Testimony in the sexual abuse trial of Gary Thomas “Tom” Keesee Jr., a former Faith Life Church leader and son of church founders Gary and Drenda Keesee, has raised new questions about what his parents knew of allegations against him before the criminal investigation became public.
Gary and Drenda Keesee, Video screenshot / Insert of Gary Thomas “Tom” Keesee, mugshot
The four-day bench trial concluded Oct. 6 in Knox County Common Pleas Court. Judge Richard Wetzel has ordered post-trial briefing and is scheduled to announce a verdict on Nov. 6.
Keesee faces 27 felony charges, including 11 counts of rape, as well as charges of gross sexual imposition and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. Wetzel dismissed five additional charges involving a fourth accuser after she could not complete her testimony.
Keesee has pleaded not guilty and denied the allegations.
Although Keesee alone faces criminal charges, not his parents or Faith Life Church, trial testimony provided new details about what members of the Keesee family and church community allegedly knew.
One accuser testified that the abuse began when she was about 5 and that Drenda Keesee knew about at least one incident. She also testified that when she was 18 or 19, she raised concerns with Gary and Drenda Keesee in their roles as pastors.
Gary Keesee Sr. testified that he did not know before 2025 that his son had allegedly sexually abused minors. But Tom Keesee’s brother, Tim Keesee, testified that he had previously discussed alleged abuse with Tom and their parents and had asked his parents to keep Tom away from children at the church. Another sibling, Polly Patten, testified that family members knew of alleged abuse before 2025, though not necessarily its extent.
Court records obtained by MinistryWatch show that Keesee’s defense also sought Faith Life Church records, witness communications and law enforcement phone records before trial.
A subpoena issued at the request of defense attorney Karena Reusser directed Faith Life Church to produce employment records, historical worship-service recordings, a 2015 church event recording and other Faith Life media and business records.
Separate subpoenas directed Nicole Berger, Connie McVay and Kathryn Frantz to produce forms or affidavits circulated in connection with testimony, as well as communications among them in the months before Keesee’s 2025 arrest.
Access to MinistryWatch content is free. However, we hope you will support our work with your prayers and financial gifts. To make a donation, click here.
Drenda Keesee, Tom Keesee’s mother, currently serves on the Knox County Board of Commissioners. MinistryWatch previously reported that the Knox County Sheriff’s Office declined to investigate the allegations because of a conflict of interest related to her position. The investigation was ultimately referred to Licking County authorities.
Defense attorneys also sought phone records connected to law enforcement. A Sept. 28 court order shows that Keesee’s attorneys subpoenaed AT&T records associated with seven phone numbers. Prosecutors sought to quash the subpoenas for two of those numbers: one belonging personally to Licking County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Gus Moore and the other belonging to the sheriff’s office.
Wetzel denied the motion and ordered the records produced for in-camera review. He later allowed counsel to review certain records under restrictions while reserving questions about relevance and admissibility.
After Keesee’s arrest in April 2025, Faith Life Church said the alleged conduct “in no way involved Faith Life Church” and that the church had “responded in accordance with the information available to us then.”
Licking County Prosecutor Jenny Wells said investigators had found no evidence that any of the alleged offenses occurred at Faith Life Church. But trial testimony and newly obtained court records add detail to questions about whether Faith Life Church or the Keesee family knew of allegations or concerns about Keesee before the criminal case became public, and how they handled those concerns.
The criminal prosecution is separate from a civil lawsuit previously filed against Keesee, Faith Life Church, and Gary and Drenda Keesee. As MinistryWatch reported, a woman alleged in that suit that Keesee sexually abused her and that Faith Life Church and its leaders failed to act on or report prior warnings about his conduct.
The civil lawsuit was later voluntarily dismissed without prejudice while the criminal case proceeded, leaving open the possibility that it could be refiled. Faith Life Church and Gary and Drenda Keesee are not defendants in the criminal case, but the trial testimony has renewed some of the same questions raised in the civil suit about what church leaders knew and how they responded.
MinistryWatch has contacted Faith Life Church and Gary and Drenda Keesee seeking comment.
Under an Oct. 8 court order, Keesee’s defense has until Oct. 21 to submit its post-trial brief. The state then has seven days to file a rebuttal.
TO OUR READERS: The mission of MinistryWatch is to help Christian donors become more faithful stewards of the resources God has entrusted to them. Do you know of a story that will help us fulfill our mission, or do you want to give us feedback about this or any other story? If so, please email us at info@ministrywatch.com.