Two Philadelphia pastors charged with sexual exploitation, corruption of minors
Authorities say Isaiah Banks, 30, and Bryan Jackson, 42, abused the underage victims over at least two years.
Two Philadelphia pastors groomed and sexually exploited two teenage boys, authorities say, paying them for explicit videos and sharing the images with each other in a scheme that stretched across years and may involve additional victims.
Isaiah Banks, 30, and Bryan Jackson, 42, are charged with sexual abuse of children, sexual exploitation of children, conspiracy, corruption of minors, and related crimes, District Attorney Larry Krasner said Tuesday.
Banks served as pastor of Second Pilgrim Baptist Church in Francisville, while Jackson served as a pastor at Garden of Prayer World’s Prayer Center in Strawberry Mansion, Krasner said.
Both men were arrested, arraigned, and released from jail after posting bail — $600,000 for Banks, and $100,000 for Jackson. Prosecutors said they had sought higher bail, but their request was denied.
Efforts to reach Banks’ attorney, Richard Kravets, were unsuccessful. No attorney for Jackson was listed in court records.
The investigation into the men began in April after police received a report that a teen had been solicited by Banks through text messages and social media to send sexually explicit videos in exchange for money or food, authorities said. The messages, they said, came to light after a witness checked the boy’s phone.
Prosecutors said Banks shared images he received with Jackson, who they said had also posed online as a female to solicit additional images and videos from the victim.
As investigators dug deeper, authorities said, they found evidence suggesting that Banks and Jackson had received sexually explicit images and videos from other victims, dating back to February 2024.
“A position of trust, when it is abused, has its criminal consequences,” Krasner said during a news conference to announce the charges.
He declined to provide additional details about the case, including the victims’ ages and genders. He said that the investigation is continuing and that releasing additional information could discourage other victims or witnesses from coming forward.
Court records, however, offer a more detailed portrait of the alleged crimes.
The victims, both boys, were 15 and 16 years old when investigators began their inquiry, according to the affidavit of probable cause for Jackson’s arrest. None of the crimes is alleged to have occurred on church grounds.
In the document, police described what they said was a yearslong pattern of communications, photographs, and videos showing Banks and Jackson cultivated transactional relationships with the boys.
Messages recovered from the men’s phones were also “littered with images and videos of nude men,” and photographs “from a barbershop and church events,” according to the affidavit.
By May, as the police investigation was underway, the tone of the messages between the two men had shifted, police said: In one message, Banks warned that one of the boys was rattled by the involvement of authorities.
During an interview with detectives, Banks acknowledged knowing the boys for more than a decade, and said Jackson was a friend, according to the affidavit. He told detectives he typically paid $50 for videos that the boys sent, the document said.
Efforts to reach officials at the church and prayer center where the two men worked were unsuccessful Tuesday.
According to Second Pilgrim Baptist Church’s website, Banks was elected senior pastor in 2017. The website describes him as a leader who is “loved genuinely by our congregation because of his passion to see our church thrive and because of his genuine care and love for all those who are a part of our church.”
Garden of Prayer World’s Prayer Center does not appear to have a website. An Instagram account appearing to belong to the church features photographs of Jackson promoting its events.
Krasner asked that anyone with additional information contact the district attorney’s office victim and witness services unit at 215-686-5709; the police department’s special victims unit at 215-685-3251; or the Philadelphia Center Against Sexual Violence hotline at 215-985-3333.