Michigan Christian Church Youth Pastor Arrested On Child Sex Abuse Charges
[image of suspect Zachary Radcliff via his Instagram]
This is a horrid mix of both the MAGA lifestyle (hello, their cult leader is a convicted rapist) and typical behavior from most religious leaders (many of whom are also convicted rapists), and I hope the victims are able to get justice. Via WXYZ:
More via MLive, where Radcliff’s father is the lead pastor:
Zachary Joseph Radcliff, the 29-year-old son of Frank Radcliff, was arraigned on a charge of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, two charges of aggravated child sexually abusive activity, two charges of child sexually abusive activity and six charges of using the internet to communicate with another to commit a crime. He faces up to life in prison.
And a message directly from the church:
We received some very disturbing news about our music and youth director, Zachary Radcliff who is also the son of our senior pastor, Frank Radcliff. We realized while talking to him that there was more to the situation than was being expressed. He was suspended with pay on October 3rd, pending further investigation. More information was given to us on Saturday, October 12th, at 4:00 in the afternoon. Pastoral staff met with our church that evening and Sunday morning. Zach was terminated from his job, without pay effective Saturday, October 12th.
The State Police were notified by families that were involved and our church staff. We are not aware of the full extent of his crimes, and we are doing everything we can to cooperate with the ongoing police investigation.
The information that we received was shocking. We were told that Zachary had been soliciting inappropriate photos and possibly videos from teens. We have also heard other stories. This information has ripped our hearts apart. The safety and protection of the individuals in our church is what is paramount to us. We are devoted to doing what we can for the care of the victims of these crimes.
Every one of our staff members and individuals working with our children, teens, and adults go through background checks. We do our level best to make sure all are protected.
We have counseling that is being set up and provided for any youth or adults who have been impacted by this crime. What is being done will be provided to our church family in the next few days.
Uhhh, word of advice to anyone in the “church family”: Probably not a good idea to receive counseling or any services from anyone involved with the church going forward! Just a thought.
