Former Englewood Baptist Church intern indicted, jailed
JACKSON, Tenn. — An aspiring minister is jailed Monday, accused of abusing children in his care while interning at Englewood Baptist Church in north Jackson.
Jackson police said they arrested Heath Ransom, 21, Monday morning, after the Madison County grand jury returned a 27 count indictment earlier in the day.
According to police, Ransom was indicted on 13 counts of solicitation of a minor, 13 counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and one count of tampering with evidence.
Officers confirmed the alleged crimes took place over a course of months and involved members of Englewood’s youth group. Ransom served as a youth minister intern. Police declined to say if the alleged victims were boys or girls.
The church said Ransom was an intern for more than a year and was dismissed immediately after they learned of the allegations.
In a statement, the church said:
Recently, Englewood Baptist Church administration became aware that one of its part-time ministry interns had violated Church policy. The administration immediately investigated the matter and, when additional facts surfaced during its investigation, acted promptly to terminate its relationship with the intern and to report the matter to local law enforcement authorities. Englewood is saddened and deeply grieved by this situation. The Church uses a thorough and rigorous process to investigate the background and character of any person admitted into its intern program and then to appropriately supervise those interns. Nevertheless, the Church is evaluating its process in this regard to lessen the possibility of a future problem. Additionally, Englewood is making all efforts to appropriately minister to those students and families impacted by this situation.
Ransom will be arraigned in Madison County Circuit Court, at a later date.
