Latest news with #FaithPartners
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Yahoo
Executive director of faith-based nonprofit charged with child porn possession
The executive director of a faith-based addiction recovery nonprofit in St. Paul has been charged with 12 counts of child sexual abuse material possession. Drew Brooks, 67, of Roseville, the executive director of Faith Partners, was investigated after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a "CyberTip report" from Microsoft on Christmas Day, 2022, saying an individual had accessed software to "disseminate child sexual abuse material on Christmas Eve." According to the criminal complaint, NCMEC received "several more" CyberTips concerning the same home between Oct. 5, 2023 and Apr. 28, 2024, which was the home where Brooks lives with his wife. A search warrant was obtained and then executed on Oct. 29, 2024, with Brooks and his wife detained at their home. Computers and flash drivers were seized, with officers allegedly finding documents in the name of Faith Partners in his home office, along with a black laptop bag. Inside the laptop bag was an envelope allegedly addressed to Brooks, which contained printed images of child sexual abuse, the complaint says. Brooks' wife told police she knew her husband looked at pornography, but wasn't aware he was looking at child pornography. She also said there were flash drives and computers in the home that Brooks used for work. When interviewed, police placed the folder that contained child porn on the table, with Brooks allegedly acknowledging that he recognized the folder and was aware of its contents, but claims he forgot the folder even existed. Per the complaint, he then proceeded to claim he had been sexually abused by his grandfather when he was 7-9 years old, began abusing substances when he was 11-13, was in recovery at the age of 22, and went to sex addicts anonymous when he was 24, and "unearthed" these recollections in therapy about six years earlier. "Brooks said he was not initially interested in child sexual abuse material, but he found it was only a click away," the complaint says. "Brooks admitted he had looked at child sexual abuse material that week. Brooks said there would be child sexual abuse material on a laptop downstairs in his home." He continued to say that he is "not necessarily' sexually attracted to children" but is "attracted to the novelty," describing an "attraction/repulsion dynamic along with novelty makes him seek the material out." Brooks has worked for Faith Partners since 1999 as a project manager, and has been its executive director since 2011. He has played a major role in prevention, treatment, public health, and faith-based work for more than three decades.
CBS News
23-05-2025
- CBS News
Leader of faith-based Twin Cities organization accused of possessing child sexual abuse material
U of M student released from ICE custody, and more headlines U of M student released from ICE custody, and more headlines U of M student released from ICE custody, and more headlines The executive director of a faith-based addiction organization in the Twin Cities faces a dozen felony charges after investigators said they found child sexual abuse material in his home. Drew Brooks, 67, of Roseville, Minnesota, is charged with 12 counts of possessing pornographic work involving a minor, according to a criminal complaint filed in Ramsey County. Ramsey County The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children alerted authorities in 2022 about dissemination of child sexual abuse material stemming from Brooks' address. Several more tips came in between October 2023 and April 2024, according to the complaint. In October 2024, authorities searched Brooks' home, seizing computers, flash drives and printed abuse material found in his home office, the complaint states. Authorities said they found three dozen printed images of abuse material, 21 of which featured child victims known to law enforcement. Brooks allegedly told police he recognized the folder containing the images and knew they were abuse material, but had forgotten the folder existed. Brooks allegedly admitted to authorities that he had looked at abuse material that week, and that they would find more on his laptop, which they did. Brooks is not in custody. He is the executive director of Faith Partners, the focus of which is "equipping people of faith to serve with an informed, compassionate response to the risk and prevalence of addiction and related mental health (such as anxiety and depression) issues," according to its website. WCCO has reached out to Faith Partners for comment. If you know of a child who may have been a victim of exploitation, call the National Center for Missing or Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 or visit the website.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
St. Paul faith-based nonprofit leader charged with possessing child pornography
The executive director of a St. Paul faith-based nonprofit that trains church clergy on addiction issues has been arrested and charged with possessing child pornography at his Roseville home. Investigators executed a search warrant at the home of 67-year-old Drew Michael Brooks in October and found child sexual abuse material that had been printed and on his computer, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court charging him with 12 counts of possessing child pornography. As executive director of Faith Partners, Brooks provides 'leadership, administration and training' to 'people of faith to serve with an informed, compassionate response to the risk and prevalence of addiction,' according to its website. Faith Partners' work is used in nearly 1,000 congregations in 29 states from 23 different religious practices, according to Brooks' online bio. He's been with the nonprofit since 1999, and was its program manager for 11 years. Brooks was released from the Ramsey County jail on Wednesday without having to pay a bond, court records show. His first court appearance is scheduled for June 10. An attorney is not listed in his court file, and he did not return a message Thursday seeking comment on the charges. According to the criminal complaint, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a cyber tip report from Microsoft on Dec. 25, 2022, that someone had accessed child sexual abuse material the day before. Other cyber tips involving the same Roseville address were received between October 2023 and April 2024. Officers executed the search warrant at the home on Oct. 29, 2024, and detained Brooks and his wife. Officers found documents in the name of Faith Partners and a folder in a laptop bag containing printed images of child pornography. Brooks' wife told police she that knew her husband viewed pornography, but was not aware it was child pornography, the complaint says. She acknowledged Brooks' role with the nonprofit, and said there are flash drives and computers in the home that he uses for work. Brooks agreed to speak with officers, who had placed the folder on the interview table. He said he knew the folder contained images of children and that some were 'sexual,' the complaint says. Brooks said he forgot the folder existed. Brooks claimed he was sexually abused when he was child and later turned to drugs and alcohol. He said he was recovering by age 22, then started going to meetings for sex addiction. Brooks said he was not initially interested in child pornography, but he 'found it was only a click away,' the complaint states. He admitted he had looked at child pornography that week and that it was on a laptop in his home. Brooks voluntarily provided passwords to his devices and an open browser showed a webpage with child pornography. Bonded by work and love, Israeli Embassy colleagues' lives cut short by gunman A Michigan police officer who killed a Black motorist won't face a retrial, prosecutor says New Jersey Democratic Rep. McIver released on recognizance on federal assault charges Former Cloquet police officer convicted of stealing $35K from woman with dementia Roseville woman who swindled $600K from New Brighton employer spared prison Brooks said he is 'not necessarily' sexually attracted to children and he 'described an attraction/repulsion dynamic along with novelty (that) makes him seek the material out,' the complaint states. The 36 printed images found in the folder were submitted to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which returned a report that 21 images contained child victims previously identified by law enforcement, the complaint says. Brooks, who has a bachelor's degree in psychology and sociology from the University of Minnesota-Duluth, has a work history that includes six years as a health promotion specialist at Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation in Center City and seven years as a youth health promotion specialist for the city of Bloomington, according to his LinkedIn profile.
