Former Youth Pastor Charged with Sexual Assault of a Child Appears in Wood County Court

Thursday, August 15th, 2024 -- 3:00 PM

A former youth pastor charged with sexual assault of a child appeared in Wood County Court on Wednesday.

Back in June, Attorney General Josh Kaul and Wood County District Attorney Craig Lambert announced that James Lane has been charged with one count of Repeated Sexual Assault of a Child for incidents that allegedly occurred between September 1st, 2002 and December 31st, 2003.

The charge in this case stems from a report made to the Clergy and Faith Leader Abuse Initiative. Lane, then a youth pastor at Faith Reformed Church located in the City of Wisconsin Rapids, is alleged to have assaulted the victim in Lane’s vehicle when he was driving the victim home.

When interviewed by Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Division of Criminal Investigation special agents, Lane allegedly stated that he had a “relationship” with a girl in the youth group that got “inappropriate.”

The victim in this case had not reported the assault to either church or legal authorities prior to reporting through the website for the Clergy and Faith Leader Abuse Initiative. During his arraignment on Wednesday, he entered a not guilty plea to the charge against him. He’s scheduled to be back in court on October 25th.

Survivors of clergy or faith leader abuse, their friends and family, or anyone who has information about how a religious organization has responded to reported abuse are encouraged to report that information to Wisconsin DOJ either online or by calling 1-877-222-2620.

This charge is the result of an investigation by Wisconsin DOJ’s Division of Criminal Investigation with assistance from the Colorado Bureau of Investigations. Victim services are being provided by the Wood County District Attorney’s Office.

The case is being prosecuted by Wood County District Attorney Craig Lambert. The criminal complaint is available on request. As in any criminal proceeding, Lane is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.