Secular Education Association

LifeWise Safety Concerns: Criminal Cases, Vetting Failures, and Concerning Affiliations

This page documents a range of publicly reported and publicly documented concerns connected to LifeWise Academy, including criminal cases, alleged vetting failures, child-safety incidents, leadership judgment concerns, host-church issues, political advocacy connections, and other affiliations that raise public-interest questions.

Inclusion on this page does not mean every individual listed has been charged with or convicted of a crime. Where criminal cases are pending, individuals are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court. SEA includes these entries because LifeWise operates programs involving public school children during the school day, and communities deserve transparency about safety, supervision, vetting, and accountability.

The concerns documented below vary in nature and severity, but each raises questions about whether public schools should rely on LifeWise’s internal vetting, oversight, partnerships, or judgment when children are released from school into its care.

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lifewise firelands
former Director

On July 10, 2024 Secular Education Association broke the story of Renee Beck after receiving a tip from one of our members. Beck was hired by LifeWise to be a program director for the Firelands Local School District in Ohio despite being terminated from her previous job as a public school teacher in 2018 after multiple allegations of inappropriate conduct with students, including “abuse of a minor student.” Allegations of sending “sexual and explicit” messages including “photographs of herself being in either an undressed or partially undressed state” to students led Beck to permanently surrender her teaching license in 2019. LifeWise terminated Beck after SEA publicly raised concerns and the story was picked up by media outlets.

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lifewise Tri-Valley Character Academy former teacher

Christopher Alan Riggs was publicly identified with LifeWise Academy / Tri-Valley Character Academy in Muskingum County, Ohio. Program materials showed Riggs participating with students. According to Muskingum County Common Pleas Court documents, Riggs had forced sexual contact with a 14-year-old between June 1 and Sept. 23 of 2023. On May 14, 2026 Riggs pleaded guilty to gross sexual imposition and voyeurism “for the purpose of sexually arousing or gratifying” himself during those same months in 2023. He also pled guilty to an additional count of voyeurism allegedly committed from Nov. 1 to Nov. 30, 2025 against the same victim. A spokesman for, LifeWise stated stated Riggs resigned from his position with them in November 2025. Sentencing was deferred pending a pre-sentence investigation, and the court ordered Riggs to have no contact with minors.

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LifeWise Bethel Local
former teacher

Kenneth E. Holycross III is confirmed to have been a LifeWise Academy teacher for the Bethel Local Schools program in Tipp City, Ohio from August 2024 to summer 2025. Local reporting states that he was arrested in Miami County and charged with two counts of rape involving minors. Dayton Children’s Hospital confirmed he is also a former employee of theirs. The Children’s Hospital’s public response emphasized cooperation with investigators. LifeWise’s public comment, by contrast, stated that Holycross had ‘limited interaction with students’ and that there was no indication the alleged crimes were connected to his LifeWise work. Deputies with Miami County Sheriff’s Office say “it is suspected there may be other victims” and will be working with the Prosecuting Attorney on additional charges as the investigation unfolds. Holycross has pleaded not guilty and was being held on a $500,000 bond at the time of this reporting.

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LifeWise Northern local
former volunteer

William Thomas Vansickle was identified as a volunteer with the Northern Local LifeWise program in Perry County, Ohio. In an email to parents, Julia Worstell (a LifeWise teacher from the local program) told parents the incidents alleged against Vansickle occurred prior to his involvement with LifeWise. The email characterized Vansickle’s involvement as limited, stating he was only working in the capacity of assisting with crossing guard duties and was always supervised. She assured parents Vansickle had passed a background check, and stated he was removed after criminal charges became known. Public records/reporting list charges involving rape and gross sexual imposition involving a minor over a five-year period, between January 2017 and January 2022. In mid-April of 2026, Vansickle pleaded guilty to one count of rape and two counts of sexual battery against a minor.

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Lifewise buckeye Valley
former director

Robin Frey previously held a position as the program director for LifeWise Academy Buckeye Valley in Delaware County, Ohio. Court records in Simpkins v. Grace Brethren Church of Delaware also identify Robin Frey as a former bookkeeper for Delaware Grace. In 2008 Brian Williams, Delaware Grace’s Senior Pastor, pleaded guilty to sexual battery involving a minor and admitted to sexually assaulting a 15-year-old child in his church office. Following that conviction, the victim and her father filed a civil lawsuit against the church, claiming it had failed to properly supervise Williams despite receiving prior complaints about his behavior. In 2013 the jury sided with the plaintiffs and initially  awarded the victim over $3.6 million in damages. The records from this civil litigation show that Frey testified how the church continued to make monthly payments to Williams years after he had been assigned and relocated to another church in response to the allegations against him. Her testimony and documented role as the church’s bookkeeper raises serious questions about judgment, transparency, and child-safety accountability. This situation is especially relevant in her role as a LifeWise program director because local directors are responsible for running background checks and making employment decisions for their programs.

An elderly man in a red Lifewise Academy shirt speaks into a microphone outside a building, with green landscaping in the background under a clear blue sky.

LifeWise Hamilton Southeastern former director

Larry Renihan has been publicly identified as the former director of LifeWise’s Hamilton Southeastern Schools program in Indiana and a minister at Cyntheanne Christian Church. In May 2001 Larry’s son, Donald “Don” Renihan, was arrested and charged with five counts of felony child seduction. Don was a former girls’ basketball coach at Carmel and Westfield schools. According to court documents, at 39 years old Don began a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old basketball player named Andrea “Ande” Ray. Less than a week after being criminally sentenced for those charges of child seduction, Don married Andrea Ray, his former student-athlete and grooming victim, who had recently turned 18. Their wedding took place at Cyntheanne Christian Church, the very church that Larry Renihan was a minister at. While Larry Renihan is not alleged in these records to have committed the abuse, SEA is documenting the connection because of his leadership role at the church where the wedding occurred.

This incident also highlights the importance of implementing continuous monitoring systems for individuals involved with students. Carmel Schools later lobbied for laws requiring prosecutors to inform schools and the Department of Education when licensed teachers are convicted of felony crimes. The Superintendent at the time, Dr. Barbara Underwood, recalled how the school found out about Don’s crimes stating “We read it in the paper, we watched it on the news, telling us about these things”. Despite those lobbying efforts, Indiana still doesn’t have a continuous monitoring system, and even in states that do, LifeWise employees and volunteers are not required to register with these systems.

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lifewise buckeye central
host church basketball coach

Linda Schulze is a former director for the LifeWise Academy Buckeye Central program in Ohio, as well as a deacon at The Evangelical Pietist Church of Chatfield. Reporting states that the church allowed Curtis Morris, a Tier I Sex Offender who is listed on the Sex Offender Registry for a conviction of sexual imposition involving a juvenile, to coach a youth basketball program affiliated with the church. Church leadership was fully aware of Morris’s conviction and cited having a public meeting in 2019, during which Morris “confessed his past crimes to parents and sought their forgiveness.” According to the church, parents at the time forgave him and supported his continued involvement.”  raising serious concerns about judgment and child-safety safeguards. Given Schulze’s leadership role at the church and her later role with LifeWise, the church’s documented decision to allow a registered sex offender to coach youth basketball is especially relevant regarding her role as a local program director for LifeWise. Local LifeWise directors are responsible for running background checks and making employment decisions for their programs. Additionally concerning is the involvement of the Evangelical Pietist Church itself as an apparent host location for the Buckeye Central LifeWise program.

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Faith life church pastor

Faith Life Church in New Albany, Ohio is led by Gary and Drenda Keesee, who are publicly known to be financial and ideological supporters of LifeWise Academy. Their son, former church official Gary Keesee Jr., was indicted on multiple felony sex-abuse charges involving minors on April 21, 2025. A civil lawsuit also alleges church leaders were warned about abuse and failed to report it. Despite more victims coming forward and additional charges being added after the initial indictments, Knox County Common Pleas Judge Richard Wetzel reduced Keesee’s bond from $2 million cash down to $1 million with a 10% provision, allowing him to walk free for $100,000 while awaiting trial. Secular Education Association began following and reporting on these allegations on February 3, 2025 after receiving information provided by an anonymous tipster. At the time of this webpages publication, both the criminal case and civil claims remain pending and Gary Keesee Jr. is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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Lifewise sandusky former steering committee member

In June of 2024 Jillian Rhian Jaunzemis publicly stated she joined the LifeWise Academy steering committee for Sandusky City Schools. Jaunzemis is the owner of a home daycare. According to local reporting, in early 2020 Jaunzemis was charged with a misdemeanor count of endangering children after a 2-year-old in her care was found blocks away unattended and unsupervised. According to eyewitness accounts, the child was seen alone, wet and shivering, without shoes or a jacket, riding a scooter outside while temperatures were around 35 degrees. Jaunzemis told police she was upstairs and did not know the boy got out of the home because she thought the boy was sleeping downstairs with five other children she was watching. In 2022, another incident occurred when a 7-year-old child under Jaunzemis’ care ran away. According to police reports the child “did not trust Jillian” and “didn’t want to be at the residence with her.” The police report goes on to indicate that this was the third time the child had run away from Jaunzemis’ home daycare.

A man with a beard wearing a gray Lifewise Academy polo shirt stands in front of a red Lifewise Academy banner.

lifewise regional director & former

Buddy Gene Workman has been publicly identified as a LifeWise Academy regional representative / regional director, after previously serving as the local director of the New London Ohio LifeWise program. Public records show a 1999 Knox County court filing of a civil “protection order concerning domestic violence” against Workman and a list a violation of protection order offense dated Nov. 3, 1999. This raises concerns about LifeWise’s vetting and transparency for adults placed in regional leadership roles connected to public school children during the school day.

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Ohio state representative & ex- pastor of Fremont Baptist Temple

State Rep. Gary Click was one of the main lawmakers leading the push for Ohio’s released-time religious instruction mandate and an avid supporter of LifeWise Academy. From 2006 to 2025 Click served as a Pastor for the Fremont Baptist Temple, a church which played a major role in promoting and organizing local program efforts for LifeWise. In 2025 Click became the subject of a report published by The Rooster, who uncovered investigatory records surrounding allegations against Click involving the abuse of a minor. The report stated the alleged victim denied Click’s involvement, Fremont Police declined charges, and Ohio BCI declined further investigation 

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lt. Governor of Indiana & Campus Pastor at Life Church

Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, a pastor and self-described Christian nationalist, has publicly promoted LifeWise Academy and visited a LifeWise classroom. Beckwith also leads a Life Church campus and has close public ties to Nathan Peternel, whose son Jonathan Peternel was charged with child sex crimes. Life Church has held multiple meetings to help promote and organize local LifeWise program launch efforts. The connection raises concerns about judgment, transparency, and the overlap between political power, church authority, and access to children who are taken off campus to unsecure locations during the school day.

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Steven Childers

lifewise supporter and proponent

The Rooster identified Steven Childers as the speaker removed from a Westerville school board meeting after making derisive comments referencing a Muslim board member’s faith. Witnesses saw LifeWise founder/CEO Joel Penton conversing with Childers and shaking his hand while patting him on the back before Childers was escorted out of the building. This interaction raises serious questions about the judgment of LifeWise leadership and the individuals they choose to engage with.

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Tom Giesken

Ottawa-glandorf character academy board member

Tom Giesken has been publicly identified by LifeWise Academy Ottawa-Glandorf as a local board member of their program. A Putnam Sentinel article pictured Giesken and other members of his business, Well Grounded Cafe, with American Patriot Vanguard OH MC during a donation event. The Southern Poverty Law Center lists American Patriot Vanguard in its Ohio extremist tracking tool under Antigovernment General, raising concerns about judgment and extremist proximity in local LifeWise leadership. The article covering this event has since been removed from the Putnam Sentinel’s website.

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Matt Ferris

lifewise supporter and proponent

Matthew Ferris was identified in New Philadelphia City Schools records as a non-resident who registered to give comments during the public participation portion of a school board meeting as part of an organized effort attempting to implement a LifeWise program in the district. Screenshots from Ferris’s Facebook account place him at Jan. 5–6, 2021 “Stop the Steal” / “Freedom Rally” events and show him with controversial figures such as Mike Lindell and Ian Smith, a suspected member of the Proud Boys. His involvement and advocacy with local LifeWise programming highlights a broader pattern of individuals holding extreme political ideologies engaging with LifeWise’s mission and raises questions about the political networks surrounding the legislative efforts of LifeWise.