Associate Pastor Charged With Sexually Assaulting Teen
Aug 3, 2006 11:53 AM EDT
By Daniel Miller
News 8 @ 11
An Indianapolis assistant pastor is facing criminal charges after police say he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old boy. According to police, several young boys were staying overnight at the church as part of a youth program when it happened.
Indianapolis police say 27-year-old Tyree Coleman is facing numerous sex crime charges after he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old boy inside the Temple of Refuge church. According to investigators, Coleman is an assistant pastor at the church.
Police say he was with a group of boys inside the church Monday night.
"Approximately sometime around 2:00 a.m., one of the young men he had brought into his office and forced him to submit to a sexual act at that time," Sgt. Matt Mount with the Indianapolis Police Department said.
Investigators say the 15-year-old boy was not the only victim Coleman assaulted.
"Another young man there apparently had also been propositioned to perform a sexual act," Sgt. Mount said.
In 1997 when Coleman was just 16-years-old he was honored and recognized by Congresswoman Julia Carson.
"To hear something like this is devastating," Congresswoman Carson said.
He received an award for his leadership and his efforts to fight crime in Marion County.
"Mr. Coleman met all the characteristics of a young man who should be honored, he came up in a homeless shelter and wrote various state instructions for his peers to succeed," Congresswoman Carson said.
24-Hour News 8 went to the church to get reaction from the pastor. He declined to comment.
Congresswoman Carson hopes there's a resolution, "I am very distraught with the news, the allegations that have been made against him."
Indianapolis police say there was a warrant for Coleman's arrest for driving with a suspended license.
He's charged with one count of criminal deviate conduct and sexual misconduct with a minor.
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