COSTA MESA (CA)
The Orange County Register
By DEEPA BHARATH / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
COSTA MESA – Congregants at Rock Harbor church are dealing with a slew of emotions after four victims came forward saying that they were sexually abused by a Sunday school teacher.
Jeff Gideon, communications director for the church, said the congregation feels “shocked and betrayed.”
Christopher Bryan McKenzie Sr., 48, a pool cleaner and Sunday school teacher at Rock Harbor Church in Costa Mesa, was arrested on suspicion of lewd acts with a child after two men complained to Newport Beach police.
“Our whole community is just dealing with this betrayal and searching for answers at this point,” he said. “We are just flabbergasted by the fact that this happened in spite of all the policies and procedures we had put in place to ensure the safety and security of our families.”
Christopher Bryan McKenzie Sr., 48, a pool cleaner, was arrested Friday on suspicion of committing lewd acts on a child and distributing pornography to minors. According to court documents, McKenzie has now been charged with 10 felony counts of lewd acts upon a child under 14, four felony counts of using a minor for the distribution of obscene matter and two felony counts of distributing pornography to minors. In addition, he faces sentencing enhancement allegations for substantial sexual conduct with a child – including masturbation, oral copulation and sexual penetration – against more than one victim.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.