Zachary Radcliff, a Michigan-based youth pastor and fervent former President Donald Trump supporter, was charged with “child sexually abusive activity” yesterday.
Radcliff has performed alongside Donald Trump Jr. and former Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr., as well as at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
On Instagram, Radcliff’s profile picture is of Trump post-assassination attempt. He also shared images of himself in “Make America Great Again” gear.
The Michigan State Police were made aware of Radcliff’s behavior on Oct. 2, when they received information about Radcliff soliciting “child sexually abusive material from a minor.” Their investigation has identified multiple victims.
According to court documents obtained by MLive, a Michigan outlet, Radcliff has also been accused of creating child sexual abuse material with a prepubescent child. As reported by Law & Crime, Radcliff’s victims were between the ages of 13 and 15.
The pastor is also accused of having victims send him more than 100 child sexual abuse images.
Radcliff is a graduate of Liberty University, which was run by Falwell Jr. until 2020. The university is one of the largest evangelical institutions in the U.S.
In 2019, he performed at the school’s simulcast of CPAC.
Later that year, he performed at Liberty’s Convocation, which was attended by Trump Jr. and his wife Kimberly Guilfoyle.
“I will never forget this moment!” Radcliff captioned his photo with Trump Jr., Guilfoyle and Falwell Jr. on Instagram. “Sharing the stage with these truly amazing people was an absolute honor! Tears!”
In a video of the performance, Radcliffe performed “I’ll Stand” with Trump Jr. in the background.
Until Oct. 3, Radcliff had been working as the music and youth pastor at Oakwood Church in Ypsilanti, Michigan. In a statement, the church said that the charges against Radcliff were “shocking” and “ripped [their] hearts apart,” and that Radcliff has been fired.
“The information that we received was shocking. We were told that Zachary had been soliciting inappropriate photos and possibly videos from teens. … This information has ripped our hearts apart,” the statement read. “The safety and protection of the individuals in our church is what is paramount to us.”
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
