A Macomb County sex scandal involving a church choir leader and popular gospel singer widened Thursday as federal prosecutors filed charges against a second man accused of conspiring to sexually exploit a 17-year-old girl.
Drew Boehme, 34, of Madison Heights, was charged alongside the gospel singer, 72-year-old Washington Township resident Thomas Durham, a former member of the well-known New Destiny Quartet.
The indictment was filed almost one year after Durham was arrested, jailed indefinitely and accused of soliciting nude images from a teenage member of the choir, inviting her to a hotel room and having sex with her. Later, FBI agents said he threatened to spread rumors about the girl and ruin her reputation within the church and among friends and relatives unless she had sex with a second man.
Boehme and Durham were charged with conspiring to sexually exploit children and conspiring to receive child pornography. Durham also was charged with sexually exploiting a child, receiving and possessing child porn.
The exploitation conspiracy charge increases the stakes for Durham. Instead of facing 10-20 years in prison under the original indictment, he and Boehme face 15-30 years, if convicted.
“Mr. Durham has confidence in the criminal justice system, and we are prepared to fight for him at trial,” his lawyer, Mary Chartier, wrote in a text to The Detroit News.
Durham is being held at the federal detention center in Milan, about 48 miles southwest of Detroit.
A lawyer for Boehme is not identified in federal court records.
A court complaint last year described the alleged crimes and investigation.
The investigation started in May 2025 when the girl (identified in court records as “MV-1,” or Minor Victim 1″) told law enforcement officers about Durham, the leader of her church choir. The church is not identified in the filing.
“According to MV-1, after she turned 17, Durham started commenting about her appearance and touching her in a sexual manner, such as putting his hand on her thigh,” an FBI agent wrote in the complaint.
Durham also offered to buy her food, let her use his credit card and encouraged her to drink alcohol when her family was away from home, according to the government.
“On at least one occasion, Durham groped MV-1’s breasts and groin area,” the complaint reads.
Durham repeatedly asked her to send nude images, and she complied, the government alleged.
“In or around July 2024, Durham invited MV-1 to his hotel room and asked to have sex with her,” the FBI agent wrote. “MV-1 acquiesced, thinking that Durham would leave her alone afterward.”
He did not leave her alone, however, according to the FBI.
“…Durham then began asking MV-1 to meet another church member, Adult 1, who is 16 years older than MV-1 and who had expressed his interest in MV-1…,” the agent wrote.
“Adult 1” is not identified by name. But his age is approximately the same as Boehme’s.
They twice told the girl to have sex with Adult 1 “or Durham would spread rumors that MV-1 was flirting with him and ruin her reputation with the church, her friends, and her relationship with her family,” according to the government. “As a result, MV-1 had sex with Adult 1 while Durham watched.”
Last summer, FBI agents raided Durham’s home in Washington Township near 27 Mile and Schoenherr roads. They found two images on a laptop from March 2024, including one of a fully nude female body. The metadata associated with the photos included GPS coordinates matching the location of the girl’s home, according to the FBI.
Agents also interviewed the male church member, and he admitted having sex with the girl when she was 17, according to the government.
Durham, meanwhile, had performed with New Destiny Quartet for 25 years. His quartet biography said Durham also directed the choir and played saxophone in the band at Great Lakes Christian Church in Warren.
Durham was quoted in a Macomb Daily article about the quartet in February in which he discussed performing the song “He Didn’t Throw the Clay Away.”
“The song is about how the Lord doesn’t throw us away when we make mistakes,” Durham said.
Durham resigned from the group in May 2025, prompting remaining members to change the name of the quartet, member Brian Fuson told The Detroit News.
The resignation coincided with a report by WXYZ-TV (Channel 7) that described a sex crime investigation but did not identify Durham. At the time, church leaders issued a statement that said:
“Alleged accusations of sexual abuse were brought to our attention over the last weekend. Although the alleged abuse did not take place on church property or at a church event, both the church volunteer and an undisclosed individual are no longer members of the church. The abuse was reported, as required, to the local authorities who are conducting the investigation.”
rsnell@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Tom Durham church sex scandal in Macomb widens as feds charge 2nd man
Reporting by Robert Snell, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Robert Snell, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
