Black Collar Crime Round-Up: September 8, 2012
Robert Oliver • Laurence Soper • Daniel Whitehead
Arrested: Matthew “Matt” Abid, 30, former youth ministry leader, Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Alpine Township, Michigan, accused of engaging in a sexual relationship with a member of the church’s “Credo” youth program, a girl who was 15 when the alleged affair began. Story: MLive.com, September 7, 2012; WOOD, September 7, 2012
Arrested: Chris Denman, 20, former employee, Victory Christian Center (founded by Billy Joe Daugherty and pastored by his widow, Sharon Daugherty); staff member, Camp Victory; and student, Victory Bible Institute; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and charged with one count each of rape and forcible sodomy allegedly committed against a 13-year-old girl. KRMG reports: “Denman’s arrest and booking report tells us the girl was interviewed by police on August 31 and said Denman raped her in a ‘stairwell near the band room’ on August 13th. It goes on to say she first told ‘Victory leadership’ about the rape on August 15. The school did not notify the police, nor the girl’s parents, until August 30, more than two weeks after learning of the attack.” KRMG also reports that, according to authorities, Denman has confessed to sexual assault. Story: KRMG, September 7, 2012
Not guilty plea: Richard McCormick, 71, Roman Catholic priest; former head, eastern division of the Salesian Brothers (Salesians of Don Bosco), New Rochelle, New York; and former director, Marian Shrine (National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians), Stony Point, New York; to five counts of raping a boy (about ten years old) at a now-shuttered Salesian camp in Ipswich, Massachusetts. The Essex County, Massachusetts, D.A.’s office reports: “Essex Assistant District Attorney Kate MacDougall requested $75,000 cash bail, arguing that Rev. McCormick has minimal ties to Massachusetts. She told the court that the alleged victim attended a summer camp at the Retreat Center of the Salesians of Don Bosco in Ipswich. During the summers of 1981 and 1982, Rev. McCormick allegedly raped the male victim. …
“Judge Timothy Feeley released the defendant on $1,000 cash bail and ordered that he continue to live at the Provincial Residence of the Salesians at 148 East Main Street in New Rochelle, NY; that he report to Superior Court Probation by telephone once a week and in person on every court appearance, that he attend each and every court appearance, that he have no unsupervised contact with minors and that he have no contact or be present at a high school located near the Provincial Residence. Judge Feeley further ordered that Rev. Steve Dumais, serve as custodian of the defendant to ensure he adheres to the pre-trial release conditions. He also issued a bail warning (meaning that if the defendant violates any of the conditions or fails to appear in court, he can be held without bail for up to 60 days.) Rev. McCormick is represented by Attorney Steve Neyman and is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. He must appear at Salem Superior Court on October 23, 2012 for a pre-trial conference.”
LoHud.com reports that although this is the first time he “has been criminally charged,” McCormick “was accused of sexually abusing numerous boys in past civil cases.” In 2009, it was reported that the Salesians settled out of court with three other men who said McCormick had abused them. Story: LoHud.com, August 9, 2009 (via BishopAccountability.org); Essex District Attorney’s Office, August 31, 2012; LoHud.com, September 1, 2012
Arrest warrant issued: Amir Natson, a.k.a. Bobby Natson, 29, pastor, Ebenezer Baptist Church, Newark, New Jersey, following an indictment for “for second-degree insurance fraud, second-degree conspiracy and third-degree wrongful impersonating,” reports the Newark Patch. Natson reportedly collected $5,000 after filing bogus insurance claims on behalf of his church. The Patch adds: “According to the state Department of Corrections, Natson completed a two-year prison sentence in 2008 after being convicted of theft by deception.”
A 2006 Morning Call article reported that Natson was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to “two counts of forgery, two counts of issuing forged cashier’s checks, two counts of theft by deception, and two counts of criminal simulation. Prosecutors said Natson has been charged with theft in three states. They said he pretended to be affiliated with a religious group and said he was buying and reselling vehicles as a fundraiser, but the group did not receive the money. … According to court records, on May 18, 2004, Natson pretended to be the son of Dr. Jeffrey Alexander of Faith Fellowship Ministries, and used a counterfeit cashier’s check, with Alexander’s forged signature, to purchase a motorcycle from Shawn Rex of Hackettstown, for $9,800.” Story: Morning Call, May 8, 2006; Newark Patch, August 28, 2012
Arrested: Robert Oliver, 54, pastor, Plymouth Brethren Assembly of Manchester, New Hampshire (which just opened August 19, 2012), for allegedly picking up a hooker in his car. Story: New Hampshire Union Leader, September 7, 2012
Wanted: Laurence Soper, 68, Roman Catholic priest; former abbot, Ealing Abbey, and teacher at the abbey’s St. Benedict’s School, London, U.K.; who was arrested in 2010 on suspicion of sexually assaulting a boy (now a man in his 40s). Soper, reports the Telegraph, “was believed to have been living in a monastery in Rome, and was due to return to London to answer bail in March last year.” The Telegraph adds: “It is not the first time the school has been in the headlines. In October 2009 a Catholic priest referred to as the ‘devil in a dog collar’ was jailed for eight years over a string of sex attacks on boys.” (See David Pearce, Conservative Babylon, November 28, 2010.) Story: Telegraph, September 2, 2012
Arrested: Daniel “Dan” Whitehead, 71, former math teacher, golf coach and student club advisor, Brophy College Preparatory (“a private, Jesuit, Catholic, college preparatory” high school), Phoenix, Arizona, on charges including sexual assault, furnishing harmful items to a minor and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Whitehead, who had taught at the school since 1967, was fired after two men came forward alleging incidents of abuse occurring in the 1960s and 70s. The Arizona Republic reports that a police spokesperson says a total of “four victims as well as witnesses came forward to the police.” Story: Arizona Republic, September 8, 2012
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