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	Pastor Removed over Accusations Larry Reinke Suspected of Child Molestation in Wayne County By Matt Buedel Peoria Journal Star May 10, 2007 http://www.pjstar.com/stories/051007/REG_BD5VTITR.053.php Astoria — A pastor to four rural Methodist churches in Fulton and Schuyler counties has been removed from ministry after being accused of molesting a boy who belonged to one of his former congregations. Larry Reinke, 56, has been charged in Wayne County with two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault and one count of child pornography. He was released from jail in the southern Illinois county last week after his family members paid his $50,000 bond in cash. The charges stem from alleged incidents in Wayne County, where Reinke was pastor of the Geff and Bethel United Methodist churches from November 1998 until June 2005. He was appointed pastor of the Astoria, Sheldon's Grove, Browning and Sugar Grove United Methodist churches and has been living in Astoria since then. Authorities allege Reinke sexually abused a boy younger than 13 in Wayne County and, at least once, recorded the acts with a digital camera between January 2003 and June 2005 and again during the first few months of this year. He was arrested in Astoria on April 16. "He was removed from the appointment immediately," Paul Black, director of communication ministries for the Illinois Great Rivers Conference of the United Methodist Church, said of Reinke's duties as pastor in the Astoria area. "First and foremost, the church takes it very seriously when a pastor is accused of misconduct." The congregations to which Reinke ministered in Fulton and Schuyler counties are small - 150 per congregation. In total, the four under Reinke had 213 congregants registered at the end of 2005. He was moved to Astoria as part of a routine appointment, Black said. "That's part of our system ... local pastors go and serve where our bishop appoints them," Black said. Officials from the Illinois Great Rivers Conference, which oversees United Methodist Churches and 150,000 members in the state south of Interstate 80, have been dispatched to churches where Reinke was pastor to help sort out the aftermath. "Certainly, with a victim of this age, we want to be as helpful as we can be," Black said. "It also impacts other members of the church who put their faith and trust in their pastor." Authorities, meanwhile, are asking parents whose children may have interacted with Reinke to talk to their kids and call police with any suspicions. "If there is another victim out there, we hope (parents) will call and say this happened to my son or my daughter," said Wayne County Sheriff Jim Hinkle. "A few others have suspected, but so far, we haven't had any positive." Matt Buedel can be reached at 686-3154 or mbuedel@pjstar.com.
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