Paul Dyal, a registered Republican and pastor at the Jacksonville Assembly of the Body of Christ, was arrested along with two of his friends and partners in crime for sexual battery of several children with allegations going back over thirty years. The two other men associated with the church, Vernon Williamson and Jerome Teschendorf, were arrested in Oklahoma, both on charges of capital sexual battery. They are not included in this database because they held no political, religious, economic, or law enforcement position of power in the community.
The abuse is alleged to go back to the 1980s. A fifty-year-old woman said she was abused from the age of five to fourteen. Another said she was seven when she was abused. Police interviewed many victims and from these interviews now believe there are more perpetrators who have not yet been arrested and there are many more victims who have not come forward.
- First Coast News: Jacksonville Police raid Northside church during evening services; three arrested on charges of capital sexual battery
- Jacksonville.com: Jacksonville church pastor arrested on child sexual battery charges
- Real News: Pastor Paul Dyal was charged with sexual abuse going back decades
