Victory Christian Staff Members Released Early from Jail Sentence

By Jarrel Wade
Tulsa World
April 12, 2013

http://www.tulsaworld.com/article.aspx/Victory_Christian_staff_members_released_early_from/20130412_11_A1_CUTLIN443844

Two Victory Christian Center staff members who were sentenced to 30 days in jail last month for failure to report the rape of a 13-year-old girl for two weeks are out early, jail records show.

Paul Howard Willemstein and Anna Alisa George have returned to work at the church and issued a statement to the Tulsa World through their attorney, Matthew Chesbro.

"I spoke with my clients and they asked that I tell you they are 'grateful for the completion of this part of the process and hope healing can continue for everyone affected,' " Chesbro said in an email Thursday.

On March 18, Willemstein and George were led from the Tulsa County District Courthouse in handcuffs after they entered no-contest pleas to failure to report child abuse. Tulsa County Special Judge Bill Hiddle found them guilty of the misdemeanor charge.

Willemstein, 33, and George, 25, spent 15 days in the Tulsa Jail because they were given "two-for-one time" for working in the jail as trusties, Tulsa County Sheriff's Office Maj. Shannon Clark said. Trusties work within the jail doing tasks such as cleaning, he said.

George and Willemstein were released last Friday just before midnight, Clark said.

The two had been assistant youth pastors at the Tulsa megachurch.

The rape of the 13-year-old girl led to an investigation that revealed more victims of sex crimes and a second suspect, who also was not reported to authorities during a two-week period last year.

Chris Denman, 20, pleaded guilty last year to six felony child-sex charges, including the rape of the 13-year-old girl. He was sentenced to 55 years in prison and five years of probation.

The second suspect, Israel Shalom Castillo, 23, was charged with making a lewd or indecent proposal over Facebook to a 14-year-old girl, according to court records. He has pleaded not guilty and faces trial in August.

Charged alongside Willemstein and George with not reporting the crime were Harold Frank Sullivan, 73, John Samuel Daugherty, 28, and Charica Dene Daugherty, 27.

All pleaded no contest, which resulted in a conviction for Sullivan but a five-year sentencing deferral for the Daughertys, son and daughter-in-law of Victory Christian Senior Pastor Sharon Daugherty. The Daughertys were ordered to meet regularly with the judge for five years and to go before other organizations that supervise children to talk about their policies and what happened at Victory Christian.

Sullivan received a one-year suspended sentence.

All five employees were suspended when charges were filed. They returned to work after several weeks, with Victory Christian adding levels of supervision to the five employees.