Pastor of Rochester church arrested, accused of grooming minor
Steven SpearieA Rochester church pastor arrested at his home in Dawson on Friday is accused of sexually grooming a Macon County minor.
The Rev. Joseph M. Krol, 36, has been suspended from his duties at First Baptist Church in Rochester.
Krol was arrested by Macon County sheriff's deputies without incident Friday afternoon. Dawson is in Sangamon County.
Krol was still in custody Wednesday at the Macon County Jail in Decatur on a $75,000 bond. He appeared in court on Saturday. A next court appearance for Krol hasn't been scheduled.
Krol allegedly sent sexual messages and images to a 15-year-old girl in Oreana, which is 10 miles northeast of Decatur.
Krol wanted the 15-year-old to send him nude photos of herself, according to a sworn affidavit from Macon County sheriff's deputy, Sergeant Roger Pope.
The girl and her family had been members of Galilee Baptist Church in rural Macon County where Krol previously served for several years, according to Sergeant Scott Flannery of the Macon County sheriff's department.
Krol started as pastor at First Baptist Church on July 18.
In what amounted to a game of "true confessions," Krol described his sexual past to the girl. Krol wanted to know if the girl could sneak out when everyone in her home was asleep, the affidavit stated. Krol also promised gifts to the girl.
Flannery said the conversations between Krol and the girl had been going on for three to four months.
The girl told her mother about the conversations on Oct. 7 and sheriff's deputies were contacted the next day, Flannery said.
The girl was able to show authorities pictures and texts of conversations that had gone back and forth.
A deputy, Flannery said, then reached out and contacted Krol using the girl's Snapchat account and started a new conversation. According to the affidavit, Krol then sent a video via Snapchat of the outline of his penis and asked the girl about her sex preferences in older men and about her sexual fantasies.
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"That's how we got more information and more incriminating evidence because he was talking to a detective, not the 15-year-old he thought he was," Flannery said.
Flannery said when sheriff's deputies showed up at his home Friday, they saw Krol grab his cellphone and start manipulating buttons on it as he was standing in the kitchen area. They were able to determine, Flannery added, that Krol had factory reset the phone in an attempt to wipe out incriminating data.
Flannery said there is a practice of sheriff's deputies contacting local law enforcement when they are making an arrest out of the county.
First Baptist Church was "grieved to learn of this allegation involving Dr. Krol," said a message on its website. "Because we take this seriously, we have immediately suspended Dr. Krol from all responsibilities. We have great concern and are in prayer for all affected by the situation and will cooperate with any law enforcement investigation."
A spokesman from the church only confirmed Krol's starting date at First Baptist.
Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell said there are no active investigations involving Krol here.
Illinois State Baptist Association ministry staff "are assisting leaders in both churches with their reporting information to the congregations and in communications with their communities,” according to an ISBA statement.
According to the ISBA Newsjournal, Krol’s wife is an employee of the ISBA, which is headquartered in Springfield.
Grooming is an act by which a person uses a computer or mobile device to seduce or attempt to seduce, solicit, lure or entice a child under 17 years of age to commit any sex offense. Grooming carries a punishment of one to three years in prison and up to $25,000 in fines.
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.