Solicitation

OHIO: Pastor Arrested for Soliciting a Prostitute

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 08:44:00 +0100

DAYTON -- A local pastor is facing charges of soliciting a prostitute. Dayton detectives arrested 43-year-old Leo Akpan after an undercover sting operation.

According to the police report, Akpan looked up an ad on Backpage.com.

He then drove to a gas station on the corner of Woodman and Burkhardt to meet up with who he thought was a prostitute, but was really an undercover officer.

According to a police report, Akpan claimed to be a pastor, and was only trying to convert the so-called prostit...

NORTH CAROLINA: Former Baptist Pastor Arrested After Trying To Solicit Sex From Undercover Officer

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 08:52:00 +0100

GASTONIA, N.C. (AP) — A former Kings Mountain pastor has been arrested for a second time on charges that he tried to solicit sex from an undercover police officer.

Sixty-year-old Clinton Alexander Feemster of Gastonia was arrested after Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police say he asked an undercover male officer for sex Oct. 26 at the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport overlook.

Police say they were conducting a sting operation at the overlook. Police say another officer in the sting...

TENNESSEE: Baptist Pastor Arrested in Sex Sting

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 11:07:00 +0100

A Paris, Tenn., minister has been arrested in a prostitution sting. Graves County Sheriff Dewayne Redmon says 33-year-old Brian Ross Wimberly was among eight men arrested in a sting operation, and charged with soliciting prostitution. Wimberly is Minister of Students and Family Discipleship at First Baptist Church in Paris. Church senior pastor Dr. Trent Bullock says Wimberly has been placed on leave as church officials gather more information about the arrest.

"We are praying for Brian and ...

MINNESOTA: Presbyterian pastor pleads guilty in St. Paul prostitution case, gets year of probation

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 10:59:38 +0100

A former longtime pastor of a Red Wing church pleaded guilty Thursday, Oct. 11, to engaging in prostitution after he was caught by an undercover police operation in St. Paul.

Gary Lee Elg, 60, currently of Inver Grove Heights, admitted in Ramsey County District Court that at about 10:30 a.m. on July 24 he called an undercover police officer in response to a decoy ad for sexual services placed in a newspaper.

Identifying himself as "Jerry," Elg arranged to meet at a hotel in St. Paul. When h...

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Pastor arrested after being caught with a prostitute

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 00:00:00 +0100

A Christian pastor in New Hampshire has been arrested after being caught with a prostitute.

Robert Oliver, a pastor who opened a new Christian church, the Plymouth Brethren Assembly, in New Hampshire just two weeks ago, was arrested after undercover police caught a prostitute entering the his car. According to the Union Leader, the police report states that the officers followed the car to a parking lot, where the prostitute entered in the back seat of the vehicle. The police then arre...

MINNESOTA: Presbyterian pastor resigns after prostitution charge

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 09:48:00 +0100

RED WING, Minn. -- First Presbyterian Church of Red Wing leadership has called a special meeting Sunday following the resignation of Pastor Gary Elg.

Elg’s resignation was effective Thursday evening, after he told church officials that he had been arrested on prostitution allegations.

“I have failed you as a pastor and a friend,” Elg was quoted as saying in a letter sent out to church members Friday. “I have crossed some serious ethical and moral boundaries.”

Elg was cited...

SOUTH CAROLINA: Methodist Pastor Arrested During Prostitution Sting

Tue, 05 Jun 2012 12:18:00 +0100

GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. -- A prostitution ring nets an upstate pastor and 48-other men in the upstate.

Deputies say they arrested Pastor Michael Wolfe of Advent United Methodist Church when he tried to solicit a prostitute.

The prostitute was an undercover deputy.

The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office says these under cover stings happen several times a year.

Greenville Deputes say they target areas where they get complaints from the community.

Over the weekend Greenville County dep...

NEW JERSEY: Methodist pastor resigns after prostitution arrest

Tue, 08 May 2012 06:02:00 +0100

The pastor of an Upper Township Methodist church announced his resignation this week over charges he loitered in his hometown of Millville to engage a prostitute.

The Rev. Randy Harry’s resignation Sunday came just days after parents at the church’s preschool demanded he step down.

Harry, 51, sent a letter of resignation to the Rev. Paul Maliel, the district superintendent of the United Methodist Church.

“The reasons for his resignation were his well-being and health,” Maliel s...

NEW JERSEY: Marmora pastor accused of trying to hire prostitute in November

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 08:27:00 +0100

MARMORA – The senior pastor at Trinity United Methodist Church in Marmora was accused of trying to hire a prostitute in Millville this past November.

Rev. Randy E. Harry, 51, who came to Trinity as its senior pastor in October, was arrested by Millville police on Friday, Nov. 11 and charged with loitering to engage in prostitution. The News of Cumberland County reported the arrest in its police blotter in its Nov. 14 edition.

In multiple interviews with The Gazette, members of the church, and...

TENNESSEE: Pastor arrested for soliciting minor

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 20:02:00 +0100

Union City, TN - (WMC-TV) - A Mid-South pastor is awaiting extradition back to Virginia after he was arrested inside his church in Union City, TN.

"I'm pretty shocked especially with him being a pastor," said Cedric Scates, who lives with his family behind the First Church of God in Union City.

Union City police and the TBI arrested Grady Evans after searching the church. The search came after investigators in Virginia issued a warrant for Evans', charging him with using a communications ...

VIRGINIA: Prostitution bust nabs minister with child

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 06:53:00 +0100

RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) – A minister was busted in a local prostitution sting with his two-year-old child with him during the solicitation, according to police.

30-year-old Robert Franco Jr. was one of 34 people arrested by Richmond Police over the six-day operation. The woman Franco thought was a prostitute turned out to be an undercover officer.

"It was a different type of case, I mean, a different scenario than they're used to," explained Richmond Police Major Michael Shamus. "You don't see p...

PENNSYLVANIA: Philly priest charged with soliciting a prostitute

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0100

PHILADELPHIA - March 2, 2012 (WPVI) -- A Roman Catholic priest has been arrested as part of a prostitution sting in Philadelphia.

Police said the Rev. Patrick McCormick approached a police officer posing as a prostitute during a vice unit undercover operation Thursday night and offered her money to perform a sex act.

Investigators said he was arrested on the spot and charged with patronizing a prostitute. He was ordered to perform 18 hours of community service and pay $200 in fines.

The ...

FLORIDA: Baptist pastor among eight men arrested in undercover operation at park

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0100

Pasco County Sheriff's Office vice detectives arrested eight men during an undercover operation Friday at a park after receiving complaints of lewd activity.

During the operation, male undercover detectives made contact with various men in the park. According to a report, six men asked the detectives to perform sex acts with them, while two men were trespassing, having been banned from the park for previous arrests for lewd acts.

Arrested were:

Mark A. Skinner, 55, 822 Woodmont L...

FLORIDA: Bartow Pastor Arrested In Sex Sting

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:30:00 +0100

A Bartow pastor was among four men arrested Wednesday in a sex sting at Peace River Park.

The men solicited sex from undercover male detectives, and in some cases, exposed themselves in the park on State Road 640 near Bartow, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

The suspects included Matthew Preston Clark, 33, of 1230 S. McAdoo Ave. in Bartow. Deputies said he told them he is married and serves as senior pastor of Blessed Assurance Temple in Bartow.

http://www.theledger.com/art...

NEW YORK: Ex-wife of Rabbi Avraham Rabinowich arrested

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0100

Amora Rachelle, ex-wife of Avraham Rabinowich, was arrested Tuesday by DA investigators

The ex-wife of a Bellmore rabbi, who had secretly videotaped her ex-husband meeting with prostitutes on the Sabbath, was arrested Tuesday after she allegedly posed as a psychiatrist and billed an insurance company despite not having a medical license.

Amora Rachelle, 35, formerly of Atlantic Beach, was arrested Tuesday in Westbury by DA investigators and charged with grand larceny in the third degree, fals...

IOWA: Pastor among nine men charged in prostitution sting

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 18:20:00 +0100

CEDAR RAPIDS – A senior pastor at a Cedar Rapids church was one of nine men arrested Friday in a prostitution sting.

The Rev. Jonathan L. Offt, 41, of Cedar Rapids, the senior pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, was the first person arrested in the operation conducted by the Marion Police Department and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, police said. All of the men responded to an advertisement on a website and arranged to meet an undercover female officer who was posing a...

OHIO: Prominent Local pastor charged with soliciting prostitute

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 18:26:00 +0100

LIMA — A prominent local pastor arrested in a prostitution sting this week said Wednesday he is innocent and waiting his day in court.

Pastor Ronald Fails of Grace Church Worldwide Ministries said he will defend himself in court not through the media.

“I'm innocent until proven guilty,” he said.

Fails was one of five people arrested late Tuesday and early Wednesday in connection with a prostitution sting targeting an area of complaints between South Main and South Elizabeth streets and Wes...

SOUTH CAROLINA: Baptist Pastor Charged With Solicitation of Prostitution

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 19:55:00 +0100

Baptist pastor, Carl Smith, Charged With Solicitation of Prostitution

GREER, S.C. -- An Upstate pastor was arrested and charged with solicitation of prostitution, Greer police said.

Carl Smith is pastor of River Road Baptist Church. He was arrested last week in Greer during a prostitution sting.

Greer police Lt. Jim Holcombe said, “We were working that day and he approached one of our females on the street and did enough to where he was arrested. Again, he was not convicted, but arrested ...

ARKANSAS: Bentonville Pastor Arrested During Prostitution Sting Resigns

Sat, 11 Dec 2010 00:38:00 +0100

A Bentonville pastor has resigned after he was arrested during an undercover prostitution sting. Robert Burnham was the pastor of Faith Lutheran Church.

The church released the following statement Friday: “We are saddened to hear of the charges brought against Robert Burnham. Clearly, we do not condone this type of action. He has offered his resignation, and it has been accepted. We will be praying for all parties affected.”

Burnham, 36, was arrested for Solicitation and Loitering. Six ...

FLORIDA: Police: Pastor Arrested For Hiring Prostitute

Sat, 30 Oct 2010 02:59:00 +0100

KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- A pastor was arrested in Kissimmee for hiring what he thought was a prostitute, Osceola County officers said.

Investigators say the pastor traveled a long way to break the law. Samuel Conley's church is in Haines City, where he also volunteers for the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

As Conley sat in the Osceola County jail, he didn't want to answer any questions about how he ended up there.

"Do you have anything you want to say for yourself Sam?" WFTV reporter Nancy Alvarez aske...

LOUISIANA: Pastor Lawrence Brown Arrested for Soliciting Sex From Minor

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:06:00 +0100

Police arrested an associate minister at a St. Tammany Parish church Wednesday for trying to pay an underage girl for sex, authorities said Friday.

Lawrence Brown allegedly offered a 15-year-old girl $100 to perform a sexual act, Slidell Police Capt. Kevin Swann said. The girl declined, Swann said.

Brown is an associate minister of Starlight Missionary Baptist Church at 2100 Second St., Slidell.

The Rev. Shovie Ducre, the church's pastor, said he had not been aware of the charges against Brown u...

ARKANSAS: Church Leaders React To Pastor's Arrest

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 23:40:00 +0100

ROGERS, Ark. -- Thirty-seven-year-old Joshua Wisdom was arrested by the Bentonville Police Department after officers said he attempted to exchange money for sex during a sting operation at a local hotel.

Wisdom, 37, was the minister of students at the First Baptist Church of Springdale and the Church at Pinnacle Hills in Rogers.

Church officials said they were shocked to hear of Wisdom's arrest.

Andy Wilson, executive leader of ministry and operations said, “Whenever something like this happen...

Priests Who Hired Me for Sex

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 01:08:00 +0100

A pastor is accused of stealing $1 million from his church to hire male escorts. Mike Jones, the escort who outed Ted Haggard, on what really happens when priests visit gay prostitutes.

As a former gay male escort and the man who exposed the hypocrisy of Pastor Ted Haggard, I’m probably less stunned than most about the sensational case of the allegedly corrupt priest, Father Kevin J. Gray.

Last week, Father Gray was brought up on charges that he embezzled $1.3 million from the Sacred Heart Ch...

FLORIDA: Brevard youth pastor charged in solicitation of teen boy by 'sexting'

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 11:46:00 +0100

A Cocoa youth pastor who was a registered sex offender in another state has been arrested on charges of soliciting sex from a teen boy, WFTV.com is reporting.

Jermel Manns, 36, who has been working at Celebration Tabernacle Church, reportedly sent sexually explicit messages to a 16-year-old boy. Manns had been convicted as a sex offender in Illinois, but does not appear to have registered as a sex offender in Florida.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/crime/os-youth-pastor-arrest-sext...

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Priest pleads no contest to prostitution sex charge

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0100

NASHUA – A Catholic priest arrested for trying to pay for sex pleaded no contest in court on Thursday and agreed to pay a $500 fine.

The Rev. William Ventura, 31, of 115 Middlesex St., Chelmsford, Mass., was one of eight men arrested by Nashua Police in April and charged with soliciting an adult for sex via Craigslist.

Ventura is a parochial vicar at St. John the Evangelist Church in Chelmsford, according to a statement from the Archdiocese of Boston. He took a leave of absence from the c...

MASSACHUSETTS: Chelmsford priest arrested in Craigslist sex sting

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 01:12:00 +0100

CHELMSFORD, Mass. - A local priest was caught in a sex sting at a hotel in New Hampshire after police say he responded to a posting on Craigslist.

William Ventura of St. John's Parish in Chelmsford was one of eight suspects caught in a prostitution sting in Nashua, N.H.

Nashua Police say Ventura was arrested at a New Hampshire hotel after responding to a Craigslist ad with plans to pay a woman for sex.

Parishioner Dave Sleeper said Ventura seemed like a “good guy.”

“He seemed like he was go...

ALABAMA: Pastor Arrested In Prostitution Sting

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 21:07:00 +0100

MOBILE, Alabama - A pastor is one of the 22 people arrested during a five day prostitution sting in West Mobile.

Mobile police arrested 49 year old William Curtin Tuesday afternoon and charged him with patronizing a prostitute.

Curtin is the pastor of two churches, St. John UMC in West Mobile and The Grace Place UMC in Semmes.

Last August, Mayor Sam Jones appointed Curtin to the city's planning commission.

Curtin's Bio on The City of Mobiles Website
William D. Curtin:

Senior Pastor, The Grace Pla...

SPAIN: Priest offered sexual services and spent church funds on pornography

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:18:00 +0100

A Spanish priest has been sacked after it emerged he advertised himself as a male prostitute on the internet and spent church funds on telephone sex and Internet pornography.

Fr. Samuel Martin Martin, 27, the priest of two small parishes in the central province of Toledo, posted images of himself posing in grey underpants and said he was available for sex sessions with women and couples for 120 euros an hour.

Calling himself Hector, the priest described himself in an on-line advertisement a...

KANSAS: Baptist church youth leader charged with soliciting child

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:38:00 +0100

A Kansas City, Kan., church youth leader who has served prison time for molesting children was charged Tuesday with soliciting a child who attends his church.

Michael Joy, 40, faces one count of aggravated indecent solicitation of a child. He was being held Tuesday on $150,000 bond. It was unclear whether he had a lawyer.

Joy, one of five youth leaders for Stony Point Baptist Church, was convicted of eight counts of indecent liberties with a child in the late 1980s, according to the Kansas ...

MINNESOTA: Prior Lake Pastor Busted in Prostitution Sting

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0100

A Prior Lake pastor was arrested Tuesday during an undercover prostitution sting in St. Paul.

Police say Rev. John K. Erbele, 35, was one of 16 'johns' arrested around 3:45 p.m. after they came to a hotel to pay for sex based on an online advertisement.

Sgt. Paul Schnell says they've done similar stings in the past, but the fact that they made 16 arrests demonstrates the ongoing significance of the problem.

Erbele was booked at the Ramsey County Jail about an hour later. He has not yet been char...