MSP searching for Kalamazoo pastor accused of sex crimes

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — A Kalamazoo pastor accused of paying teens for sex is considered a fugitive after he failed to turn himself in Wednesday morning, police say.

Michigan State Police Detective 1st Lt. Chuck Christensen said that Rev. Stricjavvar “Strick” Strickland called to say he was having car trouble as an explanation for why he didn’t turn himself in by the expected time.

Christensen said that because Strickland has not turned himself in in a “reasonable amount of time,” he is considered a fugitive. His case has been assigned to the MSP Fugitive Task Force.

Strickland, the longtime pastor of Second Baptist Church, faces 11 felony charges including counts of criminal sexual conduct and human trafficking. Authorities say he and his wife used their positions within Kalamazoo Public Schools and the church to coerce four teen boys into sex. According to court documents, investigators allege Strickland paid the teens to have sex with his wife and send him nude photos between 2015 and 2018.

His wife Jazmonique Strickland does not currently face criminal charges.

Strick Strickland has denied the allegations.

https://www.woodtv.com/news/kzoo-and-bc/msp-searching-for-kalamazoo-pastor-accused-of-sex-crimes/

Eight charged with sexually assaulting unconscious teen after video surfaces

Eight men are facing charges in Rhode Island for allegedly sexually assaulting a 16-year-old unconscious girl at a party — after the girl’s mother found footage of the attack on Facebook and shared it with detectives, according to a report.

The teen told detectives in Providence she awoke in an apartment on Dec. 20 with vaginal pain and cuts on her thighs, police and court records obtained by the Boston Globe show.

She told police she could remember being naked in a bathroom shower, with roughly 15 men laughing at her while possibly taking photos before she recalled being taken into a bedroom. However, she was unconscious during the alleged assault.

The girl went to police later that day, but she was only able to provide the first names of some of the men, including two who brought her to the party, the Globe reports — hampering the investigation.

But a Facebook video then surfaced in June showing the girl naked and unconscious on a bed as men victimized her and others looked on, the newspaper reports.

“The video was more than enough to see the crime and identify the culprits,” Providence Police Major David Lapatin told the newspaper. “It is sickening to see it. It was tough on the investigators. They did a really good job.”

The girl’s mother was alerted to the video and was the one who shared with detectives, Lapatin told The Post early Wednesday.

“It obviously moved our case right along,” Lapatin said. “That’s when it really picked up steam and we were able to identify many suspects from the video and shortly thereafter, arrests were made.”

Detectives got warrants for eight men who were allegedly in the room with the teen and police arrested seven suspects late last week, the Globe reports.

https://nypost.com/2020/09/02/eight-charged-with-sexually-assaulting-unconscious-teen/

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