BOILING SPRINGS, S.C. (ABP) — A former Baptist church secretary is out of jail on $20,000 bond on charges that she stole about $68,000 from the congregation over the course of several years.
Crystal Faulk
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Crystal Faulk, 48, former secretary at Mountain View Baptist Church in Boiling Springs, S.C., is charged with obtaining property by false token in an amount greater than $10,000, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office arrested her Aug. 26 following a six-week investigation.
Police say Faulk used a church credit card to buy personal items like clothing and restaurant meals and to pay bills and then paid the credit-card bill with checks from a bank account that was supposed to have been closed when a building debt was retired in 2005.
Church leaders conducted an internal investigation after running across a statement for a credit card they didn't know existed. It included expenses that were obviously not church related. They turned the matter over to police in mid-July.
Tyler Kirby, who has been senior pastor for about five years, said the 650-member congregation didn't want to hurt Faulk and forgave her, but after learning that a crime had apparently been committed felt going to the authorities was the right thing to do.
Still, Kirby said, members found the arrest disturbing.
"Everybody was shocked, obviously," he told NBC affiliate WYFF-TV in Greenville, S.C. "Nobody saw this coming. We were very surprised because when you trust somebody and you find out different it is very shocking. It's very hurtful."
Faulk worked at the church from 2002 until she was asked to resign after suspicions about her arose in June. Police say the thefts spanned from January 2004 until May 2010.
Contacted by phone, Faulk told Greenville CBS affiliate WSPA-TV she is sorry for what she did to church members.
"I made bad choices and bad decisions, and I'd like for them to forgive me," she said. "I know God has forgiven me."
Faulk's initial court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 28 in Spartanburg County General Sessions Court.
Founded in 1887, Mountain View Baptist Church reports an average attendance of about 500. The church is affiliated with the Spartanburg County Baptist Network, South Carolina Baptist Convention and Southern Baptist Convention.
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Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.