Quote:Florida cops bust 22 suspected child predators in massive internet sting, including pastor and 46-year-old man who had meth and smoking pipe in his possession

Quote:"As a church, we take any allegation of clergy misconduct very seriously," the Alabama-West Florida Conference said in a statement obtained by the newspaper. "The United Methodist Church requires clergy to live by the highest ethical and moral standards. Conduct that violates these standards is a very serious matter and is not tolerated."

Quote:Georgia pastor arrested for raping 10-year-old girl at homeless shelter he founded

Quote:Danny Wells, — who also calls himself Pastor 7 — was arrested by Cobb County police on Thursday and charged with rape and aggravated child molestation.
Wells founded 7 Bridges to Recovery ministry and runs The Garden, a homeless shelter he founded in Smyrna.
According to the website for his church, Wells created his ministry after being released from prison saying, “While in solitary, God came to 7 and whispered in his ear that He would never leave him or forsake him.”

Quote:A 31-year-old church usher currently accused of raping a 7-year-old boy in 2009 was also investigated for a similar attack just a year earlier, WBHQ-TV reported.
“It’s just hurtful to know that I couldn’t get justice for my son, and he has to live with this situation,” said the mother of the second alleged victim, who said her son was 2 years old when Mark Richard assaulted him in a Memphis apartment complex in 2008.
The woman said she reported the attack to police, but no charges were filed against Richard.
Richard, an usher at Messiah Missionary Baptist Church, was arrested on Sunday and charged with rape of a child for molesting a 7-year-old boy during a service in 2009. Part of Richard’s duties at the church including taking young boys to the restroom during services.

Quote:Court documents show church leaders, parents did not report sexual assault of child

Quote:The affidavit shows the head pastor, Darrell Ferguson, and the girl’s adoptive parents agreed not to report the sexual assault to police or social services because they were concerned with what would happen to Wyatt.
Another congregation member reported it to police because it appeared there was no concern about the impact of the crime on the child.
That whistleblower said despite admitting the sexual relationship, Ferguson allowed Wyatt to continue going to church and crossing paths with the girl.
Police also contacted the girl’s adoptive parents whose reactions were unexpected.
According to the court documents, the father told police he wouldn’t let their daughter talk to them and “felt biblical counseling they would receive through the church was sufficient."

Quote:Self-styled Minnesota pastor pleads guilty to sex crimes

Quote:Pennsylvania youth pastor demands divorce after raping and impregnating 15-year-old girl

Quote:A Pennsylvania youth pastor demanded a divorce after his wife confronted him about raping and impregnating a teenage girl he met through church.
Wesley Ryan Blackburn, who served until last week as youth pastor at Faith Brethren Bible Church in New Paris, was charged with 84 felony counts of statutory sexual assault, 84 misdemeanor counts of indecent assault and one felony count of corruption of minors, reported The Tribune-Democrat.
The 35-year-old Blackburn, a father of five, revealed his relationship with the girl Oct. 5 and told his wife he no longer loved her and wanted a divorce.
Blackburn’s wife told church pastor James Espenshade the following morning that her husband had engaged in sexual activity with a 15-year-old member of his youth group and gotten the teen pregnant.