A Las Vegas pastor was among eight people arrested in an undercover operation targeting alleged child sex offenders, authorities announced.
Over the past two weeks, the Nevada Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force worked with the FBI and several southern Nevada police departments to carry out the arrests. Undercover officers and federal agents posed online as minors, responding to the same types of messages and meeting requests that children in the community might encounter.
One suspect, 46-year-old Neal Harrison Creecy, serves as pastor at Redemption Church. Investigators said Creecy allegedly used a computer in an attempt to lure children for sexual misconduct, a felony offense.
For the past five years, Creecy has rented space inside The Good Samaritan Lutheran Church on West Sahara and Cimarron, where he operates Redemption Church. Leaders of The Good Samaritan Lutheran Church told 8 News Now that Creecy has no affiliation with their congregation and is only a tenant.
W. Don Seaborg, President of Pastoral Support for Redemption Church, said the church was surprised by the allegations. “As soon as he got out of jail within an hour or two, he contacted us on a thread message and confessed. He offered his resignation when we met with him later that morning. We had to accept his resignation immediately,” Seaborg said.
Authorities stated that the other seven men arrested believed they were meeting a child, but were actually meeting law enforcement officers. Agencies involved in the operation included the FBI, Homeland Security, Metro Police, Henderson police, and North Las Vegas Police.
Creecy is free on $10,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in Henderson Justice Court on September 2 at 9:00 a.m.
