A former local church youth group leader, who is the subject of an eight-count indictment accusing him of engaging in sex with a 15-year-old girl, was booked into the Mahoning County Jail Friday night.

Mark Cuprik, 22, allegedly drove to Beaver Township Memorial Park with the girl last March.

According to police, Cuprik was a friend of the girl’s family, as well as a youth group leader at Victory Christian Center.

Police say a family member began chasing Cuprik’s car.  The chase involved high rates of speed and a disregard for traffic control devices, according to the report.

Cuprik eventually dropped the teen back off at the park and she was reunited with family members.

Investigators interviewed the girl’s family as well as members of the Akron Children’s Hospital Child Advocacy Center.

Interviews were also conducted with leaders from Victory Christian Center and other witnesses.

Following an investigation into social media accounts, the grand jury indicted Cuprik on charges of Sexual Battery, Unlawful Sexual Conduct With a Minor, Pandering Sexually Oriented Matter Involving a Minor,  Disseminating Matter Harmful to Juveniles, and Importuning.

According to the indictment Cuprik engaged in sexual conduct with the teen from late February through late March. His indictment also indicates that a second juvenile victim was discovered during the investigation.

Investigators say Cuprik also possessed material showing a minor engaging in sexual activity.

Victory Christian's Board of Directors released a statement regarding the allegations Friday afternoon. The statement reads as follows:

"Any abuse, especially that of a minor is abhorrent and should never be tolerated. We are incredibly grieved in regards to the allegations and indictments of of a former youth leader at our Boardman campus. Our Board of Directors are aware of the matter and cooperating with the appropriate authorities. The accused leader was removed immediately from any and all involvement with in the church when the allegations first surfaced under previous leadership of VCC in January of 2020."

"When current VCC leadership learned more details about the matter, a statement was read to the Boardman Campus providing transparency and condemning the actions of the former youth leader. VCC leadership also made extra efforts to stay in close touch with the victim's family, providing support and offering professional counseling to them, offering to pay for all such expenses."

"Given that this is now an ongoing investigation, it would be inappropriate for us to comment any further."

"We would welcome you to join us in prayer for all involved, especially the victims."

The incident report from the victim’s family is dated March of 2021, but the church’s statement indicates they were made aware of allegations in January 2020, more than a year earlier. 21 News has reached out to the church to clarify if they reported the alleged abuse to authorities back in January 2020, but have so far received no response.