MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. – A former church choir leader in Macomb County and former quartet singer is facing federal charges after investigators say he manipulated a teenage girl into sex acts, photographed her without her knowledge, and possessed explicit images taken while she was still a minor.
Thomas Durham, 71, of Washington Township, is charged with receipt and possession of child pornography following a federal investigation that began earlier this year.
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The charges stem from a criminal investigation that began in Warren after sexual abuse allegations surfaced.
Warren police stated that they submitted their findings to the FBI in May 2025.
Durham is a former member of the Great Lakes Christian Church in Warren and a former bass singer of New Destiny Quartet.
The 71-year-old, wearing a white dress shirt, was read his Miranda rights while standing in federal court Wednesday (Aug. 6) afternoon with his attorney by his side.
The details in the investigation are disturbing.
A teen told investigators that after she turned 17, Durham began touching her inappropriately and then began visiting her at her home when she was alone.
Federal investigators said Durham would bring her booze and would grope her breasts and groin area, offer her money and food, and eventually pressure her into sending nude images.
The teen also described a hotel room encounter where she said she agreed to have sex with Durham in July of 2024 — believing it would make Durham leave her alone.
Instead, according to court documents, Durham introduced the minor girl to another male church member, 16 years older than the girl, who the feds said coerced the girl into having sex with him as Durham watched.
Durham then allegedly threatened to ruin her reputation within the church and her family.
Explicit emails sent to the teen were too graphic to read.
According to the teen, as stated in court documents, the other man involved sent emails to Durham to pass on to the minor girl.
In this way, the feds stated, Durham was able to control the communication between the other man and the teen.
Some of the messages sent to the teen from the other man read:
“I was supposed to send this to you at 11 p.m., but I fell asleep. Sunday was awesome. I missed your expletive. You were so expletive. You are very special to me. You are so kind and sweet and funny. I could tell by your expression that you enjoyed both times I expletive you. Am I right?”
On July 28, 2025, the FBI executed a federal search warrant at Durham’s home in Washington Township.
On a laptop seized during the search, which had the sign-in name “Tom Durham” and which was a resident of the home indicated only Durham used, law enforcement located two images in the “Download” folder.
Investigators said the image depicted a girl’s vagina, and the other depicted a fully nude body of a girl lying on a bed. Both images contained metadata that included GPS coordinates for where the image was created, which matched the coordinates of the teen’s residence.
The date and time of the download of both images were March 12, 2024, when the teen was a minor.
Meanwhile, calls and visits to the church remained unanswered on Wednesday, as Durham was only seen on New Destiny Quartet’s Facebook page until May 2025.
The group announced his retirement then. The group said in a statement to Local 4 Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025: “As a group, we were unaware of any charges against Tom Durham until today. He retired from the group in May due to personal reasons, but did not elaborate at that time. We have no further comment at this time.”
“Like any other citizen, he stands innocent at this juncture,” said Durham’s attorney, Takura Nymfukudza. “I would just ask people not to jump to conclusions. The case will be tried inside the courtroom, not out here.”
Durham was ordered to be temporarily detained. A detention hearing is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 8, at 1 p.m.
Here is a statement from the pastor of Great Lakes Christian Church:
It is with a saddened heart that I address these circumstances surrounding the arrest of Tom Durham, our former choir director. The alleged incidents leading to his arrest are disturbing and an offense to the nature of Great Lakes Christian Church. Although none of the alleged incidents occurred on church property, they have inflicted great pain upon the Church and me personally as the pastor, spiritual leader and friend to the families directly impacted by this. The Church stands firmly behind the victim and will continue in prayer and consultation with the victim and her loved ones.
Statement from the Pastor