ORLANDO, Fla. – Leaders at First Presbyterian Church of Orlando removed a youth mentor from his volunteer position after he was arrested on child pornography charges.
Craig Deloy bonded out of jail Tuesday evening, but church leaders said he won't be mentoring kids at his church any time soon.
Orlando police said Deloy had 35 images of children engaged in sex acts on his computer. Details about the images were not immediately released.
Friends and neighbors called Deloy deeply religious. In fact, he spent every Sunday ministering to middle school children at his popular downtown church, said his pastor.
"He's somebody that I care a lot about," said David Swanson, the head pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Orlando, who called Deloy a friend that he's known for 20 years.
"If those charges indeed prove to be true, then as our church always would, we'll stand by him and care for him and minister to him as we need to, but at the same time, we want to do everything we can to protect our children and their families," said Swanson.
Swanson said Deloy started volunteering with the youth groups almost as soon as he joined the church about 15 years ago.
Word of the arrest spread quickly at the church and in Deloy's neighborhood. No one answered the door at Deloy's home, where police arrested him Tuesday morning after watching him for four days.
Neighbors told Local 6 that children of all ages live around the neighborhood.
"I think all the parents in the neighborhood are going to be keeping a closer eye out for their children," said parent, Chris Thorne. "We'll be keeping an eye out for him as well as anybody else in the neighborhood and just seeing any unusual behavior."
Leaders said the church had policies in place to protect its children, but said parents need to stay vigilant about this type of behavior.
"We're just recommending to our parents to talk to their children," said Swanson.