A New Jersey pastor has been arrested on charges he sexually abused a child, according to Bergen County Sheriff records.
The arrest of 74-year-old Stephen Sweet was first reported on northjersey.com, an online news outlet.
Sweet, who has pastored Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in River Edge, New Jersey, for 27 years, is charged with two counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, 10 counts of second-degree sexual assault, three counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, three counts of third-degree aggravated criminal sexual contact, and three counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact.
The church also runs a preschool, New Beginnings, and summer camp programs for children ages two and half to 11 years old, according to the church’s website.
The Bergen County Prosecutor’s office Bergen County Prosecutor’s office accuses Sweet of sexually abusing a juvenile between 13 and 18 years old in various locations, including River Edge, Paramus, and Ridgewood, according to a statement released Friday.
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The alleged sexual abuse started in October 2013 and lasted until October 2018, prosecutors said in the statement.
Telephone calls to the church over the weekend were not immediately returned.
Court records show Sweet is being held without bond in the Bergen County Jail. He is awaiting his first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack, the statement says.
According to the church’s website, Sweet was installed at Grace in 1997. He is an ordained minister with degrees in psychology, counseling, and sociology, and a Master of Divinity degree from the Lutheran Theological Seminary of Philadelphia, the website states.
Sheila Stogsdill is a freelance print journalist and digital reporter, primarily covering crime issues for KSN/KODE.
2 Responses
Well, another day another allegedly pedophile pastor exposed. It’s too bad that there isn’t a blood test for pedophilia! If there was, we could screen these guys out before seminary. But alas, they just go on to destroy their lives along with lives of the victim.
This pastor presided over my mother’s funeral and my family has heard him speak several times since then.
Initially we were shocked but now we consider the possibility that the allegations might be true. I know several clergy of various churches and faiths whose accusations of pedophilia, and in some cases criminal pasts, continue to follow them.
What ultimately do they think will become of them, never mind the children they exploit, at the day of judgement? Will it have been worth it?
May the truth prevail.