A criminal case involving the son of Ohio megachurch pastors that has drawn massive media coverage in central Ohio intensified on Monday when a grand jury added five additional charges, including two additional counts of felony rape.
The total number of sex abuse charges against Gary Thomas “Tom” Keesee Jr., 36, now add up to 32, court records show. He is the son of Gary and Drenda Keesee, pastors of Faith Life Church in New Albany, just east of Columbus, Ohio.
The charges include incidents with one additional victim, bringing the total victim count to four, Licking County Capt. Jay Cook told The Roys Report (TRR). The fourth victim was 6 or 7 years old when Keesee allegedly sexually abused her in Mt. Vernon, a small town in Ohio’s Knox County, according to Knox County court records.
Keesee’s other three alleged victims ranged in ages 5 to 15 when the abuse allegedly happened from 2002 to 2011, TRR previously reported. Those three victims are former members of Faith Life.
Prior to last summer, Tom Keesee worked as the chief media officer at Faith Life. He also created Faith Life’s popular musical, “Fire and Ice,” which uses teenagers as performers, TRR previously reported.
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In addition to pastoring Faith Life, Gary and Drenda Keesee have a financial show on the embattled Daystar TV, called “Fixing the Money Thing.” Drenda is also a Knox County commissioner.
After Monday’s Knox County grand jury indictment, Keesee is facing 13 first degree felony charges of rape, according to the Knox County clerk’s office. Also added Monday were three charges of gross sexual imposition, which is a third-degree felony charge. According to Ohio law, gross sexual imposition means sexual touch with force or threat of force, or when the victim is impaired or is under age 13.
Keesee was arrested in April and placed in the Licking County Justice Center. He pleaded not guilty to the original 27 sex abuse charges, a court official confirmed. Judge Richard Wetzel set bond at $2 million in Knox County Common Pleas Court, according to court records. Inmate records show Keesee is still in jail.
The arraignment at which Keesee will have a chance to enter a plea for the additional charges is scheduled for June 3, court records show.
His trial is set to begin July 1 in Knox County. If found guilty, Keesee could face a mandatory sentence of 10 years to life, special prosecutor Jenny Wells said last month.
Prominent Columbus criminal defense attorney Samuel Shamansky is representing Keesee. Shamansky has had other high-profile clients such as Columbus resident Abdirahman Sheik Mohamud, who was accused of helping terrorists kill Americans in Syria.
Last month, Shamansky told reporters his client was “wrongly accused.” Shamansky did not immediately respond to TRR’s request for comment on the latest charges.
Rebecca Hopkins is a journalist based in Colorado.
