Christian Sentenced for Ponzi Scheme

A former stockbroker from St. Peters was sentenced Friday to 37 months in federal prison for bilking clients in a $618,000 Ponzi scheme.

Kenneth G. Neely, 56, created the fictional “St. Louis Investment Club” in 2001 promising outsize returns in real estate investments. The dozens of victims included fellow church members.

Christian Couple Sentenced for Selling Bogus Car Insurance

Two Northern California residents were sentenced Tuesday for running a fraudulent auto insurance operation across state lines and international borders.

James Kalfsbeek, 72, of Arbuckle, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and Donna Jean Rowe, 59, of Lodi, was sentenced to four years in prison.

Kalfsbeek was the founder and leader of Puget’s Sound Agricultural Society Ltd., which sold something purported to act like auto insurance from 1994 to 2002. The company issued insurance identification cards that claimed to be “in compliance with state law.”

But they didn’t actually insure cars, pay accident claims or medical claims.

As part of their devout Christian beliefs, they refused any coverage if alcohol was involved in an accident, and they refused to pay for pain and suffering because they considered that part of “God’s plan,” according to a release by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Sacramento.

As part of their defense, the defendants claimed to be “sovereign citizens.” They claimed the U.S. and state governments had no authority over “organic, Christian people.”

Catholic Priest Sentenced for Sex Crimes

A Sydney judge has condemned the vow of chastity as a "cruel requirement" as he sentenced a Catholic priest to at least six months in jail for grooming a girl for sex.

The parish priest was arrested last August when he went to the Parramatta Stadium car park to meet a person he believed was a 13-year-old girl he had been chatting with for three weeks on the internet.

Father Robert MacGregor Fuller had used a webcam to broadcast himself masturbating to 'Katie', who was in fact an undercover detective.

Fuller, 54, had served for six years at All Saints church in Liverpool, in south-west Sydney.

He was today handed a maximum jail sentence of 18 months, with a non-parole period of six months, after pleading guilty in Parramatta District Court.

In sentencing submissions today, the priest told the court the internet relationship was a fantasy and a game, and he needed to release energy.

Handing down his sentence, Justice Hughes said Fuller had been sexually frustrated after a life of celibacy. He described the vow of chastity as "agonising" and "cruel".

But the judge said children were vulnerable and sexually innocent and "for an adult to exploit them is repugnant."

Youth Minister Sentenced for Child Sex Crimes

A former high school volunteer baseball coach in Va. Beach pleaded guilty and was sentenced Tuesday for child sex crimes.

Dennis Ray Collins, 53, sexually abused one of the players on the Bayside team between January 1, 1986 and December 31, 1988.

Colllins was living in Winston-Salem, North Carolina when he was charged and was brought to Va. Beach to face charges of sexual penetration with an object and indecent liberties-custodial.

Collins sentence was 20 years with 10 suspended conditioned upon good behavior, indefinite supervised probation, registration as a sex offender, no with contact with the victim, and payment of all court costs.

Collins also was a youth minister at a Va. Beach church during that time.

Protestant Bishop Admits to Drunk Driving

At least it wasn't Communion wine. German Protestants take the Holy Sacrament on Sundays and Bishop Margot Kässmann, the controversial head of the country's Lutheran church, was caught driving with over three times the legal limit of alcohol in her blood on a Saturday.

The 51-year-old chief representative of Germany's 25 million Protestants, who is an outspoken moralist and the first woman ever to hold the job, was pulled over by police in downtown Hanover late last Saturday night after she ran a red light.

The incident was particularly embarrassing for the bishop as it happened only four days after the beginning of Lent and after she had previously explained that she usually gave up alcohol during the period. "I have suddenly noticed how easily a glass of wine in the evening can turn into a habit," she said in an interview with Der Spiegel magazine in March last year.

The officers breathalysed her after smelling alcohol in the car. A subsequent blood test revealed that the bishop's blood had an alcohol content of 0.154 per cent – more than three times the legal limit. "Everything beyond 0.11 means that the person is completely incapable of driving and that they have committed a crime," the Hanover state prosecutor's office said yesterday.

However, Bishop Kassmann was demonstrably penitent: "I am shocked at myself and by the fact that I was capable of making such a serious mistake," she said in a statement. "I know how dangerous and irresponsible drink-driving is. I will of course take all the legal consequences."

Catholic Priest to be Sentenced for Child Sex Abuse

The sentencing of disgraced Catholic priest Kelvin Gerald Sharkey for sexually assaulting an altar boy 40 years ago has been delayed after his admission to hospital.

Legal Aid solicitor Nerissa Key told Wollongong District Court on Friday the retired 80-year-old Fairy Meadow parish priest suffered age-related health issues and his admission to hospital made it unlikely he would attend court for his sentencing, scheduled for March 11.

In November last year, Sharkey was too frail to enter the dock when he entered guilty pleas to indecent assault and buggery of a boy he abused for four years, starting when the victim was 12 years old.

One of the assaults with which he was charged occurred inside St John Vianney’s Catholic Church.

The abuse did not stop when Sharkey moved to St Bernard’s Catholic Church in Batemans Bay.

The first incident occurred towards the end of the 1969 school year, when the victim agreed to help Sharkey conduct afternoon Mass at St John Vianney’s Church, where at the conclusion of the service the priest assaulted the boy.

Sharkey then threatened the boy by telling him he would go to Hell if he told his parents.

Catholic Sentenced for Assaulting Wife in Church

A Palm City securities broker was sentenced to more four-and-a-half years in prison Tuesday for the Feb. 15, 2009, attack on his wife during Mass at St. Joseph Church.

Stuart Police arrested Frank J. Orlando, 62, after he disrupted church services by holding a razor to his throat and then to his wife’s throat. Six men in the congregation wrestled him to the ground and carried him out of the church. One man’s hand was cut in the confrontation.

His wife, who is divorcing him, told Levin she feared for her life if Orlando were released.

“Frank believes he is above the law,” she said.

She told Levin her husband had written letters to the Catholic Archdiocese of the Palm Beaches, asking for the priest at St. Joseph to be disciplined because he barred him from attending services after the incident. She said he also wrote letters to the bishop talking about their sex life.

Pastor Sentenced for Tax Fraud

The U.S. attorney's office for Oregon says a former church pastor was sentenced Monday to five months in prison for aiding the preparation of a false tax return.

Maximo Garza of Vancouver, Wash., had pleaded guilty in September before U.S. District Judge Garr King. Garza told the judge that he provided false church expense invoices totaling more than $735,000 to William Thompson of Newberg, who was operating a mail order divorce service. Thompson was sentenced to a year in prison in 2007 after pleading guilty to tax evasion.

The 47-year-old Garza had been pastor of the non-denominational Victory Outreach Church in Portland.

Baptist Church Bookkeeper Pleads Guilty to $1.2 Million Fraud

The bookkeeper for Shiloh Baptist Church has pleaded guilty to several counts of fraud against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development related to $1.2 million in federal tax dollars that was supposed to redevelop the old Maupin School into a senior living center.

The money is gone, and the school never became a senior living center. Today, it is a boarded-up blight on the Parkland neighborhood.

Kevin Harris, 47, pleaded guilty last week to conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government, false writing and seven counts of wire fraud. The old school is at 1309 Catalpa St.

A press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office says Harris could face up to 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine per count when sentenced June 21 in Louisville by U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer B. Coffman.

But the plea agreement Harris signed says prosecutors will recommend a sentence of two years probation with four months of home confinement as “appropriate,” and a fine at “the lowest end” of the guideline range.

Harris was indicted with church pastor Rev. Henry M. Humphrey in August. Harris could be called upon to testify against Humphrey when the pastor goes to trial, which is scheduled for March 23.

Christian Youth Minister Pleads Guilty to Sexual Relationship with 15 Year Old Girl

The former youth minister at a Clermont County church pleaded guilty this morning to sexual battery and unlawful sexual conduct involving a 15-year-old girl.

Christopher E. Evans, 39, could get up to 50 years in prison when sentenced April 26 by Judge Victor M. Haddad of Common Pleas Court. He also faces a fine of up to $100,000.

Evans said little during the hearing. As defense attorney James K. Ferris and the prosecutor conferred with the judge, Evans bowed his head and wiped tears from his eyes with a handkerchief.

After serving any prison time Haddad might impose, Evans will be required to register as a sex offender with local police every 90 days for the rest of his life.

A full-time minister at Saltair Church of Christ on Ohio 222 in Tate Township for more than two years, Evans faced up to 100 years in prison after being indicted Dec. 16 on 10 counts of each charge. He entered the guilty plea after the prosecution agreed to drop half the charges, which spared the girl from having to testify at a trial.

Evans began a sexual relationship with the girl in mid-July, and it continued until authorities were notified Dec. 7, Sheriff A.J. "Tim" Rodenberg said.

Evans was full-time youth minister to the congregation of about 400 people from November 2007 until December of last year.

Adventist Pastor Convicted on Genocide Charges

The Gahogo Gacaca Appeal Court on Wednesday handed a life sentence, without parole, to Pastor Pedaie Ntihanabayo after finding him guilty of genocide charges, weeks after the man of God together with six others had been freed on the same charges by a lower court.

The court presided over by its president; Idesbald Ruzigana, ruled, that Ntihanabayo betrayed one of his flock and housemate, Eleazar Mpumpuje, and concealed information regarding his death.

Court also handed Esdras Ruzindana and Théogene Musabyimana 19 years in jail, for conspiracy and intentionally covering up the death of the said victim.

Seven other suspects were freed on grounds of lack of evidence for their role in the murder.

During the trial, witnesses testified that the victim (Mpumpuje) was picked up from the church premises in the presence of some Christians, and taken to a nearby roadblock by Interahamwe militias.

The victim's remains were recently exhumed five metres from the church premises.

Christian Admits Molesting Children in Hot Tub Bible Study

A former assistant director at a southwest Missouri sports camp has pleaded guilty to molesting young boys, sometimes during Bible study in a hot tub at his Branson home.

Peter D. Newman, 35, faces five to 171 years when he is sentenced April 30 in Taney County Circuit Court. He pleaded guilty Thursday to seven counts of sexually abusing boys between 2006 and 2008.

Newman worked at a Kanakuk Kamp near Branson. Southwest Missouri has several Kanakuk Kamps, which emphasize Christian principles.

Church Worker Admits to $300,000 Theft

Authorities said a worker from a Springfield church has admitted to stealing more than $300,000, and she was sentenced on Tuesday.

Anita Diane Maddy appeared in court and was very apologetic and remorseful for what she did.

The judge sentenced Maddy to 17 months in prison.

News Center 7 talked with the pastor of Christ Chapel Church of God when the theft was made known.

Pastor Bernard Cook said, “We’re all heart broken. We loved her.”

Cook said over the course of six years, Maddy stole credit cards, loan accounts and church ATM cards from the church.

Christian Convicted of 21 Molestations

A former Corona teacher and baseball coach was convicted of 21 molestation charges today and now faces up to 150 years to life in prison.

Jurors found Richard Angulo, 36, guilty of 12 felonies of lewd acts with a child and battery, along with eight misdemeanors of assault for incidents that occurred in the mid-1990s with three boys he met through Corona's Crossroads Christian Church. An allegation of sexual assault of multiple victims was also found true.

Angulo was arrested May 5, 2008, after a game at Centennial High School, where he coached the freshman team and taught math, Deputy District Attorney Elan Zektser said. Police said none of the molestation charges was related to his work at the school. He ended his employment with the Corona-Norco Unified School District shortly after his arrest.

Senior Church of England Vicar Sentenced for Child Porn, Again

A 60-year-old former senior vicar has been jailed for a year after being found in possession of images of child sex abuse for a second time.

Paul Battersby's laptop, which he used to organise missionaries for the Church of England, contained 160 images, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

Officers found them last February while he was serving a suspended sentence for downloading indecent images in 2007.

Battersby, of College Drive, Bebington, Wirral, admitted nine charges.

He was also put on the sex offenders register for 10 years.

Battersby, who had been a vicar for 31 years, had also worked as a national youth officer for the Church of England.

The first time he was caught, in April 2007, he was turned in by his wife after his stepson spotted indecent images on his computer.

Battersby, who was then vicar of St Ambrose's Church in Leyland, Lancashire, was handed a suspended sentence at Preston Crown Court.

He moved to Bebington where he was living when he was caught with indecent images again.

Churchgoer Convicted of $51.3 Million Fraud

Disgraced financial adviser Earl Jones received an 11-year sentence for orchestrating a massive fraud scheme Monday, and even those who once loved him were wishing a worse fate for him.

"He can rot in hell," said Bevan Jones, who came to the courthouse to watch his brother get sent away.

Victims of the Ponzi schemer had hoped to see him slapped with the maximum 14-year sentence and were dismayed by the deal reached between prosecutors and his attorneys.

He will be eligible to apply for parole after serving one-sixth of his sentence - meaning he could request to be released from prison after 22 months.

Jones once lived in the lap of luxury, with several high-end homes in trendy locales. He was a pillar of the community, active in the church, local charities and amateur sports.

The provincial police and a bankruptcy trustee spent months going over the books and were able to agree on a conservative estimate of about $51.3 million taken between 1982 and 2009.

Baptist Youth Pastor Pleads Guilty to Sexual Assault

A former York County youth pastor was convicted Thursday of nine felony charges related to multiple sexual encounters he had with two underage girls.

Jeremy "Jack" Ryan Duffer, a 40-year-old former youth pastor at Seaford Baptist Church, pleaded guilty in York-Poquoson Circuit Court to eight charges of aggravated sexual battery with a child between the ages of 13 and 17 and a single count of taking indecent liberties with a child. In return, nine additional charges of aggravated sexual battery were dropped by the prosecution.

Duffer is scheduled for sentencing on May 13. According to state law, each of the aggravated sexual battery charges carries with it a prison sentence of up to 20 years. The indecent liberties charge could add up to five more years.

Lutheran Pastor Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography

Andrew Spallek, the former pastor of Salem Lutheran Church in Black Jack, pleaded guilty to a federal child pornography possession charge Wednesday and admitted possessing 13 images of children engaged in sex acts.

Spallek, 49, of Florissant, resigned as pastor on Sept. 23, citing “personal reasons.” He was indicted the next day in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on two child porn charges.

He faces roughly three to four years in prison when sentenced in May.

Spallek was snared by an international child pornography investigation after he was identified as a member of an online bulletin board used to share child porn.

Mormon Convicted for Sexual Abuse

A pervert took obscene photos of a girl with learning difficulties after befriending her at church meetings.

Peter Paton's victim said she was offered cash to pose for the pictures at his home when she was 10 or 11.

He had met the girl, now 23, at a Mormon church.

Paton was yesterday found guilty of taking and possessing 42 obscene photos of children.

The thumbnail pictures were on two CD-ROMS police found at his home in Hamilton, Lanarkshire.

Christian Sentenced for Sexual Abuse

A Syracuse, N.Y., man now must register as a sex offender in the state of Michigan.

Huron County Circuit Judge M. Richard Knoblock on Monday sentenced Darren J. Briggs to six months in jail and ordered him to register his address with the state police.

Briggs, 36, pleaded guilty to one count of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, which involves touching.

Prosecutor Timothy J. Rutkowski originally charged Briggs with assault with intent to commit second-degree criminal sexual conduct, a five-year felony.

The charge stems from a 2006 incident involving a 12-year-old boy in Bingham Township.

The boy’s family met Briggs when they were members of the same non-denominational Christian organization, Rutkowski said. The family invited Briggs, a member of the ministry, to stay with them.

Minister Sentenced as Sexually Violent Predator

A Montgomery County judge called a former Allentown minister and sexually violent predator ''every parent's worst nightmare'' Monday before sentencing him to up to five years in state prison and a decade of probation.

Paul A. Marmon, 63, of South Whitehall Township pleaded guilty last year to having sexually explicit Internet chats with a 15-year-old girl and keeping child pornography on his computer. He was arrested Sept. 2, 2008, after leaving the girl a bag of gifts under a tree at a park near her home in Lower Providence Township.

Marmon, a minister of St. James United Church of Christ from 1985 to 1987, has been behind bars ever since and will serve 10 to 43 more months. A review board deemed him to be a sexually violent predator, meaning he must comply with Megan's Law registration rules for the rest of his life.

Christian Sentenced for Sex Abuse

A church volunteer who befriended families in order to abuse young children has been jailed for 12 years.

Owen Baxter, 23, from Bristol, "revelled" in assaulting victims as young as four at his local church, the city's crown court heard.

Baxter, who admitted 23 charges dating from when he was aged under 16, then boasted about his abuse online, the court was told.

Baxter was sentenced to six years in custody and six on licence on Monday.

Pastor Convicted of Sexual Child Abuse

The former pastor of the Newburgh Church of God was convicted by an Orange County Court jury late Friday on all counts of an indictment that charged him of abusing three young boys over a two year period.

The jury deliberated for 2½ hours before finding Humberto Cruz, 39, guilty of all the charges against him, the most serious of which was course of sexual conduct against a child in the first degree, said District Attorney Frank Phillips.

Those charges stem from contact with two boys who were under the age of 13 during the time of the abuse from July 2004 through July 2006, said Phillips.

He was also convicted of seven counts of endangering the welfare of a child involving lesser crimes against a third boy.

Baptist Church Youth Group Leader Sentenced for Sex Charge

An outstanding community service record has saved a former Queensland school principal from jail after he was convicted of indecently dealing with a child under 16.

Raymond Ross Krueger, 55, walked free from the Hervey Bay Magistrates Court yesterday after being given a 10-month suspended jail term.

The former principal of Glendyne Education and Training Centre, which provides support for disadvantaged teens, was recognised for his clean record and his apparent remorse, despite pleading guilty to the charge.

The court heard Krueger touched the breast of a 13-year-old girl during a camping trip when he was the leader of the Hervey Bay Baptist Church youth group.

He was 43 at the time.

Krueger was in the surf with the girl at Rainbow Beach when he put his hand on her breast, before pushing her so that the force of a wave pulled her swimmer top down, prosecutor Djenita Balic said.

Pastor Pleads Guilty to Prostitution

A former Prior Lake minister charged with soliciting a prostitute pleaded guilty today in Ramsey County District Court.

John Kameron Erbele, 36, will serve no jail time in the misdemeanor conviction. Judge Gail Chang Bohr sentenced him to probation, counseling, 24 hours of community service and "john school," an educational program for men who solicit prostitutes.

Erbele was arrested at 3:45 p.m. Sept. 1 in the 700 block of Payne Avenue in St. Paul, as a part of a sting involving 16 men. He had responded to an online prostitution ad, police said, and had given jail officials an address in Missoula, Mont.

Following his arrest, Erbele was relieved as senior pastor at LifePrint Church in Prior Lake but was kept on payroll through the end of November "as a gesture of grace to his family," according to the church's Web site.

Catholic Priest Sentenced for Child Porn

A former Catholic priest who retired to Hollywood from New York will be spending the next two years in federal prison.

Kenneth Hasselbach, 69, was arrested in January 2009 after an FBI investigation revealed he had received child pornography in the mail. Hasselbach, who pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography, was sentenced to prison in January 28th, according to The Sun-Sentinel.

Federal authorities have recommended that the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons house Hasselbach in a facility that treats sex offenders.

Hasselbach, who had served as a priest in the Diocese of Rockville Center in New York, left the priesthood in 1994 after a former altar boy claimed that the father had molested him in the 1960s.

Baptist Pastor Sentenced for $800,000 Embezzlement

A former pastor has been sentenced to a year in county jail after pleading no contest to grand theft for embezzling more than $800,000 from his Compton church.

Prosecutors say 48-year-old Eugene Joshua Sims entered his plea Tuesday in Compton Superior Court, shortly before his preliminary hearing was set to begin. He also was ordered to serve five years probation.

Between 2000 and 2008, prosecutors say Sims set up a private bank account and diverted offerings that members gave to the Double Rock Baptist Church into his private account. When church members raised questions, he allegedly threatened them not to say anything in sermons.

Prosecutors also are asking that Sims repay the more than $800,000 that he embezzled from the church.

Faith Healers Convicted of Son's Homicide

An Oregon couple was found guilty Tuesday of criminally negligent homicide for praying over their ill son instead of seeking medical help.

The jury returned the verdict on the second day of deliberations in the trial of Jeff and Marci Beagley, both members of the Followers of Christ Church in Oregon City. Church members gasped as Judge Steven Maurer read the verdicts.

The couple, who remain free on bail, is scheduled for sentencing on Feb. 18. Because neither has a prior conviction, state sentencing guidelines call for 16 to 18 months in prison.

Prosecutors said the Beagleys had a duty as parents to provide medical care for their 16-year-old son, Neil, who died in 2008 of complications from a urinary tract blockage. The defense argued the teenager had symptoms more like a cold or the flu.