Author: rose

DA: Central Georgia youth pastor accused of child pornography charges being extradited to Pennsylvania

DUBLIN, PA — A Central Georgia youth pastor accused of downloading sexually explicit images of children is being extradited to Pennsylvania, according to Houston County District Attorney Eric Edwards.

Edwards said that Tyler Moreland, 30, has waived his extradition hearing and is awaiting extradition. He will remain in the Houston County Jail until Pennsylvania officers arrive to pick him up.

He added that he’s not sure when Moreland will be picked up from jail. Edwards said neighboring states usually pick them up within the week. However, it may take longer due to the distance between Georgia and Pennsylvania.

Investigators said Moreland was in contact with a child and downloading explicit images. According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s office, he was arrested in Houston County and faces five counts of possession of child pornography.

Moreland, a Macon resident, has worked as the Director of Students and Families at Mount Zion Baptist Church on Rivoli Road since June 2025. He was immediately terminated upon his arrest on April 13, 2026, according to church officials.

Larry Collins, head of Trinity Christian School in Dublin, added that Moreland was employed at the school for the school years 2019-2020 and 2020-2021.

Collins said Moreland was a history teacher and had also coached both middle school football and wrestling.

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with the FBI, is now investigating whether any offenses were committed in Georgia. Search warrants have been obtained for devices in Monroe and Bibb counties.

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A bipartisan duo helped force Reps. Swalwell and Gonzales to resign. They say other House members could be next.

WASHINGTON, DC — A cross-party effort caused two House members to resign on Tuesday under threat of expulsion — and the two female lawmakers who helped lead that push say additional members of Congress could face pressure next.

In an interview with CBS News, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández — a Republican and a Democrat, respectively — described how they coordinated to push Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell and GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales to step down this week rather than face votes to remove them from office over allegations of misconduct.

Multiple women in recent days have accused Swalwell of sexual assault or sending unsolicited explicit messages, which he has denied, and Gonzales has faced scrutiny over an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide. Swalwell also dropped out of the California gubernatorial race over the weekend, while Gonzales dropped his bid for reelection last month.

Luna and Leger Fernández said they worked in tandem to introduce separate expulsion efforts, building support across party lines and increasing pressure on both men to leave. Luna said there was already enough backing in the chamber to remove them if votes had taken place, telling CBS News that “we had two-thirds support for both people to be gone.”

Leger Fernández said the dual resignations on Tuesday were the result of members stepping in when House leadership did not immediately act.

“If it wouldn’t have been for those resolutions that we were each filing, they wouldn’t have resigned,” she said, adding that the situation only came to light because women involved “were willing to break the silence.”

The two said their coordination began informally, after Luna started publicly pushing for action and the two connected to align their efforts. Because House rules require separate members to bring expulsion resolutions, they agreed to support each other’s moves.

House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters late Tuesday that he did not have a hand in causing Swalwell and Gonzales to resign in rapid succession. He called the outcome appropriate, and said the allegations against Swalwell in particular were “alarming.”

Johnson has also argued in the past that it’s important for members who face misconduct allegations to receive due process, including investigations by the House Ethics Committee, which was looking into Gonzales and Swalwell. CBS News has reached out to Johnson for additional comment.

Luna and Leger Fernández indicated to CBS News that their efforts could extend to other members currently under scrutiny.

Luna said she would support expulsion if warranted in additional cases, including those involving Republican Rep. Cory Mills and Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick.

Mills is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee over alleged campaign finance violations, sexual misconduct and other accusations. And Cherfilus-McCormick has been charged by federal prosecutors with improperly using millions of dollars in federal pandemic relief funds in connection with her campaign.

The Ethics Committee determined last month that most of the allegations against Cherfilus-McCormick were substantiated, though it has not yet issued a recommendation on punishment.

“If you’re knowingly breaking the law, then you need to go,” Luna said, adding, “I think the threshold will be met.”

Leger Fernández pointed to the Ethics Committee findings in Cherfilus-McCormick’s case, saying, “We expect the committee report to come out just in a few days.” She emphasized that lawmakers must meet “a high level of integrity” to remain in office.

Mills and Cherfilus-McCormick have denied wrongdoing. Mills, speaking to reporters Tuesday, pushed back on the idea that he could face expulsion, arguing he is being unfairly grouped with other lawmakers and noting he is not facing criminal charges or allegations involving staff.

“There’s absolutely no criminal charges being filed against me… no inappropriate behavior or actions with a staffer or intern on the Hill,” he said.

Cherfilus-McCormick told CBS News in a statement that she does not plan to resign, and said it would set a “dangerous precedent” to expel members without formal findings against them. She also noted that the allegations against her “are not the same as those facing some of my colleagues.”

“Lumping them together, particularly with cases involving sexual assault and rape, is inaccurate and irresponsible,” Cherfilus-McCormick said.

Both Luna and Leger Fernández framed this week’s resignations by Swalwell and Gonzales as part of a broader push to address misconduct within Congress, particularly when it involves power dynamics between members and staff.

“No means no,” Luna said. “You cannot sexually harass or assault people and not expect the law to come down on you.”

Leger Fernández said the goal was to make clear that such behavior will not be tolerated.

“We are going to hold men accountable,” she said, “and we will not let women continue to be silenced.”

They also raised concerns about the pace of the House Ethics Committee’s work, arguing that the process often takes too long to address serious allegations. Luna described the committee — made up of five Democrats and five Republicans — as “where things go to die,” while Leger Fernández said changes are needed to ensure cases are handled more quickly.

Republican Rep. Michael Guest, who chairs the ethics panel, told reporters Tuesday that “some investigations can be accomplished much quicker than others,” noting that probes like the one into Cherfilus-McCormick are difficult because they involve large numbers of documents and multiple attorneys. He said the committee’s members and their staff are “working diligently to move these cases through as quickly as possible.”

Expelling a member of the House requires a two-thirds vote, a threshold that has historically made it a rare outcome. Only six members of the lower chamber have been expelled in U.S. history, most recently Republican Rep. George Santos, who was charged with wire fraud, money laundering and campaign finance violations.

But Luna suggested the recent developments could lead to further action, saying the situation may trigger “a chain reaction.”

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Valerie Schultz: freelance writer, columnist, and author

As a survivor of sexual abuse, I understand why César Chávez’s victims stayed silent

My heart has always been warmed by the care that the designer of the freeway exit signs in Portland, Ore., took when correctly accenting the street named for the legendary founder of the United Farm Workers union: “César E Chávez Blvd” say the signs. I am a transplant to the Pacific Northwest from Central California, and I appreciate the accuracy.

I once worked at a Catholic parish that members of the Chávez family sometimes attended from La Paz, the U.F.W. headquarters about 10 miles down the road. I never met César Chávez himself, but my children went to school and made their first Communions and confirmations with Chávez grandchildren. Their parents were my casual parent-friends. I have been to Chávez quinceañeras and graduations and funerals. I was sad when I was unable to secure a ticket to the official designation of the U.F.W. headquarters as a national monument in 2012, which was attended by President Obama.

Alas, alas. I suspect that César E Chávez Blvd in Portland will soon be renamed, along with many other streets and schools and public buildings. Officials in Delano, Calif., the site of fabled U.F.W. marches, are already considering a new name for the high school, with candidates like “Mountain View” or “El Dorado” or “Freedom.” (I note that they are not considering some other man’s name.) After three decades of celebrating César Chávez Day, California has rechristened its March 31 state holiday as Farmworkers Day. All around the country, others will refrain from celebrating him. Another national hero has fallen.

If you are like me, your head is still spinning from the revelation of César Chávez’s grooming and sexual abuse of several teenage girls in his orbit, reported by The New York Times. Unlike the suspected perpetrators associated with Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking ring, Chávez’s fall from public grace has been swift and absolute. No one is covering up the reporting. No one is making excuses for his aberrant behavior. No one is demanding more proof. Amazingly, the women in this case are actually being believed.

The good work over decades that Chávez and his family have done on behalf of farm workers is undeniable. Still, I imagine this taint on his name will persist in historical accounts of the movement, just next to the “Boycott Grapes” signs that document the civil rights advances of the 1960s. Our heads are spinning even more nauseatingly by the revelations made by Dolores Huerta, the co-founder and co-worker who was by Chávez’s side throughout his organizing. She did not reveal the rapes and pregnancies inflicted on her by her U.F.W. partner Chávez for fear of negating all the good that the union had accomplished for Latino workers. She kept silent for nearly 60 years, for the greater cause. Until she couldn’t. To do so would have dishonored the women who suffered as she suffered. “Lying is done with words, and also with silence,” the poet and essayist Adrienne Rich wrote. The truth, however painful and long buried, needed to be dragged into the light of day.

A personal recap: a family whose members I care about is reeling under this news, and the labor movement I strongly support is under fire, and the hero who seemed a moral giant is made small and tawdry by his own actions. We humans have always needed heroes in our midst—selfless, smart, strong, larger-than-life role models to inspire us. We look for the Gulliver among us and cling to his colossal frame. Heroes, by accomplishing what seems impossible, make us believe that we, too, can participate in reform and do more for others and contribute to a better world. When a hero fails us, when a hero is revealed to be a weakling and a sinner just like the rest of us, we are disillusioned. And too much disillusionment leads to a kind of spiritual devastation. As Jesus once noted with pity, we are “troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd” (Mt 9:36).

Many women, including myself, can find the reports of someone else enduring something we endured triggering. I know that overuse of the word “triggering” can trigger annoyance, but the feeling of tumbling backward into a traumatic memory is like a bullet fired into the soul. I was perhaps 6 when a male babysitter exposed himself and made me watch him “make the milk come out.” I never told my parents about his secret magic trick. I was 16 when a teacher finally succeeded in claiming my virginity, another thing I never told my parents. I waited to write anything about my high school years until both of my parents had died.

At the time of my grooming, which I later realized this teacher had done before and would do again, I believed that what he and I had together was so special because I was so mature and so different from other girls my age. I believed he adored me for my coolness and artistic talent and sophistication. I believed him when he said that the world would not understand the unique bond we shared. I felt chosen, a feeling heightened by the secrecy we had to maintain.

So I can relate to the repulsive stories in the news of Epstein and Chávez and many other powerful older men. When we are young and used in this way, we may feel that the actual sex part is weird and bad, but we soak up the flattery, the recognition of our womanly qualities that no one else sees. When the older men move on to younger fare, as they inevitably do despite their promises of love, we feel stupid. We retreat into bad places, depression, dropping out, drugs, meaningless sex, even suicide. We feel ruined. More often than not, we tell no one what happened to us. But, man, those triggers embedded in the news can still pierce us years later.

I understand Dolores Huerta wanting to protect the UFW’s accomplishments and legacy because in my small way, I was protecting my parents unto death. I didn’t want to publish long-buried stories that might hurt them or make them think they had failed me. But my experiences made me behave like a mother hawk—a mother bear, a mother lion—over my own children. My memories of what men could do, along with vivid maternal hormones, made me feel capable of murdering any man who messed with them.

We give men this power over us when we adulate and idolize them. Our heroes may be national in stature or just someone we lionize personally. Some of the men we hero-worship seem to be able to take our reverence in stride. But some use it for their personal gratification, whether sexual or otherwise, and think they can take whatever they want from us as their right. We women carry the pain until we cannot. I think of Dolores Huerta physically carrying two babies to term after being raped by Chávez and discreetly placing them with other families. I think of the enormous internal price of her silence. Mostly, I think of all the women, young and old, who continue to suffer because of the easy access and lack of accountability we afford our heroes. I think of the women who are indeed “troubled and abandoned.”

How do we teach our children to trust in their own heroic qualities? How do we groom them to stand up for themselves? The mortal heroes with feet of clay seek out the vulnerable among us, the easiest to manipulate and abuse. Scripture clearly tells us what our job is: What we do for the least of these, we do for Christ (Mt 25:40). It’s not an answer that will speak to everyone. But it is our mission from God.

May God have mercy on César Chávez and his fellow abusers. May God have mercy on those of us who may want otherwise.

Valerie Schultz is a freelance writer, a columnist for The Bakersfield Californian and the author of Till the Moon Be No More: The Grit and Grace of Growing Older. She lives on the Oregon Coast.

Op-ed originally published here

Judge sets deadline for El Paso Diocese abuse claims, rejects insurers’ push for extra paperwork

EL PASO, TX — The clock is officially ticking for survivors of alleged clergy abuse seeking compensation from the Catholic Diocese of El Paso.

During a hearing in Downtown El Paso on Tuesday, April 14, a federal bankruptcy judge signed a final order setting Sept. 11 as the absolute deadline for survivors to file a claim against the church.

The Diocese is currently navigating Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization stemming from more than a dozen sexual abuse lawsuits. The allegations date back to the 1950s through the 1980s in Southern New Mexico, which was part of the El Paso Diocese at the time.

KTSM 9 News was the only outlet inside the courtroom Tuesday as the judge hammered out exactly how and when survivors can come forward — and delivered a major victory to victims regarding the filing process.

Much of Tuesday’s courtroom debate focused on the amount of paperwork survivors would be required to submit.

Insurance companies representing the Diocese pushed back against the proposed timeline and asked the court to force survivors to fill out a “supplemental document” requiring detailed evidence up front.

Both the Diocese and lawyers representing the survivors fought back against the insurers. They argued that demanding extensive evidence right out of the gate could intimidate victims who have not yet come forward. In court, survivors’ attorneys called the insurers’ demand a tactic to limit the number of filings, object to claims, and “drag out the process.”

Ultimately, the bankruptcy judge sided with the survivors and the Diocese, rejecting the insurance companies’ demands for the extra paperwork. This clears the way for the claims process to move forward with fewer hurdles for victims.

The Sept. 11 deadline applies to anyone the church owes money to, including all abuse survivors.

Crucially, the court has made it clear that past actions do not exempt a survivor from this deadline. Even if a survivor previously sued the Diocese, reported their abuse to a priest, or reached a prior settlement, they are still fully eligible — and legally required — to file a brand-new claim by the deadline to be included in the bankruptcy payout. Failure to file by this date means risking the loss of their right to compensation.

Beyond the claims process, the judge also addressed the church’s day-to-day operations.

When a business or entity files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, its assets are often frozen. However, Chapter 11 does not mean the Diocese is shutting down; rather, it allows the church to stay open while reorganizing its debt to create a payment plan for survivors.

To keep operations running, the judge officially signed off on an agreement between the Diocese and WestStar Bank. The order unfreezes essential accounts, allowing the Diocese to use its own funds to continue paying employees and covering basic daily expenses while the lengthy bankruptcy process plays out.

When the Diocese initially filed for bankruptcy last month, Bishop Mark Seitz stated it was the only viable path to fairly compensate victims without closing their doors permanently.

Details on the secure online portal and mailing addresses for survivors to officially file their claims will be made available in the coming days.

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Convicted sex offender maintained access to children through pastoral and healthcare roles

CHESAPEAKE, VA — A 10 On Your Side investigation has revealed that a local pastor, who according to Virginia court records, is a convicted sex offender, has been charged with new sex crimes and is out on bond.

The investigation revealed that Da’Qwone Domonique Hill had direct access to children in both religious and professional healthcare settings, despite a lengthy history as a convicted sex offender.

Hill appeared in Chesapeake General District Court April 1 to face charges of sexual battery and assault and battery. The charges follow an alleged Feb. 28 incident involving an 18-year-old man. The mother of the alleged victim said it happened inside a church building on Indian River Road. The building houses several businesses, and it appears the church has no outdoor signage. Black curtains covered the front windows.

The criminal complaint states that Hill asked the teenager if he wanted to see his private parts and, according to the teen’s written statement, Hill “continued to pull down his pants and show me anyway.”

The teen further alleged that Hill attempted to get him to touch his private parts. The victim said he was able to leave the office but claims Hill also tried to get him to go to his car “to get me alone.”

The mother of the alleged victim spoke to 10 On Your Side under the condition of anonymity. She stated there were also minors in the church at the time of the alleged incident, according to her son. She expressed shock over the allegations involving a man the family has known for years.

“Again, that’s my pastor, our youth pastor,” she said. “I’m not thinking that he’s going to try to do something with my child. That’s the last thing I thought.”

The mother also alleged that during the encounter, Hill used his phone to show her son a video of Hill masturbating.

Hill remains out on bond. Outside the Chesapeake General District Court on April 1, 10 On Your Side reporter Angela Bohon asked Hill if he had any comment, but he did not say anything.

Court records show multiple prior sex crime convictions, and according to a spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Corrections, Hill was in custody in one of its facilities from March 29, 2019 to June 18, 2021. Court documents also reveal that several of Hill’s sentences were suspended, and paperwork from a 2017 case explicitly stated that a condition of Hill’s bond release was a prohibition from working with youth in any church capacity. Records found by 10 On Your Side show Hill was ordained in 2016 in Norfolk and installed as a senior pastor in Virginia Beach in 2023.

Outside the Chesapeake courthouse, some expressed outrage that Hill was able to continue in leadership positions and is out on bond.

Michelle Bowman, who said Hill abused her son nearly a decade ago, said she originally offered the pastor forgiveness, but that “grace has run out.”

“For him to take that grace and come back and do it again … You are a predator,” Bowman said. “Instead of praying for people, he’s been preying on people. That’s what he does! He grooms them.”

Bowman’s son, Mykell Bowman, said: “I feel bad for the victims today. … I just wish that justice is served from now on,” adding, “he used some things that I was going through to get close to me, and since then, he just started to groom me.” The young man said said he’s worked hard to heal and is grateful for the support of family and friends.

Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi, while not commenting on this specific case, noted that the judicial system views the abuse of a professional position — be it a doctor, pastor, or caregiver — as an aggravating factor in sentencing.

“One of the things that makes a person’s crime worse is called abusing their position of trust – whether that is a doctor, a pastor, a caregiver, a parent – if one abuses their position of trust either to commit a crime or to make their crime more profitable for themselves, that tends to get them a longer sentence,” stated Fatehi, who added, “because it’s betraying somebody and betraying the victim by protecting themselves, using their job, their reputation, or their position.”

The investigation also discovered that Hill sometimes used his middle name, Domonique. That’s what Sonjineke Gonzalez said he went by when she worked with him at PrimeCare Medical. Gonzalez claimed Hill frequently interacted with children at the facility, sometimes taking them outside or to wait in vehicles so parents could focus on medical appointments.

“Mr. Hill was adamant like, ‘I got him. Just go, I got him,’” Gonzalez recalled as she said he interacted with a mother. “He walked that patient’s child outside to sit in the car and wait.”

Gonzalez, who described Hill as “upbeat,” said she was entirely unaware of his criminal past during their time working together. “You mean to tell me this was missed by everyone? It’s unacceptable,” she said.

10 On Your Side reached out to several church leaders associated with Hill. However, no comments have been provided as of this report.

Hill is scheduled to return to court on June 4.

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Bishop steps down while finances are inspected

Rt Revd Stephen Lake was presented with the Jersey crosier in 2022. Credit: BBC UK

WEST OF ENGLAND — The Bishop of Salisbury has stepped down from his role while allegations of “potential financial irregularities” are looked into.

The Diocese of Salisbury said the Right Reverend Stephen Lake had stepped back voluntarily and the Bishop of Sherborne – the Right Revd Karen Gorham – would cover his role while an audit took place.

Lake took on the role of bishop in 2022, making him the most senior figure in the Church of England in the Diocese of Salisbury, which covers most of Dorset, Wiltshire and the Channel Islands.

The Church of England confirmed an audit was taking place following allegations relating to two separate funds.

A spokesperson for the Diocese of Salisbury said the two funds being audited related to the office of the Bishop of Salisbury but were “separate from parish share and other funds controlled by the Diocesan Board of Finance”.

Lake has also stepped down from his role as a trustee of the Church Commissioners, a body which manages the Church of England’s investment assets – valued at £11.1bn at the end of 2024.

The 62-year-old, who grew up in Poole in Dorset, became a priest in 1989 and took on the role of Dean of Gloucester Cathedral before his position as bishop.

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Church treasurer accused of stealing $80,000 from Lincoln County Baptist church

LINCOLN COUNTY, NC — A church treasurer from Lincoln County is accused of embezzling $80,000 from a Baptist church in Iron Station, deputies say.

Detectives allege that between June 2025 and February 2026, Hope Corley embezzled tens of thousands of dollars from an Iron Station church.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office received a report on March 4 about a significant amount of money missing from the bank account for Mt. Vernon Missionary Baptist Church. Detectives launched an investigation to determine what happened to the money. Investigators determined that approximately $80,000 was stolen from the church.

Hope Corley, the church’s treasurer, was arrested on April 8 and charged with embezzlement. According to detectives, Corley diverted $80,000 from the church for her personal use between June 2025 and February 2026. She’s currently being held in the Lincoln County jail under a $50,000 bond.

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Arlington pastor accused of sexually abusing teen who lived with him

ARLINGTON, TX — A now 34-year-old woman detailed being sexually abused by Troyce Hernandez in 2010.

A 51-year-old pastor, Troyce Hernandez, was arrested this week, accused of raping a young woman nearly 20 years ago.

An arrest affidavit states the woman was 18 at the time of the alleged sexual abuse. Now, 34, she filed a complaint with the Irving Criminal Justice Center on March 24 this year.

According to the affidavit, the woman said Hernandez raped her in January 2010. The court document said she made a “delayed outcry that she was sexually assaulted multiple times by Hernandez.”

The woman told police she and her family were living with Hernandez at the time as he volunteered to help her “move forward with her faith and desire to do more for God within the church.”

According to the woman accusing Hernandez, he entered her room, undressed her, and then forced himself on her.

Records list Hernandez as a pastor at True Grace Church in Arlington. The church has not responded to NBC 5’s request for comment.

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Portuguese bishops confirm cuts to payment for abuse victims

Plenary assembly of the Portuguese episcopal conference. Credit: Vatican Media.

PORTUGAL — The president of the Portuguese bishops’ conference confirmed Tuesday that “significant cuts” were made to the recommendations from an independent commission for financial compensation packages to victims of clerical sexual abuse.

On Tuesday The Pillar broke the news that the Portuguese bishops’ conference voted in a February closed-door meeting to make cuts to the amounts proposed by an independent Compensation Determination Commission, which had been formed in 2024 by the bishops’ conference.

But until news reporting was published April 7 on the subject, the bishops’ conference had declined to confirm the cuts, telling The Pillar earlier this month only that “the final amounts attributed were defined in accordance with the procedural regulation, which allowed for a distinction between the technical report and the final decision” and “taking into consideration” the work of the CDC.

The independent commission was composed of seven legal experts,including two judges, along with several lawyers and university law professors.

The Pillar has confirmed that the cuts applied by the bishops slashed tens of thousands of euros from the compensations packages recommended for victims by the commission. According to the Portuguese bishops’ conference, the amounts finally awarded to the victims range from between 9,000 and 45,000 euros — around $10,500 to $52,000.

In a Tuesday afternoon interview with Ecclesia, the official news agency of the Catholic Church in Portugal, bishops’ conference president Bishop José Ornelas confirmed the cuts.

“There was a significant reduction of the value presented by the Compensation Determination Commission. It was considered that, taking into account the reality of the Church in Portugal, Portuguese jurisprudence and the response of other European Churches, we should lower the amount,” the bishop explained.

In a separate interview with Portuguese news agency Lusa, Ornelas stressed that “the Church in Portugal is not rich”, and said that victims in Germany and France received maximum compensations of 50,000 and 60,000 euros [around $57,000 thousand and $69,000 dollars], respectively.”

“I can accept that some might find [the Portuguese compensation packages] too low,” the bishop said, adding that “if anyone prefers to take the issue to court, they can.”

Sources close to the bishops’ conference have told The Pillar that the decision to cut the compensation packages proposed by the CDC caused significant discomfort among its members and other people connected to the process, with some lamenting that a closed-door vote to reduce recommended amounts undercut the bishops’ commitment to transparency.

On Tuesday, Bishop Ornelas, who is bishop of Leiria-Fátima, said he informed the members of the commission personally about the cuts, adding that “they accepted that we were doing our duty. Some agreed more, others less, of course, as with all processes. But we were very open about it.”

The Catholic Church in Portugal will expend a more than 1.6 million euros on compensation for 57 people whose requests have already been validated. Nine cases are still awaiting evaluation.

But The Pillar has confirmed that compensation commission will not be tasked evaluating remaining cases. The bishops’ conference has said that “the outstanding cases will be assessed using the same criteria as those applied to cases that have already been concluded. The [bishops’ conference] will announce in due course who will carry out this assessment, should it be deemed appropriate.”

Asked how deeply compensation recommendations were cut by the bishops’ February vote on the subject, a spokesperson for the conference said the bishops did not consider it appropriate to make that information public.

The compensation recommendations were made for alleged victims of clerical sexual abuse whose cases could not be litigated in court because of the civil statute of limitation in Portugal.

According to the bishops’ conference, 95 people applied for financial compensation, of whom 78 were considered initially eligible. Eleven of those claims were later rejected, and 66 cases approved for compensation. Fifty-seven have had compensation already awarded, and nine others are pending analysis. One case was still awaiting a judicial decision by the Holy See when the bishops issued their statement.

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Social media pics by parents used by paraeducator in AI child porn, say cops

The City of Richland Police Department arrested school paraeducator, pastor in porn investigation

KENNEWICK, WA — Bail was set at $250,000 on Tuesday for a Tri-Cities paraeducator accused of using AI to turn images of a girl he “friended” on Facebook into sexually explicit videos and photos. Kevin R. Johnson, 54, who is also a pastor at a local church, was arrested Monday by federal agents outside Cottonwood Elementary School in Kennewick where he worked.

Tuesday afternoon he made an initial court appearance by video link from the Benton County jail, where he is being held on suspicion of possessing and dealing in child pornography. Formal charges have not been filed.

He is suspected of downloading pictures of the girl posted on Facebook and Instagram, then altering them with artificial intelligence software. The girl lives in another state, said investigators.

Deputy Prosecutor Chelsea Parker asked for the high bail amount, saying, “The state is very concerned about his employment, seemingly choosing employment that gives him access to children.”

Judge Jackie Shea-Brown agreed to $250,000 because of the seriousness of the allegations.

A state database on public school employees shows Johnson worked as an aid for the Kennewick district at Chinook Middle School during the 2023-24 school year.

Then, the Pasco School District said Johnson worked at McClintock STEM Elementary between August 2024 and June 2025.

Starting in August 2025, he worked as a paraeducator at Cottonwood Elementary school. The Kennewick School District said in a statement that no students at that school were involved in the allegations.

“The principal contacted families of students in the directly affected classroom,” the district said in a statement. “The employee has been placed on leave and removed from all school duties.”

Johnson was a lead pastor with Impact Church of Pasco since July 2023, according to his LinkedIn profile. The church has not made a statement about his arrest.

His LinkedIn profile shows he also taught at Vacaville Christian Schools in California starting in the 2022-23 school year before coming to the Tri-Cities.

Public documents show that he had previous ties to pastor associations and is married to a Pasco teacher.

AI-generated child pornography

Court documents claim Johnson allegedly uploaded 21 files to his Google Drive on Feb. 13 that Google flagged as sexually explicit pictures and videos that involved children. Johnson allegedly used his own email address and personal information to use the account.

The videos and photos allegedly showed a girl undressing or engaged in sexual acts. It appeared he used a real photo and was manipulated by artificial intelligence so it was sexual in nature, said investigators.

Court documents are not clear if all the images and video involved the same girl.

A detective recognized some of the pictures as being from Instagram, and with the help of a Homeland Security Investigations analyst they were able to find the girl pictured.

Detectives discovered the pictures had been taken from her parents Instagram and Facebook accounts. He often cropped out other children before using AI software on the images.

It’s not clear what Johnson’s connection was to the family, but the girl had accepted him as a “friend” on Facebook.

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