The founder and senior pastor of an Ohio megachurch took the stand in his own son’s defense this week — and told the court he knew nothing.
Gary Keesee Sr., co-founder and senior pastor of Faith Life Church in New Albany, Ohio, testified Monday that he was unaware his son, Gary Thomas “Tom” Keesee Jr., had allegedly sexually abused multiple minors connected to the church, according to The Christian Post. Keesee Sr. was the only witness called by the defense in his son’s four-day bench trial at the Knox County Common Pleas Court in Mount Vernon.
“[Thirty-one] years as a pastor, I know of no one who has ever been sexually abused in my church,” Keesee Sr. told the court, according to ABC 6.
The trial concluded Tuesday with closing arguments. Judge Richard Wetzel is expected to announce his verdict on November 6, according to WOSU.
27 Felony Charges
Keesee Jr., 38, faces 27 felony charges in Knox County Common Pleas Court. He originally faced 32 counts, but five were dismissed after one of the accusers became too distraught to finish testifying, the Newark Advocate reported.
Prosecutors say Keesee Jr. sexually abused four girls with ties to Faith Life Church. The Licking County Prosecutor’s Office, serving as special prosecutor, said the girls ranged in age from 6 to 15 at the time of the alleged offenses, which spanned from 2002 to 2016, according to court records. Keesee Jr. was around 12 years old when the alleged abuse began.
Keesee Jr. previously served as a youth pastor and chief media officer at Faith Life Church, the congregation his parents founded. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The case first broke open in February 2025, when one woman came forward with allegations against Keesee Jr. Others followed in the weeks after, prosecutors said during closing arguments.
A Family Divided on the Stand
Keesee Sr.’s testimony as the lone defense witness created a striking contrast with other family members who took the stand.
At least two of Keesee Sr.’s other children testified that they and other family members were aware of the alleged abuse of girls connected to the church before the allegations surfaced publicly in 2025, The Christian Post reported.
The defense, led by attorney Sam Shamansky, has maintained that Keesee Jr. was wrongly accused. Shamansky has said the charges emerged “20 years later” and argued that the alleged victims coordinated a smear campaign against the family, according to WCMH. The defense also pointed to what it described as inconsistencies in the women’s accounts and a lack of physical or independent evidence supporting the allegations, WQIO reported.
Prosecutors painted a starkly different picture. In closing arguments on October 6, Licking County Prosecutor Jenny Wells told Judge Wetzel that the testimony of one witness is sufficient to convict and that other witnesses corroborated the victims’ accounts. Wells described Keesee Jr. in pointed terms, saying the evidence showed he wanted to keep the alleged abuse quiet.
“It took a tremendous amount of strength and courage” for the women accusing him to come forward, prosecutors said at the trial’s end, according to the Newark Advocate.
Bench Trial, November Verdict
In a notable procedural turn, Keesee Jr. waived his right to a jury trial on September 29 — midway through jury selection, after attorneys had questioned potential jurors for several hours, according to Knox Pages. That left the verdict entirely in the hands of Judge Wetzel.
There will be no immediate decision. Judge Wetzel has ordered attorneys to submit written closing briefs in the coming weeks, with prosecutors getting an opportunity to respond to the defense’s brief, WQIO reported. The verdict announcement is scheduled for November 6.
Keesee Jr. remains free on bond while awaiting the verdict. His bond was set at one million dollars, with the court allowing him to post 10 percent. He has also been ordered to wear a GPS monitor, surrender his passport, and have no contact with the alleged victims.
The Church at the Center
Faith Life Church, founded by Gary and Drenda Keesee, is a prominent charismatic congregation in New Albany, Ohio, with a national media footprint. Drenda Keesee also serves as a Knox County commissioner, adding a civic dimension to a case already reverberating through Ohio’s faith community.
The trial has drawn sustained attention from former church members and watchdog groups. An Ohio-based activist organization livestreamed courthouse interviews with former Faith Life Church members throughout the proceedings, and a Friday evening broadcast drew viewers for firsthand accounts of the testimony.
For now, the congregation — and the wider church world watching Ohio — waits. On November 6, a single judge will decide whether the son of one of Ohio’s best-known pastoral families is guilty on each of the remaining 27 counts, closing a case that has already split a family, shaken a megachurch, and forced hard questions about what leaders knew, when they knew it, and what they did about it.
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