12 teenagers in state custody found living in Clayton County church

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Clayton County Fire and Emergency Services crews discovered 12 teenagers living in a church Tuesday night.

Crews responded to an incident at the Now Faith Apostolic Church on Rex Road, where they found multiple minors in the basement level.

“Responders observed multiple minors occupying individual rooms, each containing several beds. The scene raised immediate concerns regarding the facility’s occupancy use and fire code compliance,” Clayton County Fire and Emergency Services stated in a press release.

The facility director told officials the teens are in the custody of the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS). Their ages ranged from 15-18 years old.

Aquevia Davis, who lives next door, said she began noticing a school bus stopping at the church around December of last year.

“That was unusual activity to me, for kids to be getting on and off the bus right here in the church parking lot,” Davis said.

Clayton County Fire Chief Tim Sweat said the teens were initially housed at a state-approved facility in Riverdale. The director stated that flood damage forced them to relocate to the church.

However, the fire marshal said the building required safety upgrades — such as a functioning fire alarm system — to be suitable for housing minors.

The teens have since been relocated again and the property owner received five citations.

Davis said she did not know the teens were living there but had suspected something was going on.

“I was surprised that it was so many,” Davis said. “It had started to get a little bit out of hand, especially when I started to see kids running away. It seemed like they had all of their belongings.”

The county is still working to determine how long the teens had been living at the church.

A county code enforcement hearing is scheduled for September 9, during which the owner will appear. If the board determines the violations occurred, the owner could be fined $1,000 per violation.

Atlanta News First reached out to the church and DFCS for comment. Church members declined to comment.

“DHS/DFCS is bound by both state and federal law to protect the privacy of the people we serve. As such, we are unable to comment on the specifics of any child welfare cases,” DFCS said in a statement.

On Thursday, the church said “due to an unexpected flood that impacted our licensed treatment facility,” the 12 youth were temporarily relocated to the church.

“This relocation was done in full complainace with state protocols under the ongoing supervision of a professional 24/7 treatment and monitoring team to ensure the children’s safety and continuity of care,” the church said.

Now Faith Church also said DFCS approved the relocation and “raised no concern over the safety or legality of the arrangement.”

“Recent characterizations of the facility as a ‘church basement’ are factually inacurate and misleading, and appear to be aimed at creating a harmful narrative suggesting neglectful or unsafe conditions,” the church said. “The facility at Now Faith Apostolic Ministries meets the state’s standards for emergency housing, and these youth have not — at any point — been placed in harm’s way."

The church claims the “sudden scrutiny may be linked to unrelated politicial tensions” between Senior Pastor Dr. C.H. Braddy and said county officials after he recently spoke “publicly about holding elected and public officials of Clayton County accountable.”

“Nonetheless, our focus remains on protecting and caring for these children during their time of greatest need. Any citations, including those regarding zoning or fire code compliance, are being addressed appropriately and transparently, as we continue to operate in accordance with state and local guidelines,” the church said.