Indianapolis pastor accused of rape, using money to solicit teens
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A leader at an Indianapolis church is being accused of using donations from his nonprofit to pay for sex acts and soliciting minors.
Tyree Coleman, 43, has been accused of rape.
“He was using God to abuse children,” said LaChelle Norton, the mother of a child involved in the criminal case.
According to court documents, police began investigating Coleman in 2022 after a teenage boy said he was offered up to $1,000 to have sex with him.
Investigators say a second teenage boy interacted with Coleman via FaceTime but only prayed with him and never made any sexual advances.
Norton says her son, Christopher Johnson, was raped by Coleman at 15 years old. “That rape changed his entire life. At that moment, Chris died when Tyree raped him.”
Norton said, “Christopher called me about 2, 3 o’clock in the morning, and he was screaming to the top of his voice, ‘Ma, he just raped me! And I told Chris, I said, “Run, run.’ I said, ‘Just run for your life, run, and I’ll call IMPD right now.’”
The rape was reported in 2006 at the Temple of Refuge Church on North Guilford Avenue. Police officers said Coleman was an assistant pastor.
Later on, at 27 years old, Johnson and another man were found dead in a west side home. Norton said, “I promised my son that I will be his voice until the day every last individual that hurt him will be brought to justice.”
The two teenagers said that they were outside of a building in June near Watkins Park. While there, a group of men waived at them. The two teens said that one of the men, who they only knew as “Elder Coleman,” commented on the poor condition of one of their shoes and asked he had Cash App to send him some money.
Coleman also said he wanted to pray with them and he mentioned that he would buy them church clothes. Then they exchanged numbers.
According to court documents, Coleman identified himself as an elder of the Seven Pillars Church.
Investigators later located Coleman’s church, identifying it as Seven Pillars Refuge, but further investigation showed that the address was of another business.
Officers also located information online at refugeindy.org that identified Coleman as the founder of the nonprofit Refuge Place Indy, which uses donations to assist the homeless people in Indianapolis.
Detectives checked with the Indiana Department of Workforce Development and found that Coleman did not have another identified job on record other than the elder of a church.
Police believe from these initial facts that Coleman was using donations from his nonprofit to pay for sex acts, at least one of which was soliciting a minor.
Coleman was classified as “a Sexually Violent Predator” by the Indiana Department of Correction.
