The 24-year-old male had passed two background checks before he began youth volunteer work.

A youth leader at a Texas megachurch has been arrested for allegedly inducing young girls to send him explicit inappropriate images.

Prosecution documents in Abilene, Texas, state that 24-year-old Charles Goff admitted to police that he went on social media and solicited nude photos from girls aged 14 and 15. They also allege that Goff met with a fellow church member and admitted his wrongdoing.

Goff was a youth volunteer at Beltway Park Church, a large baptist megachurch in Abilene in north central Texas with two campuses in the city and a congregation of nearly 5,000 people every week.

  • darth_tiktaalik
    12·
    8 hours ago

    One sentence horror: Don’t worry ma’am your child is just meeting with our youth pastor.

  • NatakuNox@lemmy.world
    40·
    7 hours ago

    It’s almost as if churches are the most dangerous place for children. And since they want Bible’s and the ten commandments in schools, I want the whole Encyclopedia Britannica and a poster for child abuse hotline in every church.

  • Cargon
    5·
    7 hours ago

    I am Cargon’s complete lack of surprise.

  • GrymEdm@lemmy.world
    89·
    14 hours ago

    If Christian parents were really concerned about their child’s safety they’d let them go to library book readings and keep them away from church groups and camps.

    • TheTechnician27@lemmy.worldEnglish
      36·
      13 hours ago

      “Ban books having anything to do with sex from public libraries so that children are less likely to realize and communicate they’ve been sexually abused by the church. It’s foolproof.” –the GOP probably

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
        13·
        13 hours ago

        It’s amazing that so many parents who should know better don’t think that age-appropriate sex education in schools is a good idea because “it’s up to the parents” (who then never teach it).

        In my opinion- “Bad touch” is something every small child should understand and it should be reaffirmed in kindergarten, maybe even first grade. By age 8, a child should understand the basics of human reproduction. By age 12 they should understand the basics of contraception and STDs.

      • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        31·
        13 hours ago

        Not probably, this is 100% the intention. Not just church though, but schools and homes as well.

  • MerrySkeptic@sh.itjust.works
    301·
    12 hours ago

    Not to defend churches in general, but the article headline here is pretty misleading in calling this guy a youth leader. He was a volunteer. And, to the church’s credit, when this came out they immediately began cooperating with law enforcement and even referred anyone with more info to talk to the police.

    I don’t like churches in general, but this one did as well as any other organization that has volunteers working with kids. They had background checks in place and did not try to cover anything up.

    • Grass@sh.itjust.works
      1·
      10 hours ago

      They also have a volunteer position with many potential victims in the first place…

      I also remember when I was a kid playing tag hide and seek with my cousins I chased them into one room but they suddenly stopped to look up at the figurines and said “it’s mary…” and didn’t respond to anything for 3-5 minutes. That was probably the first time I ever felt scared of the church.

      • MerrySkeptic@sh.itjust.works
        6·
        9 hours ago

        I’m not sure what difference it makes here that it was a volunteer position. There was a background check (two, actually) just like there would have been if it was a paid position. Schools often use volunteers too to read to kids or tutor after school, etc.

        I’m not saying churches are always this responsible. I’m saying we should applaud the ones that take steps to prevent this and work with law enforcement when those steps fail

  • Jo Miran
    31·
    14 hours ago

    “Christians”: 'Think of the children!!! ’

    Also “Christians”: ‘I do…all the time. It’s all I think about really.’ ( ͡ʘ ͜ʖ ͡ʘ)

    • notsure@fedia.io
      32·
      12 hours ago

      I swear I have someone tailing me and downvoting all my progressive/truthful posts…no response needed. Just want a record…

  • dylanmorgan@slrpnk.net
    61·
    11 hours ago

    If you want a group to preemptively round up and detain, let’s talk about youth pastors and church youth group leaders. At least there’s evidence of a trend there.