Texas Megachurch Youth Leader Arrested
for Child Sex Videos
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.
Beltway Park Church has a kid's club and other youth groups, according to its website. The church said in a statement that Goff had passed two background checks—one before he began youth volunteer work and another two years later during standard youth volunteer monitoring.The ABC Texas affiliate KTXS reported that police found three explicit and inappropriate videos of young girls on Goff's phone.
Goff was charged on Wednesday with third degree felony charges of possessing child sexual abuse images. He was booked at the Taylor County Jail on a $100,000 bond.
Newsweek sought email comment from Beltway Park Church's youth director on Thursday.
The church released a letter from chief pastor David McQueen on Wednesday, in which he wrote that "this is a difficult letter for me to write, but it is important."
"I need to let you know about a serious matter involving a former volunteer and to provide clear information about the steps we've taken to address this situation."
"In June 2024, we were made aware that a former volunteer with our youth ministry confessed to soliciting inappropriate photos and videos of minors online."
"Upon receiving this report, we immediately notified the proper authorities. We have and will continue to cooperate fully with the investigation. We learned today that this individual was arrested."
McQueen wrote that he doesn't know all the details yet but the former volunteer "had been a youth volunteer in our church for approximately three years, until this past summer."
"As part of our normal safety protocols, this individual passed a background check before he was an active volunteer in 2022 and then again as part of our standard volunteer protocol in 2024. Prior to the report in June, he had served in good standing, with no prior concerns or complaints raised," he said.
"We currently have no indication that any minors from our church were involved in any inappropriate activity with this former volunteer."
McQueen urged anyone with information to contact the Abilene Police Department.
"As always, we are here to offer prayer, support and additional ministry resources throughout this process to anyone who may have been impacted by these events. We stand ready to assist in any way," he said.
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