‘Futures Church’ Pastor Charged With Sharing CSAM Released On Bail, Must Wear Ankle Monitor
Former ‘Futures Church’ youth pastor Daniel Menelaou, who was arrested and charged last week with six counts of possession of child sex abuse material, has been released after posting a $120,000 bail- $20,000 for each count.
As a condition of his release, he’s been hit with several restrictions, including having to wear an ankle monitor and being unable to leave his home save for legal appointments or medical reasons. He also is prohibited form consuming alcohol and can’t come within 200 yards of any victims or their families, suggesting the videos he allegedly possessed were of children known to him.
“You are to have no contact directly or indirectly with the victim, victim’s family, professional, personal, or close associates, by phone, mail, e-mail, or through a third party, including at the victim’s workplace, church, home, and daycare. If you encounter the victim, you must leave immediately and must not come within 200 yards of the victim.”
Church officials have denied paying his bond but instead have decried his behavior as appalling and abhorrent.
Futures Church, formerly known as Influencers Church, is a Pentecostal multisite megachurch founded nearly 100 years ago by evangelist Smith Wigglesworth. Like Hillsong church, they started out with one church in Australia but have since expanded abroad, with 11 campuses in country and another four more in the United States.
Last week Daniel Menelaou, 28, who led the youth at the Alpharetta campus and was also the lyricist on several Futres worship albums, was arrested by Roswell police, who and his personal computer devices.
Officers acted after receiving a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. According to the warrant, Menelaou shared several videos depicting “a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct” on the messenger app Kik.
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