Summary
FLOODLIT’s sources indicate that Anderson was arrested at his own wedding reception.
—
From Fox News:
“McKINNEY, Texas – A 23-year-old former church instructor has been sentenced to 50 years in prison without the possibility of parole after admitting that he sexually abused multiple children.
The Collin County Criminal District Attorney’s Office called Noel Anderson a serial child predator.
Anderson was an instructor for 7 and 8-year-olds at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He was arrested last March after a little girl told her mother that he had abused her.
He confessed to the abuse and admitted that he had sexually abused multiple children that he met through the church over a period of several years.
His five victims ranged in age from 1 to 6 years old. He said he picked them because he thought they wouldn’t tell anyone, the DA’s office said.
“We’re grateful for these brave children, as their courage helped lock up a serial child predator,” said Collin County DA Greg Willis.
After pleading guilty to the continuous sexual assault of a child, Anderson was sentenced to 50 years in prison. He is not eligible for parole because of the crime.
—
From Dallas news:
Noel Young Anderson
Noel Young Anderson(Collin County Sheriff’s Office)
Two weeks before an 8-year-old was set to testify against the man who pleaded guilty to molesting her since she was a baby, her parents had to call for emergency help to stop her from carrying out a suicide plan, they testified.
Her allegations against Noel Young Anderson had sparked a McKinney police investigation in March 2018. She was the only one of the five victims investigators found who was able to take the stand. Most of the girls were too young to remember what Anderson said he did to them.
In court testimony this week, her parents recounted the trauma Anderson had inflicted on them and their daughter — trauma that they believe led her to contemplate suicide.
Jurors deliberated for nearly two full days before sentencing the 23-year-old Friday to 50 years in prison for continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14.
He had faced 25 years to life after he pleaded guilty to the charge in a Collin County court.
Most of the victims don’t remember being molested, for which their parents are grateful. But the abuse has damaged many of their family members’ relationships and trust.
Some have left the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on North Lake Forest Drive, where Anderson taught 7- and 8-year olds.
He didn’t molest the girls he taught at church, he told police. They were too old and might have talked, he said.
Instead, he chose the infants he babysat for fellow parishioners.
When the girl who testified against him was 18 months old, he masturbated as he changed her diapers. As she grew older he began molesting her and forcing her to perform sex acts on him. That continued until she was 6.
“This is what turns him on,” prosecutor Nick Lawrence told jurors, pointing to a baby photo of the girl in a yellow onesie, with her baby teeth just beginning to grow in.
Anderson told police he’d tried to stop abusing children but began again after he was asked to babysit a previous victim when he returned from a church mission trip. He said he couldn’t help but continue the abuse because of his “history” with her.
“What kind of ‘history’ can you possibly have with a 6-year-old?” chief felony prosecutor Geeta Singleton asked the jury Thursday morning. “He used these babies to live out his own sexual fantasies.”
The parents of one 3-year-old became suspicious of Anderson after the girl came home and told her where he had “tickled” her.
She was too young to explain what she meant, so her parents did not call police, but they forbade their children from visiting Anderson. When they attended church two days later, her father had to stop her from going to sit with Anderson when he motioned for her to join him in the back of the church, the father testified Thursday.
Her father hasn’t attended church since police confirmed last year that Anderson had abused the girl. He said knowing that Anderson lied his way through spiritual counseling and continued abusing girls had shaken his trust and faith.
“He’s got a very dark soul,” the man said.
Donate to support FLOODLIT.org
Your support enables us to conduct research, publish case info, and make documents freely available.
Our relentless reporting honors survivors, assists researchers, and empowers those who protect the vulnerable.
Donate »Facts
- Criminal: Convicted,
- Positions: Missionary, Primary,
- During crime: Primary,
- Crime: 2010s, in Texas,
- Convicted: 2010s, 2019,
- Crime scenes: Unknown crime scene,
- Victims: Multiple victims,
-
Born: 1996
- Mission: Unknown country
- Locations: Texas,
Sources
- New Charge For McKinney Sunday School Teacher Accused of Abuse - CBS News - 2018-03-30,
- McKinney church instructor gets 50 years for molesting children - Fox 4 KDFW - 2019-04-11,
- Former McKinney church instructor pleads guilty to molesting girls in congregation, gets 50 years in prison - Dallas Morning News - 2019-04-05,
- 'He's bad' comment from little girl led to arrest of McKinney man who police say sexually assaulted kids,
-
1. New Charge For McKinney Sunday School Teacher Accused of Abuse - CBS News - 2018-03-30
-
2. McKinney church instructor gets 50 years for molesting children - Fox 4 KDFW - 2019-04-11
-
3. Former McKinney church instructor pleads guilty to molesting girls in congregation, gets 50 years in prison - Dallas Morning News - 2019-04-05
-
4. 'He's bad' comment from little girl led to arrest of McKinney man who police say sexually assaulted kids
The baby sitter told the 6-year-old girl she could play with a forbidden sand castle toy if she didn't tell her parents what he did to her.
The little girl kept the McKinney man's secret for about a year, revealing that she had been sexually assaulted only after she saw the man's photo in his wedding invitation to her family, according to a probable cause affidavit released Tuesday.
The girl's revelations led to the March 23 arrest of Noel Young Anderson, 22, and a public plea for help from police in McKinney, Texas, who say they have found three other child victims. Police fear there could be more.
Police say Anderson has admitted to sexually assaulting four children between the ages of 2 and 6 during the last seven years. Anderson is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at 1020 N. Lake Forest Drive in McKinney, where he was a primary instructor for children ages 7 and 8 in 2014. Police say he located his victims through church meetings and came in contact with children through church activities.
Anderson is being held in the Collin County Detention Center on felony charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child and indecency with a child involving sexual contact. Bail is set at $200,000.
McKinney police said Tuesday that no further information is being released at this time.
Crime in The NewsRead the crime and public safety news your neighbors are talking about.
"Detectives are sorting through the new information they've received to ascertain whether or not there were more victims," spokeswoman Carla Marion Peritz said by email. "The investigation is active and ongoing."
According to the affidavit, the girl's family knew Anderson's family through church. He and his siblings baby-sat for the girl's family.
When Anderson's wedding invitation arrived in the mail on March 7, the girl's father set it on the kitchen table and told the girl and her mother they should go.
"He's bad," the little girl told her parents as soon as she saw Anderson's photo in the invitation. When they asked why, she told them what Anderson had done to her and demonstrated without being prompted, according to the affidavit. She told them about her promise not to tell if Anderson let her play with a sand castle.
Her parents weren't sure at first what toy she was talking about. She pointed to a toy kept high in a closet away from the kids because it creates a mess. The parents inspected the toy and discovered it wasn't in the same condition as when they'd stored it, the affidavit states.
The family filed a report with police the next day. The parents checked old calendar entries and believe the sexual assault occurred when Anderson baby-sat for the family in March 2017, the affidavit states.
The girl later did a forensic interview at the Children's Advocacy Center of Collin County. She gave the interviewer the same details she'd given her parents, describing a sexual assault that she said happened only one time and that "was disgusting," according to the affidavit. She also used drawings to show what happened, the affidavit states.
The girl also told the interviewer the assault occurred in a bedroom with the door locked.
During the forensic interview, the girl said "many times that she was done talking about private things," according to the affidavit.
The girl was unable to remember Anderson's name during the forensic interview but described him as a baby sitter with blond hair. When the interviewer showed the girl the photo on the wedding invitation, she said, "OHHHHHHH I know him. How did you get that? He is the one who did my private thing," the affidavit states.
Police declined to release circumstances involving the other child victims.
Documents
Have documents, information or corrections? Add information