Bond denied for Jacksonville church pastor charged with sexual battery

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A judge on Wednesday denied bond for a Jacksonville pastor charged with two counts of sexual battery.

The defense wants Paul Dyal released on his own recognizance and called Dyal’s son to the stand on Wednesday. He told the judge his father would stay away from children if released from jail.

The judge denied Dyal bond.

Dyal, 78, pastor of the Jacksonville Assembly of the Body of Christ on Old Kings Road, was arrested in March after a coordinated police raid on the church. He pleaded not guilty in April.

According to police, the investigation into Dyal goes back more than 20 years and includes evidence for offenses they believe happened in the early 90s.

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The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office got a tip about possible sexual abuse at the North Jacksonville church in September 2020.

While investigators were making the arrest of Dyal, additional warrants were being served in Oklahoma. Jerome Teschendorf, 68, who was arrested in Newalla, Oklahoma, and Vernon Williamson, 85, who was arrested in Ardmore, Oklahoma, have both now been extradited to Jacksonville.

Teschendorf and Williamson are also affiliated with Dyal’s church and are also facing two counts each of sexual battery on a child.

“The investigation revealed both long-term sexual and physical abuse of minors in the church spanning a period of over thirty years,” the Sheriff’s Office said in its news release in March.

The Sheriff’s Office believes there could be more than a dozen victims.

JSO said that through the course of the investigation, the police “have identified and spoken to numerous victims and witnesses.” As a result, the Sheriff’s Office said, police believe there are additional suspects. It asked that anyone who believes they might have information to share to come forward by calling JSO or submitting an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida.

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Eight women have since shared their stories with News4JAX, saying they are survivors of mental, physical and emotional abuse from people at the Jacksonville Assembly of the Body of Christ Church.