BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Erie County District Attorney's Office announced that a Williamsville man has pleaded guilty to child sexual abuse charges.
47-year-old John A. Camardo III, a former executive pastor at The Chapel, pleaded guilty in State Supreme Court to one count of second-degree rape and one count of second-degree course of sexual conduct against a child.
According to the DA, between April 2024 and May 2024, Camardo engaged in sexual intercourse with a victim who was less than 15-years-old. In addition, between April 2025 and June 2026, Camardo engaged in two or more acts of sexual conduct with a second victim who was less than 13-years-old. The DA said Camardo was known to the victims and the crimes occurred at a location in the Town of Amherst.
7 News has obtained a copy of an email that The Chapel released to its church family, which said in part:
"We are so saddened to share some disheartening news with you in relation to John Camardo. With the following sentences we want to explain a few procedural items that will answer some questions of how we responded, give you some direction as to how you can help care for the Camardo family during this time, acknowledge the heaviness of how this news lands for all of us, and call us to prayer and dependence on God.
Today, the District Attorney released a statement announcing that a former employee of The Chapel, John Camardo, was arrested this morning and pleaded guilty to the sexual abuse of two minors. In our conversations with The District Attorney’s office, they confirmed to us that we have no basis for concern regarding his conduct with minors through any ministry or venue of The Chapel at this time. Very recently, we were able to privately speak the truth in love to John and we rebuked him for his ungodly and harmful actions and called him to full repentance. In the spirit of 1 Timothy 5:20-21, this letter now serves as a public rebuke and a call to full repentance.
The Chapel is fully committed to the safety and security of all people, and we actively oppose any threat to it. We despise abuse in any and all of its forms and denounce it as sinful harm, and that is why we have robust safeguarding policies in place for ministry activities, volunteers, and for employees. In this circumstance, those policies related to an employee were implemented as they were designed. Our policies were carefully crafted years ago by several women and men with the counsel and input of two outside organizations who are subject matter experts in safeguarding. Our policies have been, and continue to be, public on the drop-down menu of our website (thechapel.com/safety [us.list-manage.com]).
From a procedural standpoint, immediately upon learning of pending allegations, and before we were made aware of the severity of the allegations, our Board of Overseers along with our Safety Team were alerted and John was placed on administrative leave in accordance with our safeguarding policies. We communicated to you when he resigned a few days later. Even though our understanding was that this was not a specific issue related to the ministry venues or campuses of The Chapel, we proactively contacted the Amherst Police Department to note our willingness to cooperate and to make sure we didn’t impede their process in any way. In a similar spirit, we waited on sending this specific communication until the District Attorney’s press release so as not to impede their process. "
Barry Covert, who is representing Camardo, released the following statement:
"Mr. Camardo has taken full and complete responsibility for his actions and greatly regrets the harm that he has caused"
Camardo is scheduled to be sentenced on September 10 and faces a determinate sentence between six to eight years in prison. He was held without bail, and temporary orders of protection were issued on behalf of the victims.
