NEWARK, N.J. — After a yearlong search, the elders at Shiloh Baptist Church hired Chavalis T. Williams, a charismatic young Floridian known for spellbinding sermons, to be their new pastor.
Shiloh’s leadership hired Williams last month and put his contract to a vote before the congregation without telling members that he was a convicted sex offender in Florida, according to church members.
Williams, then known as Chavalis Bonsell, pleaded guilty in May 1999 to arranging for two teenagers to have sex in front of him and others while working at the Daniel Memorial facility for troubled youth in Jacksonville, according to Libby Senterfitt, director of the special assault unit in the Florida State Attorney’s Office in Jacksonville. Williams pleaded guilty to child abuse and using children in a sexual performance. He was sentenced to six months in jail and 30 months of probation, and required to pay for counseling for the 17-year-old girl involved.
Audrey Sharpe, the wife of the church’s late pastor, John Sharpe, said the church’s leaders were aware Williams was a registered sex offender when they signed the contract March 9 and are standing behind him.
Share with others: