New church cooperating with Hilliard police sex crimes investigation into former church
The pastor of a Hilliard church — operating at the same location as a now-defunct church being investigated by police over sexual assault allegations dating back at least eight years — said Thursday that his church is cooperating fully with police.
Hilliard Division of Police announced Wednesday that it is investigating multiple reports of sexual assaults against girls under the age of 10 dating back to 2012-2014 at the former Open Gate Church of God, located at 4410 Avery Road.
New Beginnings Church of God now occupies the building where Open Gate Church of God operated.
Ken Skaggs, pastor of New Beginnings, said in a statement sent to The Dispatch on Thursday that he and other leaders of New Beginnings did not attend Open Gate and that none of New Beginnings' staff members is under investigation.
Skaggs also repeated the media statement issued by Hilliard police that New Beginnings staff and church are not under investigation and that the church was cooperating with the investigation.
“Our concern and prayers go out to all involved in this matter,” Skaggs said in a statement.
Hilliard police said multiple female victims have accused a male youth member of Open Gate who previously assisted in the children’s and teen rooms of sexually assaulting them.
The victims were under the age of 10 at the time of the alleged assaults, police said. No charges have been filed, and the investigation is ongoing.
Open Gate Church of God appears to be closed, with one phone disconnected, another ringing a few times before just stopping, and its website now defunct.
Hilliard police Chief Michael Woods encouraged anyone who may have been assaulted or with information about alleged assaults to come forward, noting that it is never too late to come forward with information about a crime.
“We’re asking parents and responsible adults to facilitate open and honest conversations with their children about any inappropriate behavior they may have witnessed or experienced,” Woods said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Tom Morris at 614-334-2473 or tmorris@hilliardohio.gov.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Hilliard church cooperating with sex crimes investigation of former church
