INDIANA
Chicago Tribune
By James D. Wolf Jr.
Post-Tribune
A Valparaiso man has been charged with two counts of rape and three counts of sexual battery for acts that allegedly happened between him and three developmentally disabled women at a Chesterton church after Bible study meetings.
Thomas Cooperider, 23, of the 800 block of Mirmar Drive in Valparaiso, is accused of committing the acts between November 2014 and April 2015 inside Liberty Bible Church, 824 N. Calumet Ave. in Chesterton, the probable cause affidavit states.
Cooperider said in a May 8 statement to police that contact was consensual, court documents state.
Porter County Sheriff’s Police Cmdr. Eric Jones became aware of the situation May 1 through an email sent by James Reeder, an Ogden Dunes police officer and Liberty Bible Church’s Safety Team coordinator, according to the probable cause affidavit filed by Porter County Sheriff’s Detective Brian Dziedzinski.
Reeder met with one of three of the Bible study leaders who had heard April 14 from one of the women that she had inappropriate contact with Cooperider, the affidavit states.
Although Reeder identified Cooperider as a former member and junior leader of the Bible study, John Duey, Director of Operations for Liberty Bible Church, stated in an email that Cooperider was someone who attended the study group and had no leadership position.
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