A youth pastor from Georgia has been accused of faking a robbery to cover up a series of actual crimes and an attempt to solicit a male prostitute. Christopher Keys, 56, was arrested by the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office in May 2020. After the charges, Keys was released from his position at Wesleyan Drive Baptist Church and his teaching job at Tattnall Square Academy.
“Bibb County Sheriff’s Office received an inquiry about an incident that was circulating around Facebook. The rumor was about a carjacking and kidnapping. The incident was reported to have occurred on May 20, 2020, at 1615 Forest Hill Drive, CVS Pharmacy,” the Police reported in a statement. “Bibb County Sheriff’s investigators checked into this rumor and found that no such incident occurred at the CVS and that the carjacking and kidnapping did not happen at all.”
They added, “However, Bibb County investigators are working an incident with this same victim that occurred on May 19, 2020. The incident was reported to the sheriff’s office as a personal armed robbery.” “Deputies met with Christopher Keys …in reference to an Armed Robbery. Keys advised that he was at the motel when he heard a knock at his room door,” said the police. “When he opened the door, two masked men, one of whom was armed, robbed him of his wallet, house, truck and work keys, and a cell phone.”
The pastor told the police, “.. he had responded to an ad on Craigslist. He was to meet a man at the motel in room #111. An investigation revealed that Keys had been a frequent visitor to the Regency Inn & Suites since January.” The concluded, …At the time of the initial report that he did not want this to get out and that he did not want deputies to talk with his relatives. Keys said that he was going to tell his father that he was kidnapped from another location and brought to the motel.”
In response to the disturbing news, Wesleyan Drive Baptist Church released a statement. They said, “We were shocked and saddened when the news broke about Chris. There were no red flags or warnings,” and “there were no red flags or concerns while he was here at the church.” They also immediately notified the parents. We recently reported on Dr. John Fiedler, former pastor of the 15,000-member Highland Park United Methodist Church (HPUMC) in Dallas. He was arrested in a massage parlor following a police raid. Police responded to the business on Oct. 2, 2024.
According to a police report, the”Defendant surrendered to the City of Carrollton Police Department at 7:00 AM on October 31, 2024, for a warrant in regard to the above-referenced matter. Defendant is currently in custody at the City of Carrollton Municipal Jail.” The report went on to say: “Once Defendant surrendered on October 31, the Carrollton Police Department advised undersigned counsel that their department does not have the sufficient manpower to transport Defendant to the Collin County jail on October 31.”
Mark Lassiter, the pastor’s defense lawyer, asked the court to release his client on his own recognizance: “Defendant Fiedler has zero criminal history, he is 72 years of age and has been diagnosed with Dementia.” The Police mentioned that no drugs or alcohol were involved in this incident. The lawyer also spoke with a mental health professional to support their motion.
“Undersigned Counsel conferred with ADA Christina Skipper on October 31, 2024, and the State is in agreement to the issuance of a personal recognizance bond and release,” the document read. Another heavily redacted legal document reported that the building where the pastor was found”was sold to another female who had priors for promotion of prostitution out of Oklahoma in relation to a massage establishment.”