Jacksonville church volunteer ‘youth leader’ accused of sex crimes with a minor

In newly released documents, a Jacksonville man has been arrested and booked into the Duval County jail on six charges of sex crimes with a minor.

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On Sat., Jun. 10, Rashad Wiliams, 34, was reported to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for being in a sexual relationship with an underage victim.

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In an interview with police, the victim said he had met Willimas on a social networking and online dating app. Following a conversation, he and Williams had several sexual encounters at the suspect’s home.

The victim told police that he had been brought back to Williams’ home 3 to 4 more times in total for what was supposed to be bible study sessions. The victim also said he had been in a continuous “spiritual” relationship with the suspect for several months.

Several days before the report was made, the victim’s parents discovered text messages between the two. Williams was reported to have come to the victim’s home after phone calls went unanswered. The police report says this was the last time the victim had contact with the suspect.

In text messages seen by police during the investigation, it showed that Williams would bring the suspect back to his residence. The suspect would instruct the victim on how to lie to his parents about where he was or who he was with.

A witness who was interviewed told police that on Jun. 10, Williams had knocked on her door. He told the witness that he was a youth minister with Celebration Chruch and was doing a “wellness check” on the victim, who lived next door to the witness.

The arrest report also references that Willimas was a volunteer “youth leader” at Celebration Church.

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Action News Jax has attempted to reach out to Celebration Church for any comment relating to the arrest of Williams.

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