Gary Thomas “Tom” Keesee, Jr.—the son of Ohio megachurch pastors, Gary and Drenda Keesee—was arrested today and charged with two counts of rape, according to a press release by the Licking County Sheriff’s office.
More charges will be considered by a grand jury on Monday, the release stated.
Until last summer Tom Keesee worked as the chief media officer at the church his parents founded, Faith Life Church in New Albany, Ohio. Tom is also the creator of Faith Life’s musical, “Fire and Ice,” which uses minors as performers, TRR previously reported.
Tom Keesee’s mother, Drenda Keesee, is also a county commissioner in Knox County, Ohio.
The Licking County Sheriff’s Office arrested Keesee, 36, at his home today for two felonies of the first degree, the sheriff’s office stated.
Your tax-deductible gift supports our mission of reporting the truth and restoring the church. Donate $50 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you can elect to receive “Saving Face: Finding My Self, God, and One Another Outside a Defaced Church” by Aimee Byrd, click here.
Inmate records show a charge of non-forcible rape of a victim less than 13 years old. Keesee will be held in the Licking County Justice Center, the sheriff’s office stated.
According to an online petition, multiple girls have accused Tom Keesee of sexually abusing them, while “under his influence in the church.” This includes Keesee’s younger sister, Kirsten McKinney.
“We made it,” Nicole Berger, a former church member and whistleblower, told The Roys Report (TRR). Berger helped an alleged victim file a police report in December.
“I’m so happy for the victims,” Berger said. “It was very difficult for the victims to come out.”
The elder Keesees and their five children lead a family-run business empire that includes a 44,000-square-foot church, a financial company, and other enterprises. One of those enterprises is a financial show, “Fixing the Money Thing,” on the embattled Daystar TV network. Next weekend, Faith Life and the Keesees are hosting Provision Conference with well-known charismatic preacher Jesse Duplantis scheduled to speak.
“(The victims) felt like they were definitely up against a mountain and the fear of people that have influence and money, feeling like they wouldn’t be heard,” Berger said.
After thousands signed a petition, calling on Ohio law enforcement to investigate Keesee, the Licking County Sheriff’s Office opened an investigation into child sex abuse allegations against a “former leader” at Faith Life.
The charges could carry a sentence of life in prison, Ohio code states. Charges with possible life sentences must go to a grand jury in Ohio, attorney Vanessa Johnson told TRR. Johnson has been a prosecutor in Florida and Michigan and has been posting about Keesee’s case on YouTube.
“This is a big deal, a really big deal,” Johnson told TRR. “I’m very glad that it finally happened.”
A press conference will be held Monday after the Knox County Grand Jury meets about Keesee’s case, according to the Licking County Sheriff’s Office.
Another petition, signed by more than 887 people, accuses Faith Life of covering up the abuses and calls for the resignation of Drenda Keesee from her role as a Knox County commissioner.
Last year, Drenda ran unopposed on a pro-family, pro-business and pro-freedom platform, saying on FlashPoint that God told her to run for office. When President Donald Trump ran for president last year, she joined a group at a Georgia rally to pray over him.
“Anyone can be accused of anything and anyone can be investigated for anything,” Drenda said at a recent Knox County commission meeting. “We’ve seen it with our president, right?”
The church’s attorney didn’t immediately respond to TRR’s request for comment. The attorney previously released a statement to TRR, stating that the church is cooperating with law enforcement.
‘We’re here for you’
Faith Life began in the mid-1990s when a handful of “refugees” from a nearby megachurch met in a basement, said Scot Gilmore, one of the original members along with the Keesees.
Gary Keesee then began pressuring staff and church members to market financial products of his business, Faith-Full Family Finances, now Forward Financial, Gilmore said. The Keesees built a “personal kingdom” that had a “corrupting” effect on the church, he added.
“The greatest loss, in some ways, for me, is that (the congregation) never got the opportunity to live out their faith in a safe environment,” Gilmore said.
Berger told TRR she and other advocates for the victims have formed a nonprofit called Braveheart that will provide funds for Keesee’s victims.
“The goal is to raise funds for victims to come forward so they don’t have to fear any legal pushback,” Berger said.
Berger said she hopes the nonprofit will help other victims of abuse from other churches in the future.
“We don’t want to just stop with our church because we know this is a problem in many churches,” she said. “We want people to be empowered, to not be fearful, to go ahead and come forward no matter what kind of money the ministry has. We’re here for you.”
Rebecca Hopkins is a journalist based in Colorado.
English 
Spanish
11 Responses
I have no doubt their kid is like Josh Dugger and he had his parents and their political connection/clout to help cover up things and keep things quiet. Paging Mike Huckabee…
I just made a monthly/continuing donation to Roy’s Report. I will not regret for a second. It is so important to be above board and reveal those who are hiding. I personally have fought for the truth in local matters (finance not sexual) and have hit a brick wall. If it were sexual I would not give up, until it was corrected endmrw0418251740
Thanks for this! The essence of Maga Christianity.
The sheriff at first refused to investigate because he was close friends with the pastor. Then the Republican Attorney General did the same.
Why is it that Republicans refuse to investigate their own? MAGA is not “law and order.”. It’s all about protecting their own.
Yost, a 2026 gubernatorial candidate, recused the agency he oversees from investigating alleged sex crimes involving the same church six weeks ago. He cited a friendship with Gary and Drenda Keesee, co-pastors of the church, for his reason.
https://www.knoxpages.com/2025/03/13/ohio-attorney-generals-office-probed-faith-life-church-finances-in-2020/
We have to get away from this false binary of one side being less corrupt than the other one. Power protects power, and evil protects evil regardless of political affiliation. Both sides do it, both sides are guilty of it.
I find it fascinating that the Christian MAGA crowd and their leaders are screaming the loudest about Drag Queen story hours, the godless libs, its potential grooming/abuse and spouting conspiracy theories about child sex rings in the basement of Washington DC area pizza restaurants. When in reality, a kid is more likely to get abused or molested in a church by a so-called Evangelical Christian with all those “family values” the espouse in their politics.
As it was in the beginning, is and ever shall be …
But Gregory, “protecting your own” also includes Biden issuing blanket decade pardons to all his family members, including his own sexually deviant son. No political party is morally superior to the other.
And brother, if we deny this truth, it may reveal a concerning misunderstanding of sin’s corruptive power and our desperate need of the only antidote, which is Christ’s redeeming atonement.
Earthly fathers who play Christ by covering their sons’ sins will be dealt with accordingly by our Heavenly Father. His guaranteed justice is joy to the oppressed, amen. I have to cling to that comfort when I read the news, especially on TRR, or I would lose all hope.
Thank you to all of you who have helped the Victims voices, finally be heard loud and clear. And Justice shall now be served. God bless TRR and all your Journalists who put their Love and time into these stories. 🙏🏻
“Charges with possible life sentences must go to a grand jury in Ohio”
Now we find out if any of the Grand Jury are affiliated with Faith Life Mega or any of Faith Life Mega’s Friends in High Places.
This is a very deviant and sad act on children.