This article is part of “Pastors and Dams” A series that investigates the accusations of sexual abuse in the assemblies of God.
Thomas Pinkerton Jr. used to tell the children in their youth group in Maryland that it was normal for a pastor to kiss children on the lips, because this is how Jesus greeted his disciples, according to an arrest warrant made public last week.
The kisses were only the beginning, several men from the former Pinkerton youth group said to the police.
Pinkerton, 52, a youth minister known as Pastor Tommy, is detained without bail after accusations that he sexually abused six teenagers between 2006 and 2010 while working at Central Christian Church, a church of God’s assemblies in Baltimore County. He was extradited from Georgia’s native state to Maryland last Wednesday to face 24 serious crimes and minor crimes in Baltimore County. His lawyer, Justin Hollimon, said he declared himself innocent.
An arrest warrant said that the alleged abuse included an inappropriate touch and kisses of six teenagers in Maryland, who had ages between 13 and 19 years. The order said the alleged abuse occurred in the Church and in the old Pinkerton house in Maryland. A seventh man reported Pinkerton abuse in Georgia, according to the order, and that report was sent to the authorities there, officials said in Baltimore County.
Detectives believe there may be more victims and have asked anyone with information to be presented.
Pinkerton, who has worked as a traveling evangelist in recent years, was “completely surprised” for the charges, his lawyer said on Monday.
“He is a pastor. He gave his life to the community, he worked for the community,” said Hollimon, added that he presented a motion on Monday morning in search of another bail audience for Pinkerton after a judge denied his release last week. “He is anxiously waiting for his day in court.”
The arrest of Pinkerton occurs when the assemblies of God, the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world, with almost 3 million members in 13,000 churches in the United States, is dealing with a series of accusations of child sexual abuse.
As part of an ongoing investigation on the management of the denomination abuse claims, NBC News published an investigation last week based on interviews, emails, judicial presentations and police reports that examined how a ministry of the Assembly of God College guided hundreds of students to the house of Daniel Savala, a sexual offender condemned by some as “the most smooth man.” Days later, the leaders of the Assemblies of God addressed the issue of sexual abuse in the denomination during a biennial meeting in Orlando, defending their management of the Savala case and also promised to make changes to avoid similar abuses in the future.
Do you have a story to share about the assemblies of God’s management of accusations of sexual abuse? Email reporter Mike Hixenbaugh.
According to Pinkerton’s arrest order, the detectives began investigating it after the seven men appeared last fall. The men alleged that when they were in their adolescence, Pinkerton would give them massages and rub their penises; Several said Pinkerton would greet them with what he referred to as a “heavenly kiss” or “fraternal kiss” on the lips, comparing this with Jesus. The men said Pinkerton called their “favorites” and referred to himself as a “spiritual father” for them.
The officials of the Assemblies of God distanced themselves from Pinkerton on Monday, telling NBC News that, although Pinkerton worked in a church in the assemblies of God, he was never formally credential as a minister with the denomination.
“We are very sad to hear this report, and we are deeply worried every time reports like this,” said Benjamin Rainey Jr., secretary-stroke of the regional office of the Assemblies of God that supervises the region of three states that Maryland includes.
The old Pinkerton church in Maryland did not return a phone call on Monday. In a statement published last week on its website, Central Christian said that Pinkerton served in his staff more than 15 years ago and has not been affiliated with the church since he left to begin his own ministry. He also said that since the alleged abuse of the police was reported, additional people “have presented similar accounts,” including some in other states.
“There is absolutely any place for abuse, in the church,” said the main shepherd of the center of Christian, Larry Kirk, in the statement.
In the years since the alleged abuse occurred, Pinkerton has preached in at least six different states, according to NBC News, and according to its Ministry’s website, it has evangelized in South America, Europe and Asia.
Pinkerton’s lawyer said Monday that his client did not face charges in any state other than Maryland.
A church where he preached, the new chapel in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which is not a church of the Assembly of God, published on its website during the weekend that had cut the ties with Pinkerton before being arrested.
“We were disconsolate when they heard these serious accusations that occurred in Baltimore, Maryland, almost 20 years ago, and we communicated the situation to the family of our church after cutting all the ties with the defendant several months ago. Our prayers and continuous cooperation are towards justice for the victims,” said New Chapel’s statement.
The authorities in Maryland and Georgia said that Baltimore County Police obtained an arrest warrant at the end of June for Pinkerton. Forsyth County Sheriff of County in Georgia said he later arrested him at a traffic stop in July before being extradited to Maryland last week.
Pinkerton has a preliminary judicial hearing scheduled for September 5.
