MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (WCMH) – Less than one week after being arrested, the son of New Albany church leaders facing over two dozen sexual assault charges, made his first court appearance.
Gary “Tom” Keesee Jr., 36, the son of Faith Life Church senior pastors Gary and Drenda Keesee, had his arraignment hearing in Knox County on Wednesday afternoon. He has entered a not guilty plea on all 27 charges he is facing.
Judge Richard Wetzel set his bond amount at $2 million after the state requested a $5 million bond. As part of his bond conditions, Keesee Jr. was ordered to surrender his driver’s license and passport to Licking County, make a $5,000 cash deposit for his GPS ankle monitor, and make no contact with the victims.
“$2 million is not what you call a walk in the park,” Keesee’s defense attorney Sam Shamansky said. “It’s a very substantial sum. You know, I’ve been practicing in front of this judge for a long time. He’s a total pro.”
Keesee Jr., a former member of the church staff, was arrested on Friday in Johnstown by deputies with the Licking County Sheriff’s Office. At the time of his arrest, he was charged with two counts of rape out of Mount Vernon Municipal Court.
A grand jury on Monday presented additional evidence to prosecuting attorneys to increase his charges. He now faces 11 counts of rape, 11 counts of gross sexual imposition, and five counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. The counts’ date range spans from 2002 to 2011 with a Licking County prosecutor saying the ages of the victims range from 6 to 15 at the time of the alleged offenses.
We sit down and start working our tails off once we get the discovery in. I’ll be curious, frankly, “to see what that discovery consists of at this point,” Shamansky said.
Former members of the church were inside the courtroom on Wednesday, including Jim Hicks, who said his family left the church six years ago. He said he knows the victims.
“Well, we’re here, first of all, to stand up for justice for the victims, because these are heinous crimes that need to be tried and justice needs to be served,” Hicks said.
There were about a dozen former members there to see the arraignment.
“It’s rewarding because it looks like something’s going to happen about it,” Hicks said. “It’s also sad. I mean, in the courtroom today, I’m not kidding. I was, there were times I felt emotional. Just the depth of the sadness of what’s happened.”
In February, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office asked the Licking County Sheriff’s Office to investigate the church for allegations of sexual abuse of minors because Dendra Keesee serves as a Knox County commissioner. Records obtained by NBC4 show there are potentially dozens of victims and witnesses with the alleged abuse dating back decades.
No evidence has yet indicated that any of the alleged offenses happened at the church, according to a Licking County prosecutor.