An 88-year-old Virginia pastor was sentenced Monday to eight years in prison for child sex crimes, after a judge greatly reduced it from 55 years. According to Richmond County Circuit Court records, a plea deal allowed the pastor, who had previously faced 31 charges, to receive the shorter sentence. Albert “Ben” Wharton, pastor of Victory Baptist Church in Warsaw, Virginia, from 1976-2002, pleaded guilty to eight of the counts against him, court records showed.| The Roys Report
A 63-year-old Russian Pentecostal pastor received a four-year sentence for preaching against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an Oslo-based news service focused on human rights and religious freedom reported. On Sept. 3, the Balashikha City court sentenced Pastor Nikolay Romanyuk to four years imprisonment in a labor camp—followed by a three-year ban on administering any website—for an anti-war sermon he preached in 2022, Forum 18 reported. Prosecutors accused the pastor of urging his aud...| The Roys Report
For the first time in decades, Gen Z and Millennials are attending church more frequently than older adults, Barna and Gloo reported Sept. 3 from its latest State of the Church research. But despite the rise, the average Christian still only attends church 1.6 times per month, or twice every five weeks, researchers said. “We were able to analyze our data in a fresh way to show what many pastors feel — that even really regular churchgoers do not attend that often.| The Roys Report
In a speech on religious liberty given at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., on Monday, President Donald Trump vowed his administration would combat “anti-Christian bias,” spurring cheers from the crowd at an event that was almost entirely focused on Christianity. “There is a tremendous anti-Christian bias,” said Trump at a public hearing of the White House Religious Liberty Commission, created by executive order in May. “We don’t hear about it.| The Roys Report
It seems like a great redemption story: A pastor who stole thousands of dollars not from one—but two churches—spent years in restoration and restitution, then made a new start. This was the case when Jeff Countryman went public about a saga that led him from pastoring churches to practicing repentance. Five years ago, he returned to full-time ministry, and for the last three years served as campus pastor of the Land O’ Lakes location for the Tampa-area Grace Family Church.| The Roys Report
Even before a program to compensate survivors of sex abuse in the Church of England is ready to receive applicants, a poorly addressed message exposed the email addresses of all 194 people who registered for regular updates. The problem originated with Kennedys Law LLC, the third-party administrator of the program known as the Church of England Redress Scheme. Kennedy’s quickly acknowledged its culpability and has pledged to prevent any similar errors from occurring.| The Roys Report
On July 13, 2024, Emeka Eze went out for his routine evening evangelism around Jakande market in Lagos, Nigeria. He had purchased a new public address system the previous day and wanted to do a test run. On his way back home, he noticed some people under the Jakande Bridge and decided he would preach to them. After his sermon, one man repented and accepted Jesus Christ as his savior. The next day, while prepping for Sunday service, Eze said he received an instruction from God that changed his...| The Roys Report
An Ohio pastor and former county commissioner candidate was charged this week with public indecency for engaging in a “sex act” with a woman in the back seat of an SUV. Aaron Williams, Jr., 56, pastor of Maddox Memorial Church of God and community leader in Mansfield, Ohio, pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charge in Mansfield Municipal Court on Thursday, court records show. Mansfield, pop. 47,534, is located in hilly north-central Ohio about halfway between Columbus and Cleveland.| The Roys Report
During the “Bible and American Renewal” breakout session at this week’s National Conservatism Conference, Josh Hammer stood out as the lone Jewish person on the panel of otherwise conservative Christian activists: a pastor, the editor of an online Christian magazine and a self-described Christian nationalist. Yet, it was Hammer who told an audience member that “America was founded as a Christian country.” “I’ll be the first to say that,” Hammer added.| The Roys Report
Sept. 1 marks a historic victory for child sexual assault survivors in Texas and Missouri. “Trey’s Law” has officially gone into effect, banning the misuse of nondisclosure agreements in civil settlement agreements pertaining to sexual assault claims. In Texas, this legislation releases survivors from existing NDAs that restrict them from telling their stories, unless a court specifically orders otherwise. Missouri’s House version of Trey’s Law (HB-737) also went into effect last Th...| The Roys Report
Toms River Mayor Daniel Rodrick on Aug. 27 unexpectedly dropped his plan to seize Christ Episcopal Church’s land for a public park. His announcement came during the New Jersey town’s council meeting’s public comment time when a speaker asked him to stop the seizure. He responded that a poll he commissioned showed that “it’s pretty clear that the public does not support the eminent domain. We thought the church would be a willing seller and we’re not moving forward with the eminent...| The Roys Report
Disgraced former megachurch pastor Robert Morris waived his right to a preliminary hearing at a court appearance Thursday morning regarding accusations he sexually abused a 12-year-old girl over four decades ago. Flanked by attorneys and wife Debbie, Morris appeared before Judge Cindy Pickerell at the Osage County District Court in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. Morris confirmed he understood the implications of waiving the hearing. Preliminary hearings are where a judge decides if there’s sufficient ...| The Roys Report
When Newsboys owner Wes Campbell resigned from the Gospel Music Association board in July, he insisted he had “no idea” about the devastating behaviors by frontman Michael Tait. But many have called those claims into question. And Campbell’s Grammy-nominated band is on life support due to The Roys Report’s (TRR) investigation into Tait’s sexual misconduct, drug use, and alleged cover up by Newsboys’ management. Over the past few months, the band has lost its Canadian tour, multipl...| The Roys Report