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	Culpeper Minister Facing New Charges Culpeper Minister Facing Three More Counts of Child Endangerment By Donnie Johnston The Free Lance-Star [Culpeper VA] March 8, 2006 http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2006/032006/03082006/173717 Three more counts of child endangerment have been filed against a Culpeper minister who was already facing five similar charges. Charles V. Shifflett, 54, was arrested Monday afternoon and released yesterday on $5,000 bond. Two of the new charges were filed by Woodrow W. Leake III, who attended Cavalry Baptist Academy when Shifflett was the headmaster. The other was filed as part of an ongoing investigation by the Culpeper County Sheriff's Office. According to court documents, Leake accuses Shifflett of mistreatment by paddling him in the fall of 1986 and forcing him to help cut and split wood as part of after-school activities from the fall of 1990 until 1992. Leake's statement alleges that the split wood was then sold to help pay the salaries of Shifflett, who also was pastor of Calvary Baptist Church at the time, and academy teachers. Leake also alleges that Shifflett "whipped" him with a 2-foot-long, 2-inch-thick and 4-inch-wide paddle after the student "back-talked a teacher five times." Leake's age at the time of each alleged offense is not given on the court documents. The third count, filed by sheriff's investigators, lists neither the name of the victim nor details of the alleged crime, which is said to have occurred in the fall of 1999. The victim in that incident was 17 years old at the time, according to a Sheriff's Office spokesman. Sheriff Lee Hart did not discount the possibility yesterday the parents of the victims involved could be charged for forcing their children to attend the academy. He said such action has already been discussed and might be taken if Shifflett is found guilty. "We'll have to wait and see what unfolds before moving in that direction," Hart said. He added that it would be up to Commonwealth's Attorney Gary Close to decide if charges are warranted against any parents. The Department of Social Services, which could promote such charges, has been involved in the investigations, according to sheriff's Sgt. Vern Fox. Shifflett, who was pastor at the rural church for 22 years, resigned in November prior to the first charges being filed in January. He is now pastor of an offshoot congregation, the First Baptist Church of Culpeper. To reach DONNIE JOHNSTON: Email: djohnston@freelancestar.com
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