WTHR |IMPD investigates former St. Luke's youth volunteer

IMPD investigates former St. Luke's youth volunteer

Indianapolis - The Indianapolis Metro Police sex crimes unit is investigating a former youth volunteer at one of Indiana's largest churches. Three teenage girls say the person they trusted for spiritual guidance at St. Luke's United Methodist Church on the north side crossed the line.

According to the police report, the encounter happened last year. The then-16-year-old girl came forward last week to recount how the 23-year-old youth volunteer kissed and touched her even after she told him to stop. Later, she says he continued the advances by "grabbing her buttocks at church functions, text messaging her and calling her." She spoke up after hearing there were two others.

"As soon as we found out, we notified Child Protective Services. We met with the families of the girls involved and immediately removed the volunteer from the program and coming onto church property," said Dr. Kent Millard, St. Luke's UMC.

St. Luke's senior pastor says the contact began with well-meaning counseling at Luke's Lodge behind the church, but then crossed the line.

"None of this behavior took place on church property. It took place someplace else when he contacted the girls outside church programming," said Millard. He added that the person facing the accusations was never a paid staff member of the church.

So far there has been no arrest and no charges. In Indiana, 16 is the legal age of consent.

"If that's the case and things were consensual, then you don't have a criminal act occurring here. If it was not consensual, it doesn't matter the age," said Sgt. Matthew Mount, IMPD.

St. Luke's puts every volunteer who works with children through a background check, and in this case, there was nothing on record to signal a problem.

Church officials have now offered professional counseling to the girls as well as their families. In keeping with the church's mission of community healing, they've offered that counseling to the former minister.

"We're deeply sorry that it's happened now and our whole goal is how do we help these girls heal from this experience...and how do we insure there's accountability to the person who was involved so this behavior doesn't continue and ever harm anyone else again," said Dr. Millard.