COLORADO
Huffington Post
Five church officials in Longmont, Colo. are accused of failing to report a youth pastor who allegedly sexually assaulted a minor over the course of seven years.
VineLife youth pastor Jason Allen Roberson, 35, was arrested by Boulder police on Sept. 4, but it wasn’t until this week that detectives began issuing summonses to two other pastors and two elders associated with the church following an investigation. Failing to report child abuse in Colorado is a Class 3 misdemeanor.
The identities of all but the fifth man were revealed by police on Wednesday: VineLife Church’s executive pastor Robert Phillip (“Bob”) Young, 66; pastor Luke Michael Humbrecht, 30; Edward Charles Bennell, 65; and Warren Lloyd Williams, 66. A press release by the Boulder Police says that the fifth church official is currently out of the country, but that he will also be served a summons once he returns to Colorado.
The victim, who lives in Boulder and is now 23 years old, told police the inappropriate relationship with her pastor began when she was 15 years old. According to an affidavit obtained by 7News, she said she had trusted Roberson “as an authority figure and spiritual guide, and felt uncomfortable disclosing the relationship to others.”
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