CLEVELAND (TN)
Christian Post [Washington DC]
February 21, 2025
By CP staff
Denomination revokes ministerial credentials
A former Church of God senior pastor in Tennessee has pleaded guilty and was sentenced to eight years in prison for possessing child sexual abuse images on his laptop.
Richard Lee Sentell of the defunct Cornerstone Church of God in Cleveland entered a guilty plea Friday to sexual exploitation of a minor. He received an eight-year sentence with the Tennessee Department of Corrections, according to the Tenth Judicial District Attorney General’s office. He is not eligible for parole.
Sentell was arrested in December 2023 and subsequently suspended from all ministerial activities by the Tennessee Church of God, pending the outcome of his case.
In a statement to The Christian Post, The Church of God Tennessee State Office stated that Sentell’s ministerial credentials have been “permanently revoked” as a result of this disposition. The denomination added that Cornerstone Church of God in Cleveland was “discontinued” on Sept. 18, 2023, and no longer exists.
“For numerous months, Richard Lee Sentell has not been active as a Church of God
minister,” the statement assured. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to all involved in this matter.”
In the summer of 2023, the Cleveland Police Department received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that a user in the area uploaded two images of child sex abuse material to a website called Binglmage, an AI tool that enables users to upload photos so they can search for similar photos.
Investigating the case, Detective Matthew Landolt found that uploads originated from the home of Sentell and his wife.
After detectives searched the property, they found “a suspicious laptop” that was “wedged between a mattress and a box spring in a downstairs bedroom in the residence.” The investigators found 124 images of child sexual abuse material, most of which “depicted prepubescent children being sexually assaulted.”
“Data on the laptop indicated that Richard Lee Sentell was the owner and user of the laptop,” the statement from the Tenth Judicial District stated. “Additionally, data on the laptop indicated that Mr. Sentell had searched for and otherwise sought out child sexual abuse material for many months, typically late at night or early in the morning.”
T. Wayne Dority, the administrative bishop of the Tennessee Church of God, told WTVC after Sentell’s arrest that Cornerstone Church of God had been previously suspended. The church had rented space at the Church of God Jerusalem Acres for Sunday services for three years after selling the church building years prior.