Faith Life Church leader Gary Keesee Sr. denies knowing about son’s alleged sexual assaults

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Thursday, October 08, 2026

Gary Keesee Sr., co-founder and senior pastor of Faith Life Church in New Albany, Ohio, denied in court Monday that he knew his son, Gary Thomas "Tom" Keesee Jr., had allegedly sexually abused multiple minors when he was also a minor, prior to those allegations becoming public in 2025.

During testimony at his son's trial at the Knox County Common Pleas Court in Mount Vernon, Ohio, Keesee Sr., who founded the church with his wife, Knox County Commissioner Drenda Keesee, told prosecutors that he wasn't aware of anyone who was sexually abused in his church in the 31 years he has served as a pastor. He was the only witness called by the defense in the bench trial before Judge Richard Wetzel, which Keesee Jr. chose after waiving his right to a jury midway through jury selection, according to Knox Pages. 

The trial concluded Tuesday with closing arguments. Wetzel is expected to announce a verdict on Nov. 6, according to WOSU. Keesee Jr. has pleaded not guilty. His attorney, Sam Shamansky, has said his client was wrongly accused and that the charges emerged "20 years later." The defense has argued that the alleged victims conspired against the family, WCMH reported. 

At least two of his other children testified that they and other family members were aware of the alleged abuse of girls connected to the church before the allegations surfaced in 2025. Keesee Jr. is accused of sexually abusing four girls with ties to the church between 2001 and 2012, starting back when he was 12 years old.

"[Thirty-one] years as a pastor, I know of no one who has ever been sexually abused in my church," Keesee Sr. told the court, according to ABC 6.

"When (victim) posted, it was like a bomb going off," he added. "I had never heard of any of that stuff. (As far as repercussions) We were hacked; there were threats to our plane; hundreds of people in the congregation left. The church was never, I never heard anything."

Under questioning by Special Prosecutor Jenny Wells, Keesee Sr. acknowledged that his son had mentioned allegations made by one alleged victim and had told him "nothing was going on." He also recalled a conversation about concerns involving his son in which he said he would take him out of the church's "Fire and Ice" production, according to Knox Pages. Wells also questioned him about a video he made after the social media post and about differences between his testimony and the accusers' accounts.

Prosecutors say none of the alleged incidents occurred at the church itself, according to WCMH.

Keesee Jr. pleaded not guilty in June 2025 to 32 counts of alleged sexual abuse of multiple minors, including additional charges of rape and gross sexual imposition of a child younger than 13. It followed his indictment by a grand jury in April 2025 on 27 counts of sex crimes, including 11 counts of first-degree rape, 11 counts of gross sexual imposition, and five counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. The incidents allegedly occurred when Keesee Jr. was 12 years old at the time. 

Tim Keesee, Gary Keesee Jr.’s older brother, as well as his younger sister, Polly Patten, both testified that they were aware of abuse and suggested that other members of their family were also aware for a protracted period before the allegations surfaced in 2025.

"When I saw the victim post about the abuse in 2025, I was aware of the abuse that occurred,” said Tim Keesee, who served as an executive pastor at Faith Life Church until he was placed on leave and then fired about three months ago.

"I have had previous conversations with Tom and our parents about the previous abuse as well,” he continued.

Tim Keesee Jr. said his younger brother confessed the alleged abuse of several victims to him, and he asked his parents to keep him away from children in the church.

"My mother asked if I was a part of it and if I knew what had been occurring," he said.

Tim Keesee also testified that church leaders call children's services when they learn of sexual abuse involving a minor.

The defense showed a 2011 performance review of Keesee Jr. that Tim Keesee had signed, according to WSYX. "It did not indicate any reports of sexual assault concerns," CW Columbus reported. 

Patten testified that Gary Keesee Jr.'s second and current wife was once friends with at least one of the alleged victims and that her mother was aware of the alleged assaults for years. She explained that one of the victims had sent the Keesee family a note explaining why she decided to come forward about the abuse.

"I knew about the abuse, but I did not know the details of what happened to her, the extent of what had happened, until she sent that note," Patten testified. "When I spoke with her, she made it seem like Drenda Keesee knew about the assault."

Patten further stated that all of her siblings were aware of the alleged abuse before 2025 and that her brother, Gary Keesee Jr., told her the abuse "haunts him every day."

Drenda Keesee did not testify and has not attended the trial, according to WSYX.