33-year-old Michael Coghill was arrested in Oklahoma City after allegedly touching at least one 9-year-old boy inappropriately (and repeatedly) at a public bus stop. Coghill was practically waiting there for kids to arrive so he could unleash his creepiness… until this week when one observer who was keeping an eye on him decided to take action.
“Yesterday, our adult that was made aware of the situation, actually stopped, retrieved a recording device, monitored at the bus stop, observed and viewed the suspect run past the bus stop, stop, come back, and then touch the juvenile,” Sgt. Dillon Quirk with Oklahoma City Police said.
The report says the suspect looked at his watch, as though waiting for the kids to arrive.
Police say the reporting party confronted the suspect and tackled him, leaving him with a skull fracture and cracked eye socket.
The kids are safe now.
And you know how this story ends: Coghill, who used to work at a place called the Choctaw Church of Christ, is currently employed at Lakehoma Church of Christ as a “Discipleship Minister.” He wasn’t just a church member; he was a church leader who enjoys touching children on the side.
As of today, he and his wife have been removed from the church’s website.
The church also released a statement:
We were heartbroken to learn of the incident that occurred yesterday morning involving Mike Coghill, our discipleship minister. And we were shocked to learn this news through social media today. Mike has a clean background check, and we have received no reports or claims against him during his tenure at Lakehoma. We will be fully cooperating with law enforcement as needed.
Our hearts go out to the family and the child involved in the incident. We would encourage everyone to pray for this family during a very difficult time in their lives.
Our church leadership has no tolerance for any type of abuse. Safety is our highest priority for our community, congregation and especially our children. These past years we have made significant efforts to secure our children’s area providing the highest safety standards possible.
Our thoughts and prayers are also with the Coghill family. We love them and desire to show Christ’s love to them.
The elders met tonight and determined it was in the best interest of all parties for Mike to be relieved from all duties. He will no longer be on staff at Lakehoma.
Minus the part about wanting to inject Coghill with more Jesus and thinking prayer will help the victim’s family, it’s a decent statement that says they knew nothing about this, had no reason to suspect bad behavior, will cooperate with law enforcement, and fired him immediately. I’m not sure what else anyone can ask of them.
(Thanks to Lea for the link)
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