NEW ALBANY, Ohio — A man who is the son of the founders of two megachurches in central Ohio is facing more than two dozen charges after he was accused of sex crimes involving minors, reports say.
Gary “Tom” Keesee Jr., 36, of Johnstown, Ohio, the son of Faith Life Church senior pastors Gary and Drenda Keesee, is charged in Knox County Common Pleas Court with 11 counts of rape, 11 counts of gross sexual imposition, and five counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. All of the charges are felonies.
A news release from the Licking County Sheriff’s Office says Keesee was arrested Friday. He is being held in jail in Licking County, authorities say.
The Columbus Dispatch reports several women claim Keesee groomed them when they were minors. He is accused of sexually assaulting them. Court records show the crimes occurred between May 2002 and October 2011, WBNS Channel 10 reports.
One of the victims says the abuse began when she was only 5 or 6 years old. She said she was abused more than 50 times, WBNS reports. Other victims were in their teens.
“Our focus is on the victims, that’s what matters to us,” Licking County Sheriff Randy Thorp said during a news conference Monday, according to the Dispatch. “The victims in this case, unfortunately, had to wait — it’s my understanding that there were victims that came forward as early as December.
“We received the case in February. There were a couple of agencies that looked at doing the investigation. They opted not to, for their reasons. When we were asked, we felt obligated. The church is in our county and we felt justice wasn’t being served to these victims.”
Authorities began investigating the accusations in February. Court records show the accusations of abuse could go back decades and that there possibly dozens of victims.
Gary Keesee was employed by the church but resigned in August.
Officials say there are no indications any of the crimes occurred at a church, WCMH Channel 4 reports. But WBNS reports all of the victims knew each other as children and were church members.
“The complaint alleges incidents that occurred approximately two decades ago that in no way involved Faith Life Church,” said a statement from the church to WCMH. “The allegations have been investigated by the Licking County Sheriff’s Office and Faith Life Church has cooperated fully with the investigation.”
Keesee is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday, records show.