MOUNT VERNON — A former Faith Life Church official currently jailed in Licking County has been charged with additional sex crimes against minors. Gary Thomas “Tom” Keesee Jr., 36, faces five additional rape and sexually related charges, according to a superseding indictment filed with Knox County Common Pleas on Monday. Keesee was previously indicted on 27 […]
Dillon Carr
Lead reporter for Ashland Source who happens to own more bikes than pairs of jeans. His coverage focuses on city and county government, and everything in between. He lives in Mansfield with his wife and two children.
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Keesee investigation involved 40 witnesses, multiple states
NEWARK — Licking County officials offered details Monday about a months-long investigation into sexual abuse allegations involving a former employee of Faith Life Church. The probe — detectives said Monday it is ongoing and active — led to a 27-count indictment against Gary Thomas “Tom” Keesee Jr. Keesee, a former chief media officer of New […]
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Former Faith Life Church official indicted on 27 sexual abuse charges
MOUNT VERNON — A former Faith Life Church official was indicted Monday morning on 27 sexual abuse counts. A Knox County grand jury handed down the indictments against Gary Thomas Keesee Jr., which included 11 charges of first-degree rape. The church’s former chief media officer was also indicted on 11 counts of sexual imposition, a […]
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Faith Life Church ‘deeply saddened’ by rape charges, arrest
NEW ALBANY — The megachurch that formerly employed a man recently charged with rape involving a minor is “deeply saddened” by the news that broke earlier Friday. Gary Thomas “Tom” Keesee, Jr., 36, was arrested Friday by the Licking County Sheriff’s Office. He is the son of Gary and Drenda Keesee, who lead Faith Life […]
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Ohio Attorney General’s office probed Faith Life Church finances in 2020
NEW ALBANY — The Ohio Attorney General’s Office recently refused to investigate alleged sex crimes involving a megachurch, but did examine its finances five years ago. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s charitable law section probed Faith Life Church’s finances after a May 2020 complaint filed by a former member and employee of the church. The […]
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Faith Life Church statement claims inaccurate media reports on sex abuse case
MOUNT VERNON — An attorney representing a New Albany megachurch entrenched in an investigation involving sexual abuse issued a statement over the weekend that attempts to set the record straight on “inaccurate reports.” Katie Taber, a partner at Asiatico Law, issued the statement on behalf of her client — Faith Life Church — on Friday […]
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Crisis of faith: Sex abuse allegations surround Keesee-crafted religious empire
MOUNT VERNON — Gary Thomas Keesee, an Ohioan with a shy disposition, and Drenda Shelaine Hocott, a blonde southern belle from Georgia, met in college. They both attended Oral Roberts University, situated on a 385-acre campus just 20 minutes south of downtown Tulsa, Okla. Both shared a burning desire to serve God — whom they […]
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‘Truth will prevail:’ Faith Life Church pastor preaches Sunday amidst sex crimes investigation
NEW ALBANY — The head pastor of a megachurch under investigation for links to alleged sex crimes preached Sunday about applying lessons found in the Bible as a way to weather storms. “All hell is breaking loose out there … but truth will prevail,” said Gary Keesee, pastor of Faith Life Church, during one of […]