MOUNT VERNON — The husband, brother-in-law and mother of an alleged victim testified Friday that Gary “Tom” Keesee Jr. confessed to sexually assaulting Victim 1.
Keesee is being tried in a bench trial in Knox County Common Pleas Court on 32 sexual abuse charges, including 13 charges of rape.
The first woman filed charges in December 2024. Two other alleged victims came forward shortly thereafter; a fourth came forward in April 2024. All were minors at the time the alleged abuse occurred.
Judge Richard Wetzel is presiding over the trial because the defendant waived his right to a jury trial.
Boyfriend, now husband, confronts Keesee about assault
The brother-in-law and now husband became friends while attending Faith Life Church in New Albany. Both were in their late teens.
The husband married alleged Victim 1 in 2014. When they started courting in 2012, she told him Keesee had assaulted her.
When confronted about a specific incident, the husband testified Keesee initially denied it, then admitted it.
Keesee thanked him for calling it out, saying he had a “spirit of lust” in him.
The husband said Keesee then confessed to assaulting Victim 2 because of that lustful spirit. He testified Keesee said his parents, Gary Sr. and Drenda Keesee, helped him with that, but the spirit returned.
The husband said Keesee Jr. agreed to stop further assaults. He advised Keesee to tell his parents, the victim’s parents and his wife.
He said he did not recall Keesee being remorseful. Instead, he recalled Keesee tried to do “damage control” and justify his actions by saying the victim was seducing and flirting with him.
The husband worked for the church for nearly five years. He testified that after four years, the church restructured and offered him another position.
A college student at the time, he alleged church officials later cited an internship requirement as a reason to terminate his employment.
Defense attorney Karena Reusser asked about “Fire and Ice,” a 2012 church production in which the husband, Victim 1, and Keesee had roles. The husband acknowledged he was not happy that Victim 1 continued to play the role of love interest opposite Keesee for at least two more years.
Asked about notes he wrote in February 2025, the husband acknowledged talking with his friend might have helped him recall events. He also acknowledged he discussed affidavits with him.
When asked why he never reported the assault, he said Faith Life Church officials trained him to “take it to leadership.”
A second confession
Despite telling Keesee he would tell no one about the alleged assault, the husband told his friend, now the alleged victim’s brother-in-law.
The brother-in-law advised him to talk with Keesee and said he followed his advice.
The husband testified he told Keesee that he told his friend, and Keesee asked to talk with him.
In a meeting outside the church, both men testified Keesee confessed to assaulting Victim 1. They also testified Keesee said he would stop.
The brother-in-law testified Keesee described a long struggle with lust. Both testified they told Keesee to tell his parents and his wife.
The husband said he also told Keesee to tell the alleged victim’s parents.
The husband testified that as they left the church, Keesee said he had something else to tell him. At a gas station, Keesee told him about another incident when he reached under Victim 1’s clothing and touched her while she was sleeping.
The husband told the alleged victim about the incident because he “felt she had a right to know he violated her when she was asleep.”
He also told her father about the incident with Keesee present.
When assistant prosecutor Darcy Cook asked whether anything suggested Keesee talked with his parents, the brother-in-law said Keesee was brought on stage during a service.
His understood the message to be that Keesee was going through a hard time.
The husband testified Keesee said he told his parents and his wife.
He believes that was true because when Gary Sr. and Drenda Keesee prayed for students at a gathering, his takeaway was that “I had a big decision to make.”
The two friends lost touch for several years after the brother-in-law moved out of state. He said he texted his friend when posts related to their 2012 conversation surfaced online.
Witness now believes Faith Life Church is a cult
On cross-examination, defense attorney Samuel Shamansky elicited that the brother-in-law knew sexual assault was a crime but did not report it. The brother-in-law said he would associate with Keesee if he repented to his wife and parents.
Shamansky also asked about seven hours of phone calls between the two men. The brother-in-law denied they spoke about specific details of the case.
On re-direct by assistant prosecutor Cook, the brother-in-law said the church taught “forgive and forget,” and that his faith teaches you cover someone’s sin and “take it to the next level up.”
Questioned by Judge Wetzel, he said “cover” means not talking about or exposing a sin to people; it does not mean sweeping it under the rug.
The brother-in-law said he now believes Faith Life Church is a cult.
Mother testifies Keesee confessed
Victim 1’s mother testified that Keesee met with her and her husband and told them he had done “terrible things” to their daughter. Both parents were elders in the church.
She did not recall the year but did recall where the family was living.
She said Keesee was blubbering, had difficulty getting out his words and apologized.
She testified she does not recall exactly what he said he did but thought it was of a sexual nature. Additionally, she said she did not talk with her daughter, report it to the police, nor talk with Faith Life Church pastors.
According to the mother, family dynamics did not change because Keesee was married to Victim 1’s sister. She did not try to keep the alleged victim and Keesee apart, but she gave her rides home from “Fire and Ice” because her daughter did not want to ride with Keesee.
When Shamansky asked why she did not report the alleged assault, she said she was sexually abused and that “as a victim, you stay silent.”
Additionally, she said that as good Christians, they were taught to forgive.
She also acknowledged she had a financial arrangement with the Keesee Company, with the Keesees being custodians of an annuity.
Two more alleged victims testify
The court also heard testimony from alleged victims 3 and 4 on Friday. Both attended Faith Life Church and participated in youth activities.
Victim 3 testified that at one event at Keesee’s home, she rode in front of Keesee on a dirt bike. He inserted his hand under her bathing suit. It was the only time something happened. She was 10 or 11 years old.
She did not tell anyone at the time but told her husband and parents in 2024 when she heard about Victim 1.
“When I saw there were others, it made me realize I wasn’t the only one.”
Victim 3
Shamansky noted she continued to volunteer with the youth group at Faith Life Church after she returned to Ohio from a year out of state, even though she knew Keesee would be there.
He also questioned her about phone calls between her and Victim 2, specifically one call where Victim 2 said it is not good for victims to pass information between them.
Emotional and barely able to speak at times, Victim 4 spoke about assaults that allegedly occurred in the basement and barn at Keesee’s Sharp Road home. She does not know how old she was.
Speaking with her eyes closed, the woman could barely speak Keesee’s name when asked to identify who assaulted her.
She said when she told her adopted mother, her mother told her it was in her head and that she had the “spirit of Jezebel.”
She reached out to a friend after seeing Keesee’s mugshot on an Instagram post and told her she also was a victim.
After talking with Victim 2, she gave permission for a detective to contact her.
Victim 4 had to leave the courtroom before cross examination. According to the prosecution, she will not return to the stand.
Knox Pages is not using names in order to protect the identifies of the alleged victims.
The trial will resume Monday morning at 9 a.m.
