Mel Madarang
WMAL.com
FORT WASHINGTON, Md. (WMAL) — Prince George’s County Police detectives have charged three men in connection with the sexual abuse of four female, teenage victims, according to a PGCP media release.
The crimes occurred between 2001 and 2008 when the victims were between the ages of 15 and 18, the release stated. The four were enrolled in a program called Children Having Overcoming Power (CHOP) which was run by the Oxon Hill Assembly of Jesus Christ.
The program was designed to provide living accommodations in the homes of church members and education classes at the church for at-risk youth.
One of the suspects include Joshua William Wright, 67, of Brandywine, and he is the head pastor of the church. The other two suspects are Wright’s son, 46-year-old William Joshua Wright of White Plains, and Wright’s son-in-law, 40-year-old Donald Jackson also of White Plains. William was a minister at the church and Donald was a leading church member.
The sexual acts in this case involved individual interactions and occurred at various locations including the suspects’ homes, various parks and the church, the release stated.
The four victims came forward as adults to report the abuse they suffered when they were teenagers while in the three men’s care and custody.
The suspects have all been charged with child abuse and varying sex offenses.
WMAL reached out to Oxon Hill Assembly of Jesus Christ, but received no comment.
Detectives are encouraging any others who encountered any type of abuse when they were enrolled in the CHOP program, which ended in 2011, to please come forward.
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