Former Pastor Indicted on Decades-Old Child Rape and Sexual Abuse Charges in Oklahoma
Oklahoma City, OK – December 17, 2025 Joseph Lyle Campbell, 68, a former Assemblies of God youth pastor and longtime minister most recently associated with Jim Bakker’s Morningside Church in Blue Eye, Missouri, has been indicted on serious child sexual abuse charges stemming from incidents alleged to have occurred in 1984.
Charges and Allegations
A multicounty grand jury indicted Campbell on:
- One count of first-degree rape
- One count of lewd or indecent acts to a child under 16
The allegations date to Campbell’s time as youth pastor at Eastland Assembly of God Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma:
- Between May 1 and October 1, 1984: Campbell allegedly raped an 11- or 12-year-old girl in the garage of his home.
- Between March 1 and December 1, 1984: Campbell allegedly sexually abused a 14-year-old girl at the church.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond described the alleged crimes as “horrific,” stating: “There can be no tolerance for child sex predators, particularly adults who exploit their positions of authority and the faith of their victims. My office will vigorously work to ensure justice is served for the women who have carried this trauma for decades.”
Arrest and Legal Proceedings
U.S. Marshals arrested Campbell on December 17, 2025, in Elkland, Missouri, at his Camp Bell youth campground. He was booked into the Greene County Jail awaiting extradition to Oklahoma. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.
Prosecution is possible despite the age of the allegations due to an Oklahoma statute that tolls the statute of limitations when the suspect leaves the state—a provision recently used in the case against former Gateway Church founder Robert Morris.
Background and Prior Allegations
Campbell’s ministry career spanned decades across multiple states, including Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Missouri. He was defrocked by the Assemblies of God in 1989 following abuse allegations.
The charges follow a May 2025 NBC News investigation that detailed accusations from five women who said Campbell sexually abused them as children and teenagers in the 1970s and 1980s.
Additional individuals reported inappropriate behavior, including exposure to pornography. The report highlighted repeated failures by church leaders, law enforcement, and child welfare officials to intervene effectively. From 2016 onward, Campbell served at Morningside Church, associated with televangelist Jim Bakker’s PTL Television Network, which broadcast his sermons nationally until removing them earlier this year following inquiries.
Victim Reaction
Kerri Jackson, now 53, who alleges years of abuse by Campbell starting when she was around 9, reacted to the indictment: “I don’t even know how to react right now. After all these decades, it’s a miracle.” Jackson was among those who testified before church officials in the 1980s and pursued justice for decades.
The case underscores ongoing scrutiny of institutional responses to clergy sexual misconduct allegations.
Children saw Campbell as an almost mythical figure, blessed by the Holy Spirit with the power to speak in tongues, cast out demons and heal the sick. He gravitated to girls from broken homes. They later described being molested in a church nursery, in Campbell’s car and at his home while his wife and children slept upstairs.
Beginning when some of them were still teenagers, the women reported Campbell’s behavior to pastors, law enforcement and child welfare officials, only to watch him deny the allegations and continue preaching.
Jackson was among those who came forward to church leaders. In early 1988, at age 15, she traveled to Springfield, Missouri, to testify before a panel of Assemblies of God officials. Jackson said the men asked her to describe the abuse in graphic detail and invited Campbell and his wife into the room to challenge her account. Despite having received letters from other alleged victims, which had been collected to add weight to Jackson’s story, the pastors allowed Campbell to remain in ministry in Missouri, clearing the way for him to abuse another girl, according to interviews and police records.
The Assemblies of God finally expelled Campbell the following year after Phaedra Creed, at age 14, reported that Campbell had been abusing her for months while she lived with him and his family.
Creed went to the police in 1989, and Campbell was charged with forcible sex with a minor. But after being harassed by church members, Creed said, her mental health deteriorated, and she backed out of testifying, leading to the charges’ being dropped.
For decades, as she watched Campbell continue working with children, Creed said, she carried guilt over her decision. She cried when she learned of his arrest Wednesday.
“I was speaking the truth then, and I’m speaking the truth now, but I’m no longer going to be silenced,” Creed said. “I am so happy justice will finally be served.”
In a statement following Campbell’s arrest Wednesday, Assemblies of God leaders said that the denomination’s national office first learned of allegations against him in 1988 and that “his reported actions were duly reported to the appropriate legal authorities.”
“The Assemblies of God is grateful for all who have bravely shared their stories,” the statement said. “We continue to pray that justice will be served.”
Campbell continued ministering to children. Around 1990, he founded a nondenominational church and opened Camp Bell, a Christian youth camp in the Missouri Ozarks, where he ministered to thousands of kids over the decades. Campbell’s new church became a refuge for several convicted sex offenders, NBC News’ investigation found.
In 2016, he joined the PTL Television Network, a Christian station founded by disgraced televangelist Jim Bakker, which broadcast Campbell’s teachings nationally until this year, when the network quietly removed years of his sermons from its website following NBC News’ inquiries. PTL did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Campbell’s national influence and his decades of work with children sickened his accusers, who tracked his ascent from afar.
For the women, his arrest carried spiritual significance — the fulfillment of a mission they believe God entrusted to them decades ago.
Jackson said she long bore the weight of that responsibility like a ball and chain. The burden began to lift when she saw his mug shot.
“Finally,” she said. “We just needed someone to believe us.”
