MOUNT VERNON — Two former Faith Life Church members attended the arraignment of a former church official Wednesday to show support for the alleged victims.
They came away comfortable with the $2 million bond set for Gary Thomas “Tom” Keesee Jr., who resigned in 2024 as the church’s chief media officer.
Knox County Common Pleas Judge Richard Wetzel set the cash bond for Keesee during an arraignment in front of a packed courtroom.
The audience included the defendant’s parents, Gary Sr. and Drenda Keesee, co-pastors of the New Albany-based church. Drenda Keesee is also a Knox County commissioner, taking office four months ago.
Keesee was indicted Monday by a Knox County grand jury on 27 charges, including 11 counts of first-degree rape.
None of the alleged incidents occurred at the church, according to authorities.
The two former church members also expressed faith in Knox County citizens if the case goes to trial.
“I am pretty happy with the bond,” Nicole Berger said. “It’s been a mix of emotions, seeing people you have been worshiping with for years showing this kind of behavior.
“I attended there for 15 years. I’ve never felt this range of emotions in my life,” she said.
Johnstown resident Connie McVay agreed.
“To see people that you thought were Christians and protecting the children, to see them on the opposite side of what we support is difficult,” she said.
“But it’s not as difficult as what the victims are going through.”
McVay said she and Berger wanted to attend the arraignment, show support for the victims, and “let them know we have their back.”
They said that hopefully this will lead other victims to come forward.
“The justice system seems to be operating with integrity, so hopefully victims will find the courage to come forward,” McVay said.
“The men who have been working on this case have integrity. We do have faith in the citizens of Knox County that they will do the right thing,” she said.
In addition to the $2 million bond, Wetzel ordered a $5,000 cash deposit to cover the cost of a GPS monitor. He also suspended Keesee’s driver’s license, and ordered that he surrender his passport and driver’s license before leaving the Licking County Jail.
Keesee is also subject to weekly pre-trial reporting to the Knox County Probation Department and was ordered not to have contact with the victims.
Keesee, who resigned as the church’s chief media officer in 2024, has been in jail since Friday. He cannot be released until the bond and cash deposit are posted.
McVay and her husband attended Faith Life Church for 12 years. Her husband worked at the church.
“We were very involved, we went to all of the services, and helped out with the events,” she said.
“Our kids basically had their social life there. I was friends with the moms. My husband was friends with some of the dads. … Basically, our whole life was there.”
McVay said she became aware of something amiss in August 2023 when she found a 16-year-old girl was in a texting relationship with Tom Keesee.
The girl is not one of the three victims involved in the allegations for which Keesee was indicted.
McVay stayed with the girl’s family while McVay’s home was being remediated for mold.
“It wasn’t until I moved in that I realized they texted all of the time. Then I found they spent time alone together,” McVay said.
McVay said when she asked where Tom’s wife, Alexis, was, she was told, “Alexis is not a night owl.”
In a statement to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, McVay said the teenager was going to Keesee’s house at odd hours of the morning. She also stated the teenager’s parents were aware of the relationship.
“I realized there’s this mid-30s-year-old man hanging out with a teenage girl, alone, unaccompanied. It’s weird,” McVay said.
McVay said she spoke with Alecia Keesee, a youth pastor at Faith Life Church and the wife of Timothy Keesee, Tom’s brother.
Tim and Alecia Keesee are now listed as executive pastors on the church’s website.
“I still wanted it to be okay, but it looked bad, and I did not want anyone to tear down the ministry if it really did not happen,” McVay said.
In the summer of 2024, McVay learned Tom Keesee was leading the children’s vacation Bible school and playing lead actor in a play. The teenager with whom he had allegedly been texting was the co-lead in the show.
“That’s when I had another conversation with the youth pastor, and she’s like, ‘Well, you could go talk to the head pastors, but you have your husband’s job to consider,’” McVay said. “She said she had thrown all of the red flags she could throw.
“At that point, I still only had knowledge of him having grooming behavior,” McVay said.
McVay’s husband, Adam, was controller at Faith Life Church for three years. He resigned in November 2024.
“He was asked to sign an NDA (nondisclosure agreement). He signed the NDA pertaining to his job, like proprietary financial information,” Connie McVay said.
Connie and her children were initially part of the NDA, but legal counsel successfully got their names removed.
“We did not know everything that we know now at that time,” McVay said.
The family left Faith Life Church in November 2024.
“We decided we can’t participate in this if everyone thinks that what’s happening is okay. We don’t really want to be a part of it,” McVay said.
During a February church service, after allegations surfaced publicly, Gary Keesee Sr. preached to his congregation about applying lessons found in the Bible as a way to weather storms.
“All hell is breaking loose out there … but truth will prevail,” Keesee said during his sermon.
Though Keesee spoke in general terms to his hundreds of congregants, he declined to speak to a reporter afterward about ongoing allegations.
“There’s another side,” he said. “And the truth will come out.”
Other victims speak out
The teenager whom McVay has firsthand knowledge of has not come forward publicly.
“I do know of others also, but they haven’t come out publicly,” McVay said.
Three victims did speak out, which led to the April 21 indictment of Tom Keesee. The indictment included 11 charges of first-degree rape, 11 counts of third-degree sexual imposition, and five fourth-degree counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
Two victims named another youth leader at Faith Life Church.
The Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office confirmed on Tuesday that detectives are investigating another individual in relation to the Keesee investigation.
Licking County Prosecutor Jenny Wells had said Monday during a press conference the incidents the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office is investigating allegedly happened in Fairfield County.
Defense also expresses faith in Knox County judge, residents
Columbus defense attorney Samuel Shamansky, who entered not guilty pleas to all charges on behalf of his client, said after the arraignment Keesee also has faith in Knox County residents and the judge.
“He remains committed to the rule of law and he’s got faith in this community to ferret out the facts at a trial, which is exactly where this case is going to be tried … in Judge Wetzel’s courtroom,” Shamansky said.
The defense attorney said Wetzel will not be influenced by Drenda Keesee’s role as an elected Knox County official.
“Judge Wetzel is above the fray. He is not influenced by matters of politics. He’s beholden to the rule of law and he’ll make sure that it’s enforced.
“I’ve been around him. He’s a super fair jurist for both sides. We’ve all been in front of judges who for one reason or the other may exhibit a sense of bias. Not this guy. He’s a pro. He’s solid.
“He doesn’t care if my client’s mother were the governor of the state. If he felt uncomfortable, he would have stepped down. Mercifully, he’s going to see the case through, I believe, because he’s a fair-minded jurist,” Shamansky said.
Shamansky said the fact the alleged crimes took place years ago makes it a difficult case for both sides in court.
“We’re talking about crimes that allegedly occurred as long as 2003, so we’re talking 22 years ago. I think the most recent, if I understand this this (indictment) document correctly, is 2011. It’s difficult for everybody involved,” he said.
“I’ll be curious, frankly, to see what that discovery consists of at this point. As I indicated to Judge Wetzel, I can’t imagine that we have forensic evidence or anything along those lines, but who knows … we’ll see,” he said.
Shamansky also seemed to rule out seeking a change of venue in the case, which has attracted a great deal of media and social media attention.
“People are people. They come into a courtroom, they take an oath, and it’s one of those proceedings where everyday citizens get to take the law into their hands and make decisions,” he said.
“It’s an extremely important civic function, and my experience over 40 years, is that jurors take it seriously. I have no doubt that the jury pool here will reflect that sort of commitment to following through,” Shamansky said.
