Paxton Singer is a former youth minister at an evangelical church Harvest Bible Chapel with several campuses in the Chicago area.
Newsweek: Authorities claim Paxton Singer, a youth pastor at Harvest Bible Chapel in Aurora, Illinois, asked the unnamed 16-year-old for nude photos. He also purportedly inquired about the teen’s sexual habits and requested the two spend the weekend alone together.
Prosecutors says Singer, 24, “knowingly enticed a person under 17 years of age to remove their clothing for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification of the defendant or the child.” He faces a misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and sexual exploitation of a child.
After he met the unnamed minor at a church event, Singer reportedly sent him a series of suggestive texts between October 2016 and August 2017. At some point the incidents were reported to Harvest Bible Chapel leaders, who say Singer was “involuntarily terminated for cause” in January 2018. In a statement, the church said the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) was notified the same day, as were families connected to Singer’s ministry.
But a DCFS official told the Chicago Tribune that the charges filed against Singer did not result from the January notification, but from a hotline call made months later: “The DCFS child protection investigation was completed in October 2018, and Paxton Singer was indicated for sexual exploitation.”
Singer was convicted of disorderly conduct in 2019 and sentenced to twelve months of court supervision. In September 2021, an appellate court overturned Singer’s conviction on the grounds of double jeopardy.
WSPY News: In its ruling, the appellate court noted that there was sufficient evidence to convict Singer, but that the acquittal granted by the court when it ordered a new trial must stand.
This week, in light of investigative reporter Julie Roys’ recent statements addressing her book account of her behavior as a youth pastor and stepping down from hosting the Restore Conference, I have observed discussion of Roys’ involvement in the Paxton Singer case. A former church member and security volunteer at Harvest Bible Chapel, James Engleman, is now speaking out with questions for Julie Roys regarding the Paxton Singer case.
Christianity Today reported that pastor James MacDonald and Harvest Bible Chapel filed a lawsuit in October 2018 against two ex-members and former Moody Radio host Julie Roys, accusing them of spreading false information about the Chicago-area megachurch’s financial health and leadership.
In February 2019, James MacDonald was fired as Harvest Bible Chapel pastor. Elders announced that the church founder was fired for “engaging in conduct that the Elders believe is contrary and harmful to the best interests of the church.”
From what I understand to date, in the course of the lawsuit, Julie Roys and the other defendants subpoenaed Harvest Bible Chapel for information. Did part of that subpoena involve information related to Paxton Singer and the child exploitation case? There are questions that James Engleman has asked in relation to that case and Julie’s decision not to report further on Paxton Singer. James posted an email correspondence with the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS).
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I emailed Julie Roys a few days ago some questions about this case.
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Was there any professional or financial incentive from donors and/or supporters to forgo further reporting on the Paxton Singer case?
In June 2019, Julie tweeted that she spoke with Paxton Singer’s father, Lloyd about the child exploitation criminal case against Paxton. She said he promised that ”there’s more to the story which will come out after the trial.”
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The charges originally filed against Singer included child sexual exploitation. Sending texts and asking for nude photos is child sexual exploitation which is a federal offense. Has evidence of that exploitation been reported to federal authorities? Did the prosecution notify federal authorities?
NCMEC’s CyberTipline is the nation’s centralized reporting system for the online exploitation of children. The public and electronic service providers can make reports of suspected online enticement of children for sexual acts, child sexual molestation, child sexual abuse material, child sex tourism, child sex trafficking, unsolicited obscene materials sent to a child, misleading domain names, and misleading words or digital images on the internet.
Where is Paxton Singer now? He is not in prison. He is not a registered sex offender. Evidence shows he is a dangerous predator.
Declaration of Support for Victims of Paxton Singer: I will leave this petition up indefinitely to warn future schools, employers and sports teams to be aware of predator Paxton Singer. – Jon Singer
No one should ever wait to report child sexual abuse material or allegations to law enforcement. It’s never appropriate to hold off on doing so. It’s especially egregious and morally bankrupt to hold off and use it to an advantage for a story.
