Minister Formally Charged with Rape, Sodomy Allegedly Involving Victim under 16

By Martin J. Reed
AL.com
September 13, 2014

http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2014/09/minister_formally_charged_with.html

Glenn VanZandt, 55, of Hoover, faces charges of second-degree rape and second-degree sodomy. (Courtesy / Pleasant Grove Police Department)

A Birmingham-area minister has been formally charged with rape and sodomy after he was arrested Thursday for allegedly victimizing a minor female.

Glenn VanZandt, 55, of Hoover, faces charges of second-degree rape and second-degree sodomy contained in his arrest warrants, Pleasant Grove Police Sgt. Danny Reid said in a phone interview this morning.

"There was a period of victimization over several months where he had sex and sodomized a minor female under the age of 16," Reid said about the charges against VanZandt.

VanZandt this morning remained in the Pleasant Grove jail awaiting transport to the Jefferson County jail in Bessemer, Reid said. His bond has been set at $60,000.

Police arrested VanZandt, the head minister of the Palisades Family Church of Christ on Palisades Boulevard in the Birmingham area, around 10 p.m. on Thursday.

Reid said the police investigation initially involved allegations of sexual misconduct against VanZandt, "and throughout the investigation yesterday it led to the rape second-degree and sodomy second-degree charges."

mreed@al.com