NORFOLK, Va. — A youth group leader in Norfolk was sentenced to seven years in prison Wednesday for the sexual abuse of a minor.
Charles Willoughby III, 39, served as a youth group leader at New Life Worship Center (NLWC) in Norfolk. According to the Department of Justice, between 2006 and 2012, he groomed teenage girls in the church’s youth program to try to sexually abuse them.
In June of 2012, the DOJ says Willoughby forced a 15-year-old to engage in a sexual act while he was chaperoning a youth group. The 15-year-old did not disclose the abuse until 2018, and other victims were identified after that, according to the DOJ.
Willoughby was sentenced to seven years for traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor.
