Former Minister Facing Sex Crime Charges in Wayne County

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September 4, 2014

http://www.pahomepage.com/story/d/story/former-minister-facing-sex-crime-charges-in-wayne/16738/sx3McglSYUm7T0NJA9NUog

[with video]

A former minister in Wayne County is behind bars facing charges that he sexually abused a young boy for nearly a decade.

Norman Faux of Lake Ariel was arrested over the weekend.

He appeared in court Wednesday morning to face a judge on the allegations.

Faux requested a preliminary hearing on the allegations. That is expected to happen within the next several weeks.

State police arrested Faux after he allegedly sent a lewd text message to his victim. That alleged victim is now 19 years old and says he was abused so many times, he couldn't count them all.

Faux is the former pastor at the Lake Ariel United Methodist Church.

Troopers say he began abusing the boy, who was just nine-years-old in 2004.

The abuse continued up until just recently.

"It's upsetting. I have an eight-year-old son and if I was sending him to a church, you know, this is not what I would expect to happen," Joseph Morano of Lake Ariel said.

Morano lives right across from the church where Faux used to minister at.

He believes religious figures should be held to a higher standard.

"I can't figure out why anybody would have an interest in a child to begin with. It's wrong and it's cruel," Morano said.

William Fahrenbach, another neighbor of the church, was surprised by the allegations.

He says he never saw anything unusual.

"He was alright. He brought me lunch when they had picnics up here. He brought me a plate of lunch," Fahrenbach said.

Faux formally gave up his position as a minister in 2011.

Since then, Wayne County prosecutors believe he helped start a non-denominational, independent religious group known as the "Lake Ariel Faith Fellowship" which rents space from a local garage.

Prosecutors don't know if there are any more victims but the investigation is still open.

"You wouldn't think it would hit a little town like this but it happens," Morano said.

Faux is currently locked up on $150,000 bail.

The Wayne County District Attorney is urging anyone with information to call State Police in Honesdale.