Black Collar Crime Round-Up: January 28, 2011
Efrain Umaña, Sr. • Herman Waldron • Aaron Witcher, a.k.a. “Pastor Soulja”
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: Jacob Allen Conder, 24, former minister & youth director, Wing Avenue Baptist Church, Owensboro, Kentucky, & former Daviess County deputy constable, to four more counts of sexual abuse of a teenage girl. This is Conder’s second conviction for similar crimes in as many months; the first conviction convinced two other victims to come forward. Story: Conservative Babylon, November 5, 2010; Courier-Journal, January 25, 2011
Guilty: Christopher William Furey, 43, former “Kids’ Pastor,” Emmanuel Fellowship, Cottonwood, Arizona, of eight counts of crimes committed against a 16-year-old girl from his church: one count of sexual conduct with a minor, one count of attempted sexual conduct with a minor, four counts of luring a minor for sexual exploitation and one count of sexual abuse. Furey had originally been charged with 19 counts (five counts of sexual conduct with a minor, six counts of sexual abuse, four counts of luring a minor for sexual exploitation and four counts of stalking). Sentencing is scheduled for March 7, 2011; in addition to lifetime probation and registration as a sex offender, Furey faces nine to 12 years in prison. Story: Conservative Babylon, August 27, 2010; Verde Independent, January 25, 2011
Trial set to begin: Christopher Gribble, 21, of Brookline, Massachusetts, former Cub Scout & would-be Mormon missionary, who has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the 2009 machete attack that left a a 42-year-old woman dead and her 11-year-old daughter critically injured, with jury selection February 28, 2011, following two pre-trial hearings scheduled on February 4th and February 11th. Meanwhile, Gribble’s motion for a change of venue has been denied, as has a motion to suppress Gribble’s recorded confession as evidence. Seventy-two witnesses have been called by the prosecution, including “Gribble’s co-defendants William Marks, Quinn Glover and Autumn Savoy.” Co-defendant Steven Spader was not called. Story: Conservative Babylon, January 8, 2011; New Hampshire Union Leader, January 10, 2011; Nashua Telegraph, January 11, 2011; Nashua Telegraph, January 11, 2011; Nashua Telegraph, January 13, 2011; Nashua Telegraph, January 25, 2011
Sentenced: Daniel Mokwe, Cameroon-born head of Revival Time Ministries International and Operation Save Canada’s Teenagers, two Toronto-area evangelical Christian non-profits “stripped of their charitable status after submitting ‘falsified’ documents to federal regulators,” to two days in jail (already served after his October, 2008, arrest) and two years’ probation for inappropriately touching a teenage girl. Story: Canada Revenue Agency, January 7, 2011; UPI, January 24, 2011; Toronto Star, January 25, 2011; CBC News, January 25, 2011
Trial begins: Efrain Umaña, Sr., 55, pastor at various Assemblies of God churches in and around Lincoln, Nebraska, and most recently pastor at Templo Monte Horeb, Council Bluffs, Iowa, charged with multiple counts of sexual assault, including the rape of a 10- to 11-year-old girl; jury selection began January 25, 2011. Story: Conservative Babylon, September 10, 2009; Conservative Babylon, October 7, 2009; Omaha World-Herald, January 24, 2011; Daily Nonpareil, January 25, 2011
Charged: Herman Waldron, 43, Seventh-Day Adventist pastor, Siparia, Trinidad, with three counts of “serious indecency” against two boys, ages 10 and 11. His next court date is January 31, 2011. Meanwhile, Waldron has been fired from his church and excommunicated by the SDA’s South Caribbean Conference. Story: Trinidad Express, January 20, 2011; Trinidad and Tobago’s Newsday, January 22, 2011
Guilty plea: Aaron Witcher, a.k.a. “Pastor Soulja”, 26, youth pastor, Crosswalk Christian Training Center, Roy, Utah, former pastor, New Pilgrim Baptist Church, Salt Lake County, and The Genesis Project Church, Ogden (from Witcher was reportedly asked to resign), and hip-hop rapper, to two counts of raping a 16-year-old girl from his church, which drops the other six counts he was facing. Sentencing is slated March 23, 2011. Story: Conservative Babylon, November 15, 2010; UPI, January 27, 2011
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