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February 23, 2011 : Daniel Lynn Parton pleaded guilty to second-degree arson in the burning of the historic Cedar Grove AME Church. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree burglary.
The judge sentenced Daniel Lynn Parton to eight years on all counts, with the sentences to be served concurrently. Parton offered no apology.
February 27, 2011: A women according to DeKalb County police was sexually assaulted at St. Timothy’s United Methodist Church in Stone Mountain. According to reports the women was assaulted by a strange in the middle of the afternoon as a woman worked alone inside the church.
DeKalb police has indicated that they are looking for a black male approximately 50-years-of-age.
February 11, 2011: Philadelphia’s district attorney has taken a step no prosecutor in the U.S. had taken before: filing criminal charges against a high-ranking Roman Catholic official for allegedly failing to protect children.
District Attorney Seth Williams filed charges against three priests, a parochial school teacher and Monsignor William Lynn, who as secretary of the clergy was one of the top officials in the Philadelphia Archdiocese from 1992 to 2004. The three priests and the teacher were charged with raping boys. Lynn, 60, was accused not of molesting children but of endangering them. A damning grand jury report said at least two boys were sexually assaulted because he put two known pedophiles in posts where they had contact with youngsters. Question: Who are you allowing access to your children. Full FBI background check need to be conducted prior to allowing employees or volunteers to work with children. How often are you conducting background checks? Do you have a Child Protection Policy and is it being enforced? Do you have a Nursery, Preschool & Children’s Ministry Policy Manual? Is training being conducted? How often and what type of training is being conducted? Are employees and volunteers required to attend Child Abuse/Neglect & Reporting Training annually?
February 11, 2011 – Canton, Texas: Two men who pleaded guilty to starting a pair of church fires in Texas, received life sentence in prison. No injuries were sustained by the fires.
Jason Bourque, age- 21, pleaded guilty to two counts of arson and was given two life sentences, while Daniel McAllister, 23, pleaded guilty to a single count of arson and received a life sentence. Both fires took place in Van Zandt County, about 50 miles east of Dallas.
February 9, 2011 – An 18-year-old man was in a Santa Ana jail Wednesday for allegedly threatening — while high on methamphetamines — to throw a Molotov cocktail at a Santa Ana church whose members he believed were appearing in his mirror.
Jose Alberto Neri, of Santa Ana, is charged with three felonies and three misdemeanors, including attempted arson, possession of a destructive device in public, carrying a butterfly knife and being under the influence of drugs.
The incident was reported Sunday at about 9 p.m. while dozens of people worshipped inside a church near the 500 block of S. Van Ness Avenue in Santa Ana.
February 10, 2011 -
POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — Arson and weapons-related charges were filed Monday against four Poplar Bluff teenagers accused of throwing Molotov cocktails into a local church and then setting the church on fire when the devices didn’t work.
Robert Benjamin Rushin, 18; Andrew Storm McClure, 19; Zachary Edward Surque, 18; and Dylan W. Causbie, 17, were charged with second-degree arson and unlawful use of a weapon by Butler County Prosecuting Attorney Kevin Barbour. The teens’ bonds were set at $50,000.
Feb 3, 2011: The Diocese of Wilmington, has agreed to settle the cases for $77 million.
The settlement is still pending the approval of U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Christopher Sontchi. The agreement sets up a trust in the amount of $77,425,000 which will be divided among the victims.
In addition to the money, the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington has also agreed to open its secret archives and establish procedures to prevent future child abuse.
February 2011: The Community Bible Church located in Mira Mesa, California was the recent victim of burglary of more than $50,000 in church offerings and around $20,00o in computers and audio visual sound equipment according to police. It is believe that the thieves gained entranced into church office by shattering the glass doors. No suspects have been taken into custody. Question: Did Community Bible Church have an alarm system installed being monitored by a central station? Was the church offering secured in a safe, bolted to the ground, locked inside a secure alarm room? If not, why not? Did Community Bible Church know the Threat, Vulnerability and Risk facing their church? Was a Threat, Vulnerability and Risk Assessment ever conducted of the church? Has your church conducted a TVR Assessment? Call us today to setup your TVR Assessment!
February 3, 2011 – A Florida man was sentenced to life in prison for killing Margarita Hidalgo, 51-years-of-age, while cleaning the Iglesia Adventista del Septimo Diachurch. Rafael Florian killed Margarita Hidalgo while burglarizing the church back in 2004. According to authorities, Florian stabbed Margarita Hidalgo in the stomach, hit her on the head and then suffocated her with a plastic bag. The body was discovered hid in a closet.