American megachurches are giant protestant church organizations whose object is to make money off credulous religious people and frequently serve as traps for sex abuse victims. As American imperialism has metastasized around the world, US Evangelical Christians have disseminated the megachurch model around the world, especially in poor and developing countries where they "buy" ignorant and illiterate adherents who suffer economic hardship.
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Ex-church official at Ohio megachurch charged with rape, accused of grooming young girls
Josué Perez and Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY NETWORK
Tue, April 22, 2025
Note: This story contains graphic descriptions of violence that may be offensive to readers.
The son of an Ohio megachurch's founders has been charged with rape after allegedly grooming women while they were children in the early 2000s, authorities said.
Gary Thomas "Tom" Keesee Jr., the 36-year-old former chief media officer for Faith Life Church in New Albany, was indicted by a grand jury on nearly 30 counts on April 21. The counts include 11 of rape, 11 of gross sexual imposition and five of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. Given this excellent curriculum vitae, it is ironic that he was arrested in Licking County, Florida.
Gary Thomas "Tom" Keesee Jr. is a white American male sex predator pretending to be a "church leader".
Keesee was arrested on April 18 and previously charged with two counts of rape before the grand jury delivered the additional charges, officials said. Several women have accused Keesee of grooming them when they were minors into trusting him and then had sex with them, The Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA TODAY Network, previously reported.
According to the indictment, Keesee committed the alleged acts of rape between May 2002 and November 2006. A criminal complaint filed by Licking County Sheriff's Office also included accusations from victims that abuse went on for several more years.
Keesee resigned from his position at the church in August. His attorney, Samuel Shamansky, told USA TODAY his client intends to plead not guilty to each charge.
"All charges are false. They're flights of fancy. They're unsupportable," Shamansky said in a phone call on April 22.
"I recognize how serious these allegations are," he added.
Shamansky said Keesee has no criminal history or history of sexual misconduct and is a "hardworking filmmaker, married individual." Shamansky questioned why the accusers did not come forward before now and said he would "diligently and capably investigate each and every one of these fabricators and make sure that the truth comes out in court."
Accusations span several years
During a press conference April 21, Licking County Prosecutor Jenny Wells said investigators have spoken to about 40 witnesses and that the indictment involves three victims who have come forward. The investigation remains ongoing.
The victims in the indictment were 6 to 15 years old at the time of the alleged abuse and were members of the church at some point, Wells said. She added that evidence to this point shows the alleged acts didn't happen inside the church.
"These courageous young women have spoken out and come forward and they are to be commended for their bravery and supported," Wells said. "They're very serious charges that we considered."
Gary Thomas Keesee Jr., 36, was arrested Friday at the Licking County Sheriffs Office in Newark on April 21, 2025. A Knox County grand jury indicted Keesee, the son of Faith Life Church's founders, on 27 counts including rape, gross sexual imposition and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
In a criminal complaint, sheriff's detectives allege Keesee sexually assaulted a girl when she was 5 and 6 years old, starting in May 2001 and ending in May 2003. Keesee was 12 when the alleged abuse began. Detectives said another victim accused him of touching her private areas "repeatedly," starting in November 2006, when she was 8 years old, until she was 15, the Columbus Dispatch reported.
Additional victims came forward alleging abuse from Keesee, according to detectives.
Investigation started slowly due to church founders' community ties
The Licking County Sheriff’s Office has been leading the investigation into Keesee’s alleged actions after Attorney General Dave Yost decided not to pursue it, citing a conflict of interest due to his friendship with Gary and Drenda Keesee, founders of the church and parents of the suspect.
The Knox County Sheriff's Office and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations also passed on the case, citing conflicts of interest, the Dispatch reported. Drenda Keesee is a Knox County Commissioner whose board oversees law enforcement budgets. Some of the alleged abuse occurred in nearby Knox County, according to the complaints.
"Our focus is on the victims, that's what matters to us," Licking County Sheriff Randy Thorp said during the news conference. "The victims in this case, unfortunately, had to wait."
Thorp said victims came forward as early as December but the Licking County Sheriff's Office didn't receive the case until February. Faith Life Church is in the part of New Albany that lies within Licking County.
"When we were asked, we felt obligated. The church is in our county, and we felt justice wasn't being served to these victims," Thorp said.
Court records show Keesee is next scheduled to appear in court April 23 for an arraignment.
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