According to a news release from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, a Jacksonville pastor was arrested and charged with capital sexual battery following a raid at his North Jacksonville church.
The pastor of the Jacksonville Assembly of the Body of Christ on Old Kings Road North, Paul Dyal, 78, was arrested Wednesday night following a coordinated police raid on the church, according to News4Jax.
“The investigation revealed both long-term sexual and physical abuse of minors in the church spanning a period of over thirty years,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. According to JSO, the investigation began in September 2020 after the agency received a tip about possible sexual abuse.
Additional warrants were served in Oklahoma while investigators were making the arrest. According to the Sheriff’s Office, Jerome Teschendorf, 68, of Newalla, Oklahoma, and Vernon Williamson, 85, of Ardmore, Oklahoma, were both arrested and charged with capital sexual battery.
According to the JSO, the police “have identified and spoken to numerous victims and witnesses” during the investigative process. As a result, according to the Sheriff’s Office, authorities suspect there are more suspects. It asked anybody who believes they may have details to share to contact JSO or submit an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, there might be more than a dozen victims.
One woman, who is 50 now, claims she was abused from the ages of five to 14. Another woman alleges she was seven when she was sexually battered, according to First Coast News.
Dyal was ordered held without bond after appearing before a judge on the charge Thursday afternoon. Dyal, if convicted, could face life in prison, according to the judge.
His arraignment has been scheduled for March 31.
