Category: sexual abuse

On March 23, 2019, another former member of Calvary Gospel United Pentecostal Church (CGC) in Madison, Wisconsin came forward and started to publicly share her story of child sexual abuse in a United Pentecostal (UPC/UPCI) church. Like Debbie McNulty, she was a pre-teen when her abuse began and when her pastor, John Wesley Grant found out, he did not report it to the police either time. Now in July 2020, her alleged perpetrator is being charged with two counts of sexual assault from when she was a minor.  After almost a year of investigation, a criminal complaint was filed against the perpetrator on July 15, 2020. The house of cards at Calvary Gospel is continuing to fall.

So I was unlucky enough to catch the eye of one of my Sunday School teachers, who also helped out as a youth leader. …In the eyes of Calvary Gospel Church, my predator was a great young man, a burgeoning minister. He was also 17 years older than me. …I was 12 the first time he sexually assaulted me. …This went on for years until we had full intercourse when I was 14. He was 31. – Rebecca, former member of Calvary Gospel Church

(Some statements in this article are what have been alleged by the survivor. There have been no convictions as of yet and to my knowledge, the alleged perpetrator has not openly admitted guilt.) This is Part 36 of an ongoing series and the eleventh one pertaining to this particular affiliated United Pentecostal Church (see links at the end). I will be writing more than one article on this case and in this installment, I wish to focus on the fact that this man was able to become licensed by the United Pentecostal Church, despite John Grant’s awareness of his alleged sexual assaults.

Rebecca Martin-Byrd started sharing her story more openly after her youngest daughter turned 18, as prior to then she wanted to shield her from the things that she experienced. Rebecca was one of several people interviewed by Katelyn Ferral for a story on the decades of unreported child sexual abuse at Calvary Gospel Church. Stolen Childhoods was released August 7, 2019 by the Cap Times. Later the same day, she and Debbie McNulty spoke in support of legislation proposed by Wisconsin lawmakers to remove the statute of limitations, as well as the clergy privilege loophole regarding reporting. That same day Rebecca also met with detectives and reported the repeated sexual abuse she endured for years at the hand of Glen Alan Uselmann, starting when she was a pre-teen. She met with them several times after this and detectives interviewed other people, including UPCI minister John Wesley Grant.

There are two reasons that Uselmann should never have been considered for licensing. It is extremely disturbing that John Grant, a minister who had been licensed for decades and served as a District Superintendent for many years, would allow this man to be so active in the church, including preaching, and then go on to allow him to be licensed. In order for a person to be considered for licensing by the UPCI, their pastor must sign the application. Without the endorsement of the pastor, their license will not be considered.

Inasmuch as the ministry is the highest office on earth, no person shall be eligible as a minister if after having been baptized in Jesus’ name and having received the gift of the Holy Ghost said person has been divorced for any cause save fornication or adultery on the part of the one from whom he or she has been divorced, and has remarried; or after having been baptized in Jesus’ name and having received the gift of the Holy Ghost said person has married a person who has been divorced for any cause save fornication or adultery on the part of the one from who he or she has been divorced. Further, if fornication or adultery is claimed as the grounds of divorce, sufficient evidence other than his or her own personal testimony must be presented to the District Board. – UPCI Manual, Article VII, Section 8

Prior to being licensed, Glen Alan Uselmann spoke numerous times at Calvary Gospel Church from at least 2010 through 2014, as well as for years afterward, according to their website. (See screen shot one and two.) He was also involved in the church in other ways, such as teaching Sunday School.

Glen Uselmann was licensed by the United Pentecostal Church when his alleged past actions should have disqualified him according to what has been clearly outlined in their  Manual, which is released every year. First, he had been divorced and remarried when he applied for license in 2013 and the divorce was filed under irreconcilable differences (see above quote from the UPCI Manual). At no time during the divorce did he claim Rebecca had been unfaithful. Second, because of the alleged sexual crimes, he was disqualified from ever holding license or preaching in a United Pentecostal church (see quote below from the UPCI Manual).

1. For the purpose of ministerial membership in the United Pentecostal Church International or for ministering in a United Pentecostal Church International church, immoral conduct shall be defined as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, incest, and/or any other sexual acts determined by the District Board to be perverted or immoral (Matthew 5:32; Matthew 19:9; I Corinthians 6:9; Romans 1:24-28).
2. Any minister affiliated with our organization proven guilty of adultery or fornication, or committing any other immoral offense, shall forfeit his or her papers immediately. Immoral offense shall include sexual molestation of minors. – UPCI Manual, Article VII, Section 9

Uselmann first appeared in the 2015 UPCI Directory with a local license, the lowest level of licensing and he never attained a higher level. This is usually reflective of him receiving license in 2014 as the directories are issued in January of each year, however in the Oct/Dec 2013 edition of the UPCI’s Forward magazine for ministers, he was listed as receiving license between July and October 2013 (screen shot). Either Roy or John Grant would have needed to sign his license application. At this time, John E. Putnam was the Wisconsin District Superintendent.

Calvary Gospel Church, located at 5301 Commercial Avenue in Madison, Wisconsin, became an affiliated UPCI church in 2016. For many years prior to this, Calvary Gospel Church was not legally affiliated with the organization. [Every church whose pastor holds license in the UPCI is considered a United Pentecostal church. In this, there are affiliated and non-affiliated churches. In the former, there is a legally binding agreement between the local church and the organization.] John W. Grant, an ordained UPCI minister, became pastor of CGC in 1972. By 1982 he also held the position of the Wisconsin District Superintendent and remained in that position through part of 1999 when John E. Putnam was elected. Putnam was replaced by James Booker in March 2018. Grant has since retained the position of Honorary Presbyter in the District and Honorary General Presbyter on the national level. During November 2014, he was inducted into the United Pentecostal Church’s Order of the Faith. In early 2013, John Grant brought his son, Roy Howard Grant, in as a co-pastor and the following year elevated himself to the position of bishop. On the weekend of February 28, 2015, Roy was officially installed as the senior pastor. John Grant has remained active in Calvary Gospel Church the entire time through the writing of this article.

Here is the heart of my allegation against John Wesley Grant and Uselmann’s license. In the criminal complaint against Glen Uselmann, it was noted that when Rebecca was 12-13 years old, she wrote letters to a pen pal about what was happening and then that girl’s sister gave the letters to John  Grant. It is alleged that Grant brought Rebecca and her parents into his office and warned Rebecca that if she talked about this, it could ruin Uselmann’s life and damage the church.

In addition, on February 26, 2020, detectives interviewed John Grant about his knowledge of Uselmann’s sexual assaults. He claimed to have first heard about it when Rebecca and Glen had been married for 12-13 years and Rebecca had confided to one of the other church pastors. [Note: This time frame given by him is incorrect as the marriage ended in 2006.] Grant claimed he met with Uselmann after this and that Glen made it seem like it happened one time and admitted to Grant that they had sex before they were married.

Rebecca and Glen married in 1995, so 12-13 years later would have been in 2007-2008, many years before Uselmann was granted license with the United Pentecostal Church in 2013. Grant was well versed in the UPCI Manual since he was a District Superintendent and was supposed to uphold their teachings and regulations. Yet, knowing that Uselmann had divorced and remarried on grounds other than sexual infidelity, and knowing that Uselmann allegedly admitted to sexual activity before he married Rebecca, he did absolutely nothing to prevent this man from receiving license. This is inexcusable and yet another reason why the UPCI needs to do something about this minister and Calvary Gospel Church. There is no way that headquarters is not aware of the many allegations against Grant and CGC and yet they remain silent.

Glen Uselmann retained his license with the United Pentecostal Church from 2013 through part of 2019. It appears that at some point after the Cap Times article, he either had his license revoked or he relinquished it himself. He no longer is listed in the 2020 edition of the UPCI Directory.

In my next installment, I will be covering the criminal charges against him.

December 9, 2021 Update: A jury trial is set to start on July 11, 2022 and continue through July 15, 2022.

May 1, 2022 Edit: A jury status hearing is set for June 27, 2022, with jury selection on July 11. The trial is set for July 12- 15, 2022.

Articles:
Charges filed in sexual assault case linked to Madison’s Calvary Gospel Church– July 21, 2020 Capital Times
Columbus man charged with sexually assaulting child while working as Madison church youth minister – July 22, 2020 WKOW
‘My initial reaction was absolute shock:’ Madison woman affirmed after her alleged, childhood abuser charged with sex assault – July 23, 2020 WKOW (video)
Man charged for sexually assaulting girl at Calvary Gospel Church in Madison – July 23, 2020 WMTV NBC15 (video)
Criminal complaint alleges former youth pastor sexually assaulted girl for several years – July 23, 2020 WISC
Former Youth Minister At Columbus Church Charged With Child Sexual Assault – July 23, 2020 Seehafer News
Probable cause found in sex assault case against Columbus man – August 6, 2020 WKOW

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

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After reading my last post about the unreported sexual abuse of several minor boys involving a former Youth Pastor at a United Pentecostal Church in Colorado, one person shared with me the following:

I came to this church right after this youth pastor left. No one said anything even to this day. Yes, this person still is a pastor and is friends with former members of this church. I met them once at the church in May 2000 and by at least in September 2000 they were gone and new youth pastors were in. Something happened with him as well, and he left and became a pastor in California for awhile and he is currently a UPCI minister in another state.

The history of youth pastors is true and the list continues on. What I witnessed there was that most sins went unannounced and were swept under the rug. It’s not only sexual abuse at this church, but emotional/verbal abuse from the senior pastor’s wife and the present pastor’s wife.

This is part 35 of a series of articles and part four involving a United Pentecostal Church in Colorado that allegedly failed to report cases of child sexual abuse. (Some statements in this article are what have been alleged by more than one individual. There have been no convictions as the cases mentioned were not reported to the police at the time and to my knowledge, the alleged perpetrator has not admitted guilt.)

In the last article, it was shared how the United Pentecostal Church has had a long-standing rule that any minister who has committed sexual sins/crimes is to forfeit their ministerial license. This is nothing new and is printed every January in their yearly Manual which is distributed to every licensed minister. District officials are supposed to uphold this rule. If a minister is suspected of sexual wrongdoing, it should be reported to their District and the officials should investigate, abiding by their Judicial Procedures. The District has the authority to rescind their license if charges are proven guilty, whether it be a sin or criminal act. Any licensed minister should be well aware that any sexual crime, or suspected sexual crime, is to be reported to the police.

[2024 Note: Since this article was written, the UPCI added a new policy in their judicial procedure where the districts will no longer handle sexual abuse cases of a minor as these will be handled at the regional level.]

It is reprehensible that this doesn’t always occur in the United Pentecostal Church and there are men licensed today who should not hold license based upon the UPCI stand against sexual sins/crimes. Unfortunately, if a case even reaches a District Board and isn’t covered up or handled ‘in house’ by individual pastors, District Superintendents are granted some wiggle room in following UPCI written policies. I don’t know how many cases I have heard over the years where the son, or other relative, of a UPCI minister has been sexually immoral and yet gone on to be granted license. Written policies have no real meaning when things like this happen. They are empty words and quite hurtful to victims and their families.

Last fall, at the UPCI’s annual General Conference, almost two years after I started this series about sexual abuse and five years after our first individual article, the General Board adopted a new position paper regarding Abuse and Sexual Misconduct. While we applaud them for making a more detailed stand, we are also hesitant in believing it will make a difference. Actions always speak louder than words. If they are now committed to doing what is right, they need to look into the cases we, and others, have already documented and remove the licenses of ministers who are guilty. (You may want to read what I previously wrote about this position paper and what I feel the organization needs to do in my coverage of UPCI pastor Howard Wayne Geck failing to report child sexual abuse committed by Dexter Hensley.)

In addition, we believe that they should also revoke the licenses of those ministers who fail to report any alleged or known instances of child sexual abuse to the proper authorities. It is my firm opinion that any minister who handles instances of sexual abuse ‘in house’ is negligent, irresponsible and unethical, and should the perpetrator assault anyone in the future because they chose to not report it to police, that they are partly to blame.

Thankfully, one man who had been licensed in Wisconsin, Glenn Uselmann, who never should have been considered to be a minister, either had his license revoked or he turned it in sometime last year.

I have a collection of UPCI Directories, which are released in January of each year and the following information comes from them. Unfortunately, I only have some of the 1980s and 1990s. I believe the licensed Youth Pastor I wrote about in the last article might first appear in the 1988 and 1989 editions under his first name instead of how he was later listed by his middle name. He is noted as holding a general license in 1988 in a Northwestern state, followed by Colorado in 1989. There is no listing for him in the 1987 or 1981 editions. (I do not have Directories from 1982-1986 or 1993-1998.)

Starting in 1990, he is seen listed by his middle name and is likewise seen in 1992 and 1993. By the 1999 edition or before, he is no longer listed, but is seen once again in the 2000 Directory, still in Colorado with a general license. The 2001 Directory is the last one showing him as being in Colorado.

It is important to understand that because these directories were compiled near the end of the previous year, they are more reflective of the year prior to their publication. Because of this, it shows that he was in Colorado for at least some of 2000 but could have left the state prior to 2001. According to one witness quoted above, he was no longer the Youth Pastor by at least September 2000. He continued to hold license until either 2010 or 2011. He was not listed in the 2012 edition.

Let’s look at what happens in a case like this, when a licensed minister, who had also been the Colorado District Youth Secretary and then the District Youth President the following year, is alleged to have sexually abused multiple minor boys. Instead of taking appropriate action, where he should have been made to forfeit his license and been reported to the police, he is permitted to retain his UPCI license for at least ten more years.

• He gets to move to an unsuspecting state in the north Midwest followed by another in the Gulf Coast.
• By 2003, he rises from a general license to being an ordained minister in the UPCI. This is their highest level of licensing. (To learn about the levels of licensing see this article.)
• By 2004, or possibly 2003, he establishes a new non-affiliated UPCI church in New Jersey. (Any church whose pastor is licensed by the UPCI is considered a UPCI church. They can go a step further and have a legal affiliation with the organization. He did not.)
• By 2006, he gets elected to serve as a District Presbyter, a position he holds until 2009 or 2010. He and the church are last seen in the 2011 edition, which could mean he was still UPC that year or may have left the prior year.
• As of the writing of this article in June 2020, he is yet a pastor, approximately two decades after leaving Colorado. Are there other victims? How many could there be over a twenty year period and three states?

Now read what another former member of this church shared with me near the beginning of last November. It has been edited to remove names and the edits are in brackets.

I was a member of [a UPCI church in] Denver, Colorado. A few years ago there was a church break up and chaos. Many old members were told they were going Hell by the Bishop and Pastor [last name removed] as well as [the pastor’s wife], who was the cause of much chaos and lies. I left the church awhile after the 1st break up. There have been three as of today. We left due to a cover up of several young boys being sexually abused. It was covered up and the Youth Pastor was then asked to leave. During that time [the pastor’s wife] never spoke to us, but continued to tell people to stay away from us, don’t talk to them. Even a few months ago one of her entourage told a good friend she wasn’t to speak to me… it’s been almost two years. But she continues… Last night I attended a District event with friends where [the Bishop’s wife] was speaking. She had [the pastor’s wife] and [her granddaughter] testify. They both quoted this scripture, Psalms 119:165. When the event ended [the pastor’s wife] grabbed me by the arm. I thought she was going to be genuine and talk BUT… I hugged her and told her we need to talk. She then turned vicious, angry and pointed a finger and said, “If you ever speak of my father, the man of God he is, or ruin his integrity you will pay! You will pay! Stay away from my people!” Really her people, in my mind, her cult. Her daughter [who testified] came in and chimed in Psalm 119:165, “Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.” Really. Really. As we stood in the church. I am so furious upset and last night [was] my breaking point of [these leaders and this church]!! The ABUSE, ACCUSATIONS, THREATS OF GOING TO HELL has to STOP !!!

[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. In 2020 Colorado officials have been working on eliminating the statute of limitation for civil lawsuits for sexual abuse crimes. The bill was postponed in June 2020. You may also wish to read this article of why it is important to report possible cases of sexual assault. Never assume a pastor has reported child sexual abuse, especially in a state like Colorado or Wisconsin where children are not fully protected by the law due to clergy privilege.]

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

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This is part 34 of a series of articles and part three involving a United Pentecostal Church in Colorado.

(Some statements in this article are what have been alleged by one witness, though there are several others which have corroborated various aspects of the account given below. There have been no convictions as the cases mentioned were not reported to the police at the time and to my knowledge, the alleged perpetrator has not admitted guilt.)

In writing these articles, people have contacted me about additional instances of both proven and alleged sexual abuse in the United Pentecostal Church. This installment will cover a second alleged situation that involves this same well-known church in Colorado. (See Part 1 and Part 2 for information.) Between the two sets of asterisks below is one person’s account of cases that involve the alleged sexual assault of minor boys- yes, plural- by a man who was given the position of Youth Pastor. It appears these crimes may have occurred between 1999 and 2000. During 1999 the alleged perpetrator would have turned 35. He is currently the pastor at a church in New Jersey, where he has been since the early 2000s, and no longer holds license with the UPCI.

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 meeting took place, nor do I doubt that more than one boy was sexually abused. There will be at least one additional article about this.

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For a few months, we didn’t have a youth pastor. Numbers dropped, many young people stopped coming to youth services altogether. Our pastor and his wife took on the role of youth pastor for awhile until things started dwindling down and we rarely had a youth service anymore.

Then one Sunday it was announced that we had a new youth pastor and family coming in! I was so excited, this was the BEST news. They weren’t as smooth or polished as the previous youth pastor, but the guy, whom I will call Youth Pastor Z, was so down to earth and genuine. From the moment I met him and his wife, I was smitten. They were charismatic and instantly made you feel like family. Their adorable baby girl was so sweet and full of life and laughter. What a refreshment!

Nearly a year went by and I couldn’t imagine ever having been without these amazing people. Youth Pastor Z was an incredible mentor and he seemed to really take it upon himself to reach out to the “unpopular” young men that other youth pastors never paid any attention to. He included the ones from single mother homes, those who came to church without parents, etc. He was known for having youth sleepovers with some of the boys in the group and then taking them all fishing or camping or hiking.

As a young girl, I was a little jealous of this, because I didn’t know why he seemed to only cater to the boys. Why didn’t his wife do a girls sleepover once in awhile?

Then…it happened again. It almost felt like a horrible déjà vu. A Sunday night service came and went without Youth Pastor Z one Sunday…and again the visitors were asked to leave the service because of an “all church meeting.”

Youth Pastor Z was asked to resign and we were not allowed to have any contact with them. They were also leaving the state immediately. No details were given.

I was so sick to my stomach. What happened this time? Why is our youth group cursed?

This time, I didn’t hear for years whatever happened with Youth Pastor Z. This story was kept under wraps for a long time. He moved away and has since pastored a church in another state.

The Truth Comes Out
About a year or so ago, I reconnected with someone I had grown up with in this UPC church via Facebook. As we talked and complained about the PTSD we still experienced from time to time after being a part of this cult, it came out that he had been molested by Youth Pastor Z.

As it turns out, Youth Pastor Z was asked to leave his position and the state of Colorado because he had been molesting young boys in the church. Instantly, those youth sleepovers came to my mind and I wanted to vomit.

Yet again, no charges were filed. Youth Pastor Z was allowed to leave with his reputation intact.

I have found out from a couple of the victims that after everything came out, the church pastor asked to meet with them and their parent/guardians. They were instructed not to involve the authorities in both of these cases because it wasn’t “biblical.” The pastor said that he wanted to allow God to deal with them and that God’s punishment would be far greater than anything the law could ever do to them.

You may be shaking your head at this and saying, “what parent in their right mind would agree to this?” A church member never went against the pastor. Ever.

I cannot fathom how a pastor would ever think that not reporting sexual abuse under his own roof is acceptable.

Wait. Yes, I can.

Why Weren’t the Victims Protected?
I have asked myself over and over…why wasn’t anyone protected? What was the reasoning?

The only conclusion I can come to is that this prominent and well-known pastor didn’t want his name dragged through the mud. He didn’t want to lose church members. He didn’t want the UPC to think less of him. So, he hid it. He allowed sex offenders to go free. He never defended the innocent children. He even allowed them to take blame. To save his name and his reputation.

I wonder if this had happened to one of his grandchildren if he would have allowed the child molester to go free? Me thinks not.

As I mentioned in both above stories [NOTE: See Part 1 for the first story], each youth pastor has moved on to pastor churches in other states. Which begs me to wonder, how many others have there been? How many more children were subjected to sexual abuse because these men were allowed to go free “in the name of the LORD” and His justice?

How many more?

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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. It appears that at the time of these alleged crimes, this Youth Pastor held license and was able to retain it after leaving this church. Meanwhile, the victims received no justice and were made to suffer in silence. Their lives would be forever changed, while the pastor of this church gave the pedophile his freedom, and with that freedom enabled him to potentially harm others.

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

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Teach your church that any form of abuse is NEVER acceptable to God no matter who does it or how important the abuser is. – Diane Langberg, PhD on Twitter, March 7, 2020

I have been writing about sexual abuse in the United Pentecostal Church for awhile now and I am overwhelmed at the number of cases. There is an incredible number of women, men and children who have been sexually abused and I don’t know that I will ever be able to cover all of the stories- it is a daunting task and one which I’ve found to be quite draining. There are cases which hit the news, as well as an innumerable number that never did because they were not reported to police and therefore never prosecuted. There’s still more to write regarding all the unreported cases of child sexual abuse at Calvary Gospel Church in Madison, Wisconsin. There’s still more to write regarding reported and unreported cases of child sexual abuse at Landmark Tabernacle in Denver, Colorado. Both of these churches allegedly have cases spanning many years and both involve pastors that some would consider to be legacy names.

Back in August 2019 I wrote, “The United Pentecostal Church makes it quite clear in their yearly Manuals that if a person is guilty of committing immoral conduct regarding sexual matters, that they are not eligible to be licensed. If such happens while they hold license with them, their license is to be revoked and never reinstated. In addition, such people are not supposed to be ministering in any of their churches, whether or not they hold license. Yet despite what appears to be very clear directives, one discovers that for years there have been men holding license who have been immoral, as well as people preaching in their churches who have been immoral.”

(Some statements in this article are what have been alleged by others. The allegations all appear to be involving adults and not children. There have been no convictions or criminal arrests as the situations mentioned here appear to not have been reported to the police, or not reported while the statute of limitations was open, and to my knowledge, the alleged perpetrator has not admitted guilt. I have withheld sharing the man’s name at this point, until at least one victim comes forward publicly and names him. This is Part 33 of an ongoing series.)

And now since 2019, there have been murmurings as well as cryptic messages left on Facebook (see some of these below) that show there has been serious trouble brewing in the Western District of the United Pentecostal Church. Apparently, one of their licensed ministers, who is a pastor that married into a family whose name is a legacy in the organization, has been accused of multiple instances of sexually related charges. From the messages circulating on Facebook, people are tired of not seeing justice- they know that the UPCI is well aware of the charges and yet this man is permitted to retain his license and still delivers sermons. There are allegations of cover-ups by legacy family members, lying, deception and more.

When your husband had been proven guilty of sexual assault and sexual harassment, and has been unfaithful to you numerous times, has been forced to resign from his church by his organization for conduct unbecoming a minister and sexual misconduct, and you insist on staying at the church in a position of perceived authority so that you can continue to lie, cover-up and deceive the congregation, because you are desperate to protect your family name, the truth about your husbands resignation, and your paycheck.- February 12, 2020 Amber’s public Facebook post

When it comes to scandal in the church, which sadly does happen, it’s amazing the extent folks will do to cover things up. The real victims are maligned, God and His name is misused to claim spiritual authority. People that know better will change alliances to protect the guilty and the guilty will make themselves the victim. Watching it happen in real time is a learning experience. Legacies will crumble when it becomes about man/woman than it does God and people. – March 2, 2020 Randy’s public Facebook post

Yes sir and the sad part of all of it is that the people that are covering KNOW they hurting people. The ones who cry submission to authority are the very ones refusing to submit to THIER authority. Amazing that sometime district boards give deadlines for people to correct the lies, but even the district boards are defied. And the amazing thing is that instead of people gossiping and assuming pick up the phone and call the Western District board. How hard is that? Are they scared of truth? Aren’t you glad there a God that knows all and is the ultimate record keeper? – March 2, 2020 Daniel’s public Facebook comment in reply to Randy

There are some in the office because of their family name, they should not be in the position they are in. They misuse the authority they have been given and make the kingdom lose its appeal and taste. Though God will defend himself, it still angers me when there is such blatant lies and scandal. The scars and hurt that will be left will be there for years. I have seen many times churches having to shut down so that a renewal and time of healing can take place. – March 2, 2020 Robert’s public Facebook comment in reply to Randy

It is alleged that this minister from California was told to resign from the church (he is listed as pastor of more than one) by the Western District officials, who, after a trial in 2019, found him guilty of several sexually related charges. Yet as of the 2020 UPCI Directory, which was printed in January, as well as the UPCI online church locator in March, he is shown as a licensed ordained minister with his name listed as the pastor, though he is no longer mentioned as a District Presbyter, a position which was held for years.

If the information is accurate, I find this to be totally unacceptable due to the clearly stated rules in the UPCI Manual regarding ministers and sexual immorality. Let’s take a look at what it states. Under Article VII, Section 9 it says, “For the purpose of ministerial membership in the United Pentecostal Church International or for ministering in a United Pentecostal Church International church, immoral conduct shall be defined as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, incest, and/or any other sexual acts determined by the District Board to be perverted or immoral (Matthew 5:32; Matthew 19:9; I Corinthians 6:9; Romans 1:24-28). 2. Any minister affiliated with our organization proven guilty of adultery or fornication, or committing any other immoral offense, shall forfeit his or her papers immediately. Immoral offense shall include sexual molestation of minors.”

It appears that one of the greatest temptations facing the ministry is sex. How does sexual purity relate to God’s requirements? Sexual immorality is clearly excluded by the requirements of ‘blameless, good report, good behaviour, just, holy, and husband of one wife.’ Again, a sexual sin is an obvious disqualification in light of all the Scriptures. – David Bernard, January-March 1988 Forward (an exclusive magazine for UPCI licensed ministers)

Unfortunately, this isn’t the only case in the UPCI where a minister has retained, or later received, license after immoral conduct. Is this man permitted to retain his license because he married into a well-known ‘name’ in the organization? Should ministers be treated with kid gloves because of their pedigree or how much money the church may contribute? Rather, shouldn’t those with a legacy be expected to be held to a high standard, considering how organizations tend to place these people on a pedestal and parade them around as examples to be followed? What does this legacy even mean when people discover abuses or cover-ups? Would it not be best to openly and properly handle any legacy case, considering that much more harm is caused to any legacy by not doing so, because at some point the truth will be discovered and made known? And what does this say to other former ministers whose licenses were properly revoked due to immorality?

Just as the church has authority to examine and approve ministerial candidates, so it has authority to remove someone from a ministerial position if he no longer meets God’s requirements. Actually the person disqualifies himself by his actions, and the church simply recognizes this fact. – David Bernard, January-March 1988 Forward

It wasn’t too difficult to determine the name of this pastor and it appears there are many within the United Pentecostal Church who know, including licensed ministers and their spouses, some of whom have spoken up about what is happening. There is no way in which this news didn’t go all the way up the chain of command in the organization. General Superintendent David Bernard, it appears that you may need to intervene and do what is right and in accordance with your Manual, and strip this individual of their license, not allowing the legacy family he married into sway you in your decision. People ARE watching.

August 6, 2020 Note: Now that it has been publicly posted by one of the alleged victims, I can share that this article is about John Shivers, who is married to one of the daughters of the late Kenneth Haney. See Part 2 & Part 3.

August 24, 2022 edit: Today the Stockton Record released an article about John Shivers. You must have a digital subscription to read it. See https://www.recordnet.com/story/news/2022/08/24/pastor-john-shivers-accused-sexual-assault-preaching-stockton-centro-vida-pentecostal-church/5695797001/

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

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This is Part 32 of an ongoing series on sexual abuse in the United Pentecostal Church. Ronald Terry Litz, now 82 years old and living in Glenn Heights, Texas, was born August 11, 1937 and at the time of his sex crimes he was married with three older children, and was the pastor of the Danville Apostolic Church, which was actually in Riverside near Danville. He was living at 702 Fifth Street in Riverside, Pennsylvania and had been the pastor for ten years. The sexual charges against him involved three different teenage boys. The church later became known as Landmark Apostolic Church and Kevin Schramm had been the pastor since May 2008. The name changed once again in the 2020s to Victory Life Church where Aaron Wright is currently the pastor in 2024.

Ronald Terry Litz, who has gone by his middle name for decades, was the vice-president of the 1963 24 member graduating class of ABI (Apostolic Bible Institute in Minnesota, a UPCI endorsed Bible college). That year, he and his wife, Martha May Litz, were the new Hobby Club Directors working under Mrs. S.G. Norris. (S.G. Norris was the college President.)

It is unknown to me when Litz obtained his United Pentecostal Church license as my older UPCI Directory collection is limited. He is not seen in the editions I have from the 50s and I have none from the 60s. As he was one of their Bible college graduates, one could guess that he may have received license in the 1960s. The 1972-73 Directory has him with a general license in Ohio and the 1975-76 Directory lists him as an ordained minister. There he was the pastor of the Lake Breeze Apostolic Church of Lorain (screen shot of a 1975 ad), a non-affiliated church. (Any church whose pastor is licensed by the UPCI is considered a UPCI church. They can go a step further and have a legal affiliation with the organization. This church did not.) I did find a 1971 ad from an Ohio church in the same town. I have a few directories from the 1980s, starting with 1981 where he is listed as living in Riverside, Pennsylvania and was the pastor of the Danville Apostolic Church, a non-affiliated church in Northumberland County.

I did find a mention of him and the church in a 1978 newspaper article, making him the pastor since at least that year. He is last seen in the 1987 Directory, where his wife was listed as the Ladies Auxiliary Secretary for the Pennsylvania District. In the late 1980s while Litz was pastor, Bill Woodruff, a 1986 ABI graduate, became the Youth Pastor, a Sunday School teacher and a church bus driver at the Danville Apostolic Church, though he did not hold license. After Litz was arrested, Harold I. Lloyd, a United Pentecostal minister with just a local license, became the acting pastor. He is no longer listed as a UPCI minister. No pastor is listed for the church in the 1988 UPCI Directory but in 1989, the church became affiliated while Seth Avery became the new pastor. He is now in Oklahoma.

The Pennsylvania newspapers started covering Terry Litz’s cases in September of 1987. He was 50 years old when arrested on September 3 and was out on $50,000 bail by the next day. He was arraigned on Friday, October 23, 1987 in Luzerne County, where he entered a not guilty plea and requested a jury trial. His crimes against two boys occurred at the United Pentecostal Church’s Pennsylvania District church camp in Fairmount Township between December 1986 and September 1987. This was in Red Rock in Luzerne County along Route 118. Terry Litz had taken the boys to the camp to help with maintenance chores, where he fondled them and engaged in oral and anal sex.

The two boys were members of the Danville Apostolic Church. Reports varied as to their ages, with one stating both were 15, another said they were 14 and one claimed they were 14 and 15. The charges, filed by the State Police, were involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault and corruption of minors. Litz voluntarily resigned as a United Pentecostal minister soon after charges were filed. L. Daniel Garlitz was the Pennsylvania District Superintendent at this time and confirmed that Terry Litz had resigned as pastor and turned in his ministerial credentials. Litz’s wife and 18 year old daughter soon moved to Texas to live with Terry and Martha’s two other daughters.

On March 8, 1988, Terry Litz plead guilty to three counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and five counts each of indecent assault and corruption of minors. He did this as part of a plea agreement that had been discussed with the families of both boys, where the District Attorney was to recommend that he only serve the sentence on one count of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse. The other charges were to run concurrently with this. Whatever time he was to serve in this case, was to run concurrently with a case from Northumberland County. If the judge were to decline the District Attorney’s recommendations, Litz was free to withdraw his guilty pleas.

A sentencing date of May 25, 1988 was set. Michael Dennehy was his attorney, Ann Lokuta was the assistant district attorney and Gifford S. Cappellini, now deceased, was the judge. (See the March 9, 1988 article in PDF format.) In 1992 Lokuta became a judge and was removed from office in 2008 after charges were made against her in 2006 by the Judicial Conduct Board.

Your conduct will require confinement for further protection of young children in our community. Your actions have caused grave emotional consequences for the victims. You were an authority figure and took advantage of young children. – Judge Gifford S. Cappellini in sentencing Ronald Terry Litz

There was a separate criminal case in Northumberland County, where in another plea arrangement Terry Litz plead guilty on February 4, 1988 to three counts of corrupting the morals of minors. Sentencing was scheduled for May but was later postponed until June. The original charges, filed by Riverside Patrolman Steve Watkins, involved three counts of the corruption of morals of a minor and three counts of indecent assault for the oldest victim and one count of each of the same charges for the youngest victim. This involved one of the 15 year old boys from the Luzerne County case, as well as a 14 year old. Litz assaulted the boys in the church office and in Litz’s home. The 15 year old boy’s assault happened on two different days in August 1986. The other was for a July 1987 assault on the 14 year old. The police investigation of these cases caused them to discover the Luzerne County cases.

On March 24, 1988 Jerome Cohen, of the District Attorney’s office, requested a mandatory five year prison sentence, which Litz’s attorney claimed went against the plea agreement where he was orally promised that they would not recommend the mandatory prison time. Dennehy filed a motion to have the judge order them to withdraw it. The District Attorney’s office agreed to withdraw the demand.

On May 25, 1988, Ronald Terry Litz was sentenced in Luzerne County to two years minus one day to five years minus two days, with five years of probation to follow. He reported to the jail on May 31. The judge told him, “Your conduct will require confinement for further protection of young children in our community. Your actions have caused grave emotional consequences for the victims. You were an authority figure and took advantage of young children. I’ve considered the impact of public shame and humiliation not only to you but to your wife and family. (But) a lessor sentence would depreciate the seriousness of your crimes.” His time was to be served in the Luzerne County Jail instead of state prison, which is why the five year sentence was made to be minus two days. He also received a concurrent sentence of 11 to 23 months on the five counts of indecent assault. He had faced up to twenty years on each of the felony charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, as well as a $25,000 fine.

Litz shared that after serving his sentence, he planned to leave Pennsylvania and volunteered to do community service by speaking to high school groups and civic organizations about sexual abuse. For six weeks prior to sentencing (one report stated three months), Litz underwent weekly psychiatric counseling in a Louisiana hospital, where he claimed he “was able to understand [his] problem.” He continued to attend church. Terry Litz’s attorney admitted that Litz had a problem for years and was molested by an older man when he was twelve years old. Litz expressed remorse for his actions to the victims, his “family, community and profession.” Litz shared that his wife left him, but at some point they got back together after he was released from prison. They own a home and have been together in Texas for many years. He first registered as a sex offender in Glenn Heights on October 31, 1999.

I have tried my best to correct my mistake. All I’m asking is that you have mercy on me. – Ronald Terry Litz, convicted pedophile

On June 28, 1988, for the Northumberland County charges, Judge Samuel Ranck sentenced Ronald Terry Litz to six to 23 months on the three counts of corrupting the morals of minors. It was to run consecutive to the Luzerne County sentence, followed by three years of probation. This was to be served in the Northumberland County Jail after his other sentence was completed. Judge Rank felt Litz received a break in the other cases considering the nature of the charges.

Litz claimed he had visited two psychiatrists prior to his arrest as he had been feeling “urges inside.” He said, “I have tried my best to correct my mistake. All I’m asking is that you have mercy on me.” (Where was his mercy toward the boys while repeatedly assaulting them?) Litz’s attorney submitted a letter showing that he had attended more meetings than required by normal therapy. Also submitted were letters in support of Litz, including a therapist who had placed him on Lithium and a pastor in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, where he lived for awhile after his arrest. At that time, there was one United Pentecostal Church in Belle Chasse, an affiliated one where James Comeaux was, and still is, listed as the pastor. (See the June 29, 1988 article, page one and page two, in PDF format.)

It is draining to compose these articles and my heart grieves for the survivors and their families, as well as the family members of these predators who are innocent of wrongdoing. When I read that a predator considered multiple sexual assaults involving three boys as a “mistake,” I could not help but think that this person is not truly remorseful and has not accepted responsibility for their actions. He reminds me of the alleged pedophile, Steven J. Dahl, who wrote on December 9, 2013, “I made a lot of mistakes, that cost me my future as far as being a minister for the organization.” Assaulting anyone isn’t a “mistake,” but a reprehensible criminal act – a devastatingly life-altering violation of an individual. His attorney said that Terry Litz had a problem for years. One can only ask, and wonder, how many victims were there before these three? Are there any from when he was a pastor in Ohio? What about his days at ABI in Minnesota? Have there been any victims since his release? These are questions to which we may never know the answers as all too many assaults go unreported and history has shown that pedophiles repeat their behavior.

Articles:
Scrantonian Tribune: June 29, 1988
Daily Item: September 4, 1987 & May 27, 1988
Citizens’ Voice: May 27, 1988 & June 30, 1988
Danville News: September 15, 1987, March 9, 1988, May 26, 1988 & June 29, 1988
Times Leader: March 9, 1988, March 25, 1988, May 11, 1988, July 1, 1988, October 20, 1987 & October 24, 1987

Texas public Sex Offender Website – (partial screen shot) His information was last verified on January 29, 2024 by the Glenn Heights Police Department.

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

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