Shivangi Sinha
In May 2018, Sarah Jackson, a mother, accused her former pastor, Cameron Giovanelli, of sexually abusing her when she was a minor. According to her claims, she was pressured into a relationship around 2007, when she was just 17 and he was 29 years old. Coming forward with her story after more than 13 years required a great deal of courage, but she decided to proceed with formal charges. ID’s ‘Toxic’, particularly the episode ‘The Chosen One’, features the case and traces the timeline of events that ultimately brought the pastor to justice.
Sarah Jackson Claimed That She Was Allegedly Asked to Remain Silent About Her Experience
In the mid-2000s, Sarah Jackson was a teenager growing up in Dundalk, Maryland. She and her family were active members of Calvary Baptist Church, where Cameron Giovanelli had served as a pastor since 2004. Jackson has described her upbringing as very “sheltered,” adding that she had never received comprehensive sex education. In her later statements, she claimed that Giovanelli allegedly began grooming her in 2006. At the time, he was also a teacher at the church school she attended and, according to Jackson, had hired her to babysit his children. She said that on January 3, 2007, he called her into his study.
According to the claims made in court, the 29-year-old pastor, who was married and a father of two, allegedly kissed Sarah in his private office. She alleged that he had pulled her out of an English class taught by his wife and kissed her. Sarah later said that Giovanelli was an authority figure in her life and that she felt he had allegedly abused his position of power to coerce her. In her claims, she added that, in the months that followed, Giovanelli frequently texted her. He would reportedly send the word “Jan,” and if she was alone, she would reply “3rd,” signaling that they could communicate freely. Sarah claimed that the situation escalated. According to prosecutors, Giovanelli allegedly sexually abused her at her grandparents’ house and it went on for several months.
Sarah said that, at the time, she found it very difficult to sit in the pews and listen to his sermons about the sanctity of marriage and relationships when she knew what was happening to her behind closed doors. According to Sarah, later in 2007, another church leader allegedly discovered what was going on and intervened. The pastor reportedly offered to resign, but the offer was allegedly declined. Sarah said their communication subsequently slowed, and she was allegedly told not to disclose the matter to anyone because it would damage both their “reputations.” She has spoken about the psychological and emotional toll the experience took on her. It was only in 2018, after the birth of her first child, that she decided to speak out. On May 11, 2018, she shared a post on social media, and later that year, she filed a police complaint.
Cameron Giovanelli is No Longer Under Legal Supervision Today
Cameron Giovanelli served at Calvary Baptist Church until 2014, after which he joined Golden State Baptist College in Santa Clara, California, as its president. In 2018, when Sarah Jackson came forward with her allegations, Stacey Shiflett, who was then serving as Calvary’s pastor, initiated an internal investigation. Shiflett later stated that she considered Jackson’s accusations to be credible. Following Jackson’s police complaint that year, Giovanelli resigned from his position as college president. At the time, Jackson also accused him and his followers of publicly smearing her reputation after she reported the alleged abuse. In December 2018, an investigation by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram uncovered hundreds of abuse allegations involving independent Baptist leaders, with Giovanelli among those mentioned in the report.
In August 2019, Giovanelli was arrested on two felony counts of sexual abuse of a minor and ten misdemeanor counts. He was subsequently released on his own recognizance. In December 2019, he pleaded guilty to fourth-degree sex offense and second-degree assault, while the charges of sexual abuse of a minor against him were dropped. In January 2020, he was sentenced to 90 days in a county detention center and five years of supervised probation. The order reportedly allowed him to serve his sentence in Florida, and he was not required to register as a sex offender.
At his sentencing, Sarah delivered a victim impact statement and addressed Giovanelli directly. She told him that she was stronger than he had made her feel and that she would no longer remain silent. According to reports from that period, Giovanelli was also involved in plans to establish a new Independent Fundamental Baptist (IFB) institution, North Florida Baptist College, in Jacksonville, Florida. He was reportedly expected to become its president, although it remains unclear whether he ultimately assumed the position. His five-year probation period ended in 2025. The last known reports placed him in Florida, but he has otherwise maintained a low public profile, and little is known about his current whereabouts.
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