BishopAccountability.org
	Church Volunteer Faces Sex Charges The Cincinnati Post March 16, 2006 http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060316/NEWS01/603160355 A 20-year-old Boone County, Ky., church youth group volunteer was arrested Tuesday on sexual abuse charges after investigators said he fondled a 14-year-old girl at the Burlington church a year and a half ago. Anthony R. Cummings is charged with two counts of third-degree sexual abuse. Leaders at the First Church of Christ in Burlington reported the allegations to the Boone County Sheriff's Department immediately after the girl's parents contacted church officials, said sheriff's department spokesman Deputy Tom Scheben. Investigators found evidence Cummings fondled the girl while he volunteered in student ministries on the church campus. "The parents of the girl found e-mails that the two of them had sent back and forth and contacted the church," Scheben said. Scheben said investigators found evidence that Cummings also attempted to fondle a 16-year-old girl. But he was charged only in the alleged contact with the younger teen, since under Kentucky law she was too young to legally consent to such actions. Upon being informed of the allegations, First Church of Christ leadership dismissed Cummings as a volunteer, according to a statement released by Executive Pastor Tommy Baker. "The First Church of Christ believes that children are created by God as a precious gift," he said. "Unfortunately, we currently live in a world that does not appreciate the value of God's precious children. Therefore, children must depend upon adults for safety and security." Cummings was released from the Boone County Detention Center on a $5,000 bond. He is to be arraigned April 3. If convicted, he faces up to six months in jail and a $250 fine on each count.
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