October 19, 2010 – A pastor of a Las Vegas church was arrested Friday on 11 sexual abuse charges, five years after a similar case against him was dropped.
North Las Vegas police arrested Billy Eckstine McCurdy, 57, following an eight-month investigation into allegations that he sexually assaulted teen boys at his home.
McCurdy is the pastor at Revival Temple Church of God in Christ at the intersection of Tonopah and Vegas drives. At the church Friday night, men in all black suits said no church officials were prepared to comment on the arrest.
The new charges involve two teen boys who said McCurdy forced them into sexual relationships with him. They told police he used his position in the church and Bible scriptures to force them into sex acts, authorities said.
Both boys testified at a grand jury, which indicted McCurdy Thursday on six counts of sexual assault and five counts of open or gross lewdness. He was being held at the Clark County Detention Center without bail.
Detectives said they believe other victims have not come forward.
McCurdy spent a lot of time with young people, including youth trips to Arizona and California, police said. He also held events with young men at his home on 700 block of Heritage Cliff Ave., near Alexander Road and Revere Street in North Las Vegas, including sleepovers.
And he often allowed teens to live with him for long periods, which was the situation with the two victims in the latest case, police said.
The church’s Facebook page touts McCurdy’s work.
“Never one to sit and talk about a problem or ignore a need Pastor McCurdy developed many ministries including a maximum security prison ministry, convalescent ministry, minimum security and a youth ministry at the Spring Mountain Youth Camp on Mount Charleston,” the website said.
In the 2005 case, North Las Vegas police arrested McCurdy after a boy told investigators the pastor tried to fondle him while they slept in the same bed.
The teen told police he and other high schoolers were at McCurdy’s house for a swim and slumber party. After swimming the children split up and went to bed.
The teen was planning to sleep on the floor in McCurdy’s bedroom, but the pastor invited him into his bed. The boy woke up a couple of hours later when he felt McCurdy put the boy’s hand on McCurdy’s genitals, according to police.
McCurdy then moved his hand toward the boy’s pants, but the boy left and walked to a relative’s house.
Many of McCurdy’s flock publicly stood behind him, though he was suspended by the church after the arrest.
The district attorney’s office later declined to prosecute McCurdy, citing questions about evidence in the case
.
“We didn’t feel we could prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt,” District Attorney David Roger said at the time. “There was conflicting evidence concerning the accuser.”
Posted By rodneypires on October 19, 2010
Category: Sex Crimes
Tags: Sex Crimes
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) – October 19, 2010 – The former bookkeeper at an Idaho Falls church has been sentenced to three days in jail for embezzling more than $2,000.
Seventh District Judge Gregory Anderson sentenced 58-year-old Terri Lee Ward Johnson on Monday. He ordered her to pay $1,875 in restitution to Holy Rosary Catholic Church, perform 100 hours of community service and spend three years on probation.
If Johnson completes probation and the terms of her sentence, Anderson said the charge could be expunged from her record.
The Post Register reports Johnson was arrested on April 5 after church officials reported just over $2,000 missing. She pleaded guilty to felony grand theft in August as part of a plea agreement. Johnson was sentenced Monday. Currently, embezzlement is the #1 crime against churches in America! What measures have you taken to ensure your church is not next. Do you perform background checks on all your employees and volunteers? How often do you repeat these background checks? Are you conducting annual audits by a third party? What check and balances do you have in place to ensure the safety of God’s money?
Posted By rodneypires on October 19, 2010
Category: Church Embezzlement
Tags: Church Embezzlement
SAN FRANCISCO— October 18, 2010 – San Francisco police are asking for the public’s help to identify one or more burglars responsible for several burglaries at local churches within the past two months.
KGO-TV reports five of those burglaries have occurred at St. Francis Episcopal Church.
Police say at least six churches in the southwest part of San Francisco have been hit between August and September. Police don’t believe the break-ins are connected.
Rev. Mark Ruyak of St. Francis says his church is spending $20,000 for surveillance cameras and lights that were installed Friday.
Police are urging residents living near churches to report anything they believe may appear suspicious.
Posted By rodneypires on October 19, 2010
Category: Church Theft
Tags: Church Theft
COVINGTON — October 18, 2010 – The Covington Fire Department is investigating an arson involving three vans parked at the rear of Solid Rock Baptist Church on Brown Bridge Road around 1 a.m. Thursday.
According to Fire Marshal Chief David Carter, firefighters were called to the church parking lot when a passerby notified them of the blaze.
Involved were two Dodge vans, a Ford van and a trailer, Carter said, adding that no other church property was damaged.
Carter said the fire is under investigation and he is awaiting lab results from samples taken at the scene. He said the three vehicles and trailer involved in the blaze were parked adjacent to one another and were a total loss.
Posted By rodneypires on October 19, 2010
Category: Church Arson
Tags: Church Arson
A $10,000 reward is being offered in hopes of catching the person or persons who set fire to the LDS meetinghouse on Harbour Pointe Boulevard in Mukilteo early Saturday morning.
Question: Are you prepared for fire? Do you have a fire evacuation plan? Has your staff and volunteers been trained on this plan? Has your staff and volunteers been trained on use of fire extinguishers? If not, why not? If you think this will not happen to your church, think again. We have over 1,000 documented cases of arson against churches of all faiths this year alone. Don’t wait till it happens to your church to design a plan, it’s too
late. Call Church Security 360 Degrees, LLC at 678.446.8859 to schedule an OSHA Safety Assessment.
Read more: KCSG Television – 10 000 Reward Offered in LDS Meetinghouse Arson Fire
Posted By rodneypires on October 18, 2010
Category: Church Arson
Tags: Church Arson
An argument that began at an Oklahoma City church resulted in a shooting that has left at least one person dead and five others injured.
It happened Wednesday night outside the Word of God Church in northwest Oklahoma City. Police say there was a dispute between two groups and that as people were walking away, one person began shooting.
The bullets struck 31-year-old Darnell Marzett as well as five others — four young girls and a 32-year-old woman.Marzett later died at an Oklahoma City hospital. The wounds suffered by the other five weren’t thought to be life-threatening.
Seventeen-year-old James Watts has now been booked into the Oklahoma County Jail on complaints of murder and assault with a deadly weapon.
Posted By rodneypires on October 18, 2010
Category: Church Shootings, Uncategorized
Tags: Church Shootings
Oct 2010 – A southeast Texas man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison on charges that he burned down a church to cover up a $40 theft.
Twenty-year-old Daniel James Allen pleaded guilty Friday to charges of arson and burglary of a building stemming from a fire last year that destroyed Fletcher Emanuel Church Alive in Lumberton.
Investigators say Allen admitted burglarizing the fellowship hall, taking about $40 from a safe and setting the church offices on fire. No one was injured.
Posted By rodneypires on October 8, 2010
Category: Church Arson
Tags: Church Arson
1 Oct 2010: A former foster parent and youth group director was sentenced Friday to 15 years in prison for sexually assaulting two girls.
Posted By rodneypires on October 8, 2010
Category: Sex Crimes
Tags: Sex Crimes
