A pastor in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) was arrested after it was discovered he was secretly filming minors.
According to a press release by the East District of Missouri’s Attorney’s office, Rev. Michael William Mohr, 54, who also oversees nearly 150 churches as president of the Central Illinois District, was charged with one count of producing child pornography.
The investigation began after one of the juveniles told the Vandalia Police Department that he discovered a camera disguised as an electronic device charger in a hotel bathroom. The discovery happened the morning after the juvenile awoke to discover Mohr standing above him and masturbating, believing the victim was asleep, the affidavit says. The juvenile was in shock and acted like he was still asleep, the affidavit says.
Investigators received a warrant to search Mohr’s home, where they found “storage devices that contained videos of three juveniles in the bathroom,” along with a “hidden camera disguised as a wall clock and one disguised as a Bluetooth speaker.”
If convicted, he could be sentenced to 30 years in prison.
