BishopAccountability.org

Tulsa church says accused child predator was never a youth pastor

By Corey Jones
Tulsa world
October 26, 2014

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/tulsa-church-says-accused-child-predator-was-never-a-youth/article_bde37008-3610-586c-ae2f-420c82eb8ccc.html

Timothy Shawn Cato: Eastland Assembly of God pastor Randy Dyer said that Timothy Cato was never a youth pastor and never served on staff or in a classroom at the church. Claims that Cato owned and ran Eastland Christian Academy are false, said Dyer.

The senior pastor of Eastland Assembly of God on Saturday distanced the Tulsa church from a man accused Friday of preying on vulnerable boys in the past several years.

Randy Dyer, a senior pastor at Eastland Assembly of God, said Timothy Shawn Cato of Tulsa was never a youth pastor, nor was he ever on staff or in a classroom at the church. An affidavit filed Friday in Tulsa County District Court indicates witnesses stated Cato, 50, was a youth pastor at the church.

An affidavit is a sworn statement that in this instance is the basis for an arrest warrant.

Cato is charged with eight counts of child sexual abuse of five boys ages 7 to 17. Four of the charges are alleged to have happened between Oct. 1 and Tuesday, while the other four are alleged between Oct. 1, 2009, and Tuesday.

Dyer also said Cato was never a member of the church but occasionally attended services and sporadically volunteered.

“He didn’t volunteer very much,” Dyer said. “He helped with one of the boys clubs here.”

Dyer also disputed a statement in the affidavit that Cato told police he owned and worked at his own school for 12 years known as Eastland Christian Academy. Dyer said the now-defunct school had space inside the Eastland Assembly of God but was its own separate entity, closing several years ago.

Cato was only a teacher’s assistant at the school, Dyer said, adding that Cato never owned or ran the school.

Also, a spokesman for Falls Creek Conference Center disputed another of part of the affidavit.

The affidavit says that, according to witness statements, Cato was a youth pastor at Falls Creek Summer Camp. But Falls Creek spokesman Brian Hobbs said his organization has no record of Cato’s attendance there.

“We have no record of his attendance at Falls Creek whatsoever and deny any affiliation with the accused,” Hobbs said via email.

Tulsa police Sgt. Mike Brown on Friday said Cato’s predatory behavior was based on the fact he had access to children who “are extremely vulnerable at this time based on their circumstances.”

Brown said two of the victims at the time of Cato’s alleged abuse were at the Laura Dester Emergency Children’s Shelter, where Cato volunteers. The other three victims Cato had known for a while through a basketball program he was involved with, Brown said.

Cato is employed as a teaching assistant at Town & Country School in Tulsa, Brown said.

Additionally, Cato is an employee of a company that has contracts with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services through its Developmental Disabilities Services division, a spokeswoman confirmed.

Online Tulsa Jail records on Saturday afternoon showed Cato was being held without bond.

Contact: corey.jones@tulsaworld.com




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