UPDATED::Police: Church camera caught man performing sex act on 3-year-old

UPDATE::  Megachurch Volunteer Sentenced to 75 Years for Abusing Young Boys at Church

A former volunteer at a South Carolina megachurch was sentenced to 75 years in prison Thursday following his conviction for molesting boys as young as 3 years old in a bathroom during a children's program.

Jacop Robert Lee Hazlett, 29, was found guilty of six charges related to four of the 15 children police have identified as victims of sexual abuse at NewSpring Church in Charleston, court testimony revealed.

Prosecutors showed surveillance video during the trial of Hazlett leading four preschool-age boys to the church's bathroom and abusing them there. At one point, Hazlett used his cellphone to record the children and one child tried to push him away, news outlets reported of the court proceedings.

UPDATE::  Man accused of molesting children in church bathroom faces additional charges

A former church volunteer allegedly caught on security video last year molesting preschoolers in a bathroom at a South Carolina megachurch faces new charges in a grand jury indictment handed down Aug. 1.

Jacop Hazlett, arrested last November for allegedly sexually abusing a 3-year-old boy at the Charleston campus of the multi-site NewSpring Church, faces 10 new charges of sexual exploitation of and criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

The charges relate to five newly identified alleged victims, raising the total number to 15. Hazlett now faces a total of 23 indictments.

UPDATE::  Lawsuit filed against NewSpring Church, former volunteer over child sexual abuse

According to the lawsuit, between 2011-2014, Hazlett volunteered at two churches in North Carolina and was asked to leave from both positions due to "concerns about his behavior around children."

"Upon information and belief, when Hazlett arrived at NewSpring, the church did not contact (either church) for a reference," the lawsuit states. "Had NewSpring contacted (the churches), NewSpring would have learned why Hazlett was reassigned and eventually asked to leave due to red flags regarding Hazleet's behavior with kids."

Hazlett is now charged with 14 counts of first and third degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

A volunteer at a church in North Charleston is facing charges after performing oral sex on a child, according to an affidavit.

That suspect also once attended and volunteered at a church in Mooresville, according to a spokesperson.

A judge denied bond Wednesday for Jacop Robert Lee Hazlett, 28, who is charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

Police: Church camera caught man performing sex act on 3-year-old

UPDATED::Wilson pastor arrested on child porn charge | The Wilson Times

UPDATE::  Former minister at CBF church confesses to sexting with teen

A former minister at a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship-affiliated church in North Carolina has pleaded guilty to enticing and coercing a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity.

Daniel Franklin Heath, who stepped down in May after 10 years on staff at First Baptist Church in Wilson, North Carolina, admitted to a federal court in Texas that he knew the unnamed minor was under 18 and living with her parents in Texas when he asked her to take photos and videos of herself engaging in sexually explicit conduct on her cellular phone and send the images to him.

Heath, 33, admitted his communications with the victim were romantic in nature, with both parties declaring themselves to be “in love.” Prosecutors said Heath required the girl to “submit” to him in matters including what to wear and to obtain his consent before touching her own body, but he did not agree with that part of a statement of stipulated facts.

Authorities allege a Wilson pastor enticed a 16-year-old girl to create child pornography for more than a year.

Wilson police charged 33-year-old Daniel Franklin Heath, an associate pastor at First Baptist Church in Wilson with first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.

Heath, who has been the church’s associate pastor for three years, was the youth pastor there for seven years prior to his current role.

The FBI contacted the Wilson Police Department in April regarding Heath, who was the subject of an ongoing investigation, according to Sgt. Steve Stroud.

Wilson pastor arrested on child porn charge | The Wilson Times

Rocky Point man pleads guilty to 50 sexual assault charges - News - Wilmington Star News - Wilmington, NC

Jason Lee Ramsey, 41, of Rocky Point, pleaded guilty Monday in New Hanover County Superior Court to 50 sexual assault charges. The victim was a minor at the time of the offenses.
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According to the release, Ramsey befriended the victim at church when the victim was 13. A year later he began raping her, and carried on a sexually explicit correspondence with her for the next three years.

When she turned 18, the victim ld her parents about the abuse, which took place in both New Hanover and Pender counties.

Rocky Point man pleads guilty to 50 sexual assault charges - News - Wilmington Star News - Wilmington, NC

More accusers come forward against pastor - News - Gaston Gazette - Gastonia, NC

A 14-year-old girl and her parents came to Gaston County Police late last week to say 24-year-old Nicholas Martin had sexually assaulted the child. Police arrested the North Belmont Church of God music and youth pastor on Saturday on four counts of indecent liberties with a child.

He was booked into Gaston County Jail under a $1 million bond.

Since those charges came to light, three more people have contacted police.


More accusers come forward against pastor - News - Gaston Gazette - Gastonia, NC

Roxboro minister sentenced to serve up to 40 years in child sex sting :: WRAL.com

 A Roxboro minister was sentenced Wednesday to serve up to 40 years in federal prison after he accepted a plea deal of making and possessing child pornography in a case where prosecutors said he carried on a sexual relationship with an underage boy that spanned several years.

Andre Thorpe, 36, was indicted in May 2018, and as part of the plea deal he was convicted on one count of possessing pornography and one count of manufacturing pornography.

He was also sentenced to lifetime probation.

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Thorpe has been identified as a suspect in other underage child sex cases, but this was the first one where he has been convicted.

Officials said Thorpe, who was affiliated with several churches in the Triangle, met his victims at church and during his involvement with the Boys and Girls Club of Durham.

Roxboro minister sentenced to serve up to 40 years in child sex sting :: WRAL.com

Chapel Hill pastor arrested with fake Cartier jewelry | Raleigh News & Observer

A Chapel Hill pastor is facing charges after being found with thousands of fake designer bracelets valued at $24.4 million — the state’s largest single seizure since 2004, according to the N.C. Secretary of State’s office.

JianGang “Frank” Lan, 34, was arrested and charged with felony criminal use of a counterfeit trademark Friday, according to a news release from the Secretary of State’s Office. The office enforces laws that protect the holders of state and federally registered trademarks.

Officers raided Deer Park Community Church at 108 W. Rosemary St. in Chapel Hill, where they say they found him with more than 3,200 counterfeit Cartier bracelets, the release says.

Chapel Hill pastor arrested with $24 million in fake Cartier jewelry, investigators say

Read more here: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/crime/article233462412.html?fbclid=IwAR1EgVfEDBBthdlI6_ryG2zbpLT6GymZJGQLcwoNCFt3DjdLmuxC7HxbcoQ#storylink=cpy

61-year-old Johnston County pastor charged with sex crimes | abc11.com

A local pastor, who is charged with sex crimes involving a 13-year-old girl, is off of the job at a church in Johnston County.

The Johnston County Sheriff's Office arrested 61-year-old Reverend Stephen Morris last Friday on 10 felony counts, including five counts of statutory rape and five counts of taking indecent liberties with a child.

According to court documents, Morris is accused of statutory rape with a 13-year-old between June 2013 and June 2014.

Morris is the reverend at Oliver's Grove Baptist Church on Highway 301 south of Four Oaks.
61-year-old Johnston County pastor charged with sex crimes | abc11.com

North Charleston pastor charged after allegations of sexual abuse of minor

 A North Charleston pastor is accused of sexually abusing a minor for years.

Karey Montrel Hewyard is accused of of performing lewd acts upon a minor inside a North Charleston home from 2012 through 2015, according to court records.

He is charged with criminal sexual conduct with a minor third degree, records state. Heyward is the lead pastor at Eternity Church in North Charleston, according to the church website.

Before that, he was a youth pastor at Kingdom City church in Summerville.

North Charleston pastor charged after allegations of sexual abuse of minor

Durham man faces 56 counts of sexual exploitation of minor | abc11.com

A Durham man faces 56 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor after officials found him in possession of child pornography.

During a joint investigation by the Durham County Sheriff's Office and U.S. Department of Homeland Security, officials found 40-year-old Phillip Stephen Stallings downloaded media that involved minors engaging in sexual activities.

He was arrested on Wednesday and charged with 28 counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and 28 counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.
Durham man faces 56 counts of sexual exploitation of minor | abc11.com

UPDATED::2 members of secretive Word of Faith sect charged in benefits scheme

UPDATE::  Member of secretive church pleads guilty in benefits scheme

A member of a secretive North Carolina church pleaded guilty Friday to taking part in an unemployment fraud scheme benefiting businesses with ties to the congregation.


Diane McKinny appeared before a federal judge and admitted to a count of making a fraudulent claim for unemployment benefits, according to court filings. The charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The online docket didn’t immediately list a date for sentencing.


McKinny was the fourth person to plead guilty as part of an investigation into the scheme involving multiple businesses linked to Word of Faith Fellowship in Spindale.


Her employer Kent Covington, who was also a Word of Faith minister, was sentenced last month to 34 months in prison on a charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Two others listed on a church website as ministers have been sentenced to probation after admitting fraud at a podiatry clinic.

UPDATE::  Minister at secretive N Carolina church sentenced for fraud

A minster at a secretive church in rural North Carolina has been sentenced to 34 months in prison, plus two years supervise release and ordered to pay more than $466,000 in restitution for his role in an unemployment fraud scheme involving businesses owned by church leaders.

Marion Kent Covington is a minister at the Word of Faith Fellowship in Spindale. He was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Asheville on one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

The development follows an investigation by The Associated Press that documented claims of fraud and abuse at the church.

UPDATE;;  Head of secretive North Carolina sect named in fraud scam

The leader of a secretive church in North Carolina has been named in federal court records as someone who “promoted” an unemployment fraud scheme involving businesses owned by members of her congregation.

Jane Whaley, leader of the Word of Faith Fellowship, was named in a document filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Asheville that describes a fraud conspiracy charge faced by one of her trusted advisers, Kent Covington.

In a 2017 investigation into claims of physical and emotional abuse at the church in Spindale, The Associated Press reported that authorities were looking into the unemployment claims of congregants and their businesses.

Whaley was named in a document that describes the fraud conspiracy charge faced by Covington, a church minister. His lawyer, Stephen Cash, said his client was expected to plead guilty in the case next week.

UPDATE::  2 members of secretive sect plead guilty to fraud charges

Dr. Jerry Gross, 72, and his son, Jason Lee Gross, 51, pleaded guilty to one count each of wire fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. They were charged earlier in May. Both men are pictured on the Word of Faith Fellowship's website under a section for pastors and ministers, though the church was not mentioned during the hearing.

Other than the men's spouses, no church members attended Friday's hearing in federal court in Asheville.

Jerry Gross owned the Foot & Ankle Center of the Carolinas in Forest City, North Carolina. His son worked there, managing business operations, including payroll and personnel decisions, according to court records.

As part of his plea deal, Jerry Gross agreed to cooperate with the government. The criminal investigation into Word of Faith is ongoing. Former church member John Huddle of Marion said Friday he was interviewed several months ago by state criminal investigators and U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents. He said he was asked not to discuss the topic of his interview.

Two members of a secretive evangelical church in North Carolina were charged Friday in an unemployment benefits scheme that former congregants have said was part of plan to keep money flowing into the church despite the struggling economy.

As part of an ongoing investigation into physical and emotional abuse at the Word of Faith Fellowship Church in Spindale, the Associated Press reported in September that authorities were looking into the unemployment dealings of congregants and their businesses.

Dr. Jerry Gross, 72, and his son, Jason Lee Gross, 51, were charged with wire fraud in U.S. District Court in Asheville. They were both charged in a criminal bill of information, which generally means defendants have agreed to waive indictment and plead guilty. They will appear in court May 25.

Jerry Gross owned the Foot & Ankle Center of the Carolinas in Forest City. His son worked there, according to court records.

2 members of secretive Word of Faith sect charged in benefits scheme

Greensboro church day school employee arrested in child pornography case; victims ages 2-3 | myfox8.com

A woman was charged Friday with indecent liberties in a child pornography investigation while she was working at a Greensboro church's day school, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

Alyson Brooke Saunders, 23, who worked at Fellowship Presbyterian Church's Fellowship Day School in Greensboro, was arrested Friday morning and charged with six counts of first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, two counts of sex offense on a child by an adult, four counts of indecent liberties with a child and two counts of crimes against nature.

She is being held under a $1 million bond.

Greensboro church day school employee arrested in child pornography case; victims ages 2-3 | myfox8.com

Pastor sent to prison for failing to pay taxes on lavish lifestyle. | Raleigh News & Observer

On Tuesday, Coontz was sentenced to five years in prison following his April conviction for tax fraud and evasion, shorthand for what federal prosecutors say were years of Coontz’ efforts to hide some $1.7 million of income and assets from the government.

According to court documents in the case, Coontz, while living in Charlotte, tucked away many of the more visible trappings of his opulent lifestyle — from expensive real estate and jewelry to a boat and a fleet of sports cars — under the misleading umbrella of business expenses.

Coontz also diverted tens of thousands of dollars in business reimbursements to his personal use, documents say.

His write-offs included more than $227,000 on clothes, another $140,000 on meals and entertainment expenses, including 400 separate charges at movie theaters. Rather than pay himself a salary, Coontz ignored his accountants’ advice and took his living expenses out of his business accounts, including Cootz’ Rockwealth Ministries.

Pastor sent to prison for failing to pay taxes on lavish lifestyle. | Raleigh News & Observer

Former youth pastor charged with child sex crime - WWAY TV

Leland Police say they have charged a former youth pastor with sex crimes involving a child nearly a decade after the alleged crimes.

Police say Merle Darnell Davis, 65, faces one count of statutory sex offense of a 13-, 14-, or 15-year-old and three counts of indecent liberties with a child.

In March 2017 Leland Police say they got a report of a sexual assault of a juvenile at the Parks at Village Oaks Apartments on Village Road. Police say the incidents are alleged to have happened between June and August 2009. They say at the time Davis was a youth pastor at Johnson Chapel AME Zion Church on Lincoln Road in Leland.

Former youth pastor charged with child sex crime - WWAY TV

NC pastor accused of multiple sex-related offenses, police report | wcnc.com

The Gaston County Police Department has arrested a local pastor accused of multiple sex-related offenses.

According to police, 61-year-old Jerry Lewis Friday was arrested at his home on North Myrtle School Road, Gastonia on multiple sex-related offenses.

Police report Friday is the pastor at New Providence Baptist Church in Mount Holly.

Friday is accused of several sex crimes involving underage girls at the church. Police say some of the crimes happened at the Mount Holly church. Friday made first court appearance by video screen on Thursday afternoon.

He is charged with one count of felony statutory sex offense, four counts of felony indecent liberties with a child, one count of felony disseminating obscene material to a minor, and two counts of misdemeanor sexual battery.

NC pastor accused of multiple sex-related offenses, police report | wcnc.com

UPDATED::Sunday school teacher accused of molesting girls at Johnston church :: WRAL.com

UPDATE::  Bond lowered for Sunday school teacher accused of molesting girls at Johnston church 

A judge on Thursday lowered the bond for a Johnston County man being held on charges that he molested members of a Benson church where he served as a Sunday school teacher.

The bail for Jonathan Young, 34, of Benson, was lowered from $1 million to $400,000. Young faces six charges of first-degree rape of a child, three charges of statutory rape, two charges of first-degree sexual offense and two charges of indecent liberties with a child.

UPDATE::  'It's definitely a cult,' says ex-Johnston church member where Sunday school teacher was arrested

"There's this culture of fear and you have to obey the ultimate leader and authority," said Cherith Roberson, 32, a former church member. "And it starts from the beginning."

Roberson's family joined when she was 7 years old.

"It was taught, it was preached about, that you break a child's spirit. And you do that by whatever means necessary," she said.

Her little sister, Beka Foust, was just 5 years old.

"I knew this was not normal," Foust said. "I didn't know what normal was."

The sisters said all the children attended school at church. They said they were told what to wear, what to believe, and were not allowed contact with anyone on the outside.

"You were ostracized from everybody else," Foust said.

And they said there were serious consequences for breaking rules. 

A Johnston County man was being held Tuesday under a $1 million bond in connection with charges that he molested members of a Benson church where he served as a Sunday school teacher.

Jonathan Young, 34, of Benson, was being held Tuesday at the Johnston County Jail, where he is facing several charges, including six charges of first-degree rape of a child, three charges of statutory rape, two charges of first-degree sexual offense and two charges of indecent liberties with a child, said Johnston County sheriff's Capt. Jeff Caldwell.
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Pastor Young** said he first heard about the allegations in 2014 from the sheriff's office, but no charges were filed at that time.

 "The investigation was dropped as far as I know," Durwood Young said. "That's the way I understand it."

Sunday school teacher accused of molesting girls at Johnston church :: WRAL.com

**Great uncle to the perp Jonathan Young.

UPDATED:: North Carolina Man Charged in Wife's Murder Told 911 He Took Too Much Cold Medicine - NBC News

UPDATE::  Bible student turned ‘cold-medicine killer’ pleads guilty in North Carolina court

A high-profile murder case involving a one-time Bible college student and prospective minister who claimed he killed his wife after taking too much cold medicine came to a close Oct. 5 with a guilty plea.

Matthew Phelps, 29, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the September 2017 death of 29-year-old Lauren Hugelmaier Phelps, his wife of less than a year.

Matthew Phelps, who once studied missions and evangelism at Kentucky Baptist Convention-affiliated Clear Creek Baptist Bible College, was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole in a plea bargain sparing him from the death penalty.

The case made national headlines when police released a 911 audio recording of Phelps saying he thought he killed his wife but could not remember because he had taken too much cold medicine. Lab results found drugs used in over-the-counter products in his system, but experts said the levels were too low to cause hallucinations or a blackout.

UPDATE:: Man accused of 'cough medicine' killing was fascinated with 'American Psycho,' police say

"It was learned that Matthew Phelps was obsessed with the movie 'American Psycho' and this Instagram account shows numerous photographs of scenes from the movie and Phelps dressed as the main character," the detective wrote. "The movie is about a serial killer, and Phelps expressed interest to a friend regarding what it would be like to kill someone."


Police asked permission to search "any video games, movies, pictures or electronic media that might contain evidence of fascination with felonious or homicidal activity," according to documents.

Friends told investigators that the couple "would argue frequently" and had been disagreeing about finances, according to police. Matthew Phelps "was spending more money than the couple made," a detective wrote, and Lauren Phelps "had recently taken drastic steps to limit her husband's spending."

Investigators also learned that Lauren Phelps was "preparing to end the relationship."

UPDATE::  Autopsy: Wife stabbed 123 times in Raleigh cold medicine murder

Autopsy results show a Raleigh woman who was allegedly killed by her husband - who claimed to be on cold medicine - was stabbed 123 times.

The autopsy report, which was released on Tuesday, shows that 29-year-old Lauren Ashley-Nicole Phelps died from multiple stab wounds to her face, neck, torso, arms, and jugular vein.

Officials said when they found the victim she was in the fetal position on her bedroom floor. She was taken to WakeMed where she later died.

Why I don't buy this  POS's defense, “I took, I took more medicine than I should have,,, because I know it can make you feel good, so a lot of times I can’t sleep at night so I took some.” He admits to abusing the cough syrup!

A North Carolina man was told he could face the death penalty on Tuesday for the murder of his wife after he told a 911 dispatcher he may have killed her after drinking too much cold medicine.

“I had a dream and then I turn on the lights and she’s dead on the floor,” suspect Matthew Phelps, 28, said during a nearly seven-minute 911 call early Friday morning.

“I have blood all over me and there's a bloody knife on the bed. And I think I did it,” he said in the call, which was released by the Raleigh Police Department.
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But some of the known side effects of Coricidin range from racing heart and drowsiness to a drunken feeling and hallucinations.

And, in a 2012 study, scientists concluded that high doses of a specific ingredient in the medicine have been found to cause mania and hallucinations and that potentially left people “at risk for violent and self-destructive acts.”

North Carolina Man Charged in Wife's Murder Told 911 He Took Too Much Cold Medicine - NBC News

UPDATED::She said she’d free them from addiction. She turned them into her personal servants | Reveal

UPDATE:: Labor Department officials told her to start paying workers. She ignored them, and they let her get away with it

For years, Jennifer Warren openly flouted federal labor law. She forced patients in her drug rehab program to work 80 hour weeks for free as caregivers in assisted living facilities across North Carolina.

Then in 2013, a reckoning came. The federal Department of Labor told Warren she was breaking the law and ordered her to pay her patients minimum wage and overtime for their work. Warren promised to comply in the future.

But that never happened, according to federal records obtained by Reveal. For at least five more years, Warren ignored labor laws and forced her patients to work for free to fund her lavish lifestyle. The records show no indication that the Department of Labor ever followed up.

The Department of Labor’s botched crackdown is yet another example of how Warren has managed to dodge accountability, despite years of abuse and numerous attempts by state and federal authorities to reel her in. Each time, the investigations largely went nowhere, and Warren escaped unscathed.

Jennifer Warren has spent years recruiting the poor and desperate to her drug rehabilitation program in the mountains outside Asheville, North Carolina.

She promised them counseling and recovery for free. When they arrived, she put them to work 16 hours a day for no pay at adult care homes for the elderly and disabled.

Thrust into the homes with little training or sleep, the rehab participants changed diapers, bathed patients and sometimes dispensed the same prescription drugs that sent them spiraling into addiction in the first place.

For some, the temptation proved too great. They snorted prescription pain pills, swallowed droplets of morphine from used medical syringes and peeled fentanyl pain patches off patients and sucked them to get high.

Then there were the allegations of assault. At least seven participants from Warren’s program, Recovery Connections Community, have been accused of sexual misconduct or assault of patients at the homes. Former participants and workers said no one reported the incidents to social services, as required by law. The accused continued working or were simply transferred to another care home.

“There’s a whole lot in the program that’s covered up,” said Charles Polk, who completed Warren’s program in 2017 for alcohol addiction. “The only thing she thinks about is the money.”

She said she’d free them from addiction. She turned them into her personal servants | Reveal

Pastor, principal charged with sex offenses against a minor in Rockingham County | myfox8.com

A pastor and academy principal in Rockingham County was arrested Wednesday on charges of sex offenses against a minor.

Kevin Scott Heffner, 48, of Pelham, was arrested on 12 counts of disseminating obscene materials to a minor and two counts of statutory sex offense.

Arrest warrants show that the obscene materials were “photographs of his genitalia.” The statutory sex offense allegedly took place between June 15 and Aug. 29. The victim was 15 or younger at the time of the offense, warrants show.

Pastor, principal charged with sex offenses against a minor in Rockingham County | myfox8.com

UPDATED::Durham rabbi forced to resign after sexual complaint | The Herald Sun

UPDATE::  Rabbi Accused Of Sexual Misconduct Is Suspended By Reform Rabbinical Association

The Reform movement’s rabbinical association has suspended a rabbi accused of sexual and emotional exploitation by a woman who regularly worshipped at his synagogue.

Rabbi Larry Bach, a well-known religious leader in Durham, North Carolina, was the subject of a several-months-long investigation by the Ethics Committee of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. The suspension comes after Bach was initially given a censure — a lower tier of reprimand — in March. Bach’s synagogue, Judea Reform Congregation, was not immediately informed about the censure at the time, and instead learned of it from the woman who first brought the allegations of sexual misconduct. Bach resigned from the synagogue in April.

In a letter dated Aug. 21 and shared with the Forward, the case manager for the CCAR’s Ethics Committee informed the woman of the committee’s decision.

A Durham rabbi was forced to resign recently after the community he served for nearly three years received a complaint that was sexual in nature, according to interviews and documents.

On Saturday, Steve Simon, president of the Judea Reform Congregation on Cornwallis Road, sent out an email saying the board had accepted Rabbi Larry Bach's resignation.

The resignation followed the temple leadership's learning that Bach had been censured for an ethics violation in March by the Central Conference of American Rabbis. It was the second time Bach had been in trouble.

“Our inquiries into this situation revealed that Rabbi Bach previously had received a reprimand from the CCAR for a similar transgression and that he had failed to follow the terms of that adjudication,” Simon wrote. “Together with the Rabbi, the Board concluded that the breach of trust was so significant that Rabbi Bach could not serve as a rabbi to our community.”

Read more here: http://www.heraldsun.com/news/local/counties/durham-county/article210151609.html#storylink=cpy

Durham rabbi forced to resign after sexual complaint | The Herald Sun

ADDENDUM::Church says candidate trespassed, but he says he was invited

A leader of a secretive evangelical congregation has persuaded a magistrate to issue trespassing charges against a North Carolina state Senate candidate who brought supporters and a TV crew along to a scheduled meeting at the church.

Democratic candidate David Wheeler says he was invited by Jane Whaley, the leader of the Word of Faith Fellowship, to visit the church in Spindale, North Carolina. The church has been accused of beating congregants to expel demons. Wheeler told The Associated Press that Whaley and other members invited him so he could see for himself that it is an open and loving church.

But when Wheeler arrived Tuesday with a former congregant, a church critic and reporters, he was told to leave. The next day, Wheeler and two people who accompanied him — a man who ran for county sheriff and a former church member — were charged with trespassing, based on another church leader’s complaint.

Church says candidate trespassed, but he says he was invited