After a 15-month investigation, Albert Benjamin Wharton was extradited from Pickens County, SC to Richmond County, VA to face 30 felonies for crimes against children.
According to Richmond County Sheriff Steve Smith, the investigation involved Richmond County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit, and it resulted in charges for 22 counts of indecent liberties with a child under age 13 while in a custodial position and 8 counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child.
The alleged crimes occurred between 1981 and 1997 at the Berachah Christian Academy in Warsaw, said the Sheriff.
According to Victory Baptist Church, that academy was one of its ministries and “provided the community with the choice of a Christian education in grades K-12.”
“Dr. Ben Wharton” was the first pastor of the church and left in 2002, “after 26 years of faithful service,” Victory Baptist’s website says.
Wharton was arrested by Pickens County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI on December 8. He waived extradition, Smith said, and he was brought to Northern Neck Regional Jail in Warsaw later that day.
According to Smith, Wharton has served churches in Virginia, South Carolina, Alabama, and Florida over the past four decades.
Richmond County Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone with information about Wharton to contact investigator James Bruce at the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office by calling 804-333-3611.
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