Ex-youth pastor faces sex charges

KINGSTON – A former youth pastor at a Kingston church was charged Wednesday with sexually assaulting two teen girls he was mentoring, police said.

Brian Andrew Neiswender, 26, surrendered with his attorney Jair Novajosky at the office of District Judge Paul J. Roberts Jr., where he was charged with two counts each of indecent assault and corruption of minors. He was released on $50,000 unsecured bail.

Police said Neiswender assaulted the two teens, now 18 and 17 years old, from September 2003 through February 2006 while he was a youth pastor at Christ Community Church on West Dorrance Street.

Neiswender was placed on a leave of absence from Heritage Baptist Church, Lakeland, Fla., on Tuesday, the Rev. Bill Boulet said.

“We were totally unaware of any of this and his history,” Boulet said. “As a result of the charges, as a precaution, he’s now on a leave of absence upon further review.”

Neiswender is listed on the Heritage Baptist Church Web site as pastor of youth ministries.

Boulet said Neiswender was hired more than a year ago after conducting a background check.

According to the church Web site, Neiswender grew up in Baltimore and met his wife while attending Baptist Bible College in Clarks Summit.

The two females told police Neiswender organized hide-and-seek games that were played in the dark at the church. The teens claimed Neiswender would inappropriately touch them when he found them during the games, according to arrest papers. They also said Neiswender would touch them during guitar and piano lessons, and forced one of the teens to sit on his lap, police said.

When a complaint was made to the Kingston church, a rule was established that required Neiswender to have two students or another pastor present during music lessons.

Neiswender ignored the rule and continued to give guitar lessons to one of the teens and placed his hands inside her shirt, the criminal complaint says. The older teen found out Neiswender had molested the younger teen after seeing the two holding hands during a prayer session, police said.

Both teens told another pastor at the Kingston church. A meeting was held on March 5, 2006, where Neiswender admitted to “doing these things” and apologized to the girls, police said.

The older teen also claimed Neiswender had e-mailed two photos of himself to her cell phone in June 2007.

A few days after the teens were questioned by police, Neiswender called the older teen and apologized several times for what he had done to her, the criminal complaint says.

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Worked as youth minister at Christ Community Church, Kingston.

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