
A case has been filed regarding Student ministry leader abuse against minors. And North Charleston police have arrested Vernon Tyrell Willis.
It was on 13 counts of second-degree assault and battery. He is 26 years old.
Willis, a former student ministry leader at the Seacoast Church Dream Centre, stands accused of inappropriately abusing minor girls.
According to investigators, ten minors aged 13 to 16 have been positively identified.
Mark Peper, a lawyer in the Lowcountry, defends some of the victims.
He claimed that in December 2022, Seacoast Church put Willis on administrative leave and dismissed him because numerous minors had complained about being sexually treated by him during youth group.
However, an inquiry conducted by the legal firm found that Willis had unsupervised one-on-one interaction with many female children. Peper reported this.
The attorney claimed that Seacoast knew by 2020 that Willis had a history of abusing his position in the church to touch and isolate young girls inappropriately.
Margaret Little, the executive director of Seacoast Church, has stated that the congregation is devastated by Willis’ conduct, which she deems to be reprehensible and unjustifiable.
She expressed the church’s appreciation for the young women.
Those who came forward with their experiences, saying their testimony helped end the abuse.
Willis was terminated less than 48 hours after an initial report came in.
And he was placed on leave and banned from campus. It’s for violating the church’s code of conduct.
The church claimed it had alerted all student parents about law enforcement. And it provided them with resources.
They will continue to pray for the victims. And their families and work to guarantee. All kids have a safe place to worship.
Willis voluntarily surrendered to police on Friday and is currently held at the Al Cannon Detention Centre. It was according to the North Charleston Police Department.
Peper issued the following statement regarding the case:
After being retained by these families, the Peper Law Firm immediately looked into Mr. Willis and Seacoast Church’s actions.
According to the findings of our inquiry, Seacoast Church gave Mr. Willis unrestricted access to unsupervised one-on-one interaction with many female children while he was on the job.
On December 10, 2022 the North Charleston Police Department received a report that a student ministry leader at the Seacoast Church Dream Center, 26-year old Vernon Tyrell Willis had been touching juvenile females without their consent. pic.twitter.com/epqK4xPIMs
— North Charleston Police (@NCPD) March 3, 2023And yet, Seacoast continued to employ him without providing him with training or oversight, despite knowing as early as 2020 of his tendency to exploit his position as a youth pastor to touch and seclude minor females on the church grounds unlawfully.
Seacoast Church could have prevented harm to these kids, but they chose not to.
Because of this intolerable situation, Mr. Willis and Seacoast will be held accountable for their actions.
On Friday afternoon, the church stated Seacoast Church Executive Director Margaret Little:
Seacoast Church, a center of worship and refuge for many local families, is devastated by a former employee’s reprehensible and unjustifiable conduct.
We want to thank these students and their families for being brave and coming forward with their stories, which helped us end terrible behavior.
The North Charleston campus employee who had inappropriate contact with the kid was first reported to Seacoast on December 5, 2022.
We put the worker on leave and restricted their access to the office while we looked into the report.
We determined that the worker had flagrantly disregarded company policy. The termination took place in little than 48 hours. We contacted the authorities and gave them the details we had acquired.
Leaders from Seacoast informed students at the North Charleston campus that the employee had been fired for breaching our code of conduct within the week.
The termination was announced three days later. And parents were given a chance to meet with campus administration.
Within a week, we linked all victims’ families with counseling services. It provided them with the case number of the ongoing investigation. And it is in the contact information for law enforcement in North Charleston.
Since then, leaders at Seacoast have held a Parent Night to have an open dialogue with parents from the campus and concerned church members.
We have hired a lawyer to lead an internal investigation into the incident.
North Charleston police have been looking into this for a while now. We have cooperated with law authorities without reservation, which includes keeping our communications to a minimum during the inquiry.
We will keep working until all kids can access secure areas to pray without fear of reprisal. The behavior of a former staff member profoundly saddens us.
The church may count on us to maintain an open line of communication. And it stands by the victims and their loved ones as they recover.
Don’t hesitate to get in touch with Officer Steinbrunner of the North Charleston Police Department at 843-740-2852 or Margaret Little, Executive Director of Seacoast Church, at [email protected] if you or a loved one have been affected by this former employee’s acts.
Willis reportedly surrendered to authorities on Friday.
The Al Cannon Correctional Facility was holding him. He had a $260,000 bond placed on him.
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