Gary Thomas “Tom” Keesee, a son of Gary and Drenda Keesee, founders and senior pastors of Faith Life Church in Ohio, pleaded not guilty to 32 counts of alleged sexual abuse of multiple minors Tuesday, including additional charges of rape and gross sexual imposition of a child younger than 13.
The plea follows Keesee’s initial indictment by a grand jury on April 21, on 27 counts of sex crimes, including 11 counts of first-degree rape, 11 counts of gross sexual imposition, and five counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
Keesee, who served as chief media officer at Faith Life Church, according to LinkedIn, before resigning last August, was further indicted on two additional counts of rape, and three more counts of gross sexual imposition on May 19, the Knox Pages reported. The latest victim of Keesee was younger than 13 when he allegedly raped and sexually abused them from 2008 to 2012 while he was an adult.
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Knox County Common Pleas Judge Richard Wetzel opted to keep a July 1 trial date and refused to reconsider a $2 million bond with no 10% provision for Keesee despite his defense attorney, Samuel Shamansky, arguing that he was not a flight risk.
A copy of the initial indictment against Keesee, 36, said he committed the rapes on three victims between May 2002 and November 2006. Licking County Prosecutor Jenny Wells revealed at a press conference that investigators interviewed approximately 40 witnesses and three victims have already come forward.
Wells stated that all the victims were members of Faith Life Church at some point, and they were 6- to 15-years-old when the alleged abuses took place. One victim alleges in a criminal complaint that Keesee sexually assaulted her when she was 5 and 6 years old, starting in May 2001 and ending in May 2003. Another victim accused him of touching her private areas “repeatedly,” starting in November 2006, when she was 8 years old, until she was 15.
Prior to the indictment, Keesee’s father, Pastor Gary Keesee, insisted in February that there is “another side” to the story.
“All hell is breaking loose out there … but truth will prevail,” Gary Keesee said during one of three services at the church’s New Albany site in February, according to a Knox Pages report. “There’s another side. And the truth will come out.”
Keesee’s mother, Dendra Keesee, who was recently elected as a Knox County commissioner, also asked God to forgive “those who hurt us” as she denied the allegations against her son in February.
“Those who know us know what they say are not true,” she said.
A second suspect linked to the case is reportedly under investigation, according to Fox 28.
While none of the alleged abuse reportedly happened at Faith Life Church, at least three of the victims attended the church, prosecutors said.
Some members of the Knox County community advocating for the victims, like Laura Hicks, believe Dendra Keesee should now resign from her government role.
“The fact that Drenda is still holding a Knox County commissioner seat is absurd,” she told Fox 28.
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