A 41-year-old Canton man who served as a youth minister at a Plain Township religious congregation is facing multiple criminal charges accusing him of grooming and unwanted sexual contact involving juvenile victims.
Michael J. Carlton is charged in Canton Municipal Court with six counts of grooming and one count of sexual imposition in one case, according to court records. The grooming charges are first-degree misdemeanors, while the sexual imposition charge is a third-degree misdemeanor.
Separate criminal complaints also charge Carlton with assault, sexual imposition and two counts of unlawful restraint.
The allegations involve multiple young women who were juveniles during at least some of the alleged conduct. Court records identify Carlton as a youth minister at Star in the East, a Messianic congregation on Martindale Road NE in Plain Township.
According to criminal complaints, Carlton is accused of engaging in patterns of conduct with juvenile victims that investigators allege were intended to entice or solicit them for sexual activity. In one complaint, investigators allege the conduct began while the victim was a juvenile and caused her to believe Carlton’s purpose was to engage in sexual activity with her.
Another complaint alleges Carlton had sexual contact with a juvenile victim while the two were sitting on a couch at the victim’s Plain Township home. Investigators allege Carlton pulled the girl’s leg straight and rubbed his hand up her leg, underneath her shorts and to her underwear line.
Additional complaints detail allegations of unwanted physical contact at the congregation.
In one case, Carlton is accused of initiating an unwanted hug with a juvenile, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her against his body. Investigators allege the contact caused the girl to feel Carlton’s erect penis against her body.
A similar allegation involving another victim allegedly occurred in a stairwell at the congregation, according to court documents.
Carlton is also accused of forcefully grabbing and holding another victim against him while making comments about her physical appearance. Investigators allege the girl could feel Carlton’s erect penis through his clothing as he pressed himself against her buttocks and vaginal area.
An assault complaint stemming from the same alleged encounter accuses Carlton of grabbing and squeezing the victim’s wrists while holding her against his body. Court documents state the girl had redness and marks on her wrists and forearms afterward.
The parent of one of the alleged victims provided a statement to Jordan Miller News following Carlton’s arrest, describing the allegations as a betrayal of the trust parents place in those responsible for their children.
“It’s heartbreaking to think the people we entrust our most prized possessions with as parents, are capable of violating that trust in the worst possible way,” the parent said. “We need to be more vigilant at noticing warning signs and continue to encourage our children to speak up when something does not feel right!”
Jordan Miller News is not identifying the parent to protect the identity of the alleged victim.
Jordan Miller News is also withholding the identities of the alleged victims because the allegations involve conduct that occurred while they were juveniles.
The allegations outlined in the criminal complaints are accusations and have not been proven in court. Carlton is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
