Assaults and Sexual Crimes 06/04/2023

(June 2) Upstate Youth Pastor Accused Of Vidoeing Girls In Shower At Church | Greenville, SC

The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office announced that an Upstate youth pastor is facing new charges after allegedly videoing girls in the shower of an Upstate church.

Deputies said they began investigating the situation on May 30 after they received information from the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office.

The Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office said the youth pastor, 35-year-old Daniel Kellan Mayfield, admitted to videotaping a woman while she was in the shower on Saturday, May 27.

Following this incident, deputies in Greenville County investigated and discovered that Mayfield allegedly filmed multiple girls in the bathroom of Gowensville Baptist Church in Landrum. They added that they’ve identified six victims so far and that they are as young as 14 years old. According to deputies, Mayfield reportedly set up and recorded video inside the restroom on at least three occasions dating back to July 2022.

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(June 2) Rockport Church Pastor Arrested On Charge Of Sexually Assaulting A Child | Union

A 36-year-old Union man was arrested Tuesday night on a warrant alleging he sexually assaulted a child.

Raymond K. Chang, who is a pastor and works at a Sweetser crisis unit, was arrested by the Knox County Sheriff’s Office on a warrant charging him with felony unlawful sexual contact and misdemeanor unlawful sexual touching.

Chang was taken to the Knox County Jail in Rockland. Judge Sarah Gilbert set bail Wednesday at $2,500 cash during Chang’s initial appearance in the Knox County Court in Rockland. The judge also ordered Chang to wear a GPS monitor, not have contact with the victim or her mother, and to have no unsupervised contact with people younger than 18 years old.

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(June 1) Church Sex Abuse Survivors Want California AG To Release Findings | CA

In the aftermath of the Oakland Diocese declaring bankruptcy as it faces hundreds of lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse, the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests is asking California Attorney General Rob Bonta to release a report of his findings on Catholic sex abuse in the state.

SNAP president Shaun Dougherty, treasurer Dan McNevin and survivor support coordinator Melanie Sakoda issued a letter to Bonta's office on Wednesday, arguing that the Oakland and Santa Rosa dioceses' bankruptcies limit what money can be recovered by victims and public information on the extent of the crimes and those who participated in its cover-ups.

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(May 31) Catholic Church Settles Suit by Man Who Alleged Bishop Raped Him | MA.

A lawsuit brought by a former altar boy who said he was raped as a child in the 1960s by a now-deceased Roman Catholic bishop in Massachusetts has been settled, the sides announced Friday.

The plaintiff identified in court papers as John Doe alleged in the suit filed in February 2021 that not only was he abused by former Diocese of Springfield Bishop Christopher Weldon as well as two other clergy, but also that the church engaged in a years-long coverup to protect the bishop’s reputation and legacy.

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(May 30) Maryville Apostolic Church Did Not tell Police About Girls' Sex Abuse Allegations | Maryville, TN

Two women who say they were sexually abused as girls told Knox News they told the senior pastor of First Apostolic Church in Maryville and his wife about the assaults, and neither of the church leaders contacted police about the allegations as required by Tennessee's mandatory reporting laws.

The women also say the alleged perpetrators, both whom were active in the church, were not publicly disciplined.

The survivors, now adults, said in each of their assaults – which happened years apart – they met in the Rev. Kenneth Carpenter’s office to discuss what happened. After they described the abuse, Carpenter offered to pray for them. Nothing else was done, to the survivors' knowledge.

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