Category: United Pentecostal Church

This is part seventeen in a series of articles. You may want to first read this article as it covers the very basics of this case. (Some statements in this article are what have been alleged by people with whom I have been in contact, who are well acquainted with this situation.) I apologize for the length of this article but it cannot be properly covered with a few paragraphs.

Since the initial article on this case, I have been able to obtain one of Jason Hubacek’s November 1, 2017 indictments (I believe the three are the same except with respect to the date the assaults occurred and who was assaulted.), as well as the Probable Cause Affidavit made by Detective John Hudson, who investigated the case. Should you wish to view them, please be forewarned that they are disturbing and may be triggering, especially the Probable Cause Affidavit. Image links for Indictment, Probable Cause 1, Probable Cause 2

In the first article, the pastor’s letter to the members of Abundant Life Sanctuary (an affiliated United Pentecostal Church in Groves, Texas) about Jason Charles Hubacek was shared. Included with this letter were the church policies and procedures regarding children that were adopted in mid December 2011. The church gave itself 90 days to implement them and 120 days to complete the initial screening process and background checks. Essentially, it didn’t go into full effect until sometime in 2012. It has been alleged that, “many of the church members are NOT happy about the letter the Myers gave to them” and “wonder why Hubacek was given so much access when they knew what he was accused of.”

If you will recall from the first article, Jason was very active at Abundant Life Sanctuary for years prior to the start of these policies, yet after they were aware of serious allegations against him by his first wife. David and Jason Myer, pastors of the church, as well as Sandra Myer, were aware of accusations of child sexual abuse against Jason since around 2007-2008. [May 29, 2024 Edit: David Myer passed away on September 10, 2020.] Because of this, it is no wonder if there are indeed members who are questioning their allowing Hubacek to work so closely with children.

Child protection guidelines are needed in ALL churches. I personally know that at my former United Pentecostal Church in NJ, background checks were never done on the adults who worked with the church children. (I was there from 1981 through 1993.) You trusted people simply because they were members of the church, were water baptized, spoke in tongues and appeared to follow the holiness standards. I worked with children there in different capacities over the years and never once was a background check done, nor was I ever instructed on what to do if I suspected any form of child abuse. One person has shared with me that they sometimes worked with the children at Abundant Life Sanctuary and was never given instructions for handling child abuse cases, nor were they asked by the church to sign a release for a criminal background check (as will be seen in the church papers). She recalls teaching children’s church on a Wednesday night with another person and she believes that happened close to the same time she made the decision to stop attending. This would have been during the first quarter of 2012. Another person who left Abundant Life Sanctuary four years later recalled a few of the staff went to the Garth House for training one time in either late 2011 or early 2012. After that they don’t recall having additional training.

Child Abuse is a particularly sensitive area. Of course, the church should do its utmost to protect children. Failing to protect children can cause lasting harm to them as well as adverse publicity and great legal liability. Generally, ministers don’t have a right to privileged communications when child abuse is involved. Many states require ministers, teachers, counselors, or the general public to report cases of suspected or confessed child abuse. There can be both criminal and civil liability for failure to do so. Of course, there is an even greater ethical obligation to prevent ongoing and future harm, which generally means the abuser must be held accountable by proper authorities. Church leaders should know the law of their state, including what to report and to whom they should report. – David Bernard, Spiritual Leadership in the Twenty-first Century

Guidelines and procedure policies are only good insofar as they are adhered to. David Bernard, General Superintendent of the United Pentecostal Church, wrote in his book Spiritual Leadership in the Twenty-first Century, “When a church adopts a policy it must make sure to follow that policy. If it doesn’t, it will be judged for failing to do what it knew was right.” There are aspects of this church’s policy that I find problematic. Let’s briefly look at the law in Texas regarding reporting child abuse.

Requirements to report child abuse in Texas is not limited to teachers or health care professionals as may be found in some places. Everyone in Texas is required to report, even individuals whose personal communications would be considered privileged. Sec. 261.101 (a) states, “A person having cause to believe that a child’s physical or mental health or welfare has been adversely affected by abuse or neglect by any person shall immediately make a report as provided by this subchapter.” Immediately reporting, to me, does not mean one runs around attempting to first contact a senior pastor or then a pastor as this church demands. Certain professionals are permitted up to 48 hours to report and they “may not delegate to or rely on another person to make the report.” This “includes teachers, nurses, doctors, day-care employees, employees of a clinic or health care facility that provides reproductive services, juvenile probation officers, and juvenile detention or correctional officers.”

Texas law further stipulates where one is to make the report. Sec. 261.103 states in part that these are to be reported to “(1) any local or state law enforcement agency; (2) the department; [NOTE: Department means the Department of Family and Protective Services.] or (3) the state agency that operates, licenses, certifies, or registers the facility in which the alleged abuse or neglect occurred.” It is important to note that it says nothing about reporting to the pastor, contrary to what the church guidelines state, though there may be times where that would be needful after it was first reported to the proper authorities.

Church leadership does not have the authority to supersede these laws, nor should they instruct people to do otherwise. Unfortunately, in the same book noted above, David Bernard shares, “Church policy should instruct workers to report problems to their superior, who will in turn ensure the fulfillment of legal and ethical obligations.” I believe this is a mistake as there have been a number of cases through the years where people have gone to a UPCI pastor/minister and it has not been reported to the authorities. If you leave it to a minister to report, you may never know if the case was reported, that is unless you later follow up on it yourself. I would strongly advise anyone to first report it themselves to the proper authorities stipulated in the law and then, should you feel the need to do so, report it to a church.

The church David Bernard used to pastor before he became the General Superintendent was in Austin, Texas. Similar instructions as that of Abundant Life Sanctuary are found in their 2009 edition of their church manual (page 30): “If a staff member obtains information regarding suspected, alleged, or confessed child abuse, he or she shall immediately notify the pastor, who is to ascertain and fulfill all legal requirements. Church attendees and workers shall likewise report to the pastor any case of suspected child abuse or other suspicious behavior. This includes psychological or physical symptoms of abuse that may have occurred elsewhere. In all cases, the matter shall be kept in confidence pending an analysis of the situation and appropriate action. Any statements to the church, the public, or the media must be coordinated through the pastor.”

On page 44 under Sunday School it also states, “Children’s workers shall report to the pastor any case of suspected child abuse, sexual misconduct, or other suspicious behavior. This includes psychological or physical symptoms of abuse that may have occurred elsewhere. In all cases, the matter shall be kept in confidence pending an analysis of the situation and appropriate action. As a matter of policy, the church (a) will fulfill all legal requirements in this area and (b) will not allow those who have sexually abused minors to work in any position involving supervision of or ministry to children or youth.” On pages 102-103 you will find the application form they use for those who wish to work with children.

Sec. 261.109 gives the penalties for failure to report, which is a Class A Misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment of up to one year and/or a fine of up to $4,000. Class A is the most serious of the three misdemeanor charges. Texas law quite broadly defines child abuse and neglect, so if there is any possible indication that this is happening to a child, you need to report it.

One aspect of the law in Texas is that reporting the incident to your supervisor or manager is insufficient if you are a professional. You will see where the guidelines of Abundant Life Sanctuary instruct their employees and volunteers to report child abuse to the senior pastor, or in his absence, the pastor. Reporting to authorities is solely left in the hands of the pastor. With such policies, what happens if a pastor disbelieves a report or doesn’t want negative church publicity? What if it involves one of their family members, will they be inclined to turn them in or will they attempt to handle it ‘in house?’ What happens when it is someone who gives large amounts of money to the church or plays an integral role in helping?

This church also states in its policy that, “All inquiries or requests for information from the media, attorneys or any other parties shall be referred to the official spokesperson [NOTE: senior pastor]. No person other than the official spokesperson is to release any information regarding any alleged incident of child abuse without the express approval of the official spokesperson.” In other words, the church goes on lock down and everything involving an accusation or incident is left in the hands of the senior pastor.

Sec. 261.106 (a) stipulates that, “A person acting in good faith who reports or assists in the investigation of a report of alleged child abuse or neglect or who testifies or otherwise participates in a judicial proceeding arising from a report, petition, or investigation of alleged child abuse or neglect is immune from civil or criminal liability that might otherwise be incurred or imposed.” If you are a member of any church in Texas that attempts to silence you regarding helping authorities in their investigation of child abuse, please understand that you are protected under the law. You should be cooperating with any investigation. No church or pastor should attempt to silence you. A subpoena shouldn’t need to be issued in order for you to cooperate. If you know something that might help, go to the authorities and do not be concerned with what any pastor might say or demand.

For those interested, this is an official PDF document from the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services that covers the basics of how it works when you report a case of suspected child abuse. It would be good for all those in Texas to read.

Portions of the church guidelines are between the asterisks below, with images of the complete documents included in links afterward. There will be additional articles about this case as there are many concerns and questions and much more to cover. It should be noted that a minister, not pastor Johnathan Green, at The Anchor of Beaumont was the one who reported Jason Hubacek to Child Protective Services and it was not someone from Abundant Life Sanctuary. Here are some questions regarding Abundant Life Sanctuary and their procedures:

• Has the church completely, and without failing on any point, followed their guidelines starting in 2012?
• Were any guidelines in place prior to 2012 and were they faithfully followed?
• At the beginning of every year, do all employees and volunteers working with minor children really receive training? (It is alleged this didn’t happen in the first quarter of 2012 and may have only happened once between 2012 and 2016.)
• Does the church have on file any documented reports where the senior pastor reported suspected child abuse to the proper authorities?
• Has the Texas District Superintendent received any reports from David Myer since 2012? (That would have been Danny Russo in 2011-2012 and Kevin Prince from 2013 through 2018.)
• What about the allegations that numerous people did go to the pastors after 2007 with concerns about Jason Hubacek?
• It is clearly stated in the guidelines that, “those who have a history of inappropriate conduct with children will not be employed and shall not volunteer service in any church-sponsored activity or program for minors.” Why then was Hubacek allowed to do so as this part of the guidelines is not speaking of criminal convictions?
• If an adult is not to be alone with children, how did anyone allegedly witness Jason Hubacek alone with a child on several occasions from mid 2010 to early 2012?
• Who is ultimately responsible for insuring these guidelines are adhered to and strictly followed? It has been alleged that the only members on the Pastoral Committee (mentioned in the church documents) are the members of the pastoral family. So if indeed these guidelines have not been followed, the total and complete responsibility would fall on David and Jason Myer and their family members, who may or may not comprise this committee.

The church must treat all allegations seriously and not dismiss them out of hand. The church should also show compassion and offer assistance to victims and their families, perhaps arranging for professional counseling. The worst thing it can do is to ignore, blame, or attack the victim. – David Bernard, Spiritual Leadership in the Twenty-first Century

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Child Protection Guidelines
adopted by
Abundant Life Sanctuary, Inc.
December 13, 2011

1. All adults and youth, both employed and volunteer, who work with minors must be screened and undergo a criminal background check prior to beginning work. All persons who work with minors must undergo a Screening Process. The steps and checklist to be used in the Screening Process are labeled “Appendix A”.

2. Adults who have been convicted of either sexual or physical abuse of children/youth or those who have a history of inappropriate conduct with children will not be employed and shall not volunteer service in any church-sponsored activity or program for minors.

3. Adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse need and will receive the love and acceptance of our church family.

4. Employees and volunteers who work with children and youth shall observe the “two-person rule” or the “window in door policy”at ALL times. The “two-person rule” requires that employees, volunteers, and supervisors shall make every reasonable effort to avoid situations where an employed or volunteer worker is alone with children or youth without a partner. The “window in door policy” requires a window in the door of all rooms where there are children and youth.

5. All employees and volunteers working with children and youth are required to be members or active constituents of Abundant Life Sanctuary, Inc. for a minimum of six months before they begin their work or to have transferred their membership from another United Pentecostal Church with that pastor’s recommendations.

6. Our guidelines and procedures for reporting suspected incidents of abuse, or any behavior, which seems abusive or inappropriate are labeled “Appendix B”. Our guidelines and procedures for responding to reported incidents of abuse are labeled “Appendix C”.

IMPLEMENTATION:

These guidelines and procedures will be implemented within ninety (90) days of their adoption, with the completion of the initial screening process and background checks within one hundred twenty (120) days of adoption.

The Pastoral Committee will have the responsibility to implement and enforce these guidelines and procedures, including the training of employees and volunteers, maintaining confidential records, and implementing the screening process.

(NOTE: This is followed by Appendix A, which is a checklist of steps to be completed before a person is permitted to work with the children.)

Appendix B
Abundant Life Sanctuary, Inc.
Child Protection Guidelines
Reporting Procedures

The law requires a person to immediately report suspected and reported child abuse to the authorities and, in organizations such as Abundant Life Sanctuary, Inc., to the appropriate individual in charge. A person who fails to do so can be prosecuted for a Class B misdemeanor or, in extreme circumstances, may be subject to civil liability for money damages. Therefore, all employees and volunteers at Abundant Life Sanctuary, Inc. must adhere to the following procedures:

1. In the event of suspected, reported, or discovered child abuse or violation of the Child Protection Guidelines of Abundant Life Sanctuary Inc., the employee or volunteer shall immediately notify the Senior Pastor or, in the absence of the senior pastor, the pastor. In the event of suspected, reported or discovered child abuse or neglect, the senior pastor or pastor will also immediately make a report to the local child protection service or law enforcement agency (Groves Police- 409.962.0244).

(Note: They then give some potential physical and behavioral signs of molestation.)

2. Reports shall be documented in writing with the date of the report, the time of the report, the telephone number to which the report was made, the name of the recipient of the report, and a brief synopsis of the report. If at all possible, all oral reporting will be done in the presence of a recorded witness.

3. All church employees and volunteers working with minor children will receive training at the beginning of each church administrative year regarding the signs of child abuse, including child sexual abuse, and the steps to report any and all suspected child abuse.

*Adapted from Child Abuse: Governing Law and Legislation by I. Sloan (1983)

Appendix C
Abundant Life Sanctuary
Child Protection Guidelines
Response Procedures

1. The official spokesperson for Abundant Life Sanctuary, Inc. shall be the senior pastor, or in the absence of the senior pastor, the pastor. All inquiries or requests for information from the media, attorneys or any other parties shall be referred to the official spokesperson. No person other than the official spokesperson is to release any information regarding any alleged incident of child abuse without the express approval of the official spokesperson.

2. The official spokesperson shall immediately report any alleged incident of child abuse to the appropriate local Child Protection Services agency of the county or law enforcement authorities, our insurance carrier, and the District Superintendent.

3. The care and safety of the victim is our first priority. We will not confront the accused without the approval of Child Protection Services or law enforcement authorities.

4. We will not prejudge any person accused, but we will take any allegation of child abuse seriously and will reach out in Christian love and support to the victim and the victims family, extending whatever pastoral care resources are needed. We will fully cooperate with any authorities investigating an allegation of child abuse.

5. We will treat the accused with dignity and respect. If the accused is a church worker, that person shall be temporarily relieved of his or her duties until the investigation is finished and the person cleared by the authorities. If the accused is a paid employee of our church, his or her income will be maintained, until allegations are cleared by authorities or until criminal charges are filed.

6. All communication by the official spokesperson to the media, congregation, and public will protect the privacy and confidentiality of all involved.

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You will find a complete list of articles in this series by clicking here.

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This is part sixteen in a series of articles. (Some statements in this article are what have been alleged by people with whom I have been in contact, who are well acquainted with this situation.)

I don’t normally release an article at this juncture before I have finished investigating. Because this is a recent case and this man worked for years having free access to young children in at least two United Pentecostal churches in Texas, besides times when he would visit other churches for events (such as being a monitor in the boys dormitory at the Texas youth camps in Lufkin and hosting lock-ins at area churches which consists of parents dropping off their children and they spend all night at church doing various activities), I feel compelled to share some limited initial information so parents will be informed and can check to be sure this man has not sexually harmed their children. Anyone whose child has come into contact with him needs to take this very seriously. He did not hold license in the UPCI.

On November 1, 2017, Jason Charles Hubacek of Beaumont, Texas was indicted on four counts of indecency with a child and three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child. The offense dates appear to be 2003, 2004 and 2007 and it was his three daughters from his first marriage (see image of dates). He pleaded guilty on August 6, 2018 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison on September 17, 2018. He will be eligible for parole in ten. He has been transferred from Jefferson County jail to the TDCJ Holliday facility since then. According to 12NewsNow,  Assistant District Attorney Kim Pipkin stated, “This has been a very frustrating case for me as a prosecutor because of a unique legal issue that prevented us from giving the defendant the sentence that I felt he deserved. I felt he deserved life in prison.”

Jason Hubacek had a previous criminal history where he was charged in Bryan, Texas with the burglary of a building in the very early 90s. I believe he graduated from West Brook High School in 1992 and then received a certificate of completion in 2004 for Air Conditioning & Refrigeration from Lamar State College-Port Arthur. He was an adjunct (part-time) instructor for Lamar State College during the years of 2010-2017. This ended when he was indicted.

Jason Hubacek was born on December 15, 1973. He was a member of Abundant Life Sanctuary in Groves, Texas for at least ten years and was very involved, often working with young children. While there he drove the church van that would pick up children, was an usher where he sometimes went out of a service with a child when they left the sanctuary without a parent, and taught Sunday School. It is alleged there were times he was alone with children.

Around when he married his second wife on November 19, 2016, he joined up with the Anchor of Beaumont church where she was a member. He appears to have been there from around late 2016 until sometime in 2017 when he went to the Calvary Apostolic Church in Starks, Louisiana after he confessed.

He was a longtime employee of Johnson Controls (screenshot) and provided Abundant Life Sanctuary with free HVAC services and also did freelance work for church members. I believe he has also lived in Groves, Nederland and Port Arthur.

Below you will find the transcript of a letter that the pastor of Abundant Life Sanctuary issued to its members after Jason Hubacek was sentenced. All members received a packet with this letter as well as the church’s policies and procedures. The latter will be discussed in a subsequent article, but note that the policies were not adopted until 2011 and allegations were first known about Jason in 2007 due to a different court case. In addition to the sexual abuse, there are other aspects of this case that are extremely troublesome and there are many layers to the story.

It has been shared with me that besides this church telling people not to speak or write about what happened, it is alleged that the Anchor of Beaumont also went on shut down and staff members there were uncooperative with the detective assigned to the case. If there isn’t anything to hide, people should be free to speak about it, especially with law enforcement. Churches should want those who commit crimes of sexual abuse to be reported and prosecuted and they absolutely should not ever allow any such person to be around children. If a church properly handles sexual abuse issues, they shouldn’t worry about any publicity a case brings as they can point to the fact that they did what should be done. People will see that they reported and understand that these horrible events do occur despite having safeguards in place. What they won’t understand is when a church doesn’t report, ignores accusations, covers up such cases, or tries to handle them ‘in house.’

It has been alleged that Jason Hubacek’s second wife discovered something that lead to her confronting Jason and that ended up in him confessing to assaulting his three daughters years ago. It has been shared with me that Jason confessed to someone on the ministerial staff of the Anchor of Beaumont and they called CPS. Johnathan Green then sent Jason to the Myers and they sent him to Groves Police Department. Despite what is written in the letter below from Abundant Life Sanctuary, I have been in touch with more than one individual who has alleged that they did indeed go to David (plus his wife Sandra was in attendance on at least two occasions) and Jason Myer with concerns about Hubacek and did so more than once.

As mentioned in the letter, there was a previous court case where the judge told Hubacek’s first wife that she would be charged if sexual assault accusations against Jason were brought up again. [What I have heard about this initial case and how it allegedly was handled by a judge is not good if it is true. It doesn’t go along with the church statement that the judge was so convinced the charges were false.] The church letter is between the asterisks and following it I share additional information about the churches Jason attended. The Anchor of Beaumont has a past history of sexual abuse charges and cover up while another man was the pastor and there is an allegation of another sexual abuse incident which allegedly caused a church split prior to Johnathan Green becoming the pastor.

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STATEMENT FROM THE PASTOR TO THE CHURCH

Because there have been many accusations of us handling a situation, involving Jason Hubacek, we feel the need to make a statement to the church family.

We have and always will take any accusation of sexual misconduct and child abuse very seriously. We have required background checks of all volunteers and paid employees, of the church that work with children and youth in any way, for many years. We have a Child protection guidelines that was adopted in 2011 that we will share with all of you.

Accusations were made against Jason in a divorce proceeding 10 years ago. We sat hours in court to find out if these were true or false. The judge was so convinced these charges were false that he said if any more accusations were made against Jason, by those accusing him, that they themselves would be charged.

We never once received an accusation of sexual misconduct against Jason from anyone in the church or anyone whose child attended our church. His background check is on file in the office with no sexual misconduct history.

Two years ago Jason left our church when he married Brandi and went to the Anchor in Beaumont. About a year ago, he came to me and confessed that he had had some evil desires and done some things to his 3 girls when they were babies and had confessed to his pastor, Jonathan Green, to the police, and to Heather, the mother of his girls. He was very repentant and sorry for what he had done and wanted to make sure he was right with God by taking responsibility for his actions.

He began attending church in Starks, LA with Bro. Shields as his pastor, but would come to me and ask for prayer and guidance during this past year. We discussed these sessions with Bro. Shields and was assured that Jason was very sincere in his remorse and wanted to serve God and make things right. He faithfully attended Bro. Shields church for the past year, making sure he was not involved with children in any way.

His parents were very distraught over all of this and asked us to help Jason through this process he was going through. We have prayed with him and them. We went to court with Jason to simply be a friend to him, as we would with anyone trying to come back from a sinful past. We do not approve of his actions, but feel it is a pastor’s job to help anyone trying to repent and make restitution for their past sin. We are here to help people go to Heaven. God’s blood covers all sin. It is what the church is founded upon.

If you have any concerns that are relevant to this situation, please write them on paper, sign your name, date them and give them to me. If you would like to discuss anything further, please feel free to make an appointment to speak privately about it to us. We would ask that you not make any comments on Facebook or remarks to the press about the situation. God has set this church in the city of Groves to be a lighthouse and a place for souls to be saved. We must not get distracted by circumstances or comments other people want to make to try to destroy our influence. This is God’s church and it is a privilege to be a part of it. We love each of you and expect to have an overflowing revival, in the very near future. God bless each of you.

September 19, 2018

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The church in Groves, Texas, where Jason Hubacek spent many years closely working with children, is  Abundant Life Sanctuary and the pastors are David Noel Myer (senior pastor) and Jason David Myer (pastor), both ordained ministers in the United Pentecostal Church. It is located at 2301 West Parkway Street and has a legal affiliation with the UPCI. (The UPCI has affiliated and non-affiliated churches.) David Myer has been the pastor since March of 1974 and previously was a pastor in Montgomery, LA. In 2007 the church moved to its present location from 6225 Terrell Street and in 2011, his son Jason was elected as pastor. Jason Meyer also served as the youth pastor from 1998 until 2014. [May 29, 2024 Edit: David Myer passed away on September 10, 2020.]

The church in Starks, Louisiana is Calvary Apostolic Church and the pastor is Jeremy Shields, who also founded the church in 1993. It is located at 4270 LA-12, and is at the corner of State Highway 109. It is an independent church and Shields is not licensed with the UPCI.

The Anchor of Beaumont used to be called the First United Pentecostal Church of Beaumont as well as New Life Tabernacle and the current pastor is Johnathan Green, also an ordained UPCI minister. It is located at 6655 Highway 105 in Beaumont, Texas and also has a legal affiliation with the UPCI. This church has previously been in the news on more than one occasion and I will briefly summarize years of events.

In February 2012 the church filed a lawsuit against Lamb Law Firm, Kip Lamb, Leigh Parker and Lonnie Charles Treadway, the former pastor.  In 2008, Treadway (known as Buck) had requested the firm hold in a trust fund the insurance money that the church had received due to damages caused to its property by Hurricane Rita. He wanted to protect the money from a lawsuit that was pending against the church and himself. In 2009, the money was gone and Lamb pleaded guilty in 2013 to misuse of the funds and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He spent the 1.2 million dollars without the knowledge or consent of the church. The lawsuit remained in the news through 2017 as part of it, regarding Leigh Parker, went all the way to the Texas Supreme Court. You can find numerous news reports and legal findings about this situation online.

Lonnie Treadway had hired the Lamb Law Firm to defend him and the church in a sexual harassment lawsuit. There are things about that case which are very disturbing as Lonnie’s own granddaughters were victims. Judy Elizabeth ‘Beth’ Treadway married Jeffrey Alan Klem in 2000 and they are still married as of the writing of this article. He is a cardiologist and Buck’s son-in-law. Klem started molesting one of Treadway’s granddaughters when she was eleven in 2001. [This reminds me of Debbie McNulty’s case as Steven J. Dahl allegedly started molesting her around the same age and shortly after he had married.] She wasn’t the only victim over the years and when reported to Treadway, it is said that he called his granddaughter and others “liars and whores.” At least two of Klem’s victims turned to self-mutilation in trying to cope. Sadly one, Ashlyn Treadway, died in a car wreck in 2012.

In August 2006, parents filed a civil suit against Jeffrey Klem and Lonnie Treadway and accused the pastor of covering up Klem’s pedophilia. It was said the assaults happened from 2001 through 2006. This is why Treadway asked the Lamb Law Firm to hide the insurance money. When I first heard of these cases years ago and how Lamb spent all the money instead of keeping it safe from any judgment in a lawsuit, I thought at the time it was fitting, though at the same time sad for the members who had nothing to do with it.

In December 2006 when Klem was 44, he was charged in Jefferson County with three separate cases of indecency with a child. In a plea bargain in August 2007, Klem pleaded guilty to three counts of injury to a child and avoided having to register as a sex offender and was able to retain his medical license. Judge John Stevens presided on that case. Klem received ten years deferred probation and was ordered to pay a $6,000 fine and I believe he spent six months in prison, only over the weekends.

In July 2007, he was indicted in Harris County on two counts of indecency with a child. He pleaded guilty in 2009 under another agreement where he did not have to register as a sex offender. He received five years deferred adjudication on each charge of injury to a child. He was ordered to write letters of apology to the two victims. Prior to that, in January 2008, he claimed his guilty plea in Jefferson County was made involuntarily and unknowingly as he believed the deal meant that Harris County would honor the same and they did not. The court denied his writ of habeas corpus and he appealed. The Ninth District Court of Appeals found the original judgment was correct and he lost the appeal in 2008.

Jeffrey Klem settled the civil suit in 2010 after the jury selection process had started. Judge Gary Sanderson presided over that case. Treadway and the church settled in June 2009. Lonnie Charles ‘Buck’ Treadway never lost his UPC license and still retains it in 2018, though to my knowledge he no longer is a pastor. [May 27, 2024 Edit: The same holds true for 2024.] He continues to be welcomed with open arms to speak in various UPCI churches.

Jeffrey Alan Klem still practices medicine in Texas as of 2018. In 2009, the Texas Medical Board, “put him on 15 years of probation and ordered him to have no contact with patients younger than 21. He also must have a chaperone when treating older patients, work in a practice with at least one other doctor, get psychiatric care, take a “professional boundaries course” and pay a $5,000 fine.” The probation expires in 2024. How immensely sad it is to think that because he was not required to register as a sex offender that people may not be protecting their children.

More may be written about Jason Hubacek’s case in the future.

You will find a complete list of articles in this series by clicking here.

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Part fourteen of a series of articles.

(Some statements in this article are what have been alleged by one witness, though there are several others which have corroborated events. There have been no convictions as the case mentioned here was not reported to the police and to my knowledge, the alleged perpetrator has not admitted guilt.)

Many now wonder if there has been a habit of covering up and denying child and sexual abuse in evangelical churches in general—if there is something in the evangelical DNA that makes us hesitant to deal with accusations quickly, openly, and truthfully when there is the suspicion of grave sin in our midst. – Mark Galli

In writing this series of articles, besides all the situations I already knew, others have contacted me about additional instances of sexual abuse in the United Pentecostal Church. Since starting this series, I heard about ones coming from a well-known church in Colorado, which started sounding all too similar to what I have heard about Calvary Gospel Church in Wisconsin regarding failure to report. Between the two sets of asterisks below is what a person remembers from one of the alleged instances. In looking into this situation, I conversed with several people, including eyewitnesses to the service described in this report, and based upon their accounts I do not doubt this took place.

Prior to this event, the wife of another youth pastor had allegedly committed adultery with a member of the youth group, though he was of age, possibly in his mid 20s, and it appears to have been consensual. The couple divorced. It has also been alleged that in the 1990s, the pastor found out that the man who was playing the role of Jesus in “The Messiah,” an Easter production, was having an affair. It is claimed that after the discovery the pastor allowed him to continue in the role as it was close to when the play was being presented. These are not the only troubling situations surrounding this church and they don’t all pertain to sexual matters. One individual shared with me that in their opinion they have never seen a more corrupt district than the Colorado District of the United Pentecostal Church.

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Growing up, we seemed to have a revolving door when it came to youth pastors. They would come and go frequently, and it was always heartbreaking when you got attached to a new youth pastor only to have them disappear in a year or two.

Then, a young, cool youth pastor was announced. He and his wife were the epitome of good looking, well-bred UPC ministry. His adorable wife was the envy of many young girls for her gorgeous dark hair and fashionable clothes, while the youth pastor himself was what many young girls hoped their husband would look like one day. They toted around a sweet chubby cheeked baby boy that we all fell in love with and begged to babysit. We were smitten.

For almost two years, I thought we had finally hit the jackpot with who I will refer to as Youth Pastor X. Things seemed to be going amazingly well, the youth group was thriving, and we felt loved and cared about by leaders at our church.

Then, one Sunday evening, they weren’t at church, which was really odd, as they had just been at youth service the Friday evening before so they couldn’t have been out of town. At the end of the church service, the pastor of the church stood in the pulpit and said we would be having an all church meeting and he asked our visitors to leave at that time because of the sensitive nature of what he needed to say.

One by one, confused visitors exited the sanctuary with the assistance of church ushers who made sure they had exited the building before the meeting began. Dread sat thick and heavy in my chest. This wasn’t the first time we had a meeting like this. It usually meant that someone was being publicly kicked out of the church.

Slowly, my pastor began explaining that our beloved Youth Pastor X had been asked to resign his position at the church. He did not go into a lot of detail but did say that we were not allowed to have any contact with him or his family and that they were currently packing their moving truck and would be leaving the state immediately.

Questions started swirling in my head…what did they do? Was his wife caught wearing pants? Were they going to movie theaters? This was terrible! And we weren’t even allowed to say goodbye!

As my pastor continued to talk, it was disclosed that misconduct had occurred which left them no choice but to ask Youth Pastor X to leave. No further information was shared, though the pastor did take a few questions that he answered very vaguely.

As the next few days came and went, the truth of the story began to circulate. Youth Pastor X was having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl from the youth group. The strange thing? The fault was entirely pinned on the 14-year-old girl. She was labeled as promiscuous and a bad seed. Everyone knew that she was a bad kid, and this just proved it. She must have come onto Youth Pastor X and he had no power against her. She had a spirit about her and the devil was working in her to ruin Youth Pastor X’s ministry. She was ostracized from the youth group, we all looked at her as though she had ruined his ministry.

No charges were ever filed. Youth Pastor X was allowed to leave the state without a tarnish against him.

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At the same time, if the many charges prove to be true to a larger extent than they currently acknowledge, it would be sad and troubling—but not without hope if it leads to truth-telling and repentance. The truth of sin that leads to repentance is one of the most glorious moments in our life in Christ. – Mark Galli

From what former members have shared, in this church it has been the normal procedure to dismiss any visitors in order to address members in regard to problems. The pastors are known for cutting off contact between members and anyone they feel is dangerous to the church.

The identity of the girl was never officially revealed by the pastor but there were people in the church who knew it.  One person shared that her and the youth pastor were caught kissing while they were on a youth conference trip up in the mountains, possibly at Winter Park. It is alleged that she had a crush on him and pursued him and that she left the church for awhile after he was sent away. She has been in and out of that church since then.

Two others have shared with me they thought she was 15 or 16 at the time, not 14. Regardless of whether it was 14, 15 or 16, the legal age for consent to sexual activity in Colorado is 17. The victim was only 16 years old in 1998 and wouldn’t have been 17 until the first third of 1999 when this youth pastor was no longer there. The youth pastor was 28 in 1998. Despite these facts, there are some with ties to the church who will tell you that what happened was consensual. They are in grave error because according to the law, that was impossible. A minor cannot give consent and especially not a minor when the other party is in a position of trust.

The law, which in my opinion needs to change, does allow that someone under 15 can consent to have sex when the person is not more than four years older. In addition, a 15-16 year old can consent as long as the other person is no more than ten years older.  (I am uncertain as to when the near in age rules went into effect. Regardless, the age difference between the two exceeded both rule exceptions.) What also comes into play in a case such as this one is when the perpetrator is in a position of trust. Examples of a person being in the position of trust are pastors, teachers, doctors, etc. A criminal charge of sexual abuse is more serious when it involves a position of trust. [Because there may be other sexual abuse victims from Colorado reading this, some may wish to review this PDF document, which covers the law, statutes of limitations and potential sentences and was valid as of at least 2015. You may also wish to read this article of why it is important to report possible cases of sexual assault.]

As I’ve written elsewhere, ‘if you are interacting with a sex offender who is admitting he or she has harmed someone, and you feel yourself being pulled to feel sorry for this person instead of, or more than, the victim, it is probable that an experienced victim-stancer is manipulating you.’

“Many well-intentioned people feel sympathy for an offender and advocate for them with the victim and/or the victim’s loved ones. They remind victims that their abusers are created in God’s image no matter what harm they have done. For the victims and their loved ones, this is a bizarre, surreal, and wounding experience because it echoes and reinforces the grooming of the abuser. – Maureen Farrell Garcia

One person alleged they were told by the pastor that this man was dismissed due to impropriety issues with money. However, the youth pastor privately shared that he had been dismissed due to inappropriate contact with a minor. It has also been alleged that the pastor told him to leave Colorado immediately and if he did so, no further action would be taken against him. This was never reported to the police. The youth pastor did not hold a UPCI license at the time.

This youth pastor was married in 1993 and felt a call to preach in his teen years. He attended the Jackson College of Ministries, a UPC operated Bible college which has since closed. Serving at this Colorado church while in his mid to late twenties, it appears he held the position from 1996 through 1998. Some dates I received were slightly different, but all narrowed it down to the mid to late 90s. He was definitely gone in 1999 as the next youth pastor was serving during the time of the Columbine shootings.

Besides all of this, it is very disturbing that this youth pastor became licensed a few years later after moving to another district just southwest of Colorado, during the time when Tommy Hudson was the Superintendent. It doesn’t matter whether or not he ever again did something similar. As was explained in a previous article, when a person is guilty of an immoral sexual act, they are forever ineligible to be licensed. In this alleged situation, besides adultery, we have a sexual assault of a minor. This man is first seen in the 2002 UPCI Directory, which is reflective of him receiving license in 2001. It is interesting to note that the Directory indicates he received ordination, which isn’t the level a newly licensed minister usually receives. In 2002 he became the associate pastor of a church. Just a few short years later in 2005, he became the pastor of a different church and remains in that position as of the writing of this article. Two to three years after taking over the church it became non-affiliated. (There are two types of UPCI churches: affiliated and non-affiliated.)

The rules in the UPCI Manual are clear- if one has been sexually immoral, they are not qualified to hold license, nor to minister in a United Pentecostal Church.

You will find a complete list of articles in this series by clicking here.

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