The son-in-law of televangelist Mark Barclay, whose ministry reaches millions of viewers each week, has rejected a plea deal in his sexual assault case, according to circuit court records.
James Randolph, Barclay’s son-in-law and a minister at Living Word International Church in Midland, Michigan, is accused of sexual assault—his decision last Thursday to deny the plea means he could face life in prison, if convicted.
Randolph is charged with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and four counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct, according to court records.
Randolph was given the chance to plead guilty to reduced charges of three counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct and two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, court records said.
At Thursday’s hearing, Midland County Circuit Judge Michael J. Beale told Randolph these charges carried a lower potential sentence, WNEM informado.
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If Randolph had accepted the deal, he would have faced a maximum punishment of up to 15 years in prison and would be required to register as a sex offender.
Randolph instead declined the deal.
Randolph will be tried on all six charges this year. An exact trial date has yet to be determined, according to court records.
Randolph is currently on administrative leave at Living Word but is out of jail on a $5 million surety bond, The Roys Report (TRR) previamente reportado.
Randolph’s charges stem from a victim testifying that Randolph touched her inappropriately for around six years, starting when she was in sixth grade, TRR informado.
During a preliminary hearing, the victim described how she moved into Randolph’s home in 2012. She remembered regularly waking up in the middle of the night to Randolph touching her.
“I just remember he would just be in there touching me,” the woman said. “When I would wake up, he would say he’s in there just checking on me or he heard a noise.”
The woman told the court that she didn’t tell anyone about the assaults because she thought she wouldn’t be believed.
“James was a minister. He was my youth pastor,” she said during the hearing. “I grew up with him in a children’s church, and my parents, you know, they trusted them.”
Prior to his current charges, Randolph had previously been convicted of sexual crimes in 1983 and 1984, according to court records.
He was convicted in 1983 of assault to do great bodily harm, and in 1984, of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Randolph was a teenager at the time and was sentenced to two to 10 years in a Michigan reformatory after being convicted of the assault charge, MLive reportado. While on parole the following year, he and several other men raped a 15-year-old girl in Jackson, Michigan.
Three Church Leaders Have Sexual Assault Charges
Randolph is one of three leaders at Living Word International Church with sexual assault charges.
Randy Saylor, associate pastor at the church, was charged with sex offenses for one case in May 2024 and then another in June 2024, according to two separate court records.
Saylor, 72, faces a total of 15 charges of second-degree criminal sexual conduct for the two cases, court records said. All charges involved a minor between 11 to 15 years of age.
At a preliminary examination, two victims testified that Saylor gave them massages that turned into sexual assaults, Midland Daily News reportado.
Saylor is currently out on a $50,000 cash surety bond.
He will next be in court for a conference hearing on Tuesday.
Living Word suspended Saylor from all duties “pending the outcome of the investigation,” Living Word Church Administrator William Bailey said in a prior statement, TRR reportado. Bailey noted that there are no allegations that the abuse involved the church in any way or took place there.
Saylor’s son, Brandon Saylor, was sentenced to five to 15 years in prison for sexual assault crimes in April 2024, according to court records. Saylor served as a church elder and volunteer at Living Word International.
In May, Saylor was resentenced to add lifetime electronic monitoring for the Sex Offender Registration Act to his verdict, TRR previamente reportado.
Saylor, 45, pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with three children under 13.
Living Word Administrator Bailey said that an independent investigator recently reviewed the church’s internal safety and protective practices and the results were positive.
“We continue to follow our legal counsel’s advice to make certain we are doing everything possible to ensure the safety of our congregation, especially our children,” Bailey said. “Our policy has always been to immediately report any misconduct to the appropriate authorities, which we consider a good practice for all parents, churches, and ministries.”
Liz Lykins is a correspondent covering religion news for The Roys Report, WORLD Magazine, and other publications.
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9 Responses
Living Word International seems to be a hotbed of carnality. How any parent can trust their daughter attending that institution is frankly unfathomable to me.
Yes ! It seems we cannot trust our children anywhere!
I am so horrified at all the SA coming out from so many churches! It is beyond words. I may never go back to a traditional church again! SA, woke worldliness,abuse of authority,twisting of scripture,absolutely HORRIBLE!
Robin, it makes me sad to hear you say this. As believers, we are called to be in community with other believers. As terrible as these stories are, not every church or church leader is like that.
It’s apparent this is a pattern for this organization . We pray God brings all this evil to light!
Bad place! They are ruining the reputation of a whole community. The head pastor Mark T. Barclay, who calls himself a preacher of righteousness made nonchalant comments about hacking into underaged girls’ social media accounts, peeking at their inappropriate and partially clothed photos. (Shirtless in his own words!) He did that around the same time these sex crimes and alleged sex crimes began to happen to the children at that church by three of their leaders, with one in prison now. Where there is one, there could be a dozen! I really hope all of them are exposed for the victims’ sake, so healing can begin.
So who put up the money (500k?) for the 5 million bond?
Sounds like a horror movie and yet people will still support this fellowship.
Wolves and sheep!
Why do these congregations not show up and drag these scoundrels out of their pulpits and offices, posting a bouncer to ‘redirect’ their attempt to entry?