A former pastor at a megachurch in Kenosha, Wisconsin, is facing two felony counts for allegedly transferring nude photos of a woman to his phone without consent, local police say.
Gabriel “Gabe” Mills, a former pastor at Journey Church, is accused of sending the nude photos from the phone of the woman’s husband to his own phone, according to a criminal complaint filed last week. Mills allegedly searched for intimate photos on the phone during a church life group meeting at Mills’ home and then sent them to himself via AirDrop.
Police have charged Mills with two counts of capturing an intimate representation without consent. If convicted of the felony, the former pastor faces up to $10,000 in fines or up to three years and six months in prison, according to the complaint.
Mills, 41, was fired from his role at the Journey Church on September 29, according to the complaint. Church leadership was informed of the allegations against the pastor the day before.
The church’s lead pastor, Kevin Taylor, said in a statement to TMJ4 News that the news regarding Mills “has come as a great shock to our church and school community.”
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“We hold our leaders to the highest standards of moral conduct, and any violation of these values is deeply troubling. We terminated Gabe’s employment upon learning of the allegations that led to his arrest,” Taylor said. “We are committed to transparency and accountability throughout this process and will await further information from the authorities.”
Taylor noted the church does not have evidence to suggest “students were affected by this situation.”
Additionally, the church is offering counseling and pastoral care to any church members impacted by the situation.
The Roys Report (TRR) reached out to Journey Church for further comment but did not hear back prior to publication.
Mills was previously listed as the guest experience pastor at the church’s campus in Kenosha. His profile on the site has since been removed.
Mills repeatedly denied having the photos
Mills allegedly obtained the photos of the victim September 22.
At the life group meeting, Mills borrowed the phone of the woman’s husband to download an audio book application onto it, which Mills wanted to share with the husband. About 10 minutes later, the victim found Mills holding the phone close to his chest “so it could not be seen,” the complaint said.
While the woman talked with Mills, he lowered the phone to his side. The woman then saw on the phone a picture of herself in undergarments “where she was bent over at the waist posed for the camera,” the complaint stated.
She recognized the photo as one she had taken and sent only to her husband months prior.
According to the complaint, she then became “furious” and concerned as to what else Mills could have on his phone. She reportedly had sent her husband other intimate photos on previous occasions.
She then “tapped” on Mills phone and it lit up to show the photo again. Mills realized the woman saw the photo and reportedly turned “white as a ghost” and started to apologize, according to the complaint.
Mills pleaded with the woman not to tell Mills’ wife. He then blocked her exit from the room and told her the image was of his wife, not her, the complaint reported. The woman “knew that was a lie as she recognized herself and the background of the photo.”
The woman and her family left the life group, and Mills followed them to their car. He allegedly told them “how embarrassed he was and how sorry he was about the incident,” according to the complaint.
When the woman talked with her husband about what happened, the husband recalled that Mills had his phone for a “really long time.” The husband later confronted Mills by text and Mills denied having the photo, the complaint stated.
The husband, who is an employee of the Racine Police Department, asked his colleagues to examine his phone for potential evidence of what happened. Racine Police found that the husband’s text messages had been accessed and airdrop had been used during the timeframe of the incident, according to the complaint.
The woman and her husband then filed a complaint with the Kenosha Police Department.
Kenosha police issued a search warrant for Mills phone and discovered that Mills had used airdrop on his phone at the time of the alleged incident.
Additionally, police found two inappropriate nude photos on Mills’ phone, which the victim verified were of her. Neither of the photos were the original one she saw on Mills’ phone, according to the complaint.
The victim and her family are members of Journey Church.
The megachurch belongs to the Assemblies of God, according to its website.
Other victims at the church may have been victimized, police said in a statement.
Mills is currently out of jail on a $7,500 bond, according to court records. He is set to next appear in court on October 9.
Liz Lykins is a correspondent covering religion news for The Roys Report, WORLD Magazine, and other publications.
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12 Responses
I read this in utter shock. The level of immaturity, dishonesty, and invasion of privacy is astounding. We read of high school or college kids doing this, but the pastor??
And there’s no way this was his first time doing this. Sigh. Saying a prayer for the victim and her entire family…and that there is no victim-blaming here. She did nothing wrong.
The pastor is a creep and the woman and her husband did nothing wrong. I do think the woman and her husband are stupid to be sending nude pictures.There are just too many ways for that type of thing to accidentally be exposed to eyes that should not see it. They need to grow up.
I could not agree with you more, Mark The couple are not very smart. If you are not so intimate in your personal life that you have to send a lingerie photo of yourself to your hubby, then something is missing at home.
I don’t see any “victims” here.
What they did was ill-advised (and some might say “immature”) but it’s not illegal.
What the “pastor” did IS illegal, hence why he was arrested.
The husband and wife are therefore, by legal definition, VICTIMS of a crime (and by moral definition, VICTIMS of a very serious breach of trust).
The personal opinions of you or anyone else do not alter that fact.
Anne Rector: your comment (“I don’t see any ‘victims’ here”) is unfortunately a textbook example of victim blaming. If you don’t see any victims, the issue is with your vision and understanding, not with the people. Thanks.
Anne – that makes quite the assumption. Who is to say the husband doesn’t like or request pictures of his wife in lingerie? And what’s wrong with that? If that’s not your thing, okay. But to say that means something is “missing at home” is quite condescending and presumptuous.
Let’s keep the focus on the “pastor” who violated their privacy.
Perhaps the victim had read best-selling Christian author Gary Thomas’s book, Married Sex, in which he recommends that women send nude photos to their husbands to make men “neurologically” attracted to their wives. What could possibly go wrong?
Come on Anne, some Christian marriage books even suggest this, as a way to keep the husband faithful. It is in my opinion terrible advice, but, it’s not illegal or immoral. This couple are clearly victims here.
The way I lose my phone and leave it laying around at work it wouldn’t take long for the whole department to see any intimate pics of my missus and at my age of 66 , I don’t even like looking in the mirror every morning.
Chuck- 1. please password protect your phone- there’s no reason anyone who finds it should have access to it, they can steal more than your photos. 2. please don’t victim blame. they shared private pictures between the two of them- just because it’s not your cup of tea, doesn’t mean it’s not a suggestion in most christian marriage books, to spice things up and keep him engaged.
It seems this “Guest Experience” Pastor came up with a new way to define his job description.
Thank you Susan! Your quip made my day. And it Illustrates how ridiculously corporate much of the American church has become. Instead of firing him, I’m surprised they didn’t rebrand him Pastor of creepy vibes.