Pastor arrested in Petersburg teen sex case

PETERSBURG, Va. -
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The pastor of one of the oldest black churches in the South was arrested late Tuesday night on charges of using a communication device to facilitate sex with a minor, Petersburg police said today.

Curtis Glendell Mathews, 50, pastor of Springfield Baptist Church in Dinwiddie County, was arrested about 11:45 p.m. at his home in the 7700 block of Rolling Hill Road in Hopewell, police spokeswoman Esther Hyatt said in a release.

He was charged with two counts of using a communication device to facilitate sex with a minor. A guardian of the unidentified teen notified police and authorities initiated an investigation, Hyatt said.

Details of the allegations were not released.

Mathews is being held without bond at Riverside Regional Jail.

According to the church’s website, Springfield Baptist Church was organized in 1867 and is considered one of the oldest black churches in the South.

Former Lake George Pastor Charged with 15 Sex Abuse Crimes

PARK RAPIDS, Minn. (KSAX) - A former Lake George pastor is in custody, charged with having sex with a 15-year-old girl.


Seventy-year-old Darwin Schauer of Laporte was arrested this week on 15 charges of criminal sexual conduct after allegedly having sex with a girl since 2009, when she was 15 years old.

According to the criminal complaint, the victim felt threatened by Schauer to have sex with him, and she said that it happened twice a week.

During the investigation, authorities said Schauer admitted to the crimes, but later gave a statement saying he had a position of authority over the girl, and didn't begin having sex with her until around her 18th birthday in 2011. Schauer did tell police he had kissed and touched the victim while she was a minor.

Authorities have not said where the assaults happened in Hubbard County, or what Schauer's relationship with the victim is.

Schauer is in custody in Park Rapids with conditional bail set at $750,000.

He's charged with six counts of 1st Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct, two counts in the 2nd Degree, and seven counts in the 3rd Degree.

He faces up to 30 years in prison and a $40,000 fine. His next court date is set for Mar. 19.

Schauer was reportedly a pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lake George from 1998 to 2006.

Youth pastor in Cary facing child porn charges

CARY, N.C. -- Cary police arrested a youth pastor Wednesday after they said he had child pornography on his computer.

Jerrod Don McCabe, 35, was charged with 20 counts of third degree sexual exploitation of a minor.

He refused to comment when asked about the charges by NBC-17's Jackie Faye on Thursday.

The arrest warrants state McCabe was in possession of images that featured girls as young as 3.

McCabe had been a youth pastor at Raleigh Chinese Christian Church, which is located in Cary. A woman in the church office says McCabe is no longer the youth pastor, but no one at the church would comment on camera.

McCabe's attorney, Patrick Roberts, said, "He comes from a family of faith and he is very troubled by the situation that he finds himself in, as does his family."

He posted a $50,000 bond and was released.

"It scares me," said neighbor Michelle Maines, "because I have a 13-year-old and a 10-year-old."

During the investigation, McCabe is not allowed around anyone under 16 without supervision, police say their cybercrimes unit is handling it.

Wheaton professor, church leader charged with child porn

A Wheaton College professor and local church leader whose academic research has focused on children was arrested Thursday after a months-long child pornography investigation, authorities said.

Donald Ratcliff, 60, of 1N54 Falcon Trail, Carol Stream, was charged with two counts of aggravated child pornography.

Ratcliff is a professor of Christian education at Wheaton College, where he has been a faculty member since 2006. He also is a “lay leader” at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Wheaton.

Carol Stream Police Cmdr. Ken George said detectives opened an undercover investigation two or three months ago after they observed Ratcliff’s computer trading child pornography online. The probe culminated Wednesday morning, when police executed a search warrant at Ratcliff’s home and seized computers, discs and hard drives.

George said police found several items of child pornography on the equipment, which included “computers that didn’t belong to him.”

“We’re still going through all of it,” George said, declining to elaborate.

A spokeswoman for Wheaton College had no immediate comment on the allegations Thursday but said Ratcliff is in the process of being placed on administrative leave. Rev. Kurt Gamlin of Aldersgate also declined to comment, but asked that church members pray.

DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement, “The allegations against Mr. Ratcliff are very disheartening. Child pornography is not a victimless crime. The sad truth is that thousands of images depicting child pornography are distributed over the Internet each day. Each one of these photos is a victim of child pornography.”

Ratcliff, who could not be reached for comment Thursday, has a doctorate of educational psychology and has been widely published, according to the Wheaton College website.

“Most of my research has involved children either in school or church contexts. I am particularly interested in family nurture of children’s spiritual experiences and development,” his biography states.

Ratcliff, who is married with three children, became a pastor at age 19, according to his biography, and also has served as a missionary teacher in the West Indies and as Christian education director at an American Baptist church in Ohio. In addition, he taught psychology and sociology at Toccoa Falls College in Georgia for 19 years, and is a videographer and ham radio enthusiast, his biography states.

On his personal website, Ratcliff writes on the subject of children and spirituality: “I appreciate children in all of their richness and complexity. They can be baffling, frustrating, delightful, and overwhelming. While I have studied child development in depth ... I am particularly interested in the spirituality of children.”

Ratcliff is scheduled to appear in bond court Friday. If convicted of aggravated child pornography, he could face up to seven years in prison.

Pastor Charged With Raping Minor

(Cross County, Arkansas)  Sheriff's deputies arrested James Davis, pastor of Morning Star Baptist Church, on four counts of rape. Deputies say the incidents involve a minor.

"He's suppossed to be a man of god, what kind of man are you?", said Yolanda Agnew, relative of the victim.

 Other family members tell us the girl was raped in the back seat of the pastor's truck in a wooded area near Wynne. They say the girl is now pregnant.

"I know there's a lot of stuff she's holding inside, she's going to need a counselor." said Agnew.

 Davis is the pastor at Morning Star Baptist Church in Cotton Plant, Arkansas, and regularly appears on a Forrest City based radio program sunday morning.


Davis' step-sister says she has a hard time believing the allegations. "He's a good step brother, pastor, I wouldn't expect anything like this.", said Whitney Jackson.

Davis will appear in court March 8th.

Former North Georgia youth pastor charged with child molestation

A former North Georgia youth pastor was arrested this week in Walker County after he was accused of fondling a 15-year-old girl in 2009.

Ronald Howard, 38, was charged with child molestation on Monday and was released from jail after posting bond, authorities said.

Howard, who used to be a youth pastor in Trion, Ga., was involved with a LaFayette High School student from 2009 to 2011, a police report shows.

He went to church with the girl in LaFayette and they volunteered at some of the same organizations together, but Howard wasn’t employed at any LaFayette church, Sheriff Steve Wilson said.

The investigation began after the girl complained to her school principal that she had been touched inappropriately on several occasions, according to a police report.

But most of the incidents occurred after the girl turned 16, which is the age of consent in Georgia, Wilson said.
Howard has been charged for an incident in which he reportedly drove the girl to a church cemetery when she was still 15 and fondled her, Wilson said.

Former pastor arrested on sex assault charges

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - A well known former Kalamazoo pastor has been arrested and charged with sexually assaulting children.

Milton Wells appeared in court in Kalamazoo County on Tuesday. The 62-year-old former pastor is charged with two counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct and eight counts of second degree CSC.

What we know from court records is that there are two victims involved. According to family of the alleged victims, both girls were under twelve years old at the time.

The charges come from incidents that happened between January and July of 2010. Wells has been ordered to stay away from anyone under 18 and his bond was set at $10,000.

It was in July we first told you Wells was under investigation by the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office.

He is well known for his service to the community. Along with being Pastor at Open Door Ministries, he has been the President of the Commission on Homeless and the Director of the Michigan Prisoner Reentry Initiative in Kalamazoo.

Last year when the investigation started he resigned or took a leave of absence from all of those positions.

Former church volunteer charged with sexual assault

A former Calgary church volunteer has been arrested and charged with molesting teenage boys in incidents dating back as far as 1981.

Police laid charges against 58 year old Russell Rodman on Tuesday and his son said the charges are only the latest step in a difficult process.

"He came to me actually and told me this was what was going on and he needed help," said Greg Rodman.
Rodman's family and church then urged him to turn himself in to police.

In 1981, Rodman was a volunteer leader at at least one Calgary Baptist church.

Police say that's when Rodman first started molesting boys – they say three boys were involved, aged 11 to 14 years old.

The boys were assaults at various times over the next 14 year at Rodman's home.

Police say the victims are showing a lot of courage in speaking out. "It's been a difficult road for the victims," says Det. Stephen Johnson.

Johnson adds that it might take some time for other victims to come forward.

Rodman is a current member of the Bridgeland Baptist Fellowship church and the current pastor says the church alerted members when the allegations came out.

Rodman was quickly removed from any kind of leadership roles as soon as they came to light, says Pastor Joel Gordon.

Russell Rodman is charged with two counts of sexual assault and one count each of gross indecency, indecent exposure to a person under 14 and sexual contact with a youth by a person in authority.

He is expected to appear in court on February 10.