Reverend Hugh Cranford Sentenced For Molesting Children

 

Here is a quick update to last year's Sunday School Rapes in Topeka: Hugh Cranford was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison. Perhaps he will preach and teach Sunday School there.

This was taken from Cranford's Facebook page. It seems that all too often, sexual predators pull this very idea off, even in court. It's refreshing to see that Cranford will be out of circulation for awhile. Frankfort School in Northeast Kansas will probably offer him a teaching position after he serves his time.

 

Resume Of A Teacher/Preacher/Lecher

 

Below is the resume of Hugh Cranford, Lutheran vicar and youth pastor of Topeka, Kansas, who got into some trouble last year for sexual assault of two boys in the congregation. He and his attorney are planning to be in court this week to file motions in his case. Something that is worth notice about his resume, which Hugh had publicly posted on the internet,(a lot of silly details, such as "counting change", and "ability to use multiline phones", has been deleted) is that he, like many other individuals who get charged with sexual assault of minors, took jobs at schools and daycares whenever he could, and ingratiated himself to parents at almost all times when he was not working. Noble Rick Pendland, also of Kansas, did the same thing, and got away with it for almost a decade. So did Eric Toth, who used to be on the FBI's most wanted list, until the found him in South America. Beware of teachers, preachers, or other adults who seem incredibly eager to volunteer around children and of those who ingratiate themselves to school faculties and leaders of youth groups.

 

 

Hugh Cranford's Overview

Current

• Intermittent Summer Help at Shawnee County Public Works

Past

• Sales Associate at Cracker Barrel
• Vicar at Faith Lutheran Church
• IT Help Desk at Concordia Seminary St Louis

• Assistant Manager at Lane 4 Swim & Run
• Teacher at Humble ISD
• Bus Driver at Durham School Services                            
• After-School Childcare Worker at YMCA of Greater Houston
• Delivery Driver at Pizza Hut                            

see all

   

Education

• Texas Tech University
• Concordia Seminary           

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Hugh
Cranford's Experience                

Shawnee County Public Works                                 

June 2013 – Present (1 month) Topeka, KS

- Worked with road and bridge crews transporting materials, cleaning equipment and using hand tools in general maintenance work.
- Operated tractors and mowers.
- Acted as flag-person
- Performed other duties as assigned.

Sales Associate

Cracker Barrel                                                               

November 2012 – April 2013 (6 months) Topeka, Kansas Area                                     

Stocking items to sale
Assisting cashiers
Packaging sales

Vicar            

Faith Lutheran Church                                 

July 2011 – July 2012 (1 year 1 month) Topeka, Kansas Area                                     

Planning major evangelism projects.
Planning, teaching and maintaining Bible studies.
Assisting and teaching confirmation classes.
Managing mileage, hours, and time schedule.
Preaching and leading worship.
Assisting with funerals and weddings.
Assisting choir and musical worship teams.
Visiting shut-ins and people in the hospital.
Assisting with local Lutheran Schools; teaching and leading chapel.

IT Help Desk            

Concordia Seminary St Louis                                                      

Educational Institution; 51-200 employees; Religious Institutions industry

August 2008 – May 2011 (2 years 10 months) Greater St. Louis Area

Answered phone calls from students and faculty at the school.
Trouble shooting technical questions both with PC and Mac.
Worked in tangent with other IT workers.
Basic hardware networking.
Worked with both hardware and software side of computers.
Contacted computer companies when needed.
Was the liaison to the Student Government Association for one year.

Assistant Manager            

Lane 4 Swim & Run                                 

March 2008 – July 2008 (5 months) Kingwood, TX       

Sales Person.
Maintained Supplies .
Ordered special items for customers.
Set-up Work Schedule.
Supervised sales representatives.
Maintain money account; deposits, checking cash register daily.

Teacher            

Humble ISD                                                        

June 2004 – June 2008 (4 years 1 month) Kingwood, TS       

Teaching Middle School (6th-8th) Mathematics, Computers, Study Skills.
The Faculty Advisor for the Student Council. The School was the Vice President and President School for the Texas Association of Student Councils District 7/13.

Bus Driver            

Durham School Services

Public Company; 10,001+ employees; Transportation/Trucking/Railroad industry

August 2003 – December 2003 (5 months) Lubbock, Texas Area

School Bus Route Driver
Teaching In Class training to New Drivers

After-School Childcare Worker            

YMCA of Greater Houston                                                        

September 1999 – July 2001 (1 year 11 months) Kingwood, TX

Delivery Driver            

Pizza Hut                                                        

October 1998 – October 1999 (1 year 1 month) Kingwood, TX

Hugh Cranford's Volunteer Experience & Causes      

Volunteer Experience

• Volunteer/Coach

  Christ Community Lutheran School                        

• Education - 6th Grade Boys Basketball Coach

• - Leading Chapel Services

• Actor

  Concordia Seminary St Louis                       

Coach/Board Member

HAK LAX                         Children

Coaching Middle School Lacrosse

- Maintaining the Website for the organization
- Liaison to near-by Schools       
 

Some Christian Wants Jesus To Dismantle This Blog

"Why are the posters here not asking Juli the real question... Juli, what is your religion and who do you worship? (Just check out her profile). Posters, why are you arguing with the enemy? Exercise your authority! I just prayed to Jesus Christ for Juli to know Him as Rescuer and Lord and if she rebelliously refuses for Him to dismantle her blog! btw & fyi... I stumbled on to this blog looking for more info on the man in the spotlight as he was in our church recently and we are proactively taking the steps to protect our children, in addition to the background checks and interviews that are already administered diligently and liberally. "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea. Jesus Christ from Mark 9:42"

 

This was sent to me from someone who read this post, about a man named Hugh Cranford, who used to be a vicar at a Lutheran Church in Topeka, Kansas, but who is now charged with sexual crimes against children. While I laud this reader's efforts to protect children, I am a bit puzzled that I am somehow labeled "the enemy" in the reader's comment! What did I do??? I thought Hugh Cranford, the Christian minister who likes little boys, was the enemy here, not yours truly!

 

Let me take this statement by statement, if I may: I am NOT the "enemy". I never was; I never will be. What "authority" should the good Christians exercise? I merely offered a commentary on the behaviors of certain Christian leaders, (this seems to happen more and more often in church) from the perspective of someone who is not a Christian. What, pray tell, is the problem here? Jesus Christ did not "rescue" me at any time during my life when I needed to make unusaul choices, and if he exists, he left me to my own devices many times and insisted that I learn to defend myself and make my own choices. Why would "Jesus" suddenly "rescue" me now, and from whom?

 

As for "rebellious"........you don't know the half of it, reader. But then, Jesus, if he existed, was rather rebellious, wasn't he? Just ask the mainstream Jews of his time! I come from a long line of revolutionary thinkers, and none of us are about to stop now. But seriously, is alerting the community about a dangerous Christian pastor really that revolutionary or rebellious? As soon as the vicar is convicted, the "rebellious" sex offender registry will do the same!

 

If Jesus is real, he will not dismantle my blog, or anyone else's blog. In this country, we have what is called "freedom of speech", which is covered by the first amendment of our country's Constitution. I can look at stuff in the news and blog about it, if I so choose. I also do not have to represent your viewpoint, or anyone else's. This goes to the heart of the reason I will never convert to a religion like Christianity. The Christian church, as a whole, thrives on conformity, and members who are good at pleasing their leaders. That is one of the reasons that people like Hugh Cranford are able to get away with sexual abuses of children. Anyone who blows the whistle on a pastor is held in contempt by the sheeple of the temple, and anyone who cannot blend in with the masses is often targeted for abuse and hate. Did you not just prove that by sending me such a mean spirited comment?

 

I am myself. I will always be myself. Jesus would certainly never ask me to stop being who I am. In fact, he would hate it if I stopped being who I am. I am a good person, and would have to drop at least sixty IQ points in order to attend a Christian church happily, and no diety with whom I have ever worked would ever ask me to do a thing like that. No one asks me about my religion, or who I "worship", because it is not relevant to the post you read. In fact, those things are not relevant to most of the things I write. They would only be relevant to someone looking for a reason to hate me, encourage others to hate me, and possibly burn me at the stake.

 

By the way, I have never encountered a diety who desires "worship". Such an action is counterproductive to healthy relationships.

 

 

In Case You Missed Church On Sunday

If you skipped church in Kansas, here's what you may have missed! In honor of Hugh Cranford's performance in Topeka as a Lutheran vicar and youth pastor, I thought I should run his picture one more time. These people never change.

Vicar Hugh Cranford Should Pick On Someone His Own Size

A few months ago, I posted about a Lutheran vicar, by the name of Hugh Cranford, who was charged with indecent liberties with a minor. Today, he had his preliminary hearing. The information that was shared at that time was rather disturbing, and should have been shared immediately when the kindly vicar was charged. His crime was not one of simply dating a young woman one or two months shy of her eighteenth birthday.....he is actually charged with molesting two brothers, one ten years old, the other, thirteen years old, while he was staying in their parents' home. Not only was I shocked at the number of comments I got from various parts of Northeast Kansas, some of them unprintable, defending this man, I am very disappointed that none of the publications reporting on this matter felt that any Christian parents in the area deserved to be warned about this minister. Coverage was cursory at best; very little information about the nature of the charges was available. Cranford's church and the  media in Kansas went out of their way to cover for him. This man is free on 250,000 bail; that means he is free to re-offend until the judge throws down the gavel in a verdict at some future date. Christians, don't get your pastors at Kmart.

Update: The reverend is expected in court on May 6, 2013.
 

Hugh Cranford Roaming Free

Kansas went ahead and let Hugh Cranford, the friendly Lutheran vicar in Topeka, Kansas, go free on $250,000 bond after charging him with sexual assualt of a minor. His court date is January 3 of 2013. He lives in Texas. Will he even show up for court? Kansas, don't get your clergy at Kmart!

Hugh Cranford Goes To Jail

This from one of my gentle commenters: "Hugh is in custody in Topeka. From Shawnee County Court website. 10/03/2012 - Warrant returned, personal service - as to HUGH CRANFORD 10/02/12 . 10/03/2012 - FIRST APPEARANCE: Defendant present and in custody. Arrested on warrant. Bond set at $250,000 PS/CA. Next court date: CAD on 10/11/12 at 2:00 pm in Div 11. SRE First Appearance Form filed. SRE 10/03/2012 - Bond set at $250,000.00/PS

The article in the Topeka Capital Journal does not say how or where he was arrested. Here's a picture of him, without the creepy-looking beard:

 

Kansas, Don't Get Your Clergy At Kmart

As a bit of an update to to this post, and in answer to a question someone had, here is more information about the charming Hugh Cranford, the lovely Lutheran youth paster in Topeka who likes liturgical positions that give him access to children. His former place of "vicarage" was Concordia, in Saint Louis, Missouri. The final outcome of pending matters against Cranford there is unclear; but the whole disgusting matter is still quite recent, and the wheels of our justice system have a reputation for turning slowly at times. He was ousted from their church and school in the summer of 2011.

Something that should concern the Luthern community in Topeka Kansas is this, according to the Capitol Journal, "Dale Meyer, president of the seminary, said Monday after hearing about the allegations in early June the seminary immediately suspended the vicarage and prevented Cranford from enrolling in any other classes.
Meyer also said the alleged incidents didn’t take place at Faith Lutheran Church or Topeka Lutheran School. He said they also had no word that the alleged incidents took place on the seminary’s campus." Now; who cares WHERE his alleged assaults on children took place? The deal is this: parents were told by the church that they could trust this man with their children. As it happened, they could not. The information was readily available through a criminal background check AND through a reference check. This, apparently, was not performed. Now the church wants to distance itself from any responsibility in the matter at all. Someone at the church may have even given Hugh Cranford the information that charges were being filed, and assisted him in leaving town before law enforcement could find him. It's entirely possible. Hugh Cranford is still at large, and Dale Meyer is more concerned with damage control than with child safety. This is why I do not allow my children at attend Christian churches in Kansas. It's dangerous.

 

Hugh Cranford, without his Neo-Nazi beard.

 

Youth Ministers In Kansas

To the left, is a picture of a Kansas youth minister at Faith Lutheran Church, in Topeka, Kansas. His name is Hugh Cranford, and one of the reasons he loves his job in ministry at the church so much is easy access to children. It seems that Reverend Cranford has taken some indecent liberties with a young person, and should have been charged, but has somehow been given the unfortunate opportunity to flee the state. How convenient. Also, how predictable. According to the reverend's Facebook page, he has a history of hopping from church to church, in different states, mind you. Also, just a phone call would have confirmed for the faithful in Topeka that Reverend Cranford had been....shall we say....."dischurched" for the same reasons in Saint Louis, Missouri. And why was that phone call never made? Only the shadow knows! It's a good reason not to ever trust a Christian church in Kansas for any reason, though. Another thing that does not appear to be very clear is if the police in Kansas are looking for Hugh Cranford or not. So far, the media has not given any information, such as a phone number of a law enforcement agency to call, as they do when those who are not employed as ministers in Christian churches have warrents out for their arrests. Here's another gem from Reverend Cranford's Facebook page:

 

How many liars and criminals live deceptively so no one will believe the truth?