Did you ever hear of the saying “every accussation is a confession”? There seems to me to be a trend as of late: pastors who are vocal about trans rights are soon caught in scandals involving the sexual abuse of minors. This is usually following some diatribe about how transgender folks are grooming kids. The only grooming that appears to be going on is the very familiar story of a church official abusing their power and harming the ones they are supposed to care for.

The latest case of this style of confession is a man by the name of Marcus Owens, a 42 year old pastor for Prepared Church in Sand Springs. Police were suspicious of his relationship with a child, and when they interrogated Owens, he claimed that there was nothing untowards happening. Not long after, the child confessed to the abuse, and Owens was place in the custody of Sand Springs police department.

He is facing three counts: abusive sexual contact with a minor, sexual abuse of a minor, coercion and enticement. These are all felonies.

Investigators believe Owens may have more victims. If you know someone who has been victimized, or if you have yourself, call your local police department.

Owens had several jobs that all gave him unsupervised access to kids. Where there is smoke, there is often fire, and so while I hope there are no other victims, it’s very likely that there are more. Here’s hoping that the bravery of the child that did come forward will inspire others to do so as well. This way, we can get a little bit of justice in a world that is in desperate need of it.