Gresham pastor, ex-cop jailed in Bend on abuse charges

A 42-year-old Gresham pastor and fired Tillamook police officer was arrested late last month and brought to the Deschutes County Jail on Tuesday, where he was booked on 37 rape and abuse charges involving crimes with two children 10 to 12 years ago.

James Daniel Worley, senior pastor at Powell Valley Church in Gresham, was arrested Dec. 30 in Multnomah County following a Dec. 16 grand jury indictment. He was transported Tuesday to the Deschutes County Jail in Bend, one day before an initial court appearance scheduled Wednesday afternoon. He was being held on $500,000 bail.

The charges include 20 counts of first-degree sex abuse, two counts of first-degree rape, 11 counts of first-degree sodomy, one count of attempted sodomy and three counts of using a child in sexually explicit conduct, jail records show. The charges involve two children who under the ages of 14 and 12 and allege crimes in Deschutes County between Sept. 1, 2002 and June 30, 2004.

The Website of the Powell Valley Church indicates Worley has been lead pastor since January 2012 and is married with four children.

Portland TV station KATU said the charges involve a boy and girl. They reported that Deschutes County prosecutors would not reveal how Worley knew the alleged victims but said they are concerned there are more victims.

Worley was with the Tillamook Police Department from September 2005 to November 2006 but was dismissed for misconduct, the station said. A police review board noted “unethical writing of citations,” excessive Internet use on duty, sexually explicit advertisements and unwanted sexual advances to a woman in a 911 dispatch center.

NewsChannel 21’s Kandra Kent plans to follow up on this story Wednesday and will be in court to learn more details.