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Article form VHeadline.com

Former Venezuela New Tribes Mission pastor charged in child porn case

March 2010-Wire Services: A former local youth pastor, 36-year-old Joel Price, has been arrested for having thousands of images of child pornography. After deputies found the images, Price admitted he's addicted to child pornography. The suspect worked as a youth pastor at New Tribes Mission in Sanford. He resigned after undercover agents caught him looking at and distributing more than 6,000 child pornography pictures and videos online.

A representative with New Tribes Mission said Price worked in a missionary maintenance role with tribes in Venezuela, not as a youth minister. But WESH 2 reporters found a picture of Price going over a bible verse with a boy.

Price's arrest and federal indictment are the result of an eight month investigation. Volusia County investigators said it's one of the largest child pornography collections they've seen.

Time line of events:

April 2008: Internet Crimes Against Children task force traced child porn being shared on the Internet to Price's previous home

May 2008: Joel Price's computer searched

June 2008: Joel Price resigned from his position as "Youth Pastor" with New Tribes Mission, Sanford, Florida

December 18, 2008 Joel Price is arrested by the US Marshals Service and released on $50,000 bond

December 27, 2008 The story breaks in the press. New Tribes Mission is contacted by many reporters and the NTM spokesperson tells the media that Joel Price resigned earlier in 2008.

Difficult questions being asked:

Between April and December 2008, NTM was really unaware that Joel Price had run afoul of the law?

No one knew that his computer had been searched?

Joel Price's parents are NTM missionaries. His wife's parents are NTM missionaries. No one knew?

No one prepared for the inevitable questions that the press would ask?

Between his arrest on December 18 and the press inquiries a week later, did no one do any research on his past involvement with the mission, specifically his contact with children?

Is the NTM spokesperson so inept as to speak to the press with no knowledge of events? Or so duplicitous as to tell an outright lie?

How did they not know that Joel Price HAD had contact with children in Venezuela? Or, if they knew, Why did they lie?

When the press found out about the discrepancy, why didn't NTM rush to make a statement giving the painful truth?

Yes, he did have contact with children, both in Venezuela and as our Youth Pastor. I should have calibrated my earlier statement differently." Would that have been hard?

Since Joel Price's conviction, has NTM done an internal investigation to find out if any abuse did occur at the NTM school in Venezuela?

Oh, wait. We already know about internal investigations. I will quote from the Daytona Beach (Florida) Online Journal: "In December 2006, George Allen Goolde — a foster parent and full-time mission employee [of New Tribes Mission] -- was arrested and charged with molesting four children in his care. He was convicted and is serving a 50-year prison sentence. "At the time he was arrested, officials at the mission said its internal investigations showed 'no incidents of concern.'"

Mark that: "No incidents of concern." That was the finding of an internal NTM investigation.

I hope the Fanda Eagles have a lot of confidence in the internal investigation that NTM is doing on their behalf.

NTM is not doing very well on investigations ... they doing very poorly on transparency. Why?

Anyone know of Joel Price history working in Venezula?

Joel Price is serving his time at a Federal Prison in Jesup, GA. I believe he was sentenced to 5 1/2 yrs.
A letter from him is being circulated at NTM Sanford saying he is "more content, more at peace, more spiritually alive, more joyous, and more zealous about life than I can ever remember being before." There is a lot more, and only God knows if it's genuine or not. We've all heard many times over about criminals "getting religious" in prison, to shorten their sentences.
I guess I would be more impressed if he were to sincerely apologize to all those he has wronged!!!
Joe and Jana Price are his parents and live at NTM Sanford.

Grieving 4U,

Thanks for the update. That helps.

MK py...Thanks for sharing this information. I was feeling like maybe NTM is on the right track by righting the wrongs of the PAST but these are recent incidents we're discussing. Haven't they learned anything?? In the process of "protecting the name" of NTM, now the whole world is finding out and the plot thickens......

In the above mentioned letter, Joel says "I thank the Lord for the years he gave me teaching teens and discipling young men. It was my life's ambition to draw young people into a closer understanding and walk with Christ." So, it would seem he was doing a lot more than maintenance! NTM was definitely deceitful in their statement to the press.

Hi,

I hope I do not stir up anything with this question. If I do please just pm me and tell me not to ask. You can also pm me with the answer.

Can anyone tell me anything about the Dawsons?

At the moment I will simply say I remember them from the visits they made to our bootcamps. That's right more than one. Thanks.

Sherpa, do you have your bifocals on?
It says "discipling", not "disciplining"!


Good! We're laughing together again!!!