Assaults and Sexual Crimes 01/27/2023

(January 26) Apostolic Christian Academy In Maryville, Ex-Employee Sued Over Alleged Sexual Abuse | Knoxville, TN

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — A man arrested last month on a sexual assault charge and a Maryville church have been sued for millions by the parents of the alleged victim.

On Jan. 10, Joseph Abbott was arrested in North Carolina. He has been charged with sexual battery by an authority figure, according to the Blount County Sheriff’s Office.

According to the civil lawsuit filed months before Abbott’s arrest by the victim’s parents, he was employed by the First Apostolic Church of Maryville and worked at Apostolic Christian Academy, a school operated by the church, at the time of the alleged crimes in 2022.

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(January 26) Child Sexual Assaults Reported At Hilliard Church | Hilliard, OH

HILLIARD, Ohio (WCMH) — Hilliard police are asking for the public’s help Wednesday in investigating years-old allegations of child sexual assault at a church.

Multiple female victims reported that between 2012 and 2014, a male youth member of the Open Gate Church of God sexually assaulted them, according to Hilliard police. The victims were under the age of 10 at the time, and the suspect, also a minor at the time, previously helped in the church’s children’s and teen rooms.

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(January 25) San Antonio Archbishop Accuses Priest Of Financial And Sexual Misconduct

San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller wrote to a Northside parish over the weekend to ensure one of the congregation's leaders "does not fraudulently present himself as a priest" to ask for money after he was investigated and accused of sexual and financial misconduct. 

In a letter dated January 10, Garcia-Siller said that an investigation uncovered Reverend Duncan Amek's financial and sexual misconduct involving "adult women" and said the priest was found to have entered into a civil marriage with an unidentified person.

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(January 24) Mobile County Pastor And Convicted Sex Offender Arrested Again | Mobile, LA

MOBILE, Ala (WPMI) — Pastor Cederick McMillian, who is a registered sex offender, is accused of working at a daycare and being too close to two Mobile County Public Schools while preaching. 

He's charged with four counts of violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act or SORNA. McMillian, who is a former funeral home operator, is also accused of corpse abuse and operating an illegal cemetery. The sheriff's office says tips from the public led to this latest arrest. Someone dropped off a church flyer that placed him within 2,000 feet of a school. Investigators say by being at New Birth Community Church, he was too close to John Will Elementary School, and by being at Forward Church Ministries, he was too close to Causey Middle School.

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(January 24) Pastor Sentenced Following Sex Sting | OH

LISBON — A Youngstown resident who was a pastor in Niles pleaded no contest Monday in Columbiana County Municipal Court to charges of engaging in prostitution and possession of criminal tools.

Aaron Newell, 49, of Goleta Avenue, received a 120-day suspended jail sentence for the two misdemeanor charges and must pay a $750 fine. He will be on probation for two years, and as part of his probation, Newell must perform 20 hours of community service within two months and must complete a 12-hour education course.

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