LAKELAND - It was the moment Jay Dennis and the huge congregation he leads have dreaded for days. After two weeks of investigation, Lakeland police arrested a trusted church member and accused him of sex offenses involving three boys he mentored at the church. ...more

November 3, 2007

The investigation is continuing into an accusation of sexual abuse by a volunteer at Lakeland's First Baptist Church at the Mall. ...more

October 31, 2007

LAKELAND - The investigation into an accusation of sexual abuse by a volunteer at Lakeland's First Baptist Church at the Mall is continuing, Lakeland police said today. But no arrests have been made. ...more

October 30, 2007

The Lakeland Police Department is investigating allegations of sexual abuse involving middle school and high school students who have attended First Baptist Church at the Mall. ...more

October 29, 2007

The city is seeking to dismiss a lawsuit over its approval of a day care center near an apartment complex that rents to sex offenders. ...more

October 27, 2007

In 1909, the same year the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People organized to combat lynching and racial discrimination, a national church magazine profiled three area churches. ...more

October 26, 2007

A Vatican official suspended after being caught on hidden camera making advances to a young man says he is not gay and was only pretending to be gay as part of his work. ...more

October 15, 2007

In Southern California, where the Roman Catholic Church has agreed to pay victims of pedophile priests $660 million, the archdiocese is ordering nuns out of convents so the buildings can be sold to fund the out-of-court settlement. ...more

October 6, 2007

Sure, says Mayor Frank Hibbard. It can be a little unsettling sometimes: throngs of Scientologists wandering Clearwater's streets in their blue or khaki trousers and crisp dress shirts. ...more

September 24, 2007

The former principal of The Language Academy has filed a lawsuit against the now-defunct charter school, claiming she was wrongfully terminated. ...more

September 3, 2007