Wolves Among the Sheep > Is Gateway doubling down to protect a convicted criminal? Old Pastor behind bars til 100 for CSA

 

This is a little surprising, considering the alleged perpetrator is in prison for doing exactly what they are accusing him of.

Gateway Church denies lawsuit allegations that

girl was sexually abused by 18-year-old

Gateway Church denies the allegations made by a woman in a recent lawsuit that she was sexually assaulted and groomed by a high school senior at youth group activities when she was 13 years old.

The North Texas megachurch filed its response to the lawsuit Friday in a Tarrant County district court. The church, based in Southlake, is also requesting a jury trial.

“Defendant generally denies each and every material allegation in Plaintiffs’ Original Petition and demands strict proof thereof,” the document reads.

The woman, who is now an adult, and her parents are asking for more than $1 million in damages. The plaintiffs allege the girl was groomed and sexually assaulted by fellow youth group member Gabriel Reece Snyder.

Snyder is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

According to the suit, the girl’s family “were devout and active members” at Gateway. Snyder began grooming the girl at nighttime youth group meetings where there was “little or no supervision” by Gateway youth counselors or other chaperones, the lawsuit states.

Snyder took the then 13-year-old outside The King’s University in Southlake, where the meetings were held, and sexually assaulted her multiple times, according to the suit. The assaults began in December 2016 and continued through February 2017, by which time Snyder was 18 years old, the girl said.

There were surveillance cameras in the area where the assaults occurred, the lawsuit states, but no one ever came to the victim’s aid.

The woman and her parents are holding Gateway responsible for allowing “unsupervised and isolated access” to the victim “when Defendant Gateway knew, or should have known, of the dangers posed by allowing hundreds of children ranging in age from 6th to 12th grade to attend youth group together, at nighttime, without adequate in person and/or remote video supervision,” the suit states.

Snyder, now 25, is currently serving a prison sentence in Dayton, Texas, in connection to an assault of another minor, according to the suit. He was sentenced in a Tarrant County court to four years for sexual assault of a child. He began a sex offender treatment program in October 2023 and is projected to be released on parole on Oct. 30 of this year, according to Texas Department of Criminal Justice records.

Wichita Falls Pastor Ronnie Killingsworth

formally sentenced for child indecency

All seats were full in 78th District Court Friday when a Wichita Falls pastor was formally sentenced to a lengthy prison term for six counts of indecency with a child.

Ronnie Allen Killingsworth, 79, was dressed in prison stripes as Judge Meredith Kennedy formalized a sentence of 42 years behind bars. He could be eligible for parole when he is 100 years old.

How many prisoners reach the age of 100 in prison?

Killingsworth is founder and only pastor of Rephidim Church, the site where three girls claimed they were sexually abused between 2000 and 2011 in the church office.

He was convicted May 7 following a week-long trial with emotional testimony from the victims, now adults, as well as from Killingsworth’s family and supporters.

Prosecutors said the sexual abuse would stay with the victims for the rest of their lives while defense attorneys argued the state did “not come close” to proving its case.

The jury sided with the prosecution, taking only an hour to find Killingsworth guilty and about the same amount of time to recommend the hefty sentence — even though defense attorney Chuck Smith had asked for shorter time due to Killingsworth’s age and history of health problems.

The turnout for the trial was so large it was moved to the larger 30th District Courtroom. The gallery in the smaller 78th District Courtroom was likewise filled on Friday.

There is an unfortunate habit of Christians to support their pastor regardless of how terrible he might be. So many refuse to believe that their pastor is capable of doing such evil, consequently, there is no longer any practice of discernment in most Christian churches. Of course, children suffer the consequences of such failures by adults.