Son of Ohio megachurch leaders indicted on 27 counts related to sexual abuse involving a minor
The son of two Ohio megachurch leaders was indicted Monday on additional rape charges.
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Gary Thomas Keesee Jr., 36, was indicted by a Knox County grand jury on 11 counts each of rape and gross sexual imposition and five counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, according to Knox County Court of Common Pleas records.
According to the indictment obtained by our news partners, WBNS, the alleged crimes happened between May 2002 and October 2011.
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As News Center 7 reported last week, Keesee Jr. was arrested and charged with two counts of rape on Friday.
Court records obtained by WBNS showed that the victim who made the initial report said the abuse happened when they were 5 or 6 years old. They also reported it occurred on over 50 occasions.
Over the course of the investigation, two other victims reported Keesee Jr. had sexually abused them.
He's currently being held in the Licking County Justice Center. He's scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday.
The case was passed on to the Licking County Sheriff's Office to investigate after the Knox County Sheriff's Office and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation determined they each had a conflict of interest.
Keesee Jr. is the son of Gary and Drenda Keesee, leaders of Faith Life Church, which has campuses in New Albany and Powell and more than 3,000 members, WBNS reported.
In a statement sent to WBNS earlier this year, Asiatico Law, PLLC, a firm representing Faith Life Church, said the church ''decries all forms of sexual abuse and stands with survivors of such abuse in faith and prayer.'
'The complaint alleges incidents that occurred approximately two decades ago that in no way involved Faith Life Church,' the statement read. 'We responded in accordance with the information available to us then, and we remain committed to transparency and truth.'
The church also said it planned to cooperate fully with authorities and was seeking guidance for legal counsel.
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