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.
Charles Sulivant, a member in good standing at Shawnee First Church of the Nazarene in Shawnee, Oklahoma, stands accused of sexually abusing several church children and preying on others over the years. Worse, two pastors, Johnny Stephens, the pastor at Shawnee First, and Drew Dinnel, a pastor at a youth camp, knew of the allegations against Sulivant and initially did nothing, as did retired District Superintendent Terry Rowland. Stephens pastored Shawnee First for over twenty years. Dinnel is the pastor of Muskogee Church in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Dinnel texted me and stated he first contacted the parents, asking them to contact law enforcement, went to his superiors who pressured him not to report the alleged crime, and later reported it himself. Dinnel, however, had a legal responsibility to immediately report the crime. Kudos for reporting it, but he should have done so without delay. It was not up to the parents or Dinnel’s superiors to decide the validity of the allegation. That role belongs to law enforcement. (Dinnel told me about 24 hours elapsed from knowledge of the allegation to reporting it.) All three so-called men of God should investigated, and, if warranted, disciplined, excommunicated, or charged with a crime. The only way to give teeth to mandatory reporting laws is to hold clerics responsible when they fail to do so.
According to police records 91-year-old Charles Sulivant had been allegedly molesting young girls, and several pastors at the time knew, but didn’t call police.
“I talked to the parents,” said Johnny Stephens who had been the pastor at the time of the alleged abuse. He was one of the pastors at the time who didn’t call the police, News 4 confronted Stephens Thursday.
Documents showed that one victim’s mother reported the alleged abuse her daughter (who was 16 years old at the time) experienced in 2016.
However, charges weren’t officially filed and interviews weren’t conducted until this year. Five other victims were revealed after the original victim came forward.
Their interviews were conducted over the summer while the crimes were alleged to have happened before 2016.
In one of the cases, documents allege Sullivant lured a nine-year-old girl to his truck in the church parking lot, promising a gift. There he reportedly touched her inappropriately, kissed her, and tried to “get under her clothes.”
That victim, it said, went to her pastor at the time Stephens. Police were not called.
Records said that the Nazarene District Superintendent at the time Terry Rowland was told. Still, he allegedly told the girl that a family member of hers would lose their minister’s license if it were pursued further, so it seemed like it wasn’t.
Another victim told police that when she was twelve years old Sulivant allegedly molested her and tried kissing her on the mouth saying, “I could go for a girl like you.” Police weren’t called after that, reportedly.
Another victim said she was fourteen years old and said when he molested her she was able to elbow him in the groin and get away.
Pastor Stephens was told and she said he told her she was a “bad kid” and that people wouldn’t believe her. She also said he allegedly told her that a family member could lose their job at the church.
Several other victims had interviewed with police with similar stories.
Documents stated that a different pastor at the time [at a youth camp], Drew Dinnel, had heard about two victims at least and told the superintendent at the time Rowland. However, Rowland allegedly tried telling Dinnel to not report it, and to leave it up to the girls’ families to report it.
Dinnel is said to be the lead pastor at Muskogee Church of the Nazarene. He didn’t call News 4 back when reached out for comment.
Sulivant was brought in by Shawnee Police for an interview where he confessed to much of it and said, “You know, I had forgotten all about this.”
When told that the girls didn’t forget, he said, “Well all I can say is I’m sorry about it. We all do a lot of stupid things and this was one of them.”
Even though he seemingly confessed when brought into the department in August, he wasn’t booked into jail until November 5.
News 4 confronted former Pastor Stephens, who said he had since retired as pastor of the church. [The church’s website still lists him as employed by the church.]
People are going to say that Sulivant should have been taken out of the church completely. What do you think?
“Well, I’m not going to excommunicate somebody,” said Stephens.
Why? Even if they’re molesting little girls?
“Well, I need to find out. That’s why I wanted her mother and dad to talk to him and they did. They assured me that they talked to him and things were okay. So, you know every part of it is redemptive. I was trying to redeem Charles,” said Stephens.
But you failed, right? Four or five girls possibly getting molested by this gentleman.
“Did he? Did they?” Asked Stephens. “I tried my best to watch him.”
What would you do if you could go back in time? Actually, call the police?
“What would I do, police, yeah,” said Stephens.
And not let him back into the church?
“No, no. Let him in church,” said Stephens.
Even after he molests girls?
“I’m thinking if I had to do it all over again then yeah. I would have probably called the police. But I was trying to redeem him,” said Stephens. “I was just at the moment trying to figure it all out. So that’s what I did. Maybe it was wrong.”
Maybe?
“I don’t doubt that it was wrong,” said Stephens.
Sulivant posted bond pretty soon after he was booked in Pottawatomie County Jail. News 4 confronted him at his home in Macomb where he denied an interview.
He is charged with three counts of Lewd Acts with a child under 16 and two counts of Sexual Battery.
Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen 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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