committed the one “sin” that can never be forgiven — self-murder?
Barbara Gerencser, 1956, age 17
Mom is buried at Fountain Grove Cemetery in Bryan, Ohio. From time to time, I will stop by the cemetery and ponder what life might have been like for my mom had it not been for the men in her life. She certainly had her faults, but I wonder how much of the carnage that became her life can be traced back to her being sexually molested as a child and being raped as a young woman. Mom would divorce my father three years after Bob raped her. She would go on to marry three more times, always thinking that she needed a man in her life to survive. Such were the times, I suppose, but I know this for sure: I miss my mother and curse those who harmed her and caused her so much anguish and suffering.
As for Bob, he is where all people — good and bad — end up when they die: the grave. There is no Heaven or Hell, except for that which we experience in this life. While Mom had moments where she experienced the joys of Heaven, sadly much of her life was Hell. I so wish for her that she could have a second run at this thing we call life, but alas there are no re-dos. All I can do now is tell her story and work to make sure that the Bobs of the world don’t have a chance to harm others. And when they do sexually harm others, I want to be a voice calling for their arrest, prosecution, and imprisonment. Perhaps then, those who sexually assault and rape young girls, teens, and adult women will experience a bit of the hell they so richly deserve — Jesus and his forgiveness be damned.
And for the preacher who preached Bob into Heaven? Fuck you, John. Your theology has turned you into a bad person.
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.
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.
Charlie Hedrick, a Christian man who hails from Rowan County, North Carolina, stands accused of sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl.
Charlie Jerry Hedrick was arrested on Wednesday in the 5100 block of Woodleaf Road, according to the report. Hedrick has been charged with first degree sexual offense involving a victim under the age of 13, and taking indecent liberties with children. Both are felony counts.
The investigation in February after Rowan County deputies received a report that Hedrick had sexually abused a 6-year-old girl during 2015. The victim, who was known to Hedrick and who is now 12 years old, was able to tell investigators that he would he would bring the girl to his home on Sundays after church, read scripture from the Bible to her and then molest her.
According to the report, the abuse occurred several times during that year, then stopped as the child became older.
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.
Four top administrators and a coach at one of Texas’ largest Christian K-12 schools have been arrested on charges they tried to hide a student’s alleged sexual assault from police.
The arrests are in connection with an alleged hazing incident in January at the 1,200-student Midland Christian School in Midland, Texas. The school is associated with Churches of Christ.
Charged with failure to report with intent to conceal neglect or abuse are Midland’s superintendent, principal, vice principal, athletic director and head baseball coach.
All have since bonded out of the Midland County Detention Center, local media reported. Police also arrested an unidentified minor.
The probable cause affidavit for Superintendent Jared Lee’s arrest states Midland police were told Jan. 28 that a student may have been sexually assaulted at the school after baseball practice on Jan. 20.
The alleged victim told police he was attacked with a baseball bat in the locker room in what was described as a “freshman initiation day.” At one point, the boy told police, he was flipped over onto his back and sexually assaulted with the bat, according to the affidavit.
Dana Ellis, principal of Midland Christian’s secondary school, told police the school learned about the assault the next day, the affidavit indicates. She told police that Superintendent Lee asked Athletic Director Greg McClendon and Vice Principal Matt Counts to investigate instead of calling law enforcement.
When police asked for the school’s documentation about the assault, Lee refused to provide it or answer questions, according to the police affidavit. Police allege that Lee and the other four — Ellis, McClendon, Counts and head baseball coach Barry Russell — “have continually attempted to conceal the incident or abuse from authorities.”
Police got a search warrant for documentation but found none, aside from some “notes” from McClendon and Counts, the affidavit indicates. Police also detailed several alleged failures of the school administration, including lack of forensic interviews or a rape kit.
Police also obtained emails between the five accused making it “very clear that a sexual assault had occurred, and the school had a duty to report,” according to the affidavit. Yet “several of the administrators refused to report the incident as shown in emails.”
….
Lee, a Midland Christian alum, has been the school’s superintendent since his father retired from the post in 2017. He has held several other positions there and was previously high school principal at Brentwood Christian School in Austin, Texas.
Ellis and Counts also graduated from Midland Christian and have been on staff for several years, according to the school’s website. McClendon has been at the school for more than 20 years.
Russell, who coached the Midland public high school team to the playoffs for 20 straight seasons, was hired as Midland Christian’s head baseball coach last summer.
When are Evangelical schools and churches going to learn that it is not their duty or responsibility to investigate sexual assault claims? Such investigations are the purview of law enforcement. Schools and churches have one obligation: report all accusations of sexual assault. End of discussion.
WE BELIEVE that marriage is a permanent, exclusive, comprehensive, and conjugal “one flesh” union of one man and one woman, intrinsically ordered to procreation and biological family, and in furtherance of the moral, spiritual, and public good of binding father, mother and child.Genesis 1:27-28, Genesis 2:18-24, Matthew 19:4-9, Mark 10:5-9, Ephesians 5:31-33
WE BELIEVE that sexual acts outside of marriage are prohibited as sinful, including without limitation, adultery, fornication, incest, zoophilia, pornography, prostitution, masturbation, voyeurism, pedophilia, exhibitionism, sodomy, polygamy, polyamory, sologamy, or same-sex acts.Exodus 20:14, Leviticus 18:7-23, Leviticus 20:10-21, Deuteronomy 5:18, Matthew 15:19, Matthew 5:27-28, Romans 1:26-27, I Corinthians 6:9-13, I Thessalonians 4:3, Hebrews 13:4, Galations 5:19, Ephesians 4:17-19, Colossians 3:5
Evidently, sexual assault is not on the prohibited “sin” list.
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.
Note: I assume the author of the following comment is an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist. Regardless of his denominational affiliation, my comments still stand.
I graduated from Purdue University in 1997 with a master’s degree. I attended Hyles Anderson College 1 year and worked on the “Bus Ministry ” 1993. I transferred to Purdue only because of the engineering program.
I can honestly say that I never saw anything inappropriate, but I’m sure some of the stories are true. It was a large church, maybe 20k or larger. So in proportion, it’s probably like finding all the sex offenders who attended Purdue, a 40k campus. I’m sure one can dig up 25 out of 40,000 over 25 years
Where oh where do I begin? First, just because YOU “never saw anything inappropriate” doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Second, Lee suggests that some of the claims of sexual assault, rape, and other sex crimes at Hyles-Anderson College and First Baptist Church in Hammond, Indiana, didn’t happen. How, exactly, does he know this to be true? What evidence does he have that women are lying about being assaulted?
Evidently, Lee doesn’t have the Internet where he lives. Had he bothered to do a bit of reading on this subject, he would have found a plethora of information about rampant sexual abuse in IFB churches, colleges, and ministries. Both the Chicago Tribune and the Houston Chronicle took an in-depth look at the sex scandal-plagued IFB church movement. I have spent the past fourteen years shining a light on sexual abuse (and non-criminal sexual misconduct) committed by IFB pastors, youth pastors, evangelists, missionaries, deacons, Sunday school teachers, and college professors. Others such as Julie Roys and Christa Brown have done the same. Even secular groups such as the Freedom From Religion Foundation have tracked and reported on sex crimes perpetrated by so-called men of God. All of this information was available to Lee, yet he either doesn’t have access to it, or he thinks all the reporting on sexual assault is much-to-do about nothing — an insignificant problem.
How can one read about Jack Hyles, Jack Schaap, David Hyles, and a host of other leaders at Hyles-Anderson and First Baptist and not conclude that the college and church have a systemic problem with sexual misconduct?
I also want to address Lee’s statements about sexual assault on the campuses of Purdue University. According to Lee’s “math,” Purdue averages one sexual assault per year: 25 out of 40,000 over 25 years. Surely he’s kidding, right? It took me all of thirty seconds to find stories about sexual assault at Purdue. Last October, there were four reports of sexual assault over a several-week period.
More than one in five Purdue University female undergraduates say they’ve experienced a sexual assault since beginning college, and about one in eight say it happened during the current year, the school said Monday.
Purdue released the findings of a Campus Climate Survey on sexual assault sponsored by the Association of American Universities to coincide with the AAU’s release of an aggregate report from 27 institutions nationwide. Purdue was the only Indiana institution participating in the survey.
At Purdue, 21.9 percent of female undergraduates on the main campus in West Lafayette who responded to the survey said they had been sexually assaulted since beginning college, slightly lower than the 23.1 percent AAU aggregate, the university said. Also, 13.2 percent reported they had been sexually assaulted during the current year, the same as the aggregate finding.
Sexual assault was defined as experiencing nonconsensual sexual penetration or sexual touching involving physical force or incapacitation.
….
The survey was sent this spring to nearly 780,000 students at the association’s member colleges, plus one additional university. About 150,000 participated in the online questionnaire.
The results were generally in line with past surveys on sexual assault and misconduct on college campuses — and confirmed that alcohol and drugs are important risk factors.
Lee might want to find his trusty calculator out and run the numbers. He will find that hundreds of sexual assaults occur each year at Purdue University — many of which, for obvious reasons, go unreported.
I have no idea if Lee is still a part of the IFB church movement. I hope not, but his comment reflects the thinking I have seen from countless IFB preachers and church members over the years. Such people will read the aforementioned South Bend Tribune story and what will they see? Why, alcohol and drugs played a big part in these sexual assaults. So what? Is that justification for rape and sexual assault? Or perhaps women will be blamed for dressing “immodestly” or putting themselves in compromising positions. In other words, these women were “asking” for it. Such thinking, of course, is vile and perverse, but defenders of the IFB church movement continue to make excuses for the sex crimes committed in the churches and institutions.
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.
Ryan Wolstoncroft, a volunteer and lifelong member at Bethany Presbyterian Church in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania, stands accused of repeatedly assaulting an 11-year-old boy.
Ryan Wolstoncroft, 36, has been charged with sexually assaulting an 11-year-old boy in his Washington County home daily, from February 2020 to November 2021.
According to the criminal complaint, Wolstoncroft would purchase the boy V-bucks, an in-game currency, for his Fortnite video game, in order to continue the abuse.
According to the South Fayette Township police, they are investigating similar crimes against Wolstoncroft, from decades earlier.
South Fayette police Chief John Phoennik said that two adult men have accused Wolstoncroft of abusing them 20 years ago, when they were in elementary school and Wolstoncroft was a teenager.
Phoennik said his department is meeting with the Allegheny County district attorney next week, to determine what charges will be filed.
Wolstoncroft had been volunteering with Bethany Presbyterian Church, in Bridgeville, while police said the crimes occurred.
Staff at the church confirm Wolstoncroft has been a member of their congregation his whole life.
Bethany Presbyterian Church is devastated by the news, and we are fully cooperating with the authorities. Our Pastors, Staff and Leadership ask that you share in our prayers and support for the families and friends of all involved. Bethany Presbyterian Church is focused on being a place of healing and reconciliation for our congregation and the entire community.
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.
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 Daniels, Sr., pastor of New Jerusalem Missionary Church in Fountain, Colorado, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a child he bribed with a Playstation and was sentenced last week to an indeterminate sentence of two years to life.
A southern Colorado pastor is accused of sexually assaulting a preteen over a months-long period.
Court papers obtained by 11 News states the abuse only stopped when the child alerted a school counselor, prompting an investigation.
The Fountain Police Department says it first learned of the allegations last week against Pastor Kevin Daniels Sr. of New Jerusalem Missionary Church. Daniels turned himself in Tuesday and bonded out of jail Wednesday night.
According to the arrest affidavit, the abuse began in February of this year. The affidavit alleges that Daniels started with hugging and tickling, which escalated to touching the child under their clothing with his hands and mouth. The child told police Daniels said not to tell anyone.
“[The victim] said Kevin would try and buy things and would give [the victim] money for things … [The victim] said he would do that when he touched [the victim].” – Excerpt from the arrest affidavit
Daniels allegedly gave the victim $20 on one occasion, and $100 on another. Another time, he offered to buy the child a PlayStation, the affidavit says.
The child came forward in mid-April.
The child’s mother told police she confronted Daniels one day before he turned himself in. Daniels allegedly claimed he was just tickling the child.
….
Daniels faces charges of sexual assault on a child under 15 by one in a position of trust.
According to a bio on the church website, Daniels has been an ordained minister since 1999 and has been in the Colorado Springs area since 2009. The bio states he served as the Fountain Police Department chaplain; the police department confirms he held that role until last year.
Widefield School District 3 confirms Daniels worked as a bus driver for the district from May 2019 until December that same year.
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.
