Tag Archives: molestation

The Roys Report reports: Daniel Savala, who’s accused of sexually abusing multiple men in the Assemblies of God’s Chi Alpha Campus Ministries, has been arrested in Houston on sex abuse charges involving minors. On Friday morning, Savala, 67, was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Lone Star Fugitive Task Force at his residence in downtown Houston and booked at the Fort …

Reuters reports: An investigation by the Spanish Catholic Church into child sexual abuse by members of the clergy and non-clerical staff has so far identified 728 alleged abusers and 927 victims since the 1940s, according to its first report. “We acknowledge the harm caused,” said Jose Gabriel Vera [photo], the spokesman for the Spanish Bishops’ Conference. “We want to help …

The CBC reports: A Roman Catholic priest has been arrested in connection with the sexual assault of an eight-year-old girl in Little Grand Rapids First Nation, Manitoba RCMP say. Arul Savari, 48, is charged with sexual assault, sexual interference, sexual exploitation of a young person, luring a child and forcible confinement. He remains in custody, Supt. Scott McMurchy, Manitoba acting …

The New York Times reports: More than 450 credibly accused child sex abusers have ministered in the Catholic Church in Illinois over almost seven decades, the office of the state’s attorney general, Kwame Raoul, said Tuesday in an investigative report. That is more than four times the number that the church had publicly disclosed before 2018, when the state began …

France 24 reports: Old sins cast long shadows. After centuries of secrecy, the French Bishop’s Conference (CEF) has decided it will be more transparent by equipping priests, bishops and deacons with digital, scannable identification cards. No bigger than a bankcard, the IDs will certify whether or not its holder is fit to perform a sermon or has the right to …

Click2Houston reports: A former employee of a Magnolia church is now the center of an investigation after he reportedly turned himself in and confessed to ‘inappropriate behavior with adolescents’ during his time at the ministry. Court documents state that Michael Anthony Romero was charged with indecency of a child involving sexual contact.  He also said that he had previously touched …

The Mansfield News Journal reports: Guilty on all five counts was the verdict Friday in the federal sex-trafficking trial of the Rev. Michael Jude Zacharias, a Roman Catholic priest who has led parishes in Mansfield and Fremont. The jury’s decision was announced a little before 5 p.m. Friday. Zacharias, 56, was found guilty of all five counts of sex trafficking, …

San Francisco’s ABC affiliate reports: The Diocese of Oakland has announced it is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in light of over 330 lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse. In a press release, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Oakland says that the lawsuits have come after a new California statute allows claims that have expired to be filed. RCBO says that …

The Baltimore Sun reports: A Catholic priest resigned from his position on the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center’s board of directors after The Baltimore Sun revealed his role in helping to cover-up child sexual abuse within the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Monsignor Richard Woy, a longtime board member at the Towson hospital, delivered his resignation letter Saturday to Board …

The Sarasota Herald Tribune reports: A Sarasota pastor was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday after he was arrested in July 2019 when the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office received a report that he’d sexually abused a 6-year-old child, according to a news release in the case. Twelfth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Ed Brodsky announced Bicente Velasquez Morales, 47, was convicted …

Via press release from the Archbishop of Baltimore: Today’s report from the Maryland Attorney General is first and foremost a sad and painful reminder of the tremendous harm caused to innocent children and young people by some ministers of the Church. The detailed accounts of abuse are shocking and soul searing. It is difficult for most to imagine that such …

Abilene’s CBS affiliate reports: An Abilene Christian University professor has been accused of sexually abusing his adoptive children, including at least one incident that happened on campus. Charles Wadlington was arrested on a warrant for Sexual Abuse of Child and now remains held in jail on a $75,000 bond. Court documents state that in March 2023, a child came forward …

Penn Live reports: “God is still good. God is strong.” Those were the words the former youth pastor called out to her family on Wednesday as she was escorted from the Perry County courtroom after being sentenced to six to 12 years in state prison for sexual assault. Meanwhile, a 26-year-old woman whom prosecutors say Lindsey Melnick molested 11 years …

San Francisco’s CBS affiliate reports: The Diocese of Santa Rosa filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy on Monday in the face of potentially hundreds of sexual abuse lawsuits. Bishop Robert Vasa had announced the filing was imminent in a media release. “This decision was made necessary due to the number of child sexual abuse lawsuits filed against the Diocese over the …

Jacksonville’s CBS affiliate reports: A former Jacksonville minister was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday. In March of 2020 Michael Linkenauger was arrested and charged for sexual battery and lewd or lascivious acts. A judge heard from the now 17-year-old victim who asked the judge to hand down the maximum penalty. “My world has been turned upside down by …

Johnson City’s ABC affiliate reports: A former pastor from Southwest Virginia was sentenced to four life sentences after he pleaded guilty to multiple child sex crimes. A release from the office of Washington County Commonwealth’s Attorney Josh Cumbow states that Terry Frank Compton was sentenced in Washington County Circuit Court. Compton was sentenced to 240 years in addition to the …

Religion News Service reports: Mark Rivera, a former lay pastor in a conservative Anglican denomination who was convicted in December of felony child sexual abuse and assault, was sentenced on Monday afternoon (March 6) to 15 years in the department of corrections. Judge John Barsanti of Illinois’ 16th Judicial Circuit Court in Kane County granted Rivera the minimum sentences for …

The Tri-State News reports: A former youth pastor at Washington Avenue Church of Christ in Evansville has been sentenced after he was arrested on sexual assault charges. A federal judge handed down a sentence of 45 years in prison plus 10 years supervised release. Officials say Joshua Henley, formerly of Benton County, Tennessee, and Evansville, Indiana, pled guilty in federal …

Salt Lake City’s Fox affiliate reports: A former church bishop and mayor of West Bountiful was sentenced to prison Thursday on child sex abuse charges following incidents that dated back to the 80s. Carl Johnson was given a sentence of 9 years to life for one felony, and another sentence of 1-to-15 years for a second. The sentences handed down …

Columbus’ ABC affiliate reports: A former Chalkville pastor was released from one jail and taken to another on charges of having sex with a child. Kenneth Daniel, 64, of Alabaster was the pastor of First Baptist Church of Chalkville in Jefferson County. He was arrested and indicted in October in Blount County on charges of facilitating solicitation of unlawful sexual …