5 Victory Christian employees charged
BY KENDRICK MARSHALL World Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
9/18/12 at 3:41 PM
Criminal charges were filed Monday against five Victory Christian Center employees, including a son and daughter-in-law of pastor Sharon Daugherty, who are accused of waiting more than two weeks before reporting the alleged rape of a 13-year-old girl last month, according to Tulsa County District Court filings.
Paul Willemstein, 32, Anna George, 24, Harold Frank Sullivan, 73, Charica Dene Daugherty, 27, and John Samuel Daugherty, 28, were jailed shortly before 10 p.m. Monday on single misdemeanor counts of failure to report child abuse, Tulsa Jail records show.
Bail for each of them was set at $1,500, records indicate.
Also charged Monday was former Victory Christian employee Israel Shalom Castillo, who faces felony charges of making a lewd or indecent proposal to a child and using a computer to facilitate a sex crime. He had not been jailed by 10:30 p.m. Monday.
Three of the employees who are charged with misdemeanors were suspended last week after it was discovered that they failed to report allegations that then-Victory Christian Center employee Chris Denman raped a 13-year-old girl at the church.
Denman, 20, was fired before the police were notified of the allegations. He was arrested Sept. 5 and charged Thursday with felony counts of first-degree rape, forcible sodomy, lewd molestation and use of a computer to facilitate a sex crime, court and jail records indicate.
He remained in the Tulsa Jail on Monday night.
Police allege that Denman sexually assaulted the girl in a stairwell near a band room at the facility, at 7700 S. Lewis Ave., before a church service Aug. 13.
According to court records, the girl reported the rape to youth leaders Aug. 15 - about two weeks before the police were notified.
Castillo, 23, is alleged to have had "a sexual indiscretion" with a 15-year-old girl, records show. He also was fired, court records state.
Victory Christian Center suspended Willemstein, George and Sullivan on Friday because they knew of the rape allegations but didn't report them "in a timely manner in accordance with an internal policy on reporting suspected cases of abuse or neglect," according to a statement the church issued Monday.
Sharon Daugherty's son John Daugherty and his wife, Charica Daugherty, have since been suspended, the statement says.
After the initial suspensions, "the police investigation additionally determined that John and Charica both had some awareness of this incident," the statement says.
"Because of this finding, the ministry has also suspended John and Charica in accordance with our disciplinary policies while we continue an internal investigation," it continues.
John Daugherty is a senior high youth pastor, and Charica Daugherty is an assistant senior high youth pastor, according to the church.
Sullivan is the church's human resources director. Willemstein, whose name is spelled Wilemstein in court documents, is an associate youth pastor, and George is a high school outreach program director.
Authorities were informed Aug. 30 of the alleged rape and conducted a forensic interview with the 13-year-old girl the next day, Denman's arrest report says.
The girl told police then that on Aug. 13, before a church service, Denman forcibly removed her clothes in a stairwell, "pushed her against a wall and had vaginal intercourse" with her, according to police records.
Regarding the allegations against Castillo, an affidavit filed Thursday outlines a sexual proposition the 15-year-old girl alleges she received from him via Facebook. Both she and Castillo later told Victory Christian Center employees about the messages, the document says.
The girls met Denman and Castillo while attending summer camp at Camp Victory, where the men were on the staff, the affidavit says.
They continued contact after the camp via Facebook and cellphones, and Denman's and Castillo's roles at the church led to additional contact with young girls, the affidavit says.
Victory Christian Center includes a church and a school with elementary through high school classes.
Original Print Headline: 5 employees of Victory Christian are charged
Kendrick Marshall 918-581-8386
kendrick.marshall@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Clockwise from top left: Paul Willemstein, Anna George, John Samuel Daugherty, Charica Dene Daugherty. Center: Harold Sullivan
Exterior view of Victory Christian Center's new worship center. Tulsa World File
Paul Willemstein
Anna George
Harold Sullivan
Charica Dene Daugherty
John Samuel Daugherty
Chris Denman
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