Ex-pastor arrested for alleged contact with child

By Amanda Christman
Standard Speaker
February 4, 2015

http://standardspeaker.com/news/ex-pastor-arrested-for-alleged-contact-with-child-1.1827484

A former pastor and youth group director has been charged with unlawful contact with a child.

White Haven police charged Adam D’Albero, 34, Beech Mountain Lakes, Drums, with corruption of minors and unlawful contact with a minor, both third-degree felonies. He was also charged with indecent assault of a person younger than 16, a second-degree misdemeanor.

D’Albero once served as director of an inter-congregational youth group at Mountainview Community Free Methodist Church in White Haven. Youth group members followed him when he later formed his own congregation, Wellspring Life Center, which is now closed, White Haven Police Chief Tom Szoke said.

The alleged offenses took place between May 2011 and May 2012 when the victim, who was a youth group member, was 12 to 13 years old, Szoke said.

D’Albero was arraigned Tuesday afternoon by Magisterial District Judge James Dixon, Hazle Township, who set bail at $50,000 straight. He later posted bail through a bondsman, avoiding a jail stay prior to his preliminary hearing, which is tentatively scheduled before Magisterial District Judge Ronald Swank, Wright Township, Feb. 11 at 10 a.m.

A misunderstanding related to bail delayed the arraignment about 30 minutes.

Attorney Gordon Bigelow, who represented D’Albero during the preliminary arraignment, told the judge he was told by D’Albero’s criminal lawyer there was a deal for percentage bail between the commonwealth and defense.

Szoke, however, denied knowledge of one. As it turned out, there was no deal, so Dixon eventually set his bail straight.

When Dixon asked D’Albero about his prior criminal record, he responded with a count of possession of a controlled substance that occurred in Arkansas in 2004 that was later removed from his record because he was a first-time offender. He also noted a shoplifting offense in 2008 at a former employer. He said he was now unemployed and currently a student but Bigelow, who represented the defendant in the hearing, added that D’Albero was an honorably discharged veteran and has lived in the area for 2 ½ years and is currently married to a local woman.

As part of his bail conditions, Dixon said D’Albero was not allowed to have any contact with the victim or witnesses. He also told D’Albero he cannot have unsupervised visits with minors.

A court docket states police were made aware of an alleged inappropriate relationship D’Albero had with the victim Dec. 8.

D’Albero, court papers state, started contact with the victim while he worked at Mountainview as the youth director and after he opened up Wellspring, the victim said she started to have meetings with him in his office with the door locked.

At first, the girl said the pair would just talk, according to police, but then one day D’Albero leaned in and kissed the victim on the lips before walking out of the office. Court papers allege the encounters continued and the girl began to feel “like they were dating.” Police wrote that D’Albero would have the girl in his office, sitting on his lap, and during these times it was normal for him to kiss her on the lips and touch her buttocks. The victim also alleged he would pull her onto his lap by her pants belt loops or by reaching into her pants pockets, arrest papers state. She contended the two would always be together but D’Albero would only kiss her behind his office’s locked doors, court papers state. The girl also talked about thousands of text messages between them.

She told authorities in December 2011 D’Albero ignored her at an event at Wellspring and when she confronted him about it, he said he could not kiss, hug or touch her anymore, court papers state. That lasted three days, police wrote, when the inappropriate contact began again. The behavior continued until D’Albero said he could get into trouble for what they were doing, police wrote. The victim left Wellspring in May 2012.

The victim said she was initially scared to report the incidents, court papers state.

Szoke said only one victim has surfaced with allegations against D’Albero but if more exist, he asked that they contacted police.

D’Albero was interviewed in a 2009 Standard-Speaker article about the youth ministry at Mountainview that gathered youth from different religions together. More than 60 children, ages 10 and up, were members and worshipped together in a contemporary approach with mainstream Christian music that replaced traditional hymns. Children in the group spoke about the positive impact the group had on their lives. The group also held Bible study and other activities, along with community service projects.

In that article, D’Albero said he began his religious education in Oregon and was an assistant youth director there, working with a 150-member group. He also performed in a Christian band and spent time in the military. A motorcycle crash that left him with severe injuries, he said, helped him understand religion better.