Charlotte church volunteer, soccer coach arrested for child sex abuse crimes
A Charlotte man reported by police to have leadership ties to local churches and an area soccer program has been charged with sexual crimes against children, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police records show.
CMPD said 36-year-old Benjamin Damron was arrested Friday morning at his house on Old House Circle in east Charlotte, located off Margaret Wallace Road and Independence Boulevard. He’s charged with nine counts of indecent liberties with a child and one count of sexual battery.
Authorities said three victims have been identified, all teenage boys. Two victims, according to CMPD, are under 15 and a third is older.
Damron met all three boys through church, Special Victims Unit Lt. James Ivie said at a CMPD news conference. The crimes happened, he said, at parks and at Damron’s home.
The investigation so far indicates the sexual abuse goes back five years.
CMPD officials initially said Damron was a youth leader or coach with at least four local organizations including: Elevation Church, Mercy Church, Southbrook Church and Soccer Shot. But two of those churches told The Charlotte Observer he either didn’t attend or had no official position within their church.
“All of the listed organizations have been notified and are cooperating in our investigation. The incidents involved in this investigation not only occurred in Charlotte, but also at locations in Matthews and in Union County,” CMPD said in a statement.
The investigation into Damron began Wednesday when CMPD’s Crimes Against Children Unit received two separate reports regarding him, Ivie said.
Ivie said police believe there are likely more victims.
Elevation Church told CMPD that Damron hadn’t been an active volunteer or small group leader there since 2019, Elevation Church project manager Bailey Trotter told The Charlotte Observer.
“First of all, our thoughts and prayers go out to all the families involved,” Trotter said in an email.
“The church had no knowledge of any of these instances,” Trotter said. “And none of these instances are alleged to have happened in or around church owned facilities.”
Damron “served on occasion from 2014-2017 as a drummer at a remote campus and he was not affiliated with Elevation Worship,” Trotter said. “He served as a small group co-leader from 2015-2019 when he left to attend another church. This role did include a background check that was performed with no red flags.”
Elevation Church “will continue to work with the authorities if they need anything further and continue to pray for the families,” Trotter said.
A Southbrook Church representative said: “We are aware of the allegations involving Benjamin Damron and are praying for all those affected by this distressing situation.” In a statement, the church added: “We would like to clarify that Mr. Damron attended Southbrook Church over the past couple years occasionally, but not consistently. He was never a member of Southbrook Church and never served as a volunteer in any capacity at Southbrook Church, including that of ‘youth leader.’”
Damron is accused by leaders at Mercy Church of having impersonated being affiliated with their congregation. In a statement, the church said: “We were made aware through the November 18th evening news of the allegations in regard to the investigation of Benjamin Damron who’s been arrested for crimes against children. We grieve for those who were victims in this situation and are praying for all of those affected.
“... In our conversations with CMPD, we discovered that Mr. Damron has been falsely posing as a youth worker from our church and indicating that he is a leader at Mercy.
“We would like to clarify that Mr. Damron has never been involved in leadership or served in any capacity with Mercy Kids, Mercy Students, or any other ministry at Mercy Church and was never a member of Mercy Church. We have no record of Mr. Damron being engaged at Mercy Church since our church opened in 2015.”
The investigation into this case is active and ongoing. If anyone has information about this case or suspect, they can contact the lead detective in this case at 704-353-1940 or call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or http://charlottecrimestoppers.com/.
This story was originally published November 18, 2022 at 2:27 PM.
