Wolves Among the Sheep > Christian singer - 160 charges of CSA/CSAM; Fla. Pastor gets 12 Life Sentences for CSA/CSAM

 

Christian singer charged with child sex abuse

A Tennessee musician has been charged with 160 counts related to alleged child sex abuse, including rape, according to court documents.

Phillip Vaught was arrested over the weekend following an extensive and lengthy investigation by Hendersonville police.

A Sumner County indictment lists 160 counts against Vaught, which include sexual abuse of a child, rape and exploitation.

The charges, according to local news outlet WECT, include five counts alleging sexual abuse of a child, including aggravated rape and soliciting sexual exploitation. A further 76 counts allege that Vaught unlawfully and knowingly used a minor in the production of material that includes the minor engaging in sexual activity. Several other counts relate to allegations of possession of child pornography, amongst other charges.

Court records indicate the alleged crimes date back to 2015 and continued as recently as January 2026.

Vaught, a Nashville-based country rock singer, has been described as a crossover artist with Christian and gospel roots. His father is a Baptist minister.

He is currently being held on a $1.5 million bond.

Former SBC Pastor Receives 3 Consecutive Life Sentences Following Conviction for Child Sex Abuse Material

Jonathan Elwing, a former Southern Baptist pastor, has been convicted of multiple charges involving child sex abuse material (CSAM). He has been given 12 life sentences in total.  

Editor’s note: This article refers to disturbing reports of child sex abuse, which some readers might find triggering.

Elwing was serving as pastor of Palm View Baptist Church in Palmetto, Florida, at the time of his arrest in June 2024. The church is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC).

Elwing resigned from his role as pastor shortly before being taken into custody. 

Elwing was arrested after an investigation revealed that he used cryptocurrency to purchase CSAM. Law enforcement executed a search warrant at the church and Elwing’s home and found CSAM on Elwing’s phone. 

At the time, Larry Bianchi, the chair of Palm View’s deacon board, denounced Elwing’s crimes and emphasized that “the people of the church are the church.”

“The pastor may be the front man, he may be the leader of the church—and we need a new one,” Bianchi said. “But Palm View Baptist Church will go on because of the strength of the congregation.”

“Personally, I keep thinking it is a really bad dream, and I am going to wake up from it, but unfortunately, this happens in society,” said Bianchi. “It happens more often than not in places where children can be seen. There’s a lot of children in church.”

RELATED: Trial Date Set for Former SBC Pastor Charged With Producing and Possessing CSAM

Prosecutors later added 14 additional charges to Elwing’s case. These charges included six more counts of possession of CSAM, six counts of use of a child in a sexual performance, and two counts of sexual battery on a person less than 12 years old—which is a capital offense.

The Perverted Lives of the Rich and Famous > D4vd continues world tour while body of 15 y/o found in the trunk of his Tesla

 

Family of missing teen found dead in singer D4vd’s car speaks out

By Katie Scott  Global News

Posted September 19, 2025 12:55 pm

 Updated September 20, 2025 11:27 am

 2 min read

The family of a missing 15-year-old girl, whose body was found last week in the trunk of an impounded Tesla registered to singer D4vd, has broken their silence.

The body of Celeste Rivas Hernandez was found “severely decomposed” stuffed inside a bag in the trunk of the Tesla registered in Hempstead, Texas, to D4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, earlier this month.

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is currently investigating the incident as a homicide.

This week, a GoFundMe page was created by a person representing Rivas’ family, seeking donations to “lay her body to rest” following the confirmation from the Los Angeles County medical examiner that the body found was Rivas, who had been missing since April of last year.

“As many of you know, Celeste Rivas Hernandez has been identified as the body found last week. She was a beloved daughter, sister, cousin, and friend,” the statement from the Rivas family read. “Her family is heartbroken and devastated by this tragic loss.”

The GoFundMe post has raised more than US$14,000 of its goal of $20,000 from more than 500 donations as of Friday afternoon.

A spokesperson for GoFundMe told the Independent that its trust and safety team was working with the fundraiser’s organizer to ensure the money safely reaches the Rivas family.

The family’s first statement comes after police searched a home in the Los Angeles neighbourhood where Burke’s Tesla was abandoned.

1:35

Decomposed body of missing teen found in singer D4vd’s impounded Tesla

The search is connected to the Tesla and the investigation of the death of Rivas, law enforcement told NBC Los Angeles.

Authorities were seeking several items, including digital devices that would have security recordings or could connect Rivas to the location, according to the outlet.

The LAPD said several pieces of evidence were recovered from the home and will be analyzed. Authorities also said that investigators were following up on leads.

Burke’s Tesla was originally impounded after it had been parked on a Hollywood Hills street for more than 72 hours. A neighbour told CBS News that the Tesla had been abandoned for weeks.

“It just smelled like sewage,” the Hollywood resident told the outlet. “I think the community knew something was wrong and reported the car being abandoned.”

Burke, 20, was on the North American leg of his international tour at the time of the body’s discovery.

“D4vd has been informed about what’s happened. And, although he is still out on tour, he is fully cooperating with the authorities,” a rep for the singer said in a statement.

Burke has since cancelled the remaining dates of his U.S. tour amid the investigation into the body found in the car registered to him.

The remaining dates on the singer’s U.S. tour were “quietly removed” from venue websites on Thursday, according to Variety. Tour dates for the international leg of Burke’s tour currently remain.

The Perverted Lives of the Rich and Famous > Includes: Four UK Tory MPs Devoid of Self-Control; Two Abbotsford Boys Trash Their Careers;

..

Tory MP Conor Burns FIRED as a minister with ‘immediate effect’

after ‘serious misconduct’ at party conference

He's not the first, nor will he be the last naughty, gay Tory

Harry Cole, Ryan Sabey, The Sun

15:31, 7 Oct 2022, Updated: 17:40, 7 Oct 2022

TORY MP Conor Burns has been fired as a minister and had the whip suspended following complaints about his "serious misconduct" at this week’s party conference.

The sacked trade minister exclusively told the Sun that he will "fully cooperate with the investigation and looks forward to clearing his name.”

Conor Burns has been suspended as a Tory MP by the party. Credit: PA: Press Association

Downing St this afternoon confirmed Liz Truss has axed Mr Burns from the government "with immediate effect".

The Sun understands a third party complained about his behaviour towards a younger man at the Birmingham gathering.

Mr Burns tonight said he received a call from Chief Whip Wendy Morton informing him of his suspension.

In a series of tweets he said: "I was not given any information about the complaint nor was I asked to provide any information... I hope the party will be as quick to conduct their enquiry as they were to rush to judgement."

A No10 spokesperson said: "Following a complaint of serious misconduct, the Prime Minister has asked Conor Burns MP to leave the government with immediate effect.

"The Prime Minister took direct action on being informed of this allegation and is clear that all ministers should maintain the high standards of behaviour – as the public rightly expects."

Ms Morton has also stripped the whip from Mr Burns, 50, meaning he now sits as an independent MP pending a probe.

A whips office spokesman said: "We have suspended the whip pending investigation into allegations of inappropriate behaviour earlier this week. We take all such allegations extremely seriously. The Prime Minister has been clear that the highest standards in public life must be upheld."

The Conservatives' annual conference took place in Birmingham from last Sunday to this Wednesday.

Mr Burns has been the MP for Bournemouth West since 2010 and was a close ally of Boris Johnson during his premiership.

In 2020 he resigned as a trade minister after a parliamentary watchdog ruled he used his position to "intimidate a member of the public".

Today's are the latest allegations to rock the Conservative Party following a string of scandals.

Earlier this year the Tories stripped the whip from Chris Pincher after the Sun revealed allegations he drunkenly groped two men in a club.

Pincher - seems an appropriate name.

Another anonymous Tory MP is currently on bail by the Met Police for allegations of rape.

Separately Tory MP Neil Parish resigned after the Sun revealed he had watched porn in the House of Commons.

Woman sexually assaulted by Jacob Hoggard says her life was

'shattered beyond recognition'

Joanna Lavoie

CP24 Web Content Writer

Updated Oct. 6, 2022 10:25 a.m. PDT

Warning: This story contains graphic details that may be disturbing to the reader.

An Ottawa woman who was sexually assaulted by Hedley frontman Jacob Hoggard in a Toronto hotel room nearly six years ago says her life was “shattered beyond recognition” as a result of the incident.

The woman, whose identity cannot be revealed due to a publication ban, spoke during a sentencing hearing for the Canadian musician at the University Avenue Courthouse Thursday morning.

“Before November 22, 2016, I was a different person. I was never the same after that day,” she said. “A part of me died that day that I will never get back. My life as I knew it was stolen from me and shattered beyond recognition. The assault took away my worth, my privacy, my body, my confidence and my voice.”

Hoggard (grew up in Abbotsford, B.C.) was found guilty in June of sexual assault causing bodily harm in connection with the aforementioned incident.

The singer faced the same charge in connection with the alleged sexual assault of a teenage fan, but jurors found him not guilty. At that time, Hoggard was also acquitted of one count of sexual interference after he allegedly groped the girl following a Hedley concert in April 2016 when she was 15.

The 38-year-old pleaded not guilty to all three counts.

In her victim impact statement, the Ottawa woman said she chose to attend court without the support of any loved ones because she “could not bare to watch them suffer more than they already have.”

The woman went on to say that the “months following the assault were the loneliest and darkest days of (her) life."

 Read the full victim impact statement here

"I would wake up every night paralyzed with fear over the continuous nightmares I had of that day. To this day I can close my eyes and put myself back in that hotel room,” the victim said. “I distanced myself from everything I loved. I lost out on major job opportunities at work. I missed important moments with my loved ones that I will never get back. I think that is what hurts me the most. I disconnected from everyone I cared about. The isolation at times was unbearable.”

The Ottawa woman previously testified at trial that she met Hoggard on dating app Tinder and agreed to meet him in Toronto.

She was in her early 20s at the time and told the court on Thursday that the sexual assault robbed her of a part of her life that was “supposed to be full of possibilities.”

“Finally, before a sentence is given - I would like to offer a piece of advice to Mr. Hoggard. In his own words. ‘Don’t worry - it will be over soon,’” the woman said as she concluded her remarks.

Ouch! I'll bet that stung!

The sentencing hearing for Hoggard took a bit of a turn Thursday morning as his lawyer raised some issues with evidence in a forensic psychiatric report that names some of his sexual partners.

The time needed to evaluate the admissibility and weight of this report, institute a temporary publication ban, consider the victim impact statement, and review Hoggard's "character letters" means Ontario Superior Court Justice Gillian Roberts didn't hand down her sentence today.

A follow-up hearing is set for Oct. 14 starting at 10 a.m. via Zoom. Hoggard will be given a chance to speak at that time.

Formal submissions on the range of his sentence were also pushed back, though the Crown indicated that they plan to ask for a prison sentence of six to seven years. The maximum sentence for sexual assault causing bodily harm is 14 years.

Roberts, who is expected to deliver her sentence on Oct. 20 at 9 a.m., said she feels it’s important time to review all of the submissions made in court before making her final decision.

“Everyone has worked so hard on this case,” Roberts said in court. “Everybody wants certainty and I’m sure Mr. Hoggard, more than anybody in this room, wants certainty.”

The sentencing hearing for former Hedley frontman Jacob Hoggard got underway in Toronto on Oct. 6.

(The Canadian Press)

On Wednesday evening, CTV News learned that the Ottawa woman is suing Hoggard for $2.8 million.

In a draft claim obtained by CTV News, the plaintiff argues in addition to mental anguish, the incident left her unable to complete her education and impaired both her physical and emotional wellbeing.

In March, Hoggard was also charged with sexual assault causing bodily harm in connection with another unrelated incident that occurred in June 2016 in Kirkland Lake, Ont. He has denied the allegation and said through his lawyer that he intends to plead not guilty.

Another Abbotsford native who may have trashed his career

Edmonton Oilers release controversial winger from team

Author of the article: David Staples  •  Edmonton Journal

Publishing date: Oct 06, 2022 

Jake Virtanen was in training camp on a Professional Try Out, with two things standing out from his past, the fact he was taken sixth overall in the 2014 NHL draft and the fact he was found not guilty in a sexual assault case.

Some fans and observers wondered why Virtanen should be given a second chance at an NHL job after facing such serious allegations. This is a reasonable position to hold.

Others wondered how a winger who had only scored nine goals in 36 KHL games last season could help the Oilers.

And, indeed, Virtanen did not show enough in pre-season to merit a contract with the Oilers.

I’m in no position to judge the merits of the case against Virtanen, but accept that courts most often, but not always, come to the right conclusion. I accept this man wasn’t guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and that he should be permitted to get on with his life. He now faces a civil suit over the same incident.

Former Vancouver Canuck Jake Virtanen charged in sex assault investigation

Jury finds former Vancouver Canuck Jake Virtanen not guilty of sexual assault

Doctor, Musician, Man with Dementia on Today's USA P&P List

USA Gymnastics doctor opts for plea deal - Illinois

Man accused of thousands of sex assaults on child - Colorado

72 y/o man with dementia get 2 years for procuring - Alabama

Fugitive musician turns himself in to police - North Carolina

USA Gymnastics doctor to plead guilty to

child porn charges

USA TODAY NETWORK Matt Mencarini , Lansing State Journal 

Former Michigan State University doctor Larry Nassar agreed to plead guilty to federal child pornography charges. 

Nassar, 53, of Holt, was indicted in December on charges of obtaining and possessing child pornography. Months later, the U.S. Attorney's Office added a third charge that alleged Nassar had images or files destroyed.

He signed an agreement to plead guilty to all three charges, according a copy of the agreement obtained by the Lansing State Journal. The plea deal does not include a sentence agreement.

Each charge carries a sentence of five to 20 years in prison. 

The formal plea agreement has not been filed in federal court, and no plea hearing has been scheduled. His next scheduled appearance is for August. 

Matt Newburg, one of Nassar's attorneys, declined to comment. 

In December, days after Nassar was arrested, an FBI agent testified at a detention hearing that, during a search of Nassar's Holt property, law enforcement found hard drives, some of which were in a trash can outside the home, that contained at least 37,000 images and videos of child pornography. 

The agent also testified that videos were found that appeared to show Nassar sexually assaulting young girls in a pool. 

Nassar worked at MSU for nearly 20 years. The university fired him on Sept. 20 but on Sept. 16 sent him a letter stating that, based on new sexual assault allegations and his withholding of information about a 2004 police investigation, the university was considering firing him. 

On Sept. 19, according to the plea agreement, Nassar took his work laptop to a computer service store and paid $49 to have all the data, including the operating system, permanently deleted. 

The plea agreement states that Nassar had the laptop erased and put the hard drives in a trash can "to impede and obstruct" the investigation.  

The plea deal includes an agreement that Nassar will register as a sex offender and an agreement that the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Michigan will not prosecute him for alleged sexual exploitation or attempted sexual exploitation of children, including an incident in 2015 in his swimming pool. 

Nassar also worked with USA Gymnastics. He left the organization in fall 2015 with little notice. 

The plea agreement will resolve one of four criminal cases against Nassar, leaving three state sexual assault cases that are being prosecuted by the Michigan Attorney General's Office. 

Those three cases include 22 first-degree criminal sexual conduct charges, with all but three relating to his former role as a doctor. Nassar faces up to life in prison if convicted on the state charges. 

He's also being sued by more than 115 women and girls, all but one of whom say in court records that he sexually assaulted them during medical appointments. Many have said the abuse happened at MSU, at USA Gymnastics events or at Twistars gymnastics club in Dimondale. 

MSU, USA Gymnastics and Twistars have all been named as co-defendants in some of the lawsuits. 

Man accused of 6-7 years of sexual abuse of child

This means she was sexually assaulted thousands of times

By Gabrielle Porter 

A Grand Junction man accused of sexually abusing a girl repeatedly over a six-year span has been arrested and could be charged with multiple counts of sexual assault.

Aaron Lyman Neff, 45, was arrested Wednesday after the now-adult woman told Grand Junction police detectives that he had been sexually assaulting her on an almost daily basis from the time she was 10 or 11 until she was 17, according to an arrest affidavit.

The woman told a friend and a church youth leader about the alleged abuse when she was a teenager. When the youth leader reported the story to the child welfare workers and a detective contacted the victim, however, she denied any abuse, Neff’s arrest affidavit said.

Last month, however, the woman got back in touch with the police department and told an officer that Neff had sexually assaulted her for years.

The woman said she once witnessed Neff assaulting another young girl, the report said. The second victim — also an adult now — told police Neff abused her once when she was 13.

Neff appeared in Mesa County Court Thursday afternoon, where his attorney asked that he be released on a personal-recognizance or cash-surety bond while his case is ongoing. Public Defender Jason Groth said that Neff has a “pretty sparse” criminal history, that he has a job at a roofing company, and that he has only missed court once in his life.

Mesa County Chief Deputy District Attorney Trish Mahre asked for a “significant” cash bond in Neff’s case because of the serious nature of the case.

Mesa County Judge Bruce Raaum sided with Mahre and ordered Neff to remain in custody on a $50,000 cash-only bond. He also ordered Neff to have no contact with children under the age of 18, and set his next court appearance for Thursday before District Judge Richard Gurley.

72-year-old man with dementia sentenced for traveling to meet child for sex

Emma Kennedy

A Mobile, Alabama, man with dementia was sentenced Friday to two years in state prison for traveling to meet with who he thought was a 12-year-old child for sexual acts.

Alfred Foster, 72, was one of 26 people arrested in a joint internet crimes against children task force operation called Operation Undertow in September 2016.

Foster messaged with the undercover agent, who was posing as a child, repeatedly to set up the meeting, and he drove to several locations and had a condom in his pocket, according to Assistant State Attorney Anne Patterson.

Foster's attorney, James Burns, spoke about his client's health problems during the sentencing hearing, saying he had suffered with dementia for approximately four years and is medicated for that condition. Burns said Foster has almost no criminal history besides the present charge.

Patterson said despite the dementia diagnosis, Foster's crime was "as egregious as it gets" and he showed consistency and responsiveness in his messages to the investigator.

Circuit Judge E.P. Nickinson sentenced Foster to two years in state prison for one count of traveling to meet a minor. A second count of lewd or lascivious acts was dropped as part of a plea agreement. Upon release, Foster will be designated as a sex offender.

44-year-old wanted child sex-abuse suspect

surrenders to Durham police

BY MARK DONOVAN

Traveling private music instructor John William Garris, 44, of 1908 Mountain Creek Road, Albemarle, turned himself in to Durham police on Thursday.

He was being sought on charges of first-degree statutory sexual offense and taking indecent liberties with a child.

He was released from the Durham County jail after posting $50,000 bond, Durham Police Department spokeswoman Kammie Michael said Friday.

The only other information police provided was that the alleged incident which resulted in the charges against Garris was reported May 1 in Durham and that the victim was known to Garris.

Daughter of Ravi Shankar Reveals Childhood Sexual Abuse

Musician Anoushka Shankar says she was prompted to reveal her experience of sexual abuse after learning of the gang rape and murder of a woman in Delhi. (See Rape and Murder on a Delhi Bus)

Shankar, daughter of legendary Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar, said in February she had been abused by "a man my parents trusted" in her childhood.

Her revelation followed the fatal attack on an Indian student, for which four men have been sentenced to death.

"Her story is the apex of millions of stories," Shankar told BBC Radio 4.

Speaking on the Front Row programme, she said: "No-one I knew could help being affected by the gravity and intensity of that attack - and if it resonates with something in our experience then obviously it doubles the impact of hearing a story like that.

"I felt quite conscious as an Indian woman that there was a very unique moment happening where the entire world's attention was on sexual violence and on the role and position of women in India.

"I felt almost an obligation [to talk about my experience]. It didn't feel dragged out of me. If I was ever going to talk about my story, that felt like the right moment."

Anoushka Shankar

The musician has used her new album to express her concerns over the attack.

Shankar, 32, took the decision to talk about her experiences in a video, recorded in her London home, in which she appealed for people to support a campaign in memory of the gang rape victim.

"As a child I suffered sexual and emotional abuse for several years at the hands of a man my parents trusted implicitly," she said.

She added the attacks had included "groping, touching and verbal abuse".

Reflecting on the statement, the musician told Front Row's John Wilson: "It was something I never spoke to the media about.

"It had never felt like something relevant in a public context until this moment where I thought 'hang on, it's important for people to realize that this kind of thing can happen to anyone, anywhere'.

"I think there's a class issue in India where there can be an assumption that things like this don't happen to people from upper classes or who are privileged. I think part of what shocked people within India was that [the victim] was a middle-class girl. It's so ridiculous."

The musician has responded to the attack, and tried to address its causes, with a track on her new album, Traces Of You.

She said the song, which references the 23-year-old victim's name in its title, tries to capture a sense of the horror of the attack.

The album, recorded with producer Nitin Sawhney and her sister Norah Jones, also addresses the death of her father last year.

Shankar said her experiences had informed the spirit of the record, and brought a sense of "resilience" to the music.

"It's not necessarily about the passing of my father, it's about me passing through the passing of my father.

"There's a way that we all go through horrible and painful things and I'm not nullifying it in any way when I say we do go on.

"My childhood experiences were one of the big experiences for me [but] I know as a woman I've come through that.

"At some cost, but I've come through it."