A man who lived in New Hampshire but worked as a pastor in Massachusetts has been charged with failing to register as a sex offender in the state where he worked.
Steven Newman, who Georgetown, Massachusetts, police said had worked as a pastor at By Faith Fellowship Church in Georgetown since 2017, was arraigned July 13 in Haverhill District Court, The Eagle-Tribune reported.
Newman was released on personal recognizance and ordered not to have contact with children under the age of 18 and not to accept employment at a place of business where children under 18 are present.
The report said Newman lives in Fremont, New Hampshire, about 25 miles away from Georgetown. He is registered as a Tier 3 sex offender in New Hampshire, the highest sex offender level in the state.
Newman was convicted of aggravated felonious sexual assault on a person under 18 in 1999, aggravated sexual assault on a person under 13 in 2000, and failure to report as a sex offender in 2000, per the Eagle-Tribune.
Sex offenders who live in other states but work in Massachusetts are required by law to register there as well within two days of starting their job. He had reregistered with the Fremont Police Department in April, listing as his employment “laborer” at a junk removal company owned by his wife which has since been dissolved.
Newman told Georgetown police that he was not a pastor at the church, just an unpaid speaker. Police said, however, that both Steven Newman and his wife Dinice Newman were previously listed as pastors on the church’s website.
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Newman also is listed as the church’s chairman of the board and incorporator and his wife as owner of the church on official documents, they said.
Police also cited photo captions on the website, Facebook page, and a sign outside the church referring to Newman as “Pastor Steve.”
All such references have since been removed.