Tallahassee Florida church youth director, elementary school employee arrested after sexual assault of a child
Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2025 12:26 am
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TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA - A local church youth director and elementary school employee has been arrested following a restarted investigation into allegations of sexual abuse involving "juvenile" boys at the church, the Leon County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday.
Terrance Booker, 40, was taken into custody and booked into the Leon County Detention Facility after investigators established probable cause in connection with incidents dating back to 2020 and as recently as this year. Booker faces one count of lewd and lascivious battery and two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation on children between the ages of 12 and 16.
Booker, who served as a youth director at Life Changers Church of God in Christ and was employed by W. T. Moore Elementary School assisting with after-school programs, was first investigated by LCSO in 2020 after "three juvenile male church members" accused him of sexual molestation. That case was put into "suspended status" at the time due to insufficient evidence.
However, a new allegation surfaced on July 17, 2025, involving another juvenile, prompting the Criminal Investigations Bureau to reopen the case. Through the course of the investigation, authorities said they were able to establish probable cause for both the earlier and current allegations.
He is listed as an assistant director of extended day care at W.T. Moore. While LCSO spelled his first name as Terrance, his name is spelled Terrence on W.T. Moore's staff directory and social media pages.
It remains unclear whether the incidents were isolated or if additional victims may exist within the church or school communities, according to LCSO.
While the church was not identified in the LCSO release, Leon County Sheriff's Office Spokesperson Javonni Hampton identified the church in an interview with the Democrat..
Church co-Pastor Judy Mandrell said that Booker had been a member of the church for about 15 years and has served as youth minister for about 10 years.
"He has been suspended from all activities at the church since June or July," she told the Democrat.
Court records reveal that the victim went to police and reported the "inappropriate contact" on July 17.
After taking on the role of mentoring youths at the church, he was asked by a female individual, whose name was redacted by police, to mentor the alleged victim. He asked permission to invite the victim to visit his residence "while other juveniles his age were present." However, during some of the visits, "no other juveniles were present," according to court records.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/tal ... 50668.html