Oklahoma church rocked by rape charges
Associated Press
Updated 11:16 p.m., Thursday, September 20, 2012
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- Two former members of Victory Christian Center in Tulsa, Okla., are accused of sex crimes officials delayed reporting. Photo: Justin Juozapavicius, Associated Press / SF
Chris Denman Photo: Associated Press / SF Chris Denman- Israel Castillo Photo: Associated Press / SF Israel Castillo
Tulsa, Okla. --
A 17,000-member megachurch deep in Oklahoma's Bible Belt has been rattled by allegations that five employees waited two weeks to report the rape of a 13-year-old girl in a campus stairwell, allegedly by a church worker.
Tulsa police say the girl is among at least three victims of alleged sex crimes by two former employees of Victory Christian Center who face criminal charges. A child crimes investigator says more victims could surface as police continue to investigate.
Authorities, however, fear some parishioners in the large, tight-knit south Tulsa congregation may choose to pray about the allegations rather than provide concrete evidence.
Police said this week that the worldwide ministry's pastor and co-founder, Sharon Daugherty, whose daily broadcasts are beamed via satellite to more than 200 countries, knew about the abuse allegations but trusted ministry employees to follow in-house policies on reporting such incidents.
Former church employee Chris Denman , 20, was arrested Sept. 5 for allegedly raping a 13-year-old girl in a stairwell before a church service on Aug. 13. He also is charged with molesting a 15-year-old girl sometime between Aug. 13 and Aug. 17. He has pleaded not guilty and faces an Oct. 11 preliminary hearing, court records show.
Another former employee, 23-year-old Israel Shalom Castillo was arrested Thursday morning after turning himself in at the Tulsa jail. He is charged with making a lewd proposal to a child and using a computer to commit a sex crime.
Prosecutors this week also charged five church employees - including Daugherty's son and daughter-in-law, who are both youth pastors - for failing to report the alleged assault between Aug. 15 and Aug. 30. The five each face one misdemeanor count of failing to report child abuse and are due to be arraigned Wednesday in Tulsa County District Court.
They have all have been suspended by the ministry while it decides disciplinary action, the church said.
Tulsa attorney Jason Robertson , who is representing the five employees, did not return a phone message seeking comment Thursday afternoon.
The ministry - founded in 1981 by Sharon and the late Billy Joe Daugherty and shaped in a similar mold to Tulsa televangelist Oral Roberts' charismatic Christian ministries - issued statements this week accepting responsibility for the lapse in reporting. A request to interview Daugherty was declined by a public relations firm hired by Victory Christian Center.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Oklahoma-church-rocked-by-rape-charges-3882499.php#ixzz27QpbuVT5