Daniel Menelaou, the former youth pastor for the Alpharetta, Georgia, campus of the global Futures Church headquartered in Australia, has been released on a $120,000 bond after he was arrested and charged with possession of child pornography a week ago.
Court documents from the Fulton County Superior Court reviewed by The Christian Post show that the 28-year-old pastor, who previously worked for the global megachurch in Australia before moving to the U.S., was assessed a $20,000 bond for each of the six counts of possession “or control any material depicting minor in sexually explicit conduct,” he was charged with in exchange for his release. He is also required to wear an ankle monitor.
“You are to have no contact directly or indirectly with the victim, victim’s family, professional, personal, or close associates, by phone, mail, e-mail, or through third party, including at victim’s workplace, church, home, and daycare,” Menelaou’s bond agreement states. “If you encounter the victim, you must leave immediately and must not come within 200 yards of victim.”
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An official with Australia’s Department for Human Services also told ABC News in Australia that his authorization to work with children in that country was revoked following news of the charges.
“DHS can confirm that Mr. Menelaou’s Working With Children Check has been reassessed and he has now been determined not cleared (prohibited) from working with children,” the official told the news outlet.
A church spokesperson for Futures Church Alpharetta told The Advertiser that they did not pay for his bail, but they have been supporting his wife who is in an “incredibly painful position.” His next court date is to be decided.
A report from Fox Atlanta said Roswell Police and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation raided Menelaou’s home after receiving a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
“During the course of that search warrant, we seized several electronic devices that will be analyzed for additional evidence,” Roswell Police Officer Tim Lupo told the news outlet.
Investigators said the youth pastor, who also worked as a student mentor at Temple Christian College in Australia prior to his work in Georgia, uploaded multiple videos that “depict a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct” and shared the images using the messenger app Kik.
“Our hearts are heavy as we share heartbreaking news with you. In recent days, one of our youth [pastors] working overseas, Daniel Menelaou, was arrested and charged with possession of materials depicting minors in sexually explicit content,” wrote Pastor Tony Cornbridge of Futures Church in Australia. “Like you, we are deeply shocked, grieved, and blindsided by this news. We also want to be absolutely clear that these charges have no connection to anyone in our church community.”
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