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Last updated on Monday, December 23, 2013
(ODON) - According to police, the director of an online counseling ministry killed himself Monday rather than face a charge of child molestation.
According to a probable cause affidavit, 59-year-old Robert A. Mangus, of Odon, was facing charged of molesting a boy and taking and possessing child pornography.
According to Deputy Prosecutor Donita Farr, Mangus was scheduled to turn himself into the sheriff's office at 5:15 p.m., Monday, per an agreement between the prosecutor's office and his attorney. However Mangus committed suicide at his home Monday afternoon according to Daviess County police.
An investigation into the allegations of Mangus molesting a 14-year-old boy began in October when the teen told police that Mangus made him perform sex acts over the course of several year. The boy told officers that Mangus had also taken inappropriate photos of himself and a girl.
Daviess County Sheriff's detectives executed a search warrant at Mangus' home at 207 N. Spring St., as well as a storage building he rents on County Road 900 East. According to court records, police confiscated cameras, computers and computer memory cards.
A forensic computer specialist was able to 21 photos that had been deleted from a computer memory card. The images showed sex acts between Mangus and the boy.
During a police interview Mangus denied the accusations and agreed to take a polygraph. But later he denied to take the test.
Mangus, a veteran and retiree from the Naval Surface Warfare Center's Crane Division, started a career in 2000 as a full-time counselor and teacher through his online ministry, RMCM Ministries. According to the RMCM website, he's taught more than 650 students working toward degrees in Christian counseling.
The website says Mangus had a doctorate degree in counseling, was an adjunct professor for the Colorado Theological Seminary, and was a member of the National Christian Counselors Association.
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