Black Collar Crime Round-Up: August 30, 2010
Jonathan Carrier and Yancey Tanner
Gernard Jones • Kenneth Kleckner III
Thurman Leonard • Jim Reynolds • Darryl Todd
Because we could spend 24/7 tracking the sins of right-wing religionists (especially “youth pastors”) and never get caught up. Of the following, the more interesting cases will probably end up with their very own Conservative Babylon entries.
Guilty: James Blaine, 61, former pastor, Good Shepherd Church, Greenfield, Ohio, after pleading guilty to one count of forgery and one count of aggravated theft, stemming from charges he embezzled more than $100,000 from his church. Blaine is scheduled for sentencing October 1st, at which time it is expected he will also be ordered to pay upwards of $200,000 in restitution. Story: Highland County Press, May 4, 2010; Brown News Service, August 12, 2010
Sentenced: Bradley Boda, 39, former church youth director & volunteer, Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church, Longmont, Colorado, and Fort Collins high school counselor, after pleading guilty to two counts of sexual assault on a child, to 20 years in prison and probation for life. The prosecutor threw out another 11 counts involving boys as young as 11, dating back nearly 20 years. Story: Conservative Babylon, October 2, 2009; Longmont Times-Call, July 1, 2010
Arrested: Robert Burke, 50, of Middletown, New York, minister at an unnamed church in Newburgh, and charged with third-degree felony rape; police say he had sex with a 17-year-old girl. Story: Record Online, July 29, 2010
Arrested: Jonathan Marshall Carrier and Yancey Obrain Tanner, both 19, charged with child molestation and statutory rape of two 14-year-old girls, whom they met through a youth group at His Hands Church, Woodstock, Georgia. 
The men allegedly took the girls to an apartment complex, where the assaults took place. Police believe there may be other victims. Tanner was also charged with possession of marijuana. Story: WSBTV.com, August 24, 2010; WSB News, August 25, 2010
Sentenced: Gernard Jones, 19, to seven years, plus eight years’ probation, after pleading to lewd battery of a 12-year-old girl. Story: Conservative Babylon, August 26, 2010; September 5, 2009; September 11, 2009; August 26, 2010; TheLedger.com, August 26, 2010
Arrested: Kenneth Kleckner III, 44, pastor, West Ocala United Methodist Church and former pastor, First United Methodist Church of Alachua, Florida, and charged with one count of soliciting a minor sex and five counts of transmitting harmful material to a minor, in an online sting. Authorities say Kleckner chatted for months with a detective he believed was an underage girl, and exposed himself via webcam. Kleckner, who is married and has four children, was arrested at his church, from where police say he had conducted some of the online conversations. Story: WESH.com, July 9, 2010; High Springs Herald, July 16, 2010
Charged: Thurman Leonard, 48, pastor, Restoration and Faith Ministry, Newport News, Virginia, with felony abduction and assault of an unidentified female relative, after police responded to a call in Virginia Beach July 15th. Story & video: WTKR.com, July 20, 2010
Arrested: Jim Reynolds, 55, former pastor, Graceway Baptist Church, Mansfield, Louisiana, and charged with three counts of cyberstalking stemming from complaints by church members of “threatening e-mails and text messages.” Reynolds had been “released from his pastoring duties” a couple of months before his arrest. Story: KLFY.com, July 22, 2010
Arrested: Darryl Todd, 32, senior pastor, Spring Branch Missionary Baptist Church, Wagram, North Carolina, and charged with statutory rape of a 14-year-old girl. According to his church’s Web site, Todd is married and the father of two, and: “currently serves as President of the Union for the Pee Dee Missionary Baptist Educational Association and a member of the General Board at Large for the General Baptist State Convention of NC, Inc. He is the Chairman of Religious Affairs, Scotland County Branch of the NAACP.” He is also “Born-again, Blood-washed and Bought with a price child of the King!” Story: Laurinburg Exchange, August 27, 2010
Related posts (automatically generated):