Topline: A multicounty grand jury has charged Campbell, 68, in connection with the alleged sexual abuse of minors in Tulsa in the 1980s, leading to his arrest this week in Missouri.
Published: December 19, 2025 8:32 am ET
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Joe Campbell (via Greene County Sheriff's Office)
TULSA, OK — Joe Campbell, a preacher who spent decades leading children’s ministries across the Midwest, was arrested this week on child sex abuse charges stemming from allegations dating back more than 40 years.
Campbell, 68, faces one count of first-degree rape and one count of lewd or indecent acts to a child under 16, charges returned by a multicounty grand jury on Dec. 17, according to the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office and court records.
According to the indictment, the alleged crimes occurred in 1984 while Campbell was serving as a youth pastor at Eastland Assembly of God Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Prosecutors allege he raped a girl who was 11 or 12 years old in the garage of his home and sexually abused a 14-year-old girl at the church the same year, according to court documents cited by KJRH.
U.S. marshals arrested Campbell Wednesday morning at Camp Bell, a Christian youth camp he founded in Elkland, Missouri, northeast of Springfield. He was taken to the Greene County jail in Springfield and was awaiting transfer to Oklahoma authorities. If convicted, he could face a sentence of up to life in prison, according to the charging document. It was not immediately clear whether Campbell has an attorney, and he could not be reached for comment.
The arrest marks a significant development in what NBC News described as a decades-long effort by Campbell’s alleged victims to seek accountability. Five women told NBC News that Campbell sexually abused them as children in the 1970s and 1980s when he was an Assemblies of God minister, while nine others — including four men — said he exposed them to pornography, made lewd comments or touched them inappropriately during that same period.
One of the charges is tied to the allegations of Kerri Jackson, now 53, who told NBC News that Campbell molested her once or twice a week for roughly three years in the early 1980s, beginning when she was about 9 years old in Tulsa. The grand jury indictment followed a presentation by the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office, a milestone Jackson and other women had pursued for much of their adult lives.
“I don’t even know how to react right now,” Jackson told NBC News moments after learning of Campbell’s arrest. “After all these decades, it’s a miracle.”
Previous attempts to investigate Campbell in Oklahoma and Missouri stalled after authorities concluded the statute of limitations had expired. However, according to the attorney general’s office, that time limit was paused when Campbell moved out of Oklahoma in the 1980s. Prosecutors are relying on an older statute that tolls the statute of limitations when a suspect leaves the state, a legal theory recently used in another high-profile Oklahoma child sex abuse case.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond called the allegations against Campbell “horrific” and said the case underscores a broader commitment to pursuing justice in long-dormant abuse cases.
“There can be no tolerance for child sex predators, particularly adults who exploit their positions of authority and the faith of their victims,” Drummond said in a statement cited by KJRH.
In an interview with NBC News, he added, “If you commit that crime, we’re going to find you. We’re going to prosecute you.”
Campbell was taken into custody by members of the U.S. Marshals Service, including the Western District of Missouri’s Midwest Violent Fugitive Task Force and the Northern Oklahoma Violent Crimes Task Force. Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Felix Carrion told NBC News that Campbell did not resist arrest. “He surrendered to us as soon as we surrounded his house in Camp Bell,” Carrion said. Clayton Johnson, U.S. marshal for the Northern District of Oklahoma, said in a news release, “It is our sincere hope that the arrest of Pastor Campbell will help bring closure to the victims in this case who have been victimized over decades.”
According to NBC News, Oklahoma authorities opened their investigation after the outlet published an extensive report in May documenting repeated allegations of abuse and institutional failures to intervene. Former congregants described Campbell as a charismatic figure who cultivated trust among children and parents, portraying himself as spiritually gifted while allegedly exploiting that trust behind closed doors. Several women said they reported his behavior to pastors, law enforcement and child welfare officials while they were still teenagers, only to see Campbell deny the accusations and continue in ministry.
In 1988, Jackson testified before a panel of Assemblies of God officials in Springfield, Missouri, about the abuse she said she endured. She told NBC News that she was asked to recount the details in graphic terms and then confronted by Campbell and his wife. Despite receiving letters from other alleged victims, church leaders allowed Campbell to remain in ministry, according to NBC News’ reporting. The denomination expelled him the following year after another girl, Phaedra Creed, then 14, reported that Campbell had abused her while she was living with his family.
Creed later went to police in 1989, and Campbell was charged with forcible sex with a minor. The charges were ultimately dropped after Creed said harassment by church members took a toll on her mental health and she withdrew from testifying. Learning of Campbell’s arrest decades later brought an emotional response.
“I was speaking the truth then, and I’m speaking the truth now, but I’m no longer going to be silenced,” Creed told NBC News. “I am so happy justice will finally be served.”
Assemblies of God leaders said in a statement Wednesday that the denomination’s national office first learned of allegations against Campbell in 1988 and that “his reported actions were duly reported to the appropriate legal authorities.” The statement added, “The Assemblies of God is grateful for all who have bravely shared their stories. We continue to pray that justice will be served.”
After leaving the Assemblies of God, Campbell continued working with children. Around 1990, he founded a nondenominational church and Camp Bell in the Missouri Ozarks, where he ministered to thousands of children over the years, according to NBC News. He later joined the PTL Television Network, which broadcast his sermons nationally until the network removed them following NBC News’ inquiries.
At Eastland Assembly of God in Tulsa, current senior pastor Randall Dyer told KJRH that Campbell had left the church years before Dyer arrived in 1993.
“I kind of heard a few rumors, but I didn’t know any details,” Dyer said, adding that the NBC News investigation revealed the extent of the allegations to him for the first time. Dyer said he reached out to one of the alleged victims after the story aired and expressed regret over the harm described.
“I’m so sorry that this happened even though it was so long ago,” he said. “Evidently, these women … have carried these scars and these hurts for all these years. And we apologize.”
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
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Former Televangelist Joe Campbell Indicted on Child Rape Charges
A multicounty grand jury has charged Campbell, 68, in connection with the alleged sexual abuse of minors in Tulsa in the 1980s, leading to his arrest this week in Missouri.
By Jacob Charles
Published: December 19, 2025 8:32 am ET
Joe Campbell (via Greene County Sheriff's Office)
TULSA, OK — Joe Campbell, a preacher who spent decades leading children’s ministries across the Midwest, was arrested this week on child sex abuse charges stemming from allegations dating back more than 40 years.
Campbell, 68, faces one count of first-degree rape and one count of lewd or indecent acts to a child under 16, charges returned by a multicounty grand jury on Dec. 17, according to the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office and court records.
According to the indictment, the alleged crimes occurred in 1984 while Campbell was serving as a youth pastor at Eastland Assembly of God Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Prosecutors allege he raped a girl who was 11 or 12 years old in the garage of his home and sexually abused a 14-year-old girl at the church the same year, according to court documents cited by KJRH.
U.S. marshals arrested Campbell Wednesday morning at Camp Bell, a Christian youth camp he founded in Elkland, Missouri, northeast of Springfield. He was taken to the Greene County jail in Springfield and was awaiting transfer to Oklahoma authorities. If convicted, he could face a sentence of up to life in prison, according to the charging document. It was not immediately clear whether Campbell has an attorney, and he could not be reached for comment.
The arrest marks a significant development in what NBC News described as a decades-long effort by Campbell’s alleged victims to seek accountability. Five women told NBC News that Campbell sexually abused them as children in the 1970s and 1980s when he was an Assemblies of God minister, while nine others — including four men — said he exposed them to pornography, made lewd comments or touched them inappropriately during that same period.
One of the charges is tied to the allegations of Kerri Jackson, now 53, who told NBC News that Campbell molested her once or twice a week for roughly three years in the early 1980s, beginning when she was about 9 years old in Tulsa. The grand jury indictment followed a presentation by the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office, a milestone Jackson and other women had pursued for much of their adult lives.
“I don’t even know how to react right now,” Jackson told NBC News moments after learning of Campbell’s arrest. “After all these decades, it’s a miracle.”
Previous attempts to investigate Campbell in Oklahoma and Missouri stalled after authorities concluded the statute of limitations had expired. However, according to the attorney general’s office, that time limit was paused when Campbell moved out of Oklahoma in the 1980s. Prosecutors are relying on an older statute that tolls the statute of limitations when a suspect leaves the state, a legal theory recently used in another high-profile Oklahoma child sex abuse case.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond called the allegations against Campbell “horrific” and said the case underscores a broader commitment to pursuing justice in long-dormant abuse cases.
“There can be no tolerance for child sex predators, particularly adults who exploit their positions of authority and the faith of their victims,” Drummond said in a statement cited by KJRH.
In an interview with NBC News, he added, “If you commit that crime, we’re going to find you. We’re going to prosecute you.”
Campbell was taken into custody by members of the U.S. Marshals Service, including the Western District of Missouri’s Midwest Violent Fugitive Task Force and the Northern Oklahoma Violent Crimes Task Force. Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Felix Carrion told NBC News that Campbell did not resist arrest. “He surrendered to us as soon as we surrounded his house in Camp Bell,” Carrion said. Clayton Johnson, U.S. marshal for the Northern District of Oklahoma, said in a news release, “It is our sincere hope that the arrest of Pastor Campbell will help bring closure to the victims in this case who have been victimized over decades.”
According to NBC News, Oklahoma authorities opened their investigation after the outlet published an extensive report in May documenting repeated allegations of abuse and institutional failures to intervene. Former congregants described Campbell as a charismatic figure who cultivated trust among children and parents, portraying himself as spiritually gifted while allegedly exploiting that trust behind closed doors. Several women said they reported his behavior to pastors, law enforcement and child welfare officials while they were still teenagers, only to see Campbell deny the accusations and continue in ministry.
In 1988, Jackson testified before a panel of Assemblies of God officials in Springfield, Missouri, about the abuse she said she endured. She told NBC News that she was asked to recount the details in graphic terms and then confronted by Campbell and his wife. Despite receiving letters from other alleged victims, church leaders allowed Campbell to remain in ministry, according to NBC News’ reporting. The denomination expelled him the following year after another girl, Phaedra Creed, then 14, reported that Campbell had abused her while she was living with his family.
Creed later went to police in 1989, and Campbell was charged with forcible sex with a minor. The charges were ultimately dropped after Creed said harassment by church members took a toll on her mental health and she withdrew from testifying. Learning of Campbell’s arrest decades later brought an emotional response.
“I was speaking the truth then, and I’m speaking the truth now, but I’m no longer going to be silenced,” Creed told NBC News. “I am so happy justice will finally be served.”
Assemblies of God leaders said in a statement Wednesday that the denomination’s national office first learned of allegations against Campbell in 1988 and that “his reported actions were duly reported to the appropriate legal authorities.” The statement added, “The Assemblies of God is grateful for all who have bravely shared their stories. We continue to pray that justice will be served.”
After leaving the Assemblies of God, Campbell continued working with children. Around 1990, he founded a nondenominational church and Camp Bell in the Missouri Ozarks, where he ministered to thousands of children over the years, according to NBC News. He later joined the PTL Television Network, which broadcast his sermons nationally until the network removed them following NBC News’ inquiries.
At Eastland Assembly of God in Tulsa, current senior pastor Randall Dyer told KJRH that Campbell had left the church years before Dyer arrived in 1993.
“I kind of heard a few rumors, but I didn’t know any details,” Dyer said, adding that the NBC News investigation revealed the extent of the allegations to him for the first time. Dyer said he reached out to one of the alleged victims after the story aired and expressed regret over the harm described.
“I’m so sorry that this happened even though it was so long ago,” he said. “Evidently, these women … have carried these scars and these hurts for all these years. And we apologize.”
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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Editor Picks
Latest Articles
Former Televangelist Joe Campbell Indicted on Child Rape Charges
A multicounty grand jury has charged Campbell, 68, in connection with the alleged sexual abuse of minors in Tulsa in the 1980s, leading to his arrest this week in Missouri.
By Jacob Charles
Published: December 19, 2025 8:32 am ET
Joe Campbell (via Greene County Sheriff's Office)
TULSA, OK — Joe Campbell, a preacher who spent decades leading children’s ministries across the Midwest, was arrested this week on child sex abuse charges stemming from allegations dating back more than 40 years.
Campbell, 68, faces one count of first-degree rape and one count of lewd or indecent acts to a child under 16, charges returned by a multicounty grand jury on Dec. 17, according to the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office and court records.
According to the indictment, the alleged crimes occurred in 1984 while Campbell was serving as a youth pastor at Eastland Assembly of God Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Prosecutors allege he raped a girl who was 11 or 12 years old in the garage of his home and sexually abused a 14-year-old girl at the church the same year, according to court documents cited by KJRH.
U.S. marshals arrested Campbell Wednesday morning at Camp Bell, a Christian youth camp he founded in Elkland, Missouri, northeast of Springfield. He was taken to the Greene County jail in Springfield and was awaiting transfer to Oklahoma authorities. If convicted, he could face a sentence of up to life in prison, according to the charging document. It was not immediately clear whether Campbell has an attorney, and he could not be reached for comment.
The arrest marks a significant development in what NBC News described as a decades-long effort by Campbell’s alleged victims to seek accountability. Five women told NBC News that Campbell sexually abused them as children in the 1970s and 1980s when he was an Assemblies of God minister, while nine others — including four men — said he exposed them to pornography, made lewd comments or touched them inappropriately during that same period.
One of the charges is tied to the allegations of Kerri Jackson, now 53, who told NBC News that Campbell molested her once or twice a week for roughly three years in the early 1980s, beginning when she was about 9 years old in Tulsa. The grand jury indictment followed a presentation by the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office, a milestone Jackson and other women had pursued for much of their adult lives.
“I don’t even know how to react right now,” Jackson told NBC News moments after learning of Campbell’s arrest. “After all these decades, it’s a miracle.”
Previous attempts to investigate Campbell in Oklahoma and Missouri stalled after authorities concluded the statute of limitations had expired. However, according to the attorney general’s office, that time limit was paused when Campbell moved out of Oklahoma in the 1980s. Prosecutors are relying on an older statute that tolls the statute of limitations when a suspect leaves the state, a legal theory recently used in another high-profile Oklahoma child sex abuse case.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond called the allegations against Campbell “horrific” and said the case underscores a broader commitment to pursuing justice in long-dormant abuse cases.
“There can be no tolerance for child sex predators, particularly adults who exploit their positions of authority and the faith of their victims,” Drummond said in a statement cited by KJRH.
In an interview with NBC News, he added, “If you commit that crime, we’re going to find you. We’re going to prosecute you.”
Campbell was taken into custody by members of the U.S. Marshals Service, including the Western District of Missouri’s Midwest Violent Fugitive Task Force and the Northern Oklahoma Violent Crimes Task Force. Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Felix Carrion told NBC News that Campbell did not resist arrest. “He surrendered to us as soon as we surrounded his house in Camp Bell,” Carrion said. Clayton Johnson, U.S. marshal for the Northern District of Oklahoma, said in a news release, “It is our sincere hope that the arrest of Pastor Campbell will help bring closure to the victims in this case who have been victimized over decades.”
According to NBC News, Oklahoma authorities opened their investigation after the outlet published an extensive report in May documenting repeated allegations of abuse and institutional failures to intervene. Former congregants described Campbell as a charismatic figure who cultivated trust among children and parents, portraying himself as spiritually gifted while allegedly exploiting that trust behind closed doors. Several women said they reported his behavior to pastors, law enforcement and child welfare officials while they were still teenagers, only to see Campbell deny the accusations and continue in ministry.
In 1988, Jackson testified before a panel of Assemblies of God officials in Springfield, Missouri, about the abuse she said she endured. She told NBC News that she was asked to recount the details in graphic terms and then confronted by Campbell and his wife. Despite receiving letters from other alleged victims, church leaders allowed Campbell to remain in ministry, according to NBC News’ reporting. The denomination expelled him the following year after another girl, Phaedra Creed, then 14, reported that Campbell had abused her while she was living with his family.
Creed later went to police in 1989, and Campbell was charged with forcible sex with a minor. The charges were ultimately dropped after Creed said harassment by church members took a toll on her mental health and she withdrew from testifying. Learning of Campbell’s arrest decades later brought an emotional response.
“I was speaking the truth then, and I’m speaking the truth now, but I’m no longer going to be silenced,” Creed told NBC News. “I am so happy justice will finally be served.”
Assemblies of God leaders said in a statement Wednesday that the denomination’s national office first learned of allegations against Campbell in 1988 and that “his reported actions were duly reported to the appropriate legal authorities.” The statement added, “The Assemblies of God is grateful for all who have bravely shared their stories. We continue to pray that justice will be served.”
After leaving the Assemblies of God, Campbell continued working with children. Around 1990, he founded a nondenominational church and Camp Bell in the Missouri Ozarks, where he ministered to thousands of children over the years, according to NBC News. He later joined the PTL Television Network, which broadcast his sermons nationally until the network removed them following NBC News’ inquiries.
At Eastland Assembly of God in Tulsa, current senior pastor Randall Dyer told KJRH that Campbell had left the church years before Dyer arrived in 1993.
“I kind of heard a few rumors, but I didn’t know any details,” Dyer said, adding that the NBC News investigation revealed the extent of the allegations to him for the first time. Dyer said he reached out to one of the alleged victims after the story aired and expressed regret over the harm described.
“I’m so sorry that this happened even though it was so long ago,” he said. “Evidently, these women … have carried these scars and these hurts for all these years. And we apologize.”
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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