Pues no quise traerlos pero ustedes insisten en salir con estos argumentos, pues allí les van, los que les prometí, más de 800 casos con nombres, Lugares y Fechas de Pastores protestantes pederastas.
WORCESTER, MA. A former pastor Andrew J. Bierkan, 54, at the First Congregational Church of Sutton who now heads a church in Ohio has been indicted here on charges of unnatural rape of a child and posing a child in a state of nudity. He is now pastor of St. Paul United Church of Christ in Cincinnati, according to Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte. (Worcester Telegram & Gazette, August 13, 2003)
Ex-Sutton pastor charged with rape of girl from church
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MINNEAPOLIS, MN-An organization calling itself SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) will file a lawsuit against an Episcopal priest who abused a California youngster years ago, and still serves in a parish today. David Clohessy, 46, a national director of SNAP told VIRTUOSITY that he could not name the priest pending the suit, but would release the name shortly. Clohessy did express one serious concern. "I fear that some 400 ex-Roman Catholic priests will surface in other denominations including the Episcopal Church." (Aug. 2, 2003)
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Eddie Thomas, pastor of St. Luke Baptist Church in Ringgold, LA., is arrested and charged with indecent behavior with a juvenile, aggravated incest and pornography involving a juvenile. (the Shreveport Times, July 17, 2003)
Police seize videotape alleged to show sex with child
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South Austrailia, AUS. A South Australian police task force into child sex abuse within the Anglican Church had identified 217 victims and 48 possible offenders, police said today. However the number of victims could rise to more than 400 as investigations continued, Police Commissioner Mal Hyde said. Mr Hyde today likened the scale of police investigations into child sex abuse to those for the infamous Snowtown bodies-in-the-barrels murders in 1999. (The Age, July 16 2003)
Major sex abuse uncovered in Anglican Church
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Vicar Rev Robin Everett of Castle Donnington, Leics, is convicted of indecently assaulting two young girls. (UK Telegraph, June 7, 2003)
Vicar faces prison for sex assaults
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Lake Wales, FL. The pastor at the Church of the Nazarene has been charged with sexually assaulting a male 17-year-old youth leader three times in 2001. The Rev. Gene Francis, 52, of Lake Wales, was arrested Tuesday and charged with unlawful sexual activity with a minor. (Sarasota Herald-Tribune, June 4, 2003)
Lake Wales minister arrested in sexual assault case
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Tuscon, AZ. The Rev. David Valencia, 47, assistant pastor of a Pentecostal church is expected in court Wednesday on rape charges issued by Pennsylvania authorities. In Pennsylvania, Valencia was an assistant pastor at Christ Church at Grove Farm, an interdenominational church that uses Anglican liturgy. The pastor of Christ Church, the Rev. John Guest, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Valencia was dismissed in late 2001 because he was found to have pornography on an office computer after he was warned about a similar incident months earlier. (Tucson Citizen, May 31, 2003)
Rev. David Valencia allegedly had sex with a 17-year-old girl he was counseling
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PORTLAND, OR. Church volunteer pleaded innocent to 26 counts of rape, sodomy and sex abuse. Derrick Mayberry was indicted by a grand jury on Tuesday and entered the plea on Wednesday. Mayberry, 23, was arrested May 15 on accusations of raping two teenage girls he met while volunteering at the New Beginnings Christian Center in northeast Portland. The victims were 13 and 15 years old. (KOIN TV, May 29, 2003)
Church Worker, Coach Enters Plea In Sex Abuse Case
Church volunteer, coach faces sex abuse charges
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Queensland, AUS. In the small town of Seymour, townspeople are shocked to learn that the late Anglican Fr. Sapsford molested dozens of alter boys while he was married with children, and after his serial molestation at another church was revealed in 1996. There are allegations by the parents of the victim boys that the Archbishop covered up the original allegations. The church is not compensating victims while they consult with legal counsel. Anglican Father Walliker says he is not shocked as he has seen this before in the Anglican Church. (ABC online, May 8, 2003)
Cover-up left paedophile to prey on Vic altar boys
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NEWARK, N.J. A convicted sex offender who was named pastor of a city church several weeks ago has been removed from the post. Shiloh Baptist Church leaders had hired the Rev. Chavalis T. Williams in mid-March, even though they knew he had pleaded guilty in Florida to charges of child abuse and using children in a sexual performance. (Newsday, May 7, 2003)
Convicted sex offender removed as pastor of Newark church
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Unidentified clergyman in Norway defends himself by accusing boys of pestering him to provide pornography to them and pulling their pants down for him. Criminal defendants in Norway are not identified by name. (Nordlys, April 30, 2003)
Clergyman says boredom led him to child porn
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An associate pastor of a San Fernando Valley chapel was sentenced to 32 months in prison on Tuesday for failing to register as a sex offender. Ilger, a former second-grade teacher, was convicted in 1988 of molesting four students in his San Luis Obispo classroom. After being released from jail, Ilger and his family moved to Los Angeles, where he took a position with Hope Chapel of the Valley in Canoga Park. "We've lived and learned a painful lesson," the Rev. Jeff Fischer of Hope Chapel said outside court. Fischer has said he and about 30 church elders knew that Ilger had molested young girls before he was hired.
Sentencing (Associated Press, April 3, 2003)
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Marty A. Hynes, 33, is charged with eight counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor, three counts of criminal sexual penetration of a minor and one count of attempted criminal sexual contact of a minor. Hynes was a youth pastor at the First Assembly of God church when the alleged incidents occurred, between July and December 2001. (Las Cruces Sun-News, March 24, 2003)
Trial of former youth pastor begins
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Milpitas, CA. A secretary to a LDS Bishop has admitted to sexually molesting four children, and will be sentenced to 14 years in prison. Craig Allen Harward, 54, pleaded guilty Monday to three counts of lewd and lascivious acts on children under the age of 14, and no contest to a fourth count of the same charge, Four of the case with the most convincing evidence involved four boys -- two of whom were 10, one 11 and another 13 years old at the time they were molested. (SAan Fransisco Chronicle, March 12, 2003)
Child molester pleads guilty
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Visalia, CA -- A 38-year-old Visalia man who was a leader in a local Jehovah's Witness congregation may face up to 16 years in prison on charges of sexually molesting a 12-year-old congregation member. Louis Anguiano served until last year as an elder at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses at 5310 Caldwell Ave. He is accused of continuous sexual abuse, over a two-year period, of a girl who attended the same congregation. (The Fresno Bee, January 30, 2003)
Visalian who was a Jehovah's Witness leader accused by girl, 12.
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Tinley Park, IL. For the second time in two weeks, a Baptist pastor from New Lenox has been charged with molesting a child — and prosecutors said they are looking for more victims. Dennis Larry Shaw, 53, of the 2100 block of Sanford Drive, New Lenox, was charged Monday with aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a 16-year-old girl, according to the Will County state's attorney's office. On Jan. 31, Shaw was arrested on similar charges after a parishioner's 12-year-old daughter alleged she was fondled by the pastor inside the church between October and December, prosecutors said. (Daily Southtown, February 11, 2003)
Minister again charged with molestation
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Dayton, OH. A Trotwood minister, whose lawyer said he has been a "sex addict" since age 10, sought treatment rather than face trial in a Brookville police-run Internet sting that presented a virtual 14-year-old boy in a chat room. But a Montgomery County judge denied his plea for treatment Tuesday. Turner’s attorney, Dwight Brannon, wrote "He had his first sexual experience with another male at the age of 19 while in college. Shortly after he began surfing the Web . . . his addiction slowly began to grow." Turner had been pastor of Anchor Community Church, 38 S. Fairgreen Drive, for seven years when he was arrested last summer. (Dayton Daily News, 01.29.2003)
Minister arrested in police-run Internet sting
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Lyons, NY. Former Lyons Minister Sentenced to 1 1/3 -3 years in State Prison. The retired minister of the Mount Zion Baptist Church in Lyons was sen-tenced to 1 1/3 to 3 years in state prisonon Tuesday (1/14). Grady O. KempSr., age 65, ofWadley, Georgia, pled guilty to a reduced crime of Course of Sexual Conduct Against a Child in the 2nd Degree-a Class D Felony on December 12, 2002, sparing the step-daughter from testifying. Kemp, when completing his prison term, must regis-ter as a sexual predator. He had been indicted by a Wayne County Grand Jury in July of last year, for one count of Sexual Mischief in the 1st Degree, 4 counts of Rape in the 2nd Degree, 2 counts of Rape in the 3rd Degree, 4 counts of Sex Abuse in the 2nd Degree, 2 counts of Sex Abuse in the 3rd Degree and one count of Sodomy in the 2nd Degree, involving a step daughter. Grady had been arrested on July 31, 2002. It is alleged that the sexual activity with a step daughter began when the girl was 9 years old and continued until she was 14. "He had sexual contact with the girl hundreds of times," said Wayne County District Attorney, Rick Healy. The incidents came to light when the girl, now 16 years old, began fidgeting and praying. The next day the girlbegan crying and screaming at a family gathering and said she could not hold it back any longer. The girl's mother and Kemp's former wife, Lynda Kemp, said she and her daughter now live in Panama City, Florida. According to Healy, Grady had served as pastor of the church for almost 20 years. "He just retired last year and moved to Georgia," said Healy. Grady still owned a house at 122 Ford Street in Newark, where the alleged crimes took place. (Times of Wayne County, Jan. 27, 2003)
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A Tulare County minister admitted to molestation charges on Monday. Sabala worked as a minister at the Four-Square Church in Dinuba. (ABC30.com, Jan 27, 2003)
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Fort Pierce, FL. Pastor Kenneth Johnson, recently convicted of having sex with a minor, and Friendship Missionary Baptist Church -- where he reportedly continues to minister -- were named in a sex-abuse lawsuit filed Tuesday. Johnson, 39, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday on one count of unlawful sexual activity with a minor. He faces up to 15 years on the second-degree felony. (The Tribune, January 22, 2003) .
Johnson to be sentenced Friday on 1 count of unlawful sexual activity with minor
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Riviera Beach, FL. A prominent minister, his church and deacon have reached a $600,000 settlement with a mentally disabled man who accused the minister of rape. The Rev. Thomas Masters, pastor of the New Macedonia Church of Riviera Beach, and Church Mutual, insurer for the church, negotiated the settlement with the man, according to his attorneys and court papers filed Monday. The man, who has the mental capacity of a 7-year-old, attended New Macedonia and accused Masters of coercing him to smoke crack cocaine and then raping him twice on church property over Thanksgiving weekend in 1991. (The Palm Beach Post, January 14, 2003)
West Palm Beach minister, church pay $600,000
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Athens, GA. Ralph Tulk, 63, was arrested Tuesday and charged with five counts of child molestation for allegedly inappropriately touching five children at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church over several years. He was superintendent of the Sunday school program when some of the alleged molestations took place and was treasurer of the church until last month, according to police and the church. Dickerson and many other residents of this Northeast Georgia city -- most of whom were willing to share their thoughts about the case but not be quoted -- said they worry about the church, but aren't yet convinced of the allegations. "This is America, and you are innocent until proven guilty," Dickerson said. (MSNBC.com, Jan. 11, 2003)
Town reacts to molestation charges
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New Bedford, MA. An Attleboro Jehovah's Witnesses minister, Ralph Heroux, 74, yesterday pleaded not guilty to charges of two counts of rape of a child and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. (The Standard Times, Jan. 2, 2003)
Minister charged with child rape
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PROVINCETOWN, RI. The pastor of an Episcopal church in Provincetown has resigned and left town after admitting he sexually molested a teenage boy more than 25 years ago while assigned to a Maryland parish, church officials said. On Thursday, a 48-year-old man told the Baltimore diocese that he was molested by Barasda, who was a priest in the victim's parish. The abuse allegedly started in 1966, when the victim was 14 years old, and continued for two years, Arnold said. (The Boston Globe, 12/25/2002)
Episcopal pastor admits molestation
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Long Island, NY. James Taylor, also known as Bishop J. Andre Taylor among his Provision of Promise Pentecostal Church congregation, was charged with second-degree sodomy and second-degree sexual abuse. (Newsday, December 24, 2002)
2 Pastors Charged With Abuse
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Bryan, TX. A pastor was arrested and released from jail Monday night after he was charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child. Ford was indicted earlier this month based on an allegation he had sexually assaulted a teenage boy who went on a trip with the pastor to the Texas Panhandle more than two years ago. Ford was pastor from the New Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Bryan where he had served for 17 years. (Bryan-College Station Eagle, Dec. 24, 2002)
pastor accused of assaulting Bryan boy arrested
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Long Island, NY. Assistant pastor Rasta Wright, a church elder at Provision of Promise Pentecostal Church, was arrested for allegedly sexually abusing a 14 yeard old homeless child. Wright, 25, in Central Islip, was charged with second-degree sodomy. (Newsday, December 24, 2002)
2 Pastors Charged With Abuse
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SUMTER, S.C. - A former youth pastor here has been charged with forcing a 12-year-old girl to perform oral sex in a hospital bathroom, police say. Troy Glenn Clark, 34, of Lexington, N.C., has been charged with criminal sexual conduct with a minor. (The State, Dec. 12, 2002)
Youth pastor charged with criminal sexual conduct with a minor
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TEMECULA, CA. Six years ago, Becky J.'s life revolved around Temecula Valley Baptist Church. She worshipped there, went to school there, and even worked after hours two days a week at the school to earn pocket money. That's where she met 40-year-old Pastor Kerry Clyde Martin. But at 14, Becky didn't understand the concept of street smarts, she said. She didn't know when the man befriended her what the future held. "He listened to my problems and would tell me how right I was if I had a fight with my parents," she said. "I always thought he meant it in a pastor way, or like a father." Little did Becky know that as a cleric at two previous churches -- one in Maryland and one in Orange County -- Martin had already been accused of sexually molesting at least three other girls, all 14. Little did she know the friendly, charismatic minister was taking the first steps that would culminate in his repeatedly raping the girl over the next two years. (The Californian, Dec. 8, 2002)
Child sex abuse reaches far beyond Catholic Church, experts say.
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Idaho Falls, ID. An area pastor is charged with inappropriately touching a teenage boy. Idaho Falls police charged a long-time religious leader with five counts of lewd conduct with a minor. 46-year-old Steven Michael Sheridan, the former pastor of St. Paul's United Methodist Church has been arrested-- this after police recorded two recent phone conversations between the victim and Sheridan. Sheridan was the pastor of St. Paul's United Methodist Church five years ago when the alleged crimes occurred. Since then, he's been pastor of another church. The victim who was 13 at the time, and is now 18, said Sheridan was like a mentor. They took trips together, and during those trips, Sheridan touched him sexually. One time, the pastor allegedly touched the boys genitals saying he was checking for cancer. (KPVI, Dec. 6, 2002)
AREA PASTOR CHARGED WITH INAPPROPRIATELY TOUCHING A TEENAGE BOY
Former Pastor Sex Abuse Case Moves Forward
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Conviction of Anthony Shafer, pastor of a non-denominational church, for statutory rape of eleven-year-old is upheld. (COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO, EIGHTH DISTRICT, Dec. 5, 2002)
Court Opinion
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MOUNT KISCO, NY. Parishioners at the Presbyterian Church of Mount Kisco yesterday were coming to grips with revelations that their former pastor was charged by the presbytery with sexually abusing eight boys. The eight charges, unveiled at the presbytery's regional meeting at Webb Horton Memorial Presbyterian Church in Middletown, outline abuse of boys under 18. Among the allegations are that Miller invited a child into the shower with him, that he had oral sex with a minor on numerous occasions over two years and that he made inappropriate sexual remarks and propositions. (THE JOURNAL NEWS, December 5, 2002)
Mount Kisco parishioners react to abuse charges
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CHELSEA, VT. Pastor faces trial or stiffer sentence for child molestation. A judge on Tuesday denied a plea agreement for a former Newbury pastor accused of child molestation. The decision means Rev. Joseph A. Rinaldi may go to trial or receive a stiffer sentence on charges of molesting children while he was pastor of the Newbury Bible Church and principal of the Newbury Christian School between 1993 and 1998. ``The crimes you committed are heinous crimes,'' said Vermont District Court Judge Amy Davenport. ``They are crimes that have left long lasting scars on their victims. And it is because of that, in the court's view, the court cannot accept the plea agreement.'' Rinaldi had pleaded guilty to five counts of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child in exchange for a prison sentence of two years. He admitted fondling three boys in his care. (The Associated Press, December 03, 2002)
http://www.caledonianrecord.com/pages/top_news/story/beec6c67c
Newbury Pastor Pleads Innocent To Molestation
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Terry Eads, a church youth pastor of Evergreen Alliance Church, was sentenced to prison for raping a 4-year-old boy; and another church pastor, Eads, 18, hung his head through the sentencing hearing before District Judge Stewart Stadler as his 6-year-old victim's parents testified about the damage Eads wreaked. Said the boy's father, Eads "raped my son with me in the house. He raped my son in our church" probably 40 times, the tearful father said. "He should go to prison for a minimum of 15 years." The abuse lasted for two years, from 2000-02 when Eads was 15-17 years old and the boy was 4-6. (Nov. 22, 2002, Daily Interlake)
pastor in court on sex crimes
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Garry Toavs, 58, pleaded guilty to molesting a girl, in separate court hearings Thursday. Toavs, pastor of Evergreen Alliance Church, was originally charged with sexual offenses with two girls, ages 12 and 5. In exchange for his guilty plea, one of the charges was dropped. (Nov. 22, 2002, Daily Interlake)
pastor in court on sex crimes
His church asks for prayers for Toavs in prison
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A Clermont County youth minister has been sentenced to jail for sexually abusing teenage boys who were under his supervision during the year 2000. Anthony Waters, 35, of Williamsburg will spend six months in the Clermont County jail and will spend three more years under probation, supervised by Judge William Walker. (WCPO TC, Nov. 19, 2002)
Youth Minister Sentenced To Jail For Abusing Young Boys
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South Kingstown, New Zealand. 53-year-old Bruce C. DiMaria,the pastor of the Church of the Nazarene in Wakefield who also served as a teaching assistant in the South Kingstown School District's Farm School for learning-disabled students was arrested Friday by North Kingstown police and charged with three counts of second-degree sexual assault for alleged incidents involving a 17-year-old female student who has autism and cerebral palsy. (NKStandard Times, Nov. 17, 2002)
Youth Paster charged
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Denver, CO. Denver police arrested a 26-year-old youth minister with St. John's Church of God in Christ after a 15-year-old member accused him of sexual assault.(November 15, 2002, Rocky Moutain News)
Youth Paster arrested
News Report
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ANDERSON, S.C. Youth Minister William Bell of Mount Tabor Baptist Church pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor 2nd degree, four counts of lewd acts upon a child under sixteen and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. An investigation revealed two male victims, the youngest was 10 years old. (WASV TC, Nov. 14, 2002)
Youth Minister Pleads Guilty To Sexual Conduct With Minors
Man Had Illegal Contact With Boys At Anderson Church
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Tulsa, OK. Son Minh Rockstroh, 48, was arrested Saturday on three counts of rape by instrumentation and one count of lewd molestation of a child. He was jailed about 2 a.m. Saturday and is being held in lieu of $200,000 bail. The allegations have no apparent link to his work as a schoolteacher but to his leadership of a small religious group called Church Life, Tulsa police said. The victim and her mother met Rockstroh through Church Life, whose members meet in each others' homes, Detective Chuck Haywood said. "There is not a pastor of the church, but everyone considered him to be the guy in charge," Haywood said of Rockstroh. During an interview with police, Rockstroh admitted that he had molested the girl on three occasions, jail records show. (Tulsa World, 11/12/2002)
Church Leader Arrested
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Tagbilaran, Philipines. A HIGH school sophomore has formally accused a pastor of sexually molesting him repeatedly since July 6 this year. The 16-year-old boy, a native of Jagoliao island,Getafe town identified the suspect only as one Pastor Jun de Jesus of the New Tribes Mission in Tagbilaran City. (The Bohol Times, November 11 - 17, 2002)
Teener accuses pastor of sexual molestation
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LINCOLN, NE. Three lawsuits have been filed against a Lutheran church school for alleged sexual abuse by former officials, including a minister who served as principal. The lawsuits against St. John Lutheran Church in Seward seek millions of dollars for the alleged abuse. The Lincoln Journal Star reported in Saturday's editions that two lawsuits were filed in Lancaster County District Court on Friday by unnamed plaintiffs who alleged they were abused by longtime principal David Mannigel. Mannigel, a Lutheran minister, apparently killed himself last year. (ABC News, November 2, 2002)
Lutheran Church sued over abuse by Pastor Mannigel
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LINCOLN, NE— Three lawsuits have been filed against a Lutheran church school for alleged sexual abuse by former officials, including a minister who served as principal. The lawsuits against St. John Lutheran Church in Seward seek millions of dollars for the alleged abuse. The other lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Lincoln on Wednesday by T. Mark Kraft, a Colorado man, for claims of abuse by retired teacher Arlen Meyer. That lawsuit seeks $1 million. (ABC News, November 2, 2002)
Lutheran Church sued over abuse by Pastor Meyer
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DETROIT, MI. A minister at an east side Detroit church admitted Friday that he had sex with a 15-year-old girl, leading to her pregnancy. Prosecutors accused Delton Benson of having sex with the unnamed girl in August 2000. A warrant was issued for his arrest last March charging the 32-year-old minister at Straight Street Baptist Church with two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct. (sexcriminals.com, Nov. 1, 2002)
Minister arrested
Detroit Pastor Has Dropped Out Of Sight
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First Baptist is a congregation that reveres its pastor. And so a dozen church elders decided unanimously that pastor Rev. Lawrence French, who says he is innocent, should remain as pastor. Convinced that the 72-year-old pastor could not have committed the alleged offenses, they also concluded that it would be unfair to French to notify other members of the church about the allegations. (The Boston Globe, November 1, 2002)
Paster Convicted by Synod, but Congregation doesn't believe Pastor is guilty
Congration wants Paster to Remain
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OLNEY, Ill. If things had gone as planned, 35-year-old Leslie Mason would have preached the keynote sermon at this year's annual meeting of the Illinois Baptist State Association Nov. 7. Instead the former pastor of Olney Southern Baptist Church faces 10 counts of criminal sexual assault involving two teenage girls who attended his southeastern Illinois congregation. (October 24, 2002, ABP)
Baptist Pastor charged with criminal sexual assault of two teenagers
http://www.baptiststoday.org/btns11_8b.html
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Incriminating statements by a Bible instructor charged this spring with molesting two boys raise the prospect that he had other victims, a Salinas police sergeant said Friday. Rev. Wesley Craig Parnell, 41, was arrested June 14 at his townhouse on the 1800 block of Cherokee Drive on suspicion of molesting an 8-year-old boy. Parnell was charged a month later with molesting a 15-year-old boy three years ago. The victim is now 18. (The Californian, October 26, 2002)
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Lawrenceville, GA. A Brookwood High School junior says her youth minister touched her sexually two years ago when she was 14. He insists he didn't. Now a Gwinnett County jury must decide whether Shannon Rhodes, 33, is guilty of child molestation while he worked as youth minister at Sunrise Baptist Church in Lawrenceville. The girl detailed her relationship with Rhodes during more than two hours on the witness stand Tuesday. She said there were three separate incidents during which he exposed himself to her, tried to French kiss her and placed her hand to fondle him. (The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 10-23-2002)
Grand jury hears molestation case against ex-youth minister
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Austin, TX. A former youth minister faces up to 20 years in prison after he was convicted of nine counts of child sexual abuse. Charles Richard Willits, Jr., 44, a former youth minister at Great Hills Baptist Church, was convicted Saturday. Sentencing was scheduled for Monday. (October 18, 2002; Abilene Reporter-News)
Youth Paster Convicted in Criminal Court
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DENVER -- A former Denver school teacher and Episcopal priest accused of sexually assaulting at least two boys in his Denver home was sentenced Thursday morning to 24 years in prison. Donald Shissler, 68, pleaded guilty to the charges in August as part of a plea bargain. He was originally charged with two counts of sexual assault on a child, two counts of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust, one count of sexual assault on a child -- pattern of abuse, and one count of sexual exploitation of children. Based upon evidence found in his home earlier this summer, there may be as many as 20 additional victims, detectives said. Police said they seized hundreds of pornographic pictures and videos from Shissler's house when he was arrested. Rappaport concluded in her sentencing remarks that Shissler is a sexual predator who clearly committed crimes against young boys for almost 18 years, including sexually assaulting a boy he adopted. Prosecutor Kerri Lombari called Shissler's case "the most disturbing case I have ever worked as a prosecutor." (October 17, 2002)
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Fresno, CA. A southwest Fresno pastor has been arrested on suspicion he had a four-year sexual relationship with a teenage boy nearly 20 years ago, Fresno police confirmed Monday. Calvin Eugene Moore, 45, a pastor at King Solomon Baptist Church, was arrested for an alleged sexual relationship he had with the boy, police said. Moore remains in the Fresno County Jail in lieu of $550,000 bail. (The Fresno Bee; October 16, 2002)
Paster Arrested
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MANHATTAN, KS. -- A judge ruled Thursday that a man who was allegedly molested years ago by a Manhattan minister will be allowed to testify at the minister's trial, where he will face charges that he molested a teen-age boy.
Brian N. Savage, of Manhattan, was bound over for trial in July. He faces two counts of aggravated criminal sodomy, two counts of criminal sodomy, two counts of aggravated indecent solicitation of a child and one count of aggravated indecent liberties with a child.
According to court records, Savage, 44, met the then-13-year-old victim at the Seventh Day Adventist church in Manhattan where Savage was a pastor and the victim attended. Savage took on a fatherly role, according to court documents. After a relationship developed, Savage began engaging in sexual acts with the boy, the records say. In at least one instance, Savage gave the boy $100 for oral sex. Some of the molestation took place at the church. (The Topeka Capital journal, Oct. 12, 2002
Molest: Manhattan minister to stand trial for allegedly molesting teen boy from his church
http://cjonline.com/stories/101201/kan_pastaccuser.shtml
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Philadelphia, PA. In the late 80s, Harbaugh attended St. Paul's United Church of Christ in Fleetwood, Berks County. Harbaugh was 15 years old when she attracted the attention of the youth minister, Valerie Stoop, who was 27 at the time. Harbaugh says Stoops' alleged abuse began with holding hands, progressed to kissing and then fondling. (WPVI Philadelphia, Oct 4, 2002)
Accused Minister hired by another Church
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TISHOMINGO, OK. Kentucky pastor accused of raping a 12-year-old Oklahoma girl has surrendered to Johnston County officials. The Rev. Chadwick L. Keathley, associate pastor of Ark of Mercy Church of God in Winchester, Ky., responded Tuesday to an arrest warrant issued Aug. 26. Prosecutors charged Keathley, 27, with lewd molestation, first-degree rape and rape by instrumentation. He was released after posting a $25,000 cash bond and an Oct. 22 preliminary hearing was scheduled. The alleged incident occurred during summer 2000 at a Church of God gathering at Camp Bond Youth Camp near Tishomingo. (The Winchester Sun, Sept. 2002)
Pastor surrenders to Oklahoma officials
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MUSKOGEE, OK. A part-time minister for two United Methodist churches was charged Thursday on accusations that he raped a teenage girl while the two were on their way to church functions. Woodroe Wilson admitted to fathering the girl's 8-month-old child, authorities said. (Tulsa World, 08/16/2002)
Minister charged with rape of teen
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Cape Coral, Florida. The FBI has issued an arrest warrant for a former minister and radio evangelist after seizing child pornography, weapons and other items from his home, records show. Troy Cecil Snowden, 59, was indicted last week by a federal grand jury on charges of possessing child pornography, wire fraud, transporting a child for illegal purposes and possession of a shotgun. (August 11, 2002), AP.
Evangelist on child abuse charges
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HENRYETTA, OK. -- A former Dewar First Baptist Church music director worked briefly at another Baptist church before his arrest on sexual battery complaints last week. Aaron M. McDonald, 23, was hired in June at the Calvary Baptist Church in Sulphur, said the Rev. Brent Parsons. Asked if the hiring came after June 11, Parsons said, "Yes." McDonald is accused of touching the genitals of a 15-year-old boy who, with another friend, was staying the night at McDonald's mobile home in Henryetta on June 11, according to an affidavit for McDonald's arrest. (Tulsa World, 08/03/2002)
Accused Dewar minister had been hired in Sulphur
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Walker County, AL. John Anderson, a Carbon Hill First Baptist preacher charged with three counts of first-degree sexual abuse of juveniles under the age of 12, pleaded guilty to all charges in a Walker County court. Earlier the same day Anderson also entered a "best interest" guilty plea in another court on charges stemming from that area. During his tenure as a minister, he had also reportedly been a pulpit preacher at Southside Baptist in Russellville, Natural Bridge Baptist, West Blocton Baptist, Hartselle Baptist and other churches in Mississippi. (Daily Mountain Eagle, Aug. 2, 2002)
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COLUMBUS, GA. An associate pastor in Columbus has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of child molestation and one count of aggravated child molestation. Michael Krug, an associate pastor at Calvary Baptist, pleaded guilty to the charges at the Muscogee Superior Court. (The Augusta Chronicle, July 28, 2002).
Minister gets 10 years for child molestation
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Milwaukee, WI. Youth minister Kurt Danskin for the United Methodist Church of Whitefish Bay pleaded no contest Thursday to a charge that he exposed himself to a 17-year-old boy who spent the night with him at his congregation-owned home last August. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 25, 2002)
Youth Minister pleads not guilty
Listing of Danskin at former church
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Jackson, MS. Curtis Hudson, associate pastor for youth at First United Methodist Church, Hudson is indicted for one count of rape of a child, three counts of rape and seven counts of sexual battery by an authority figure. He is accused of raping and having sexual contact with a preteen and two teenage boys from May 2000 to June 2001. (the Oak Ridger, July 16, 2002)
youth minister remains in jail
Former youth pastor turns self in on sex abuse charges
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Butler County, PA. A pastor faces charges for allegedly aiding and abetting a parishioner accused of sexually assaulting a 5-year-old Allegheny Township girl. Jeffery F. Cox, pastor of the Fellowship Baptist Church in Allegheny Township, obtained airline tickets for accused molester Jeremy James Whitmire, and helped Whitmire enroll in a home for troubled young men in Texas, court documents said. (Butler Eagle, 07/16/02)
Pastor charged with aiding abuser
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Sacremento, CA. A 48-year-old man was convicted Wednesday in Sacramento Superior Court of bigamy, spousal abuse and molesting a daughter of one of three women he was living with.The prosecution said that Gonzalez told people he was a bishop with the Mormon Church and was later excommunicated when the church learned of his multiple wives, but that was never substantiated. He later formed his own church, calling it Jesus Christ of the United World Order, Cochrane said. (Sacramento Bee, July 11, 2002)
Man guilty of bigamy, molestation, spouse abuse
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Baton Rouge, LA. A Baton Rouge minister is of jail on a $15,000 bond Wednesday following his arrest on molestation charges. Danny W. Johnson, Jr. was a youth pastor at an unknown church here in Baton Rouge where he molested a juvenile girl from 1997 to 1999, according to police. (July 9, 2002, WBRZ)
Minisiter arrested on molestation charges
WBRZ report
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Salt Lake City, UT. A child sexual abuse victim filed suit against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Monday, accusing Mormon leaders of providing a safe harbor for the pedophile who abused him. The plaintiff, identified only as A. Doe, claims defendant Mitchell Blake Young abused him between 1987 and 1992, when he was 6 to 12 years old. Young was convicted in 1993 of sexually abusing the boy and is serving a term of up to 15 years in Utah State Prison for the crime. Filed late Monday in 3rd District Court, the suit names Young and his father, Gordon Young. (THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, July 2, 2002)
Victim Sues LDS Church, Sex Abuser
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LDS Bishop Luis Gonzales has been charged with 20 counts of child molestation, battery, rape, bigamy, stalking, and fraud. The victim, alias Tammy Doe alleges, "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has been fully aware of this man 's illegal activities since 1998 and failed to do anything until the child molestation became public." The trial is being held in the Sacramento County Court House, Department 26 located on H Street. Nancy Cachrane is the Deputy District Attorney for Sacramento County, and is prosecuting this case against Luis Gonzales. (Tapestry Against Polygamy, July 2002)
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RALEIGH, N.C. A Southern Baptist missionary who was fired for abusing children in Indonesia is working at a Raleigh church where the minister knew of his past. (June 28, 2002; AP)
Molester Paster Knowingly Hired by another Church
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NEW PORT RICHEY, FL -- The mother of a 5-year-old girl has filed a lawsuit against the Gospel Outreach Church of New Port Richey, alleging that her daughter was molested because church officials failed to screen the background of a church volunteer. Alfonso Morales, 54, pleaded guilty last month to molesting the girl on a church bus in May 2001. He also pleaded guilty to molesting a second 5-year-old girl in the church parking lot in November 2000. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Morales was previously convicted in New York of sexual battery on a child. He was released from prison in 1992 after serving five years. (June 25, 2002, St. Petersburg Times)
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Lake Wales, FL. William Benjamin Wells, 36, pastor of Christian Harvest Ministries, was arrested on June 6 and charged with two counts of molestation on a victim less than 12 years old, two counts of sexual assault on a victim under 18 years of age, and one count of sexual battery on a victim under 12 years old. (June 20, 2002; Lake Wales News)
Paster Wells arrested
News Report
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Gastonia, SC. GASTONIA - A local youth minister has been charged with three counts of taking indecent liberties with a minor, police said Thursday. Marty Eugene Meadows, 34, worked as a minister at the Sunset Lane Baptist Church in Bessemer City, police said. Meadows appeared before a magistrate and a judge Wednesday, and was released after posting a $3,000 bond. "There are multiple victims," said Capt. Tony Robinson, a spokesman with the Gaston County Police. "He was touching them in an inappropriate manner." (June, 14, 2002, The Charlotte Observer)
Youth minister faces sex charges
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/states/north_carolina/counties/gaston/3466742.htm
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Kansas City, KS. Reginald G. Robinson, 24, a resident of Kansas City, was charged by the Jackson County Prosecutor on Monday, May 20, with one count of statutory rape, three counts of statutory sodomy and one count of child molestation.According to the police report, most of the incidents of molestation occurred in the basement of the Beth Judah Ministries Church of God In Christ. (The Call, June 14, 2002)
Church Youth Leader Charged In Molestation Of 13 Year Old
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Baton Rouge, LA. A Baker minister accused of molesting four children is being sought after failing to surrender to East Baton Rouge sheriff's officials Thursday. Benny McFarland, 41, 9240 Pettit Road, Baker, may be "holed up," Sheriff's Col. Mike Barnett said. "He's very aware of the indictment," Barnett said. "We'd like to get him in custody." The indictment accuses McFarland of performing sex acts with four children from 1990 through 1998. The children ranged in age from 8 to 16. Prosecutor Kim Brooks said McFarland initially met the children while working as a minister at Hightime Evangelistic Center in Baker. He was arrested in 2000 after he was accused of improperly touching a boy in his church office between 1993 and 1999. (The Baton Rouge Advocate News, 06/14/02)
Minister sought on child-sex counts
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Gastonia, SC. On Wednesday, Lincoln County pastor Dewey "Eddie" White was found guilty in district court of propositioning a 15-year-old girl, prosecutors said. The charge was soliciting to commit a crime against nature, said Kay Killian, a Lincoln County prosecutor.(June, 14, 2002, The Charlotte Observer)
Pastor of Heavenly View Full Gospel Baptist Church
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/states/north_carolina/counties/gaston/3466742.htm
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Waco, TX. A central Texas pastor faces jail time, after admitting to molesting a ten year old boy. John William Hayden was pastor of a church near Waco. Yesterday, he struck a deal, pleading guilty to two counts of indecency with a child. (KFDX, June 4, 2002)
PASTOR ADMITS TO MOLESTATION
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Dekalb, GA. A DeKalb County judge sentenced Pastor Troy Brown of the Greater Anointed Tabernacle Worship Center to 70 years in prison on 25 counts of child molestation. Prosecutors say Brown abused a 15-year-old boy who attended his church. (May 30, 2002, WSB-TV)
Troy Brown sentenced to 70 years
DeKalb minister remains defiant after 70-year sentence in molestation case
Troy Brown sentenced on 25 counts DeKalb minister remains defiant
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ST. PETERSBURG, FL. A recently retired Lutheran pastor may no longer minister in any capacity in the wake of allegations of inappropriate behavior with female parishioners, his bishop said. About the same time the Rev. Bruce Wilder left his 400-member congregation in March, multiple female church members came forward with accusations, said Bishop Edward R. Benoway of the Florida-Bahamas Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. An allegation concerning a girl was passed on the to St. Petersburg Police Department which is investigating, Benoway said Friday. (Naples Daily News, May 26, 2002)
Retired Lutheran pastor accused of inappropriate behavior
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Columbus, GA. After four days of testimony and lawyers' arguments, the child molestation case against the Rev. Wilmer D. Williams will remain without a verdict through the Memorial Day weekend, Muscogee Superior Court Judge Robert Johnston decided Friday. (May 25, 2002, Columbus Ledger-Enquirer)
Report in Cincinnatti Enquirer
Minister on trial
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Arraignment for The Rev. Gary Carsonhull, a Methodist minister charged with 18 felony counts of child molestation, will be at 1:30 p.m. today in Long Beach Dept. D, the District Attorney’s office announced. The 57-year-old minister is charged in case No. NA052740. (Long Beach, CA. May 24, 2002)
Methodist Minister Charged with criminal child molestation
Methodist Minister Charged with 18 counts
Long Beach Report
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COURT OF APPEALS MORROW COUNTY, OHIO upheld district court conviction of youth minister Timothy L. Cook of Mt. Gilead Church of Christ as a "sexual predator." (Court opinion, May 16, 2002)
Court Opinion
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England. Brother Stair Arrested: Criminal Sexual Conduct & Breech Of Trust. Mr. Stair's wife Teresa claims "Brother" Stair admits to having sex with several "women" at the community. The claims and charges revolve around the fact that the women in question were underage, which means they were under the age of eighteen when Ralph Stair allegedly had sex with them. "Brother" Stair is sixty-nine. (May 16, 2002 )
Youth Paster charged
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Eatonton, GA. The child molestation case against Nuwaubian leader escalated Monday in state and federal court. In Eatonton, a Putnam County grand jury issued a 116-count indictment of the 56-year-old leader of the United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors (The Atlanta Journal and Constitution 05-14-2002)
Cult Leader Ignored His Own Rules
FBI: Kids from 4 to 18 abused in sect
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LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (AP) -- A woman said she and her husband have been excommunicated from the Jehovah's Witnesses after speaking out against the church's handling of their daughter's allegations of sex abuse by another member. (May 11, 2002, AP)
Jehovah's Witnesses expel parents of alleged abuse victim
http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/05/11/jehovahs.witnesses.ap/index.html
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Portland, OR. A 77-year old practicing minister at New Jeruselum Pentacostal Church in Cornelius, is charged with sodomizing and sexually abusing young members of his congregation in 2001 in the Gaston area. (KGW TV, May 9, 2002)
Local Minister Arrested for Sex Abuse
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RAPID CITY, SD. The Rev. James A. Forsythe, a Protestant minister in South Dakota, has not registered as a sex offender as required by law. Forsythe, 47, pleaded guilty in 1989 to attempted indecent liberties with a child. A Johnson County district judge said Forsythe was a pedophile and ordered him to have no contact with teen-age boys - a restriction the judge later lifted. SForsythe, who told The Kansas City Star on Friday that he did not know he needed to register in South Dakota, pleaded guilty Dec. 8, 1989, to attempting indecent liberties with a child. Since January 2000, Forsythe has been minister of the Metropolitan Community Church of the Black Hills in Rapid City, S.D. The church is part of a growing denomination that serves predominantly gay and lesbian worshippers. Forsythe said he had never told the whole congregation of his past. (5/5/2002, AP)
Protestant Minister unregistered as sex offender in South Dakota
Protestant Minister unregistered as sex offender in South Dakota
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LAKESTATION, Ind.- William A. Beith, 28, was charged Thursday with coercing and enticing a minor into sexual acts and transporting a minor across state lines for sexual purposes in connection with the disappearance of Gabrielle Grace Marshall. (May 4, 2002; The Associated Press)
FBI searching for a former Baptist school principal who sexually abused an 11-year-old girl.
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/principal010504.html
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Syracuse, NY. David Gardiner, the Pastor of Liverpool Baptist Church, was arraigned on sexual abuse charges on Wednesday. Gardiner, 43, eluded a police swat team and dozens of sheriff’s deputies for more than eight hours from around 5:00 pm Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. Sheriff Kevin Walsh says Gardiner is accused of having sexual contact with a girl who is under age 11. Court documents show the allegations do not involve anyone outside the Gardiner home. According to Sheriff Walsh, the investigation began when Gardiner’s wife Deborah contacted his department. Gardiner also taught Bible study and economics classes at the Baldwinsville Christian Academy; he has been fired from the job in the wake of the sex abuse allegations. (May 1, 2002, WTVH news)
Minister flees law after sex abuse charges
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/news/0501story115953_news.shtml
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A Christian pastor in Indonesia was sentenced to four years imprisonment for sexually abusing seven refugee children under his care, officials said Tuesday. Saderah Sudiro, a Protestant clergyman with the Foundation For the Village Bible Society, was found guilty Monday of molesting refugee children ages 14 and 15 in his house in Solo in Central Java, said prosecutor Ika Ria Wati. "For more than a year he abused the minors who sought refuge in his foundation," said Wati. (Associated Press, April 30, 2002)
pastor gets four years for molesting refugee children
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JACKSONVILLE, FL. A businessman and deacon of First Baptist Church already accused of molesting a minor was arrested Thursday on charges he molested two other youths. Stephen Lee Edmonds, 44, was charged with five counts of lewd and lascivious assault, said David Sembach, Jacksonville police assistant chief of detectives. The victims were 14 and 15 years old, authorities said. He had been free on $50,000 bond following an arrest April 15, when he was charged with molesting a 16-year-old and sending him Internet messages discussing sexual practices. The 16-year-old alleged that Edmonds improperly touched him twice in 2000. (Naples Daily News, April 26, 2002)
Former Jacksonville deacon facing multiple molestation charges
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Encinitas, CA. Michael Skoor, 55, and a former pastor at Calvary Lutheran Church in Solana Beach, is accused of molesting the boy and his younger brother, both of whom are elementary school age. He has pleaded not guilty to 30 counts, including committing a lewd act on a child, showing pornography to a minor and burglary. He remains jailed on $2 million bail pending a July 8 trial date. Skoor faces a possible 40 years to life sentence in prison if convicted on all counts. (04/23/2002, The North County Times)
Former pastor to stand trial on molest charges
(
http://www.nctimes.net/news/2002/20020124/52517.html)
Former Paster jailed for committing a lewd act on a child
(
http://www.nctimes.net/news/2002/20020423/52547.html)
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RIVERSIDE, NY. Ernest Lorch, the director of the Riverside Church youth basketball program, has voluntarily stepped down after the reports of child sexual abuse, the church announced Tuesday. (April 20, 2002), AP.
Report: Sex Scandal Brewing at Riverside Church
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Anaheim, CA. Anaheim pastor admitted Monday he fondled two teen-age girls 18 years ago while working as a part-time counselor at a Colorado church a decade before he was assigned to an Orange County church. "I was acting like an irresponsible teen-ager. There's no excuse for what I did," the Rev. Greg Tucker of Anaheim First Church of the Nazarene told The Orange County Register. The church settled lawsuits by two women, who said Tucker, then 22, molested them when they were 16. A Colorado jury sided with the women in a civil trial, ordering Tucker to pay the two $70,000. Tucker said he never told church leaders about the indiscretions before his ordination in Southern California seven years ago. In Colorado, sexual relations with a teen-ager were not considered criminal then, which led the women to sue for civil damages. The former youth pastor is now a senior pastor in a Nazarene Church in Anaheim, CA. The Nazarene General Superintendent's remarks about the case were very telling, i.e. "This happened a long time ago. . .the man has 'grown' since then. . . isn't the Christian faith all about forgiveness. . ."(North County Times, April 17, 2002)
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Payne County, OK. Former youth minister of River of Life Church, Rex Jason Sumner, pleaded guilty in Payne County District Court on Friday to four counts of oral sodomy, four counts of lewd molestation, one count of second-degree rape and one count of indecent proposal to a child. (April 16, 2002, The Daily O'Collegian, Oklahoma Sstate Univ.)
Former Youth Minister pleads Guilty
Ex-youth leader admits abuse
Sumner please guilty
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A former Burlington pastor charged with sex crimes has left his Danville, Va., church after reportedly admitting to deacons there that he acted inappropriately with a child. Many members of the Danville church pastored by the Rev. James Preston Tyndall were shocked Sunday to learn that he had been charged with six felony sex crimes Thursday and had resigned Friday evening. “I would say our people were shocked. But some of them had heard about his arrest on TV prior to the Sunday service,” Bruce Hutcheson, chairman of the deacon board at Stokesland Baptist Church, said Monday of Tyndall’s departure. Hutcheson and other deacons who met with Tyndall after his release from the Alamance County Jail have said that he admitted to them that he engaged in inappropriate conduct with the child. Burlington authorities said the girl, now 14, was 8 and 9 years old when the alleged offenses occurred in Burlington. (4/10/2002, Alamance County Times-News)
Pastor’s arrest shocks church
http://www.thetimesnews.com/2000/00-04/00-04-11/news-1.html
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Newbury, NH. Joseph A. "Pastor Joe" Rinaldi, 60, is charged with five counts of lewd/lascivious conduct with a child. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted. The charges cover a time period from 1993 to 1998 and involve three boys whose ages ranged from 10 to 15 at the time of the alleged abuse. An affidavit refers to other alleged victims, one as old as 19. Rinaldi met the boys through the Newbury Bible Church, where he was pastor, and/or the Newbury Christian School, where he was principal. (The Caledonian-Record News, April 9, 2002)
Newbury Pastor Pleads Innocent To Molestation
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WEBSTER COUNTY, IL. Investigators with the Sheriff’s Department are searching for a Baptist minister charged with five counts of statutory rape. Officials say the Rev. Steven Rear, 40, pastor of Westport Baptist Church in Springfield, has been on the run since the charges were filed against him on Monday. Rear is charged with raping a girl under 14 years old. According to court documents, the abuse allegedly occurred throughout the 1990s. The victim, now 20, said Rear had sexual intercourse with her “about every other day” when she was between the ages of 13 and 16. Members of Westport Baptist, where Rear has preached for the past 10 years, refuse to believe the charges. “The church is behind our pastor all the way,” said deacon Billy Elliott of the 75-member congregation. (The Springfield News-Leader, March 21, 2002)
Pastor of Springfield’s Westport Baptist Church accused of sex with girl under age 14.
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MARSHALL. TX. (AP) - A civil lawsuit claims a former Lutheran minister molested eight boys over several years and that his actions should have been halted by church leaders. The lawsuit, filed Feb. 12 in state district court, names former Evangelical Lutheran minister Gerald Patrick Thomas Jr., the Chicago-based Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and several other church-related organizations as defendants. Thomas, who resigned from the denomination's clergy roster about a year ago, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. A spokesman for the ELCA said the church will present its case in court, not in the media. (AP, March 20, 2002)
Lutheran church officials, ex-pastor named in suit (
http://www.amarillonet.com/stories/032002/tex_insuit.shtml)
Abuse by Clergy Is Not Just a Catholic Problem (
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/13/national/13LUTH.html)
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SPRINGFIELD, TN. A former youth minister was sentenced to eight years in prison yesterday after he pleaded no contest to charges that he raped one of his congregation's 13-year-old boys. Before his arrest, Spain had worked two years as a youth pastor at the First Assembly of God Church. (Tennessean.com, March 2, 2002)
Former youth minister sentenced in boy's rape
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NEW ORLEANS, LA (CHARISMA) -- The music minister at a large New Orleans church has been charged with intentionally exposing a teen-age boy to the AIDS virus. Phillip Britton--music minister at Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church, led by Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship founder Bishop Paul Morton--denied the charge brought last week, "The Times-Picayune" said. Britton, 38, was charged earlier with having sex with an underage male. A police report said that Britton met the boy from another church through choir activities, and the two had sex more than 100 times in a year, the newspaper said. (Maranatha Christian Journal, Feb. 23, 2002)
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Robert Leroy Tolle, 65, minister, was indicted by an Orange County grand jury on charges of raping his daughter and stepdaughter between 1965 and 1970. A trial date is pending. Police ignored repeated admonitions over a period of 10 years by sisters to bring charges. Tolle has been convicted of lewd-behavior charges involving adult women in Utah. (NewsChief, February 19, 2002)
Tolle Indicted
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CASSOPOLIS, MI. - A former Cass County minister was sentenced Friday to at least 10 year in prison for molesting a child. John Charles Yeager, 54, pleaded no contest to a sexual assault charge. Yeager is already serving an 8-20-year term in a case involving another sex offense. The sentences will run concurrently. In 1998, he was convicted of molesting a teenager who knew one of his daughters. Yeager was once a pastor at First Congregational Church in Constantine. (Feb. 7, 2002; WWMT TV) Convicted pastor sentenced again
WWMT report
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The former minister of a southeast Kansas Baptist Church has been charged with molesting a teen-age girl. 37-YEAR-OLD KYLE GUENTHER of Iola was charged Wednesday in Allen County with five counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child, and four counts of aggravated sodomy. County Attorney Nanette Kemmerly-Weber says the charges stem from 15 alleged incidents between Guenther and the girl. The girl was 14 in November 1999 when the alleged assaults began. (MSNBC.com, Jan. 31, 2002)
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RAYMOND, NH. — A 20-year-old man who alleges a Raymond youth pastor molested him when he was 14 has told authorities that the church member often came to his house to punish him with a wooden cutting board and paddle, a police affidavit said.
Cranford was hired as a full-time youth pastor in February 2001. Despite being a registered sex offender, Cranford was hired as an associate youth pastor and the music minister at the New Life Assembly of God church. According to the affidavit, Cranford allegedly got on top of the boy, pinned him down, and performed a sexual act. Cranford was convicted of sexually assaulting a child while serving as an associate pastor at a church in Groton, Mass., police said. (Jan. 26, 2002; The New Hampshiore Union Leader)
Raymond man alleges he was molested as a teen
http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_show.html?article=8385
Victim’s emotional scars often last a lifetime
http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_show.html?article=8405
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OTHELLO, WA. -- A lawsuit was filed Tuesday against the Othello Spanish Jehovah's Witnesses congregation and its New York governing body, alleging they covered up the sexual abuse of a child. (1/23/2002, Tri-City Herald)
Lawsuit alleges coverup by Jehovah's Witnesses
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RUSSELLVILLE, AL. A minister already charged in two rapes of young girls has been accused in another sexual abuse case involving one of the rape victims at age 4. Russellville Police Lt. William Nale said the additional first-degree sexual abuse warrant was issued Thursday against John L. "Bill" Anderson, 61, of Carbon Hill. Anderson already faces first-degree sexual abuse charges in Russellville as well as first-degree rape charges in Texarkana, Ark. He's being held in the Franklin County Jail on $150,000 bail. The rape victims were ages 9 and 7. (Montgomery Advertiser, Jan. 19, 2002)
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Republic, KS. The pastor of a Republic church faces three to 10 years in prison in Kansas on six sexual abuse charges that date back to 1979. Russell Winkler, pastor at Republic’s First Christian Church for the past eight years, pleaded no contest to the charges Friday in an Atchison, Kan., courthouse. The judge found him guilty of six counts of aggravated enticement of a child. The abuse occurred between 1979 and 1981 while Winkler was associate pastor and youth director of the First Christian Church in Atchison. The victims were all boys, ages 12-13. (The Springfield News-Leader, Jan. 1, 2002)
Minister pleads no contest to sexual abuse charges that date back to 1979
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CROWLEY Michael James, 58 Hobart psychologist and former head of Anglican Church's independent inquiry into child sex abuse. Appears in Hobart Magistrates Court charged with maintaining sexual relationship with minor between January 1973 and February 1976. Offences allegedly occurred at Fern Tree, Pontville and Hobart when victim aged 13 to 16. Court hears Crowley, of Howden, appointed by Anglican Church in 1997 to examine allegations of child sex abuse levelled against some clergy members and church officials. Court told Crowley co-authored report Not The Way of Christ in 1998 which contained 31 recommendations on how sex abuse allegations could be handled by church. (Tasmania, Australia, 2002).
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McAULEY Canon Ross Leslie Stewart Brisbane senior Anglican priest, St John's Cathedral precentor, choirmaster and Church Sexual Abuse Committee member. AUS Governor-General and former Brisbane Anglican archbishop Peter HOLLINGWORTH comes under fire after appointing McAuley to Church Sexual Abuse Committee while Brisbane archbishop despite being aware of allegations that McAuley sexually abused 2 males. One victim, choirboy aged 15, was allegedly assaulted in 1975 at Brookfield, Brisbane. In 1995, Hollingworth appoints McAuley to Sexual Abuse Committee despite protests from first victim. In 1997, Sexual Abuse Committee warns Hollingworth that McAuley should not be left in charge of young members of choir. In 1999, McAuley leaves Anglican Church 18 months after making inappropriate sexual advance to male victim, aged 24, with whom he had "tangled relationship". Anglican sources describe McAuley as sexual predator. (Queensland, Australia, 2002).
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BRAZIER Reverend Peter William, 56 Kingston-Robe Anglican priest. Receives 2 year and 6 month jail sentence in Mt Gambier District Court after pleading guilty to 7 sex charges, including 6 counts of indecent assault and 1 of unlawful sexual intercourse, against boy, aged 15, in 2001 while priest at Kingston-Robe parish, southeast of Adelaide. Court hears Brazier, of Parafield Gardens, in Adelaide's north, abused position by giving boy alcohol, cash and showing him blue movie. In 1994, Brazier received 2 year suspended jail term after pleading guilty to 3 charges of indecently assaulting boy, aged 16, while priest at Tailem Bend-Meningie parish, southeast of Adelaide. Church in 2002 criticised for shifting priest with child sex conviction to another parish and recommendation made that in future all priests and lay workers in SA undergo police checks before being employed by church. (South Australia, Australia, Australia, 2002).
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ALEXANDER Trevor John, 40 Melbourne Wesley College singing teacher. Receives 4 year and 6 month jail sentence in Melbourne County Court after being convicted on 10 charges of indecent assault, including sexual penetration, against schoolgirl, aged 14, between 1996 and 1997 while teacher at Wesley College Glen Waverley campus, in Melbourne's southeast. Court hears Alexander, of Ashwood, seduced victim at his East Brighton home after suggesting it was better for victim to lose virginity with experienced older man. Court told Alexander abused victim during threesome involving wife Elspeth McKENZIE who also taught at Wesley. Both Alexander and McKenzie classified by judge as serious sexual offenders. (Victoria, Australia, 2002).
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DOBBS Geoffrey Robert, 48 QLD Sunday school teacher, church youth leader and "highly regarded" church member. Pleads guilty in QLD District Court to 116 charges, including indecent dealing and recording indecent visual images, involving 62 girls, aged 1 to 15, between 1972 and 1999. QLD Attorney-General labels Dobbs state's worst pedophile. Left QLD in 1998 for VIC where he was arrested in Melbourne in 1999 after leaving video camera containing pornographic footage for repairs at video shop. In 2000, Dobbs receives 2 year and 6 month jail sentence in Melbourne County Court after pleading guilty to 8 sex charges, including 5 counts of performing indecent act, 1 of committing unlawful sexual intercourse, 1 of making child pornography and 1 of possessing child pornography, involving children as young as 6 months. Police allege Dobbs committed more than 300 sex offences against 100s of children over 30 year period. Court hears during 1999 raid of offender's home, police found 177 video tapes containi ng 500 hours of recordings of Dobbs' abuse of juvenile girls. Court told Dobbs "true predator" who preyed on children he met at Sunday schools or youth camps. (Queensland, Australia, 2002).
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DUNNE James Paul, 46 Melbourne Seventh Day Adventist primary school teacher. Receives maximum 7 year and 2 month jail sentence in Melbourne County Court after pleading guilty to 30 counts of indecent assault and 1 of sexual penetration against boy, aged 11 to 14, over 3 year period between 1984 and 1987 while teacher at Nunawading Seventh Day Adventist primary school, in Melbourne's east, where abuse occurred. Court hears Dunne, of Lilydale, used his religion to control boy and often prayed with him after abusing him "probably hundreds of times". Report reveals church tried to buy victim's silence with bribe of $125,000.(Victoria, Australia, 2002).
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ELLIOTT Reverend John Litton, 69 Brisbane Anglican priest, rector and former Church of England Boys Society (CEBS) chief commissioner. Receives maximum 7 year and 6 month jail sentence in Brisbane District Court after pleading guilty to 28 sex charges, including 10 counts of sodomy and 18 of indecent dealing, involving 5 boys, aged 10 to 13, in early 1970s at Wide Bay, QLD. Court hears Elliott, who set up Wide Bay Anglican youth group, encouraged "corrupting" behaviour including skinny-dipping and playing strip poker and that offences occurred at local church and in priest's own bed. Investigations reveal Elliott ordained in 1986, after offences occurred, and ministered at Bundaberg, Nanango and Dalby parishes. AUS Governor-General and former Brisbane Anglican archbishop Peter HOLLINGWORTH comes under fire after reports reveal he appointed Elliott rector of Nanango in 1990 and Dalby in 1991 while archbishop between 1989 and 1991. (Queensland, Australia, 2002).
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ELLMORE Reverend Robert, 64 Hunter Valley Anglican priest and Justice of Peace. Receives 11 year jail sentence in Sydney District Court after being convicted on 6 charges of indecently assaulting 3 girls, aged 8 to 12, between 1981 and 1984 at Cumnock and West Wyalong, in central eastern NSW, and again in 2001 in Sydney's south. In 1999, Ellmore received 12 month jail sentence in Liverpool District Court after pleading guilty to indecently assaulting 2 sisters, aged 6 and 8, and another girl, aged 7, in 1976 while training for priesthood at Newcastle college, northeastern NSW. Court hears Ellmore, who was ordained in 1978, assaulted sisters in Hunter Valley and molested 7 year old in vestry of All Saints Anglican Cathedral, Bathurst. In 1998, Ellmore accused of abusing twin girls, aged 7, at Regents Park, in Sydney's south-west. Charges later dropped. In 1991, Ellmore received 5 year good behaviour bond and $5000 fine for molesting own granddaughter, aged 5, on weekend trip to Mudgee, central eas tern NSW. In 1984, Ellmore accused of sexually abusing girl, aged 8, after confirmation class in central NSW parish residence. In 1967 Ellmore received fine for indecent exposure in park at Blues Point, Sydney. In 1957, Ellmore received 1 month jail sentence for aggravated assault of girl, aged 10, at Toowoomba, QLD. 2002 reports reveal Ellmore still wore dog collar at time of arrest for 2001 offence and that he was first Anglican priest to be defrocked and stripped of holy office in living memory. (New South Wales, Australia, 2002).
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FLORIS Adrian Cornelius, 56 Melbourne Harvest Christian Church property manager and pastor's husband. Receives 2 year and 11 month jail sentence in VIC County Court after pleading guilty to 8 child sex charges, including sexual penetration and indecent assault, against male foster child, aged 13, in 1998 while property manager of Harvest Christian Church, Dingley, in Melbourne's south. Court hears Floris, of Mornington, assaulted boy in spa on Christmas Day and later told him abuse was "our little secret". In 1994, Floris received $2000 fine after pleading guilty to assaulting teenage girl. 2002 report describes Floris as "God-fearing". (Victoria, Australia, 2002).
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KITCHINGHAM Reverend Allan, 69 Hunter Valley Anglican priest. Receives 2 year and 9 month jail sentence after pleading guilty in Newcastle District Court to 5 counts of indecent assault against boy, aged 13, in 1975 at North Coast Children's Home, Lismore. Victim, who described ruling as "joke", claims priest assaulted him "several times a week for a year" and that church officials put him on bus to Kings Cross after complaints made. (New South Wales, Australia, 2002).
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HALN Reverend Young Key, 47 Gold Coast Presbyterian minister. Receives 8 year jail sentence after being found guilty in Brisbane District Court of rape, digital rape and indecent dealing with girl, aged 14, in 2000 at Nerang, south of Brisbane. Court hears Haln, who ran farm where visiting Korean Christians could work, seduced girl after offering to teach her English. (Queensland, Australia, 2002).
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HAWKINS Reverend Garth Anglican priest and former Church of England Boys Society (CEBS) chief commissioner. Found guilty by Anglican Church tribunal of child sex offences. (Tasmania, Australia, 2002).
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HAZELDINE Phillip, 55 Gippsland former Anglican school teacher. Receives 18 month jail sentence in Melbourne Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting 5 school students between 1977 and 1981 while teacher at Gippsland Grammar, Sale. Court hears Hazeldine, of Buninyong, west of Melbourne, often touch young boys when he was alone in their company and that victims were students in grades 3 to 6. (Victoria, Australia, 2002).
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HOLLINGWORTH Dr Peter John, 67 AUS Governor-General (2001+), former Brisbane Anglican archbishop (1989-2001), 1992 Australian of Year, Kids First Foundation member and patron of Plan Australia, Barnardo's, Open Plan and National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, aka Father Hollywood. Sacked from aforementioned child group committees, banned by Australian teacher's union from visiting public schools, and pressured publicly and politically to resign as GG, "Australia's highest office", over his handling of at least 6 separate sex abuse cases while archbishop of Brisbane Anglican Church. Allegations include Hollingworth, of Yarralumla, Canberra: 1: appointed convicted QLD pedophile priest Reverend John ELLIOTT as rector of 2 Brisbane parishes; 2: failed to act on child sex abuse allegations against Toowoomba Anglican preparatory school boarding master, Kevin GUY; 3: authorised secret cash settlements to hush up sex abuse evidence against Brisbane Anglican school counsellor, Kevi n LYNCH; 4: appointed Brisbane senior priest Canon Ross McAULEY, himself the subject of abuse allegations, to QLD Church Sexual Abuse Committee; 5: failed to act on child sex abuse allegations against former Rockhampton Anglican bishop, Donald SHEARMAN; 6: failed to act on child sex abuse allegations against Churchie East Brisbane Anglican Grammar school gymnastics coach, William WHITELOCK. (For other accused or convicted Churchie offenders, see Reverend Robert SHARWOOD.) Hollingworth, who earns $310,000 pa as GG, criticised for being "unlike Jesus ... on side of lawyers and insurers instead of on side of victims". Hollingworth also slammed for implying on national television that schoolgirl victim, aged 14, seduced priest and not other way around. Report notes one of Hollingworth's most openly supportive senior Anglican figures, Bishop George BROWNING, was embroiled in controversy over sexual misconduct with parishioner. (Queensland, Australia, 2002).
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HOOPMAN Pastor David Bertrand, 73 Toowoomba Lutheran pastor, student counsellor and school chaplain. Appears in Brisbane District Court on 6 charges of indecent dealing with girl, aged under 16, while student counsellor and school chaplain at Concordia Memorial College between 1979 and 1981. Court hears Hoopman assaulted victim in school library and other places and once told girl it was best if no one knew about it "except God, him and her". (Queensland, Australia, 2002).
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JACKSON George Arthur, 65 Ipswich Uniting Church elder and Sunday school teacher. Receives 4 year suspended jail sentence in Ipswich District Court after pleading guilty to 14 charges of indecent dealing against girl, aged 8, over 8 year period between 1979 and 1987. Court hears defendant had been victim's Sunday school teacher and molestation had progressed from touching to showing child pornographic movies and sexual contact. (Queensland, Australia, 2002).
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NAME SUPPRESSED by court order, Brisbane Anglican school teacher and class master. Appears in Brisbane Magistrates Court on 5 charges of indecent treatment involving 3 boys, aged 11 to 13, between 1951 and 1963 while teacher at Churchie Anglican Grammar school, East Brisbane. Accused allegedly "taught" several students how to masturbate in early 1950s while he was their class master. (Queensland, Australia, 2002).
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NAME SUPPRESSED by court order, Reverend TAS Anglican priest. Police charge anglican priest with pedophilia. (Queensland, Australia, 2002).
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NAME SUPPRESSED by court order, Brisbane Anglican school teacher. Appears in Brisbane Magistrates Court charged with 31 child sex offences, including 24 counts of indecent treatment, 2 of sodomy, 2 of attempted sodomy, 2 of allowing sodomy to be performed on him and 1 of indecent assault, involving 9 boys, aged under 14, in 1940s and 1950s. (Queensland, Australia, 2002).
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RIDDLE Gary John, Geelong Baptist churchgoer, youth leader and primary school teacher. Receives maximum 5 year jail sentence in VIC Appeals Court after pleading guilty to 14 sex offences, including indecent assaults, gross indecency and sexual penetration, against 9 girls, aged 10 to 16, between 1971 and 1989 at Geelong, Hawthorn and Port Campbell. Court hears Riddle, of Bell Post Hill, Geelong, continued offending despite church pastor confronting him about behaviour in 1983. Originally charged with 52 offences against 11 victims. (Victoria, Australia, 2002).
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SAPSFORD Reverend Alan, Wangaratta Anglican priest and archdeacon. Ordered to appear in Seymour Magistrates Court charged with gross indecency and indecent assault against altar boy, aged 13 to 16, over 3 year period "several decades ago". Report reveals Reverend Sapsford, of Avenel, who ceased holding Anglican church license in 1996, spent 30 years in Wangaratta church diocese and was archdeacon (one rung below bishop) from 1979 to 1996. (Victoria, Australia, 2002).
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SHARWOOD Reverend Robert Francis Brisbane Anglican priest and school chaplain. Is sacked as chaplain of exclusive Churchie Anglican Grammar school, East Brisbane, in February 2002 after allegations surface that he repeatedly molested young male between 1974 and 1976 while serving at Brisbane Anglican Church. Police contacted in January 2002 after victim learns Sharwood still working with children. (Queensland, Australia, 2002).
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SHEARMAN Bishop Donald, 76 Rockhampton Anglican bishop and OBE recipient. AUS Governor-General and former Brisbane Anglican archbishop Peter HOLLINGWORTH comes under fire after allowing Shearman to serve in church while Brisbane archbishop despite being aware of allegations that Shearman sexually abused at least 2 victims. Reports allege Shearman, of Brisbane, assaulted one girl, aged 14, repeatedly over 2 year period in mid-1950s at St John's Church of England Hostel, Forbes, central NSW. In 1993, another victim allegedly went to Hollingworth with abuse claims against bishop but apparently was discouraged from going to police. (Queensland, Australia, 2002).
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SMITH Raymond Colin, 40 Newcastle Mercy Ships Christian charity voluntary youth worker. Pleads guilty in Newcastle District Court to molesting 2 girls, aged 6, in 1999 while working with Mercy Ships Ministry Of Youth With A Mission Christian charity in Manila, Philippines. Court hears Smith lured girls into room where he photographed their genitals and sexually assaulted them. In 1997, Smith received 18 month suspended jail sentence and 3 year probation in Brisbane court on pornography and indecent dealing charges involving girls as young as four. Court told Smith committed latest offences while on probation for earlier convictions. In 2002, Smith also ordered to appear in Newcastle District Court to face charges of possessing more than 2700 images of child pornography found during raid by Australian Federal Police at his parents' home at Newcastle, north of Sydney. (New South Wales, Australia, 2002).
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Tulsa County, OK. An award-winning Christian musician was sentenced to five years in prison Tuesday for having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl. Ja'Marc Davis pleaded guilty last month to three felony sex offenses, including rape by instrumentation, lewd molestation and sodomy. Prosecutors dismissed seven charges as part of a plea deal.(Tulsa World, 12/19/2001)
Christian musician was sentenced to five years in prison
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Oakland, CA. A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Reverend Charles Thomas of the Foothill Missionary Baptist Church. Thomas is accused of having sex with a 15-year-old girl from his congregation during a month-long period in the fall. Thomas reportedly called a special meeting with church members last week and admitted that the charges were true. If convicted, he could face up to eight years in prison. (12-11-2001; KPIX TV)
Reverend sought in crime
KPIX report
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MEADVILLE, LA. A Meadville minister was arrested Friday for an alleged sexual offense with a 9-year-old girl. Derwin Rogers, 43, was being held without bond Friday on charge of statutory rape of a female younger than 12 years old, said Franklin County Sheriff James Newman. Rogers, the pastor of Emmanuel Full Gospel Church in Meadville, is believed to have assaulted the girl at a house near the church that belonged to a church member, Newman said. Rogers is also being charged with sexual battery charges filed by a 19-year-old former employee at the day care. Rogers pleaded not guilty to the charges last week in Franklin County. (The Natchez Democrat, Dec. 1, 2001)
Minister charged in rape of girl
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Dallas, TX. A 38-year-old Dallas man was sentenced to nearly four years in prison Monday for having a sexual relationship with his teen-age stepdaughter, including while he was co-pastor of a Florida church. Phillip Carpenter was sentenced to 46 months in prison after pleading guilty in August to a charge of enticing a minor to travel in interstate commerce to engage in illegal sexual activity. Prosecutors said Carpenter and his wife were co-pastors of a church in Pinellas County, Florida, when he started having sex with his step-daughter beginning when she was 15. She will be 17 next month. The church was not identified the church. (KTRK, 11/27/01)
Former pastor sentenced for sex with stepdaughter
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DENVER (October 30, 2001 10:06 a.m. EST) - A convicted child molester whose appeal of his sentence led to shorter terms for more than 1,500 sex offenders is accused of molesting a 14-year-old student from his Bible-study class. Fort Lupton police issued a warrant Monday for Vance Martin, 35, on charges he sexually assaulted the girl. He had not been arrested Tuesday. (10/30/2001) AP.
Colorado child molester accused of assaulting girl in Bible-study class
Molester in Jail on New Charges
Dark History Eludes Church's Eyes
Molester in Jail on New Charges
Child sex abuse reaches far beyond Catholic Church, experts say.
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FORT WORTH (AP) - A former North Texas pastor has been indicted on counts of sexual assault and indecency with three children, and police say allegations against the man go back at least 10 years.
Evidence collected at Jon Warnshuis' house in Argyle has led to accusations that he sexually abused at least five boys in Argyle, Grapevine and Laredo, police say.
On Thursday, a Denton County grand jury returned three indictments against Warnshuis, 41, alleging two counts of indecency with a child, eight counts of sexual assault and four counts of aggravated sexual assault, District Attorney Bruce Isaacks said.
Argyle Police Chief William Tackett said the indictments involve three children at Oak Hills Evangelical Free Community Church near Argyle, where Warnshuis was pastor for four years.
In the mid-1980s, Warnshuis moved from California to Texas, where he worked toward a master's degree in divinity from Dallas Theological Seminary, officials have said.
Police are also investigating accusations of sexual assault of boys at a church that Warnshuis attended in the early 1980s in Escondido, Calif. (November 10, 2001.)
Youth pastor faces charges, arraignment lists sexual abuse count
Church rebuilding faith after pastor's disgrace
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Marietta, GA. A 30-year-old former church martial arts instructor at Eastside Baptist Church in Marietta was sentenced today to 90 years in prison. Cobb County Superior Court Judge George Kreeger also sentenced Gunther Fiek today to 90 years on probation. Fiek showed no emotion when Kreeger announced the sentence. A jury convicted Fiek of 18 counts of child molestation and three counts of aggravated child molestation in September. (WSB-TV, October 19, 2001)
Fiek gets 90 years for child molestation
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In November 1998, Joe and Evangeline Combs were indicted on multiple charges of aggravated child abuse, assault and kidnapping; Joe was further charged with rape. Last spring, both were found guilty and sentenced to prison terms that will likely keep them behind bars for the rest of their lives.
Beginning at age 11, Esther Combs was regularly sexually abused by her father. She said he told her that King David had concubines, so this behavior was condoned by the Bible. Esther, her three brothers and two sisters were home-schooled. No visitors were allowed into the home - not even parishioners. A later search of the property found it was filthy, garbage and rat-infested and inhabited by caged cats and dogs. The pungent odor was still faintly there last fall when the detective took me and our cameras on a tour of the place. Richmond pointed out the basketball floor where, she says Esther Combs "was beaten with ropes, chains, whips, umbrellas, bats." (ABC News, Oct. 18. 2001)
How Esther Combs Finally Escaped a Lifetime of Abuse
http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/primetime/2020/primetime_esthercombs_feature.html
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Sonoma County, CA. A judge ruled yesterday that Rev. Dick Bruner, a Petaluma resident and former pastor at Christ Church North Bay in Novato, will stand trial for allegedly molesting a 13-year-old boy. According to the alleged victim, now 16, Bruner molested him on three different occasions in 1998. Two of the alleged incidents happened at a retreat near Occidental, the youth said, and the third took place at Bruner's home. The alleged victim said Bruner, 59, kissed him on the lips and rubbed his inner thigh in one incident. Another time Bruner, allegedly, asked the boy to sit on his lap while the pastor was wearing only a towel and kissed the boy again. (The Petaluma Argus-Courier, Oct. 10, 2001)
Petaluma pastor faces molest trial
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HERMISTON - A youth pastor was arraigned Thursday on charges of one count of first-degree sexual abuse and eight counts of using a child in display of explicitly sexual conduct for a person to observe. The suspect is a former Hermiston School Resource Officer. Jay Brian Lynch worked for the Hermiston Police Department from January 1994 through July 1997, when he told Chief Andy Anderson that he wanted to give up his law enforcement career to seek a career in the church. He became youth pastor at Hermiston’s Church of the Nazarene. “I almost fell out of my chair when I heard about it,” Anderson said of Lynch’s arrest. Lynch is 42 years old.
The sexual abuse charge against Lynch involves a girl under the age of 14, said Chris Brauer, Umatilla County district attorney. The charges of using a child in display of explicitly sexual conduct involves two girls under the age of 14. A secret indictment on Sept. 27 led to Lynch’s arrest on Wednesday and his arraignment the following day. At the arraignment, Judge Eric Valentine appointed a public defender to represent Lynch and set bail at $250,000. A pretrial conference is scheduled for Oct. 17. (EONI, Oct. 6, 2001)
Youth pastor faces charges
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WORCESTER, Mass. -- A judge has rejected a Millbury man's assertion that he was seeking religious solace when he confessed to church leaders that he sexually abused three girls and has refused to suppress the statements as evidence against the man. Daniel R. Ferris, 56, a former Sunday school teacher, citing the so-called ''clergy-penitent privilege,'' hoped to prevent a jury from hearing his confessions. State law prohibits members of the clergy from disclosing confessions made to them in their professional capacity or any conversation made from someone seeking religious comfort or advice. Ferris is awaiting trial in Worcester Superior Court on charges of indecent assault and battery on a child, indecent assault and battery, and posing a child in state of nudity. (9/22/2001, Portsmouth Herald)
Judge refuses to suppress statements in abuse case
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ABC released excerpts, including Heche's revelation that she spent the first 31 years of her life suffering from mental illness triggered by sexual abuse by her father. Heche says she was sexually abused by her father from the time she was a toddler until she was 12. Donald Heche, a choir director in a Baptist church who frequented gay bars, died of AIDS in 1983. (USA Today; Sept. 4, 2001)
Anne Heche sexually abused by father, a Baptist choir Director
http://www.usatoday.com/life/2001-09-04-heche.htm
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RICHMOND - A Detroit minister found guilty of having sex with a 15-year-old girl could face up to 50 years in prison, but police have to find him first. Rev. Larry A. Flake, 55, was found guilty of sexual misconduct with a minor. The court also ruled him a habitual offender. Flake has two previous felony convictions. Flake did not show up for his jury trial on two counts of sexual misconduct and one count of rape. AP, 8/30/01
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Bishop, GA. Minister Larry Michael Holmes, pled guilty to molesting a 14-year-old girl, and was sentenced to five years in prison followed by 15 years of probation. (Aug. 17, 2001, Athens Banner-Herald)
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BISHOP, GA. A wounded Oconee County church is trying to pick up the pieces this week after the shattering news that its pastor had been jailed on felony child molestation charges. Larry Michael Holmes, 53, who was minister of the Bishop Baptist Church until he abruptly resigned two weeks ago, remained in the Oconee County jail without bail on Monday, charged with child molestation and one count of aggravated child molestation. Holmes had been highly regarded by the members of Bishop Baptist Church. He had been pastor of the church, which is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, for about five years. ''He had led the church so strongly" said one member, Jean Holcomb.'He had done a real good job," said church deacon Dean Johnson. "They are very upset, just having a hard time accepting it." said Gene Dellinger, chairman of the church's board of deacons. (onlineathens.com, July 23, 2001)
Molestation charges leveled against pastor
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Boston, MA. - A popular minister credited with turning around the lives of troubled youth resigned Friday amid allegations that he fondled a teen-ager in his care. Williamson allegedly touched an 18-year-old five years ago. The man, now 23, has told police of the alleged sexual assault, according to the Rev. Gilbert Thompson, pastor at New Covenant Christian Church where Williamson was a congregation member and a deacon. (July 22, 2001, Cape Code Times)
Youth Paster arrested
http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/archives/2001/jul/22/bostonyouth22.htm
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Ex-minister convicted of abusing boys charged again. A suburban minister serving a probation sentence for sexually abusing three teenage boys has been accused of molesting another youth, this time at his summer home in Michigan. James Errant, 68, formerly of Hinsdale, has been on probation since October after he pleaded guilty to aggravated criminal sexual assault in DuPage County. Errant, who lives in LaGrange, was a prominent member and volunteer of Union Church of Hinsdale last year when a young man told police Errant had molested him years ago while the victim was a teenager. The ensuing police probe uncovered nine people who also accused the one-time ordained minister of sexual abuse that, in some cases, stretched over many years. Years ago, Errant also served as a minister at St. Paul United Church of Christ in Palatine, Lyonsville Congregational Church in Indian Head Park and Seminary Avenue Federated Church in Chicago. Errant is being sued by parents of the victims. The suit, which also names Union Church and one of its ministers, accuses the church of failing to act on complaints lodged against Errant. Charges: Parents sue church for failing to act. (July 20, 2001)
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PERKASIE, PA. A Perkasie man who volunteered as a youth ministries leader at an Upper Bucks church faces up to 90 years in jail after admitting in Bucks County court in Doylestown yesterday that he sexually abused 20 boys.
Howard Earl White, 39, will be sentenced within 90 days, following an evaluation by the state Megan's Law board, which will determine if he is a sexually violent predator.
County Judge Kenneth Biehn revoked White's $375,000 bail and ordered him held in county prison until sentencing. But at the urging of White's attorney, Richard Fink, Biehn agreed to allow White to turn himself over to prison officials Friday, so that arrangements can be made to place him in protective custody at the jail.
White, of South Main Street, hung his head and looked at the floor as the charges against him were read aloud in court. He did not testify, and refused comment as he left the courthouse. June 26, 2001
http://www.phillyburbs.com/couriertimes/news/news/897306.htm
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DELRAY BEACH -- An associate pastor is behind bars, accused of molesting a young girl and possibly fathering her child. Police say that Lyndon Howell, who served at the Community Missionary Baptist Church, befriended the victim's family when she was 11 years old. For the next four years, police believe that Howell had sex with her. Howell faces several charges. He is being held without bond at the Palm Beach County Jail. 6/26/01
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Jayess, MS. Valley of the Kings Church patriarch David Earl King, 66, and Nathan Paul King, 32, believed to be King's adopted son, were indicted in April on charges of sexual battery, conspiracy to commit sexual battery and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. (AP, 8 Jun 2001)
Molestation charges shock Miss. town
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Bartow, FL. Accompanied by family and parishioners, the Rev. Kenneth Baxley, pastor of Central Baptist Community Ministries in Lakeland, was sentenced Thursday to a two-year prison term for failing to register as a sex offender. The failure-to-register charge originated with a crime committed by Baxley in 1983 but confessed to seven years later. He served 15 months in prison for attempted sexual battery on a child younger than 12. Baxley has served several churches in various capacities in the Lakeland area since his release. (The Ledger, June 1, 2001).
Minister not registered as sex offender gets 2 years
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A lifelong member of one of Atlanta's largest and best known churches, the Cathedral at Chapel Hill, filed suit this week charging founding pastor Bishop Earl Paulk with child molestation. The charges are the most serious yet in a string of sexual misconduct allegations against Paulk and several other male members of his family that span decades.
Jessica Battle, daughter and granddaughter of prominent members of Paulk's staff, said in her suit that from the time she was 7 until she was about 11 years old, Paulk "engaged in a pattern of conduct . . . that included caressing her, fondling her sexual organs, performing oral sex on her and having sexual intercourse with her." She also charged that five years ago, when she was 17, Paulk had forcible intercourse with her. Some of the acts occurred on church property or during church-sponsored events, according to the suit, filed Wednesday in DeKalb County State Court. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Apr. 14, 2001)
Bishop Earl Paulk is being sued by a former congregant who claims she was molested by Paulk
http://www.atlanta.creativeloafing.com/2001-04-18/news_feature4.html
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Westlake Village, CA. Timothy Bayne Bernstein, youth minister at Calvary Community Church, 40, was charged Tuesday with 10 counts of engaging in lewd conduct with two minors between 1987 and 1991, said Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Gina Satriano. One boy was between 14 and 15 at the time and the other was younger, she said. (Ventura County Star, April 5, 2001)
Bernstein charged
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LAWRENCE, KS. A Tonganoxie church youth group leader has pleaded guilty to charges of molesting four teen-age boys who were members of his church. Daniel Walter Peterson, 33, of Lawrence, was a youth group leader at the Tonganoxie United Methodist Church. He pleaded guilty Friday in Douglas County District Court to committing criminal sodomy and three counts of indecent liberties with a child. Authorities said the boys were from 13 to 15 years old at the time of the incidents, which occurred between 1997 and 2000. (Salina Journal, April 5, 2001)
Youth leader faces molestation charge
http://www.saljournal.com/stories/041501/new_breefs.html
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SAN DIEGO, CA. A former music pastor at a Scripps Ranch-area church who admitted to molesting a 14-year-old boy last year was allowed to withdraw his guilty plea Thursday, after a judge told him he would face prison time instead of probation. When Richard Abram Elliott, 31, pleaded guilty in December to child molestation charges, Superior Court Judge Roger Krauel told him a six-year prison sentence would remain suspended as long as he remained in a counseling program. Elliott resigned as an associate music pastor at Community Bible Church after allegations arose that he molested the boy three times between May 1 and July 14 last year. Elliott had just completed a one-year, church-imposed probation following complaints by female parishioners about inappropriate sexual remarks he made. (The Californian, 3/16/01)
Ex-music pastor withdraws molestation guilty plea
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Van Nuys, CA. On Saturday, March 10, 2001, detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department's Juvenile Division, Sexually Exploited Child Unit, booked 35-year-old Ray Darius Love for Child Molestation. Mr. Love was taken into custody as he drove away from his residence in the area of Victory Boulevard and Coldwater Canyon in Van Nuys. Following his arrest, a search was conducted of his car and residence. As a result, evidence was discovered that corroborated the victim’s statements. Also discovered was information that lead to additional victims of child molestation. Love was booked at Van Nuys Jail on felony child molestation charges. On Tuesday, March 13, 2001, detectives presented the initial case, consisting of three victims ranging in ages from 12 to 16 when the crimes occurred, to the Office of the Los Angeles County District Attorney for filing consideration. The District Attorney filed 10 felony counts of child molestation and possession of child pornography. Bail was set at $490,000. For several years, Mr. Love has been involved with young people in the capacity of a bandleader, church youth choir assistant, and youth hockey coach throughout the Los Angeles area. (LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT PRESS RELEASE, Tuesday, March 13, 2001)
Sex Offender Arrested for Child Molestation
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NZHELELE, Zaifre. Siloam Hospital nurse, Mr Nngwedzeni Joseph Ramavu (37) who also serve as a Pastor for the Nzumbululo Church in Siloam near Makhado Township has appeared in the Dzanani Magistrate Court on Monday on the charge of statutory rape. (zoutnet.co.za, March 2, 2001)
Pastor charged with statutory rape
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Multnomah County, OR. A Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints high priest, Franklin Richard Curtis was convicted of sexually abusing a boy repeatedly in 1990 and 1991, in Portland, when he was 11. Curtis became a member of the Rocky Butte Ward in Portland, where he sexually abused at least five children, according to a lawsuit. He was confronted by the Rocky Butte bishop and admitted the molestations. The bishop kept it quiet until parents began to complain, and then he only reported to Salt Lake City superiors of the church, not police, the complaint states. Then Curtis joined the Brentwood Ward, where he told then-Bishop Gregory Lee Foster that he had abused in the past, and Foster kept it quiet because Curtis said he'd repented, according to the complaint. Foster had long known that Curtis also had abused his own stepchildren but still invited Curtis to teach Sunday school, the lawsuit states. (The Oregonian, February 9, 2001)
Judge orders Mormons to provide sex-abuse records
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Milwaukee, WI. Dr. Matthew Tyler, formerly a teen basketball coach for a local church, was sentenced to seven years in prison for molesting boys in four states over a 20 year period. In 1979 Tyler had been accused of performing strip searches and "hernia checks" on boys at the Louisiana residential facility where he worked. Tyler molested several boys at church functions. (02.07.01, The MilwaukeeChannel.com)
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Grayslake, MD. Rev. Kurt Behrel, 51, pastor of a Grayslake church, was arrested and charged with molesting two boys in the 1980s. Officers found cocaine and illegal guns in Behrel's home during his arrest. (02.06.01, The Daily Herald)
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Mira Mesa, CA. Richard A. Elliott, a music pastor at an unnamed church, pleaded guilty on five counts of "committing a lewd act on a child under 14." Elliott had just completed a one-year probation imposed by his church for making lewd comments to female parishoners. Elliott faces six years in prison, though counseling is being considered as an alternative. He had been convicted in 1991 in a murder-for-hire plot. (02.01.01, AP)
Ex-music pastor withdraws molestation guilty plea
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Ocala, FL. The 62-year-old pastor's name has been withheld in consideration of the two adopted daughters he molested. The man was convicted of nine sex-related charges and faces up to 23 years in prison. The younger daughter was forced to have sex with her adoptive father when she was eleven in the study where he wrote his sermons. The man is father to his older daughter's son. (01.18.01, AP)
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A Florida pastor faces 23 years in prison after he was convicted of having sex with his two adopted daughters when they were children. A Florida Circuit Court jury convicted the 62-year-old former Ocala minister, whose name was suppressed by the newspaper, on nine sex-related charges. Both daughters testified at the trial, with the younger one, 18, telling the jury that her father first forced her to have sex with him when she was 11. One of the incidents took place in the study where he wrote his sermons. The older daughter, 23, told the panel the man was her son's father. During the trial, jurors heard a telephone conversation taped by Ocala police in which one of the daughter's asked, "Daddy, do you think God will forgive us for having sex?" The former pastor then told the girl, "Bring your Bible over on Saturday and we will talk about it." "That really was the evidence that did us in," defence Charles Holloman said of the tape-recorded conversations. "The jury just rocked back in their chairs when they heard that ..." (Sun Sentinel, January 11, 2001)
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Westwood, OH. Phillip Dumke, pastor of Westwood Grace Lutheran Church, has been indicted on four counts of "gross sexual imposition." Dumke befriended the two sons of a widow and molested them. He received five years probation. (01.11.01, Cincinnati Post)
Minister accused of fondling
http://www.cincypost.com/news/2000/preach030100.html
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Eastland, TX. Case No. 31,691-98, is set for trial 04/23/01 in the 12th judicial district of Angelina County, Lufkin Texas. Defendants in this case are e)United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI) in Saint Louis MO, k)Texas District of the United Pentecostal Church,)United Pentecostal Church of Eastland Texas, n)Bobby Hart and Jonathan Mark Hart. Jonathan Mark Hart was convicted in Eastland, TX, Feb. 1999, on 3 counts of sexual assault of a minor child. The female children were 15 and 16 years of age and members of the Youth Group at Eastland United Pentecostal Church. Jonathan Hart attended Bible College at o)Gateway College of Evangelism and was acting Assistant Pastor at the Eastland United Pentecostal Church. He and his wife were the designated Youth Directors as well. Assaults on these young girls occurred on Church property and on Church related trips supervised by Jonathan Hart. Bobby Hart is the Father of Jonathan Hart and was also the Pastor of the Eastland Church at the time of the assaults. Bobby Hart appointed Jonathan Hart to both leadership positions. (2001)
Pentecostal minister Charged
Press Release
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GUY Kevin George, 39 Toowoomba Anglican preparatory school senior boarding master. Toowoomba Supreme Court orders QLD Anglican Church pay record $834,800 compensation to sex abuse victim after jury finds Brisbane diocese failed in its duty of care to girl, aged 12, in 1990 at Toowoomba Anglican Preparatory school. Court hears Guy, 39, formerly of Toowoomba, was charged with up to 30 sex counts against victim but committed suicide in December 1990 on day of court appearance. Victim support groups accuse AUS Governor-General and former Brisbane Anglican archbishop Peter HOLLINGWORTH of failing to act on allegations, of hiding behind lawyers, and of covering up sexual abuse of 20 girls at school which was then under his control. (Queensland, Australia, 2001).
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MILLS Ronald Albert, 69 Orange Mormon and senior Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints member. Receives 3 year jail sentence in NSW District Court after being convicted on 3 counts of unlawful sexual intercourse against girl, aged 12, in 1982 at Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints chapel in Orange, central NSW. Court hears Mills, of Orange, molested girl during maintenance work at church. (New South Wales, Australia, 2001).
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NAME SUPPRESSED BY COURT ORDER, Brisbane Sunday school teacher and church youth group leader. Ordered to appear in Brisbane court on 335 sex charges amid allegations he abused 324 girls, aged 6 months to 13 years, over 15 year period in QLD, NSW and VIC. Police allege accused, who lived in Brisbane's south, took children on interstate church camps and videotaped himself defiling "100s" of girls. In 2000, accused received 2 year and 6 month jail suspended sentence after VIC police arrest him on 40 child sex offences following tip-off from video repairer. Name SUPPRESSED BY COURT ORDER to protect daughter, whom accused also abused. (SM TS HS 010624). (Queensland, Australia, 2001).
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NAME SUPPRESSED BY COURT ORDER, Ipswich practising Mormon. Receives 7 year jail sentence in Ipswich District Court after being found guilty on 2 counts of raping his stepdaughter, aged 14 to 16, between 1986 and 1989. Court hears defendant, who quoted Bible passage concerning lust to support his case, forced victim to have sexual intercourse so he could show her "how it was done". Name SUPPRESSED BY COURT ORDER to protect stepdaughter. (CM 020817) (Queensland, Australia, 2001).
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LAISHKOCHAV Alistah Elijah, 71 Bells Beach Judeo-Christian cult leader, aka Ian Francis Lowe and Ariel Abraham Enki. Receives 7 year and 6 month jail sentence in VIC County Court after being convicted on 21 child sex offences, including 17 counts of indecent assault and 4 of committing unlawful sexual intercourse, against 4 girls, aged 7 to 11, between 1987 and 1991 while leader of Judeo-Christian cult at Bells Beach, near Geelong, VIC. Court hears Laishkochav, of Fitzroy, had 9 wives and 63 children living in "harem" arrangement. Prosecutor says gratification of sexual appetite seemingly cult leader's only interest. Judge describes acts as "abhorrent". (Victoria, Australia, 2001)
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NOBBS Stephen Enoch, 69 Norfolk Island Seventh Day Adventist senior deacon, fund-raiser and "pillar of community". Receives suspended 12 month jail sentence in Norfolk Island Supreme Court after being convicted on 6 child sex offences, including 2 counts of indecent assault and 4 of performing indecent act, against 2 girls, aged 7 and 13, in 1981 and again in 1996-8 at Norfolk Island. Report says up to 90 members of island's 1800-strong community affected by case and that conviction may be "tip of iceberg" of "long-repressed tradition of sexual abuse". (NORFOLK ISLAND, 2001).
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REID Ronald Edward, 70 Brisbane preacher, charity worker and Blue Nurses state director. Receives 6 month jail sentence in Brisbane District Court after pleading guilty to 4 charges, including 2 counts of unlawful stalking, 1 of indecent dealing and 1 of improper use of carriage service, against girl, aged 12, between 1998 and 2000 in Brisbane. Court hears Reid, of Brisbane's northside, made obscene and threatening phonecalls to victim, describing graphic sexual situations and claiming he had sex with her friend. Court told Reid had been preacher at northside church since 1947 and Blue Nurses state director for 30 years. (Queensland, Australia, 2001).
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ST GEORGE'S Rockhampton Anglican children's home. Seven former residents file actions in QLD Supreme Court alleging they were subjected to atrocities in 1970s described as among worst committed against children in QLD. Litigants claim Anglican priest attached live electrical wires to children's genitals and inserted wire implements in their rectums. Priest also allegedly beat children using cricket bats and flushed their heads in faeces-filled toilets. (Queensland, Australia, 2001).
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EVERETT, WA. Forrmer youth pastor has been charged with fondling a 10-year-old boy he met at church. A charge of first-degree child molestation was filed Monday against Michael J. Babcock, 31, formerly a pastor at Sonrise Chapel. Under questioning with his lawyer present, Babcock admitted he touched the boy sexually during a sleepover at his home in July 1999, Snohomish County Deputy Prosecutor Tobin Darrow wrote in documents filed in Superior Court. (12/12/2000, AP)
Former youth pastor charged with fondling boy
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/fndl12ww.shtml
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LARGO, FL. Randy Morrow, 40, street minister with Countryside Baptist Church in Palm Harbor, was charged with molesting three teenage boys. (St. Petersburg Times, October 18, 2000)
Authorities say they have a taped phone call in which pastor Morrow apologizes to one of the reported victims
Authorities Youth minister sentenced for sex
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TAMPA - A one-time Baptist church deacon was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for what the FBI called "cyberterrorism" that targeted young women on the Internet.
Robert Harvey Alexander, 52, had assembled a list of 100 e-mail addresses of high school and college students and demanded they have sexually explicit conversations with him or he would ruin their reputations, court records said.
Alexander, who was a deacon at First Baptist Church in Tampa at the time of his arrest, also taunted his victims by telling them that police couldn't find him. FBI agents arrested him last Nov. at a computer terminal at a Tampa public library.
Alexander pleaded guilty to 6 counts of extortion. His attorney argued that Alexander suffers from bipolar disorder and didn't fully understand what he'd done. AP 10/7/2000.
Cyber-Extortion Results in Prison Sentence (
http://net4tv.com/voice/story.cfm?storyid=2931)
CHURCH DEACON FACES MULTIPLE CHARGES (
http://faculty.csumb.edu/mountfordcarolin/world/cst371/history.html)
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KNOXVILLE, TN. The former youth minister of a Powell church faces charges of sexual exploitation of a minor. The charges come after a computer consultant found pornographic images of children on a church laptop, according to the church's senior pastor.
Jason Patrick Edelen, 24, was arrested on child pornography charges, according to an arrest report at the Sheriff's Department.
Edelen was served with criminal warrants shortly after midnight, according to the arrest report. Edelen faces charges of sexual exploitation of a minor and aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, the report states. Both charges are felonies.
The charges apparently stem from an investigation that began after a computer consultant scouring a church computer for viruses came across files containing pornographic images of children, according to Brian Kearns, the senior minister at Lighthouse Christian Church.
According to the Tennessee Code Annotated, both offenses deal with the possession of materials depicting minors engaged in sexual activity or simulated sexual activity.
According to Kearns, on June 26 church officials discovered files containing pornographic images on a church-owned laptop computer. The next day, church leaders confronted Edelen, who had permission to use the machine, Kearns said.
Kearns said Edelen resigned minutes after being told he was suspended. Kearns said officials then turned the information over to authorities for further investigation. He said church officials believe the incident only concerns images obtained over the Internet.
"There's no evidence there was physical interaction with anyone," Kearns said, adding that he didn't believe that any children in the church's youth group saw any of the images.
Edelen was the first youth minister ever at Lighthouse Christian Church, which was founded in March 1998. Edelen was hired two months later.
"This is difficult to take," said Kearns, who has known Edelen since Kearns was a youth pastor in Springfield, Kent. "We're serious about this. Our goal is to restore him back to health and a part of that is discipline," Kearns said. He said the church also arranged for Edelen to obtain counseling after the discovery of the files.
Records show Edelen was jailed in lieu of $7,500 bond. News-Sentinel 10/3/2000
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PACE, FL. - A Panhandle minister faces a possible life sentence after he was arrested and charged with molesting children and young adults who lived with his family.
Floyd W. Linder Jr., 54, was arrested by sheriff's investigators and charged with 9 counts of capital sexual battery and 3 counts of sexual battery. Sheriff's investigators also obtained warrants charging 2 additional counts of sexual battery 15 years ago when Linder lived in Pensacola.
Linder, pastor of Pace Apostolic Church, was being held without bail at county jail.
Santa Rosa County sheriff's spokesman Jim Lyle said Linder has been investigated several times for sexual abuse since the 1990s, but he was able to keep his victims from talking by threatening to kill his wife. But Beverly Linder died in May of a stroke and Floyd Linder was arrested after detectives again interviewed his alleged victims, Lyle said.
Linder's victims ranged in age from 5 to 24 years old when they were assaulted, records show. But Sherell Farmer, Linder's stepdaughter, denies her stepfather assaulted anyone. "I live right behind him. There's no way," said Farmer, 33 and the oldest of eight girls and one boy raised by the Linders. AP 10/1/2000
Pace pastor pleads not guilty
Child molester preacher sentenced; Pace pastor gets 20 years
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BRADENTON, FL. - A minister has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for fondling a child, which he will serve after finishing a 7-year sentence for a child pornography conviction.
Lawrence Kilbourn, 44, was sentenced in state court after pleading no contest to a charge of attempted capital sexual battery. He had faced a maximum sentence of life in prison for sexual battery on a child younger than 12, but he pleaded to a lesser charge and avoided a jury trial.
A federal sentence was imposed two weeks ago after Kilbourn was found guilty of possessing child pornography.
Assistant State Attorney Ed Brodsky said he agreed to the plea bargain at the request of the child's family to protect their daughter. "The victim was asleep during the act of sexual abuse, and to this day does not know she was sexually abused," Brodsky said after the hearing.
Kilbourn was the founding pastor of Faith United Methodist Church in Bradenton and later became pastor at Forest Hills United Methodist Church in Hillsborough County. He resigned a year ago, shortly after his arrest.
The abuse came to light after Kilbourn's 17-year-old daughter found a video cassette at home showing a man fondling a girl. The daughter recognized her father by a ring on his hand and furniture in the house and turned over the videotape to authorities.
Brodsky said the videotape showed young girls at Kilbourn's home for a sleep over and Kilbourn going from child to child. Kilbourn pleaded guilty in Feb. to a federal charge of receiving child pornography by computer. AP 9/30/2000
Kilbourn sentenced on federal, state charges (
http://www.flumc.org/comline/revarchive/101300s8.html)
Minister gets 10 years after pleading no contest (
http://www.polkonline.com/stories/092900/sta_bad-minister.shtml)
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GAFFNEY, NC. - A 22-year-old church youth minister has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for molesting a teen-ager in 1998.
A jury found Chad Severance, of Bessemer City, guilty of fondling one teen-age boy. Severance is expected to be tried in two similar cases later.
All three boys were members of the New Harvest Church of God, which hired Severance as minister of music in May 1998. The boys said Severance would make excuses to spend the night with them either at their homes or at his.
Each described waking during the night to find Severance fondling them.
Severance, who serves as a minister of music at a North Carolina church, denied the charges. During testimony, he said he never slept with any of the boys when they visited his home. He said he was invited to stay at the home of one of the boys by the teen’s mother. 7/23/2000
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Pastor Solicits Sex With Fed Agent Posing as 14-Yr-Old: STATE COLLEGE - The 12-member council of Faith United Church of Christ voted Sunday to accept the resignation of a pastor accused of soliciting sex over the Internet and to approve the appointment of a new pastor to take his place. The 53-year-old Rev. William Cabell, Faith United's pastor since 1990, was arrested June 28 at a Piscataway, N.J., strip mall and charged with using the church's America Online account to solicit sex with a federal agent posing as a 14-year-old boy. (Centre Daily Times, July 17, 2000)
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CLINTON, IL. - A state district judge levied a total of $20,000 in fines against a minister charged with two counts of molestation of a juvenile.
Rev. William Thomas Rose III, 51, pleaded guilty on April 24 to molesting two girls in Wilson while he was pastor of the First Baptist Church of Wilson in 1986. The girls are now ages 19 and 23, according to court records.
“Unless you come to grips with the fact that you molested two little girls, you’re in trouble - because it could happen again,” District Judge Wilson Ramshur told the defendant. “Contrition is one step toward salvation,” the judge added.
Ramshur also sentenced Rose to two consecutive 10-year prison terms, but suspended the sentences and placed him on probation for 10 years. As a condition of probation, the defendant is prohibited from being alone with anyone younger than 18. Advocate 6/28/2000
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GREENWOOD, SC. - A minister and former school library aide has been charged with 16 more counts of sexually molesting children after police identified more victims from homemade videotapes.
Fernando Garcia - held on a $4 million bond - is now charged with a total of 44 counts of sexual misconduct with at least 15 victims, police say. “Investigators probably still have several weeks of work left to do - more charges are likely,” said the police chief. Garcia was charged with two counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor and 14 counts of lewd acts on a minor. The latest charges accuse him of fondling children at an elementary school, where he worked for two years, and at the Abbeville Baptist Association, where he was pioneering a Hispanic ministry. The Chihuahua, Mexico-native is a husband and father of two teen-age children.AP 6/28/2000
Tales of horror: Sex crimes victimizing children rock community's foundations
http://www.angelfire.com/journal/indexjournal/01Jan25A.html
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FREEHOLD. NJ. - A street preacher who helped “society’s rejects” has been sentenced to six years in state prison for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in his care.
Superior Court Judge Ira E. Kreizman acknowledged that Michael R. McCarthy, 56, had done some good during his years as a minister. But he told McCarthy he had done “a terrible thing” as the girl’s legal guardian.
“There are some lives you have saved,” he said. “But there is at least one life that has been ruined by what you have done.”
The victim, now 20, told Kreizman that she didn’t know what to do when the assaults started. She no longer trusts men, she said.
An evaluation of McCarthy concluded that he was not a repetitive and compulsive sex offender but that he was “opportunistic, hedonistic and exploitive,” Kreizman said. “She was the clay, he was the potter,” the judge said. “He was able to mold her in the impression he wanted. She was incapable of resisting.”
McCarthy first addressed the judge, then turned to the victim and apologized. “I am terribly sorry for what happened,” he said. “It was a horrible event in my life, and I apologize to the victim. I apologize for any hurt or harm I have done. I realize the gravity of what I have done.”
McCarthy told Kreizman he was concerned about what would happen to the people he shelters at his Set Free Ministries in Long Branch if he goes to jail. His wife works full time as a flight attendant and is the sole support of the family, he said.
“My concern is not for myself,” he said. “I understand I am responsible and have to pay for what I have done.”
Shortly after his arrest in 1996, his attorney said McCarthy denied the allegations. McCarthy said the girl - entrusted to his care at age 14 by her father because of family conflicts - invented the charges because his wife was going to punish her for refusing to do household chores. He pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree sexual assault in Dec. In exchange for the plea - which the victim agreed with - 7 other counts, including one of witness tampering, were dismissed.
As McCarthy was led away in handcuffs, some of his supporters who packed one side of the courtroom began to cry. Others were angry.
“You happy now?” one man said angrily to a woman sitting next to the victim. “Loser,” she replied. A court attendant called for order as the victim and her supporters were led out of the courtroom. Ashbury Park Press, 6/24/2000
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FONTANA, CA- A former youth director of a Methodist church has been charged with 10 felony counts of child molestation.
Rodney S. Callahan of Rancho Cucamonga was arrested at his home by sheriff’s deputies. The Sheriff’s Department investigation alleges that Callahan sodomized a female relative who is a minor.
The girl told her parents only recently that she was molested by Callahan from Sept. 1998 to Aug. 1999, reports said.
“Generally, with family molestation cases such as this, the victims don’t disclose it to their family because they love them, they don’t want to tear the family apart,” the sheriff’s spokesperson said, adding that authorities are concerned there might be other victims, because Callahan was a youth director of an AME church.
No one from the church was available for comment. It has been closed for more than a month due to a fire. LA Times 6/16/2000
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TULSA - A former Sunday school teacher who was sentenced to more than two life terms in his state case for multiple sex crimes against children has been indicted by a federal grand jury.
John Perry Sanger, 54, of Bristow, was indicted on one count each of use of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct to produce visual depiction, interstate transportation of child pornography and possession of child pornography in the July through Sept. 1999 incidents. The fourth count would require the forfeiture of his real estate in Bristow and a considerable amount of computer and electronic equipment if he is convicted of the possession count.
Sanger pleaded guilty in state court March 29 to 3 counts of rape by instrumentation and 2 counts each of lewd molestation, indecent exposure and lewd acts against a child under the age of 16. A judge ordered him to serve two consecutive life sentences, plus 20 years, as punishment.
Bristow police have contended that Sanger’s case might include up to 20 victims, although the charges stemmed from only two, a 9-year-old boy and his 12-year-old sister, who attended church with Sanger.
The boy testified at the state hearing that he had on several occasions accepted invitations to go to Sanger’s home to play computer games. On one of these occasions, the boy said, he was asked to take pictures of a nude Sanger on a bed with five “grown-up” women. The girl testified at the preliminary hearing that Sanger once asked her and another girl to undress during a game of “strip” poker at his home. Other juveniles were in the house when the victim lost a card game and Sanger performed a sexual act with her, according to a court affidavit. Federal charges were alluded to in Nov. when officials revealed that the FBI was also investigating the case.
An FBI agent said then that prosecutors would not take the case before a grand jury until federal officials had investigated further. World 6/10/2000
Local Briefs Man pleads guilty to sex crimes
http://www.news-star.com/stories/031700/new_sexcrimes.shtml
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TAMPA, FL. - The search of an unpaid storage locker turned up pictures of young naked boys and led police to a church youth counselor who now faces child sex charges.
Marvin C. Thompson, 52, was being held without bond on 8 counts of sexual battery and lewd and lascivious conduct with children after his arrest in connection with sexual acts on two boys, ages 5 and 8.
Thompson had worked as a volunteer counselor for the Royal Rangers, a youth group affiliated with Temple Terrace Faith Assembly and had worked with at least one other Tampa church youth group, according to investigators.
The alleged victims, however, were not members of the church groups, they said. Police said Thompson had not paid his rental fee on a storage locker and when the owner opened it, he found hundreds of pictures of naked boys. The owner called police.
Detectives said they are searching for other possible victims and that after his arrest, Thompson told officers of sex acts with children dating back to the 1960s. AP 6/7/2000
Church counselor arrested on child sex charges(
http://www.polkonline.com/stories/062200/sta_sex-charges.shtml)
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CLEARWATER - A former pastor has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading no contest to charges he molested two young girls.
Rev. Charles Robinson, 63, former pastor of an AME Church in St. Petersburg, pleaded no contest to 5 felony charges of sexual contact with parishioners, ages 13 and 15, in 1998 and 1999.
Investigators said while sexual relations were consensual with the older girl, the younger teen told police he forced her. Under Florida law, it is illegal for an adult to have sex with a minor even if the contact is consensual.
In an agreement with prosecutors, Robinson pleaded guilty to 4 counts of handling and fondling a child under 16 and one of performing a lewd and lascivious act.
Robinson faced a maximum sentence of 75 years in prison if convicted at trial. The prosecutor said the minister was offered the plea agreement because the victims’ families wanted to avoid the trauma of trial. AP 6/7/2000
Minister gets prison in sex case (
http://www.sptimes.com/News/070800/TampaBay/Minister_gets_prison_.shtml)
St. Petersburg minister sentenced to 20 years in sex case
http://www.polkonline.com/stories/070800/sta_sex-case.shtml
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Rev. Marchand of New Testament Fellowship Church is convicted of sexual molestation, neglect and physical abuse of his children in 1994 (Worchester Telegram & Gazette, May 28, 2000)
Appointment of guardian may add to cycle of abuse
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EASTON - A pastor will stand trial on rape and child-abuse charges, a judge ruled yesterday. The Rev. Andrew Roy Tilghman, 32, was ordered to stand trial in circuit court on charges of first-degree rape and first-degree sexual offense against two girls.
Tilghman is pastor of the United Missionary Baptist Church. District Judge William Adkins III also ordered him to stand trial on nine counts each of second-degree rape, second-degree assault, child abuse and third- and fourth-degree sexual offense and two counts of second-degree sexual offense. His wife, Great Elizabeth Tilghman, 33, was ordered to stand trial on charges of child abuse and second-degree assault. Easton Police Detective Brandon Bobbick testified in a hearing that a 10-year-old revealed she had been beaten by Great Elizabeth Tilghman and that she and her sister had been sexually abused by Andrew Roy Tilghman. - AP May 24, 2000
Easton pastor's abuse trial on
http://www.jrnl.net/news/00/May/jrn78240500.html
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Los Angeles CA. Faith Healer Molests Children. Carlos Catalan, 49, a faith healer with no known religious affiliation, is being held on 15 counts of rape, two counts of sodomy, three counts of lewd acts with a child and one count of child molestation.Catalan would tell young women that having sex with him would lead to healing for family members. He told one young woman, aged 16, that unless she sacrificed her virginity to a saint channeled through him, that her father would die. (05.18.00, Reuters)
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DECATUR, AL. - A minister on his way to County Jail proclaimed his innocence and said he was “set up” on sexual abuse charges.
Victor Young Pickett, 25, was charged after an indictment by a grand jury with first-degree sodomy, first-degree sexual abuse and second-degree sexual abuse, records showed. The charges stem from a June 19, 1999, offense involving two males, ages 10 and 14, police said.
According to police, the investigation of Pickett spanned six months and revealed that he allegedly had sexually molested other young males also but it is unknown if other charges will be filed.
A police investigator said Pickett ran a church out of his apartment. “He’d go around and pick them up and take them to his church. He’d take them to movies or out to eat and that’s when he would molest them.”
As he was being led to jail, where he was to be held in lieu of bonds totaling $150,000, Pickett said he was an ordained minister and ran the Pentecostal Church of Truth, an outreach ministry, which has about 15 members. He said he had been in the ministry since he was 12 and that he worked with adults and young adults.
Pickett said he thinks one of the families he’s been helping set him up. He alluded to discovering that some of the people he was helping were “drug users and criminals.” He said, “When you help people and you stop, this is what happens.” Daily 5/9/2000
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SAN JOSE, CA. - A former Newark pastor convicted of molesting a mildly retarded teenager should not go to prison because he did not intend to harm the boy, the man’s lawyer told a judge.
Calling Howard DePorte’s actions “horribly misguided,” his attorney said the popular religious leader instead should be placed on probation and undergo intensive therapy. A County Superior Court judge granted the request to send DePorte for an evaluation by the state Dept. of Corrections before his sentencing.
After the examination, which may take up to 90 days, the department will make a confidential sentencing recommendation to the judge. DePorte could face penalties ranging from probation to more than 5 years in prison.
DePorte, 44 - who still enjoys popularity with many of his former parishioners - has admitted to engaging in sexual activities with the boy, then 15.
During his trial, DePorte contended he had masturbated in his church office with the victim as part of a lesson on sex.
The prosecutor told the judge that regardless of DePorte’s intentions, the victim - now 18 - was harmed by his onetime mentor. She has asked the judge to give DePorte the maximum allowable sentence.
DePorte was found guilty of sexual battery and committing lewd and lascivious acts with a minor. He was acquitted of several more serious charges.
The family of the teen has filed a civil suit against DePorte.
The pastor, who worked as a handyman after the abuse allegations surfaced, has been held in jail since his conviction.Mercury News 4/29/2000
EDITOR: Howard DePorte is apparently now a gay buddist:
Howards poem from prison at the bottom of this page and Howard is quoted here as a paster of a gay Lutheran Church before the molestation
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AURORA, IL. - Rev. Paul Goodman, 54, has been indicted by a grand jury on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse with 3 teenage girls. The television minister, who runs weekly church services at Provena Mercy Center, is accused of having sexual contact with the teens, ages 13, 16 and 17, according to the indictment.
His family is calling the allegations a gross misunderstanding. His wife, Arvis, said the situation began last fall when her husband wrote a letter to one of the teens. She called the note a “written lecture” on dating, with references to caressing. The minister’s family contends that the note fell into the hands of one of the girls’ aunts, who went to state authorities worried that the letter might be a sign of an abusive relationship.
Charges were leveled against Goodman after a grand jury gathered testimony from witnesses. Goodman was taken into custody without incident in Chicago. He was being held in Kane County Jail on $100,000 bond awaiting arraignment.
Arvis Goodman said she and her husband have been members of Faith Deliverance Church in Aurora. The couple run the Sinners Repentant Church of Jesus Christ, a group that Goodman said ministers to people with alcohol and drug problems. The Goodmans also are known in Aurora for their cable-access television program, “God’s Information Station.” 3/31/2000
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FRESNO - Policeman Paul Hurth, 44, who is also a Baptist minister, has been charged with murder of the husband of his alleged mistress. Hurth was held on $1 million bond.
Hurth was arrested one week after Ralph Gawor, 43, was found shot to death inside his home. An officer for 4 years, Hurth was fired shortly afterwards.
Gawor, 43, a sales manager for a downtown car lot, was last seen alive Feb. 18 when he left work. Investigators have discovered physical evidence linking Hurth to the scene. Gawor's employers said there was no indication of any problems in his 12-year marriage to Nancy Gawor.
However, the attorney for Hurth's family told The Fresno Bee that his client "was involved with the victim's wife in a romantic relationship." AP, 2/29/00
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DETROIT - Kevin Cain, 37, a Salvation Army choir director, has been charged in 5 separate cases of sexual abuse involving 8 boys, all of whom are expected to testify. One case dates back more than 8 years.
He faces 21 counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and 3 other sex-related charges. He faces up to life in prison if convicted of just one first-degree criminal sexual conduct charge.
Cain gave the youths money, clothes, alcoholic drinks and marijuana in exchange for sex, according to Detroit police. When police began investigating Cain last Aug., he fled but turned himself in this Jan.
He has pleaded not guilty and is being held in the county jail. The Salvation Army has fired Cain, who was a part-time employee.
Police said Cain has no known convictions. Free Press, 2/23/00
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Seattle, WA. Judge Huggins sentenced Dean Suess, 47, to almost 10 years in prison for three counts of second-degree child molestation and four counts of third-degree child molestation. The sentence, at the high end of the standard range, was recommended by prosecutors after Suess pleaded guilty Jan. 14. Suess, a Boy Scout volunteer, was the minister of music at a Lutheran church in Bothell at the time of his arrest, and held a doctorate in liturgy (Feb. 19, 2000; SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER)
Lutheran minister from Bothell sentenced
Seattle Newspaper Report
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SOUTH KITSAP, WA. A youth pastor at a South Kitsap church has been charged with third-degree child molestation, alleging he had sexual relations with a 15-year-old member of his youth group. Cecil Gregory Foust, 40, a youth pastor at South Park Assembly of God, was arrested Feb. 1. He pleaded innocent at his arraignment Friday. The alleged relationship began during a youth group trip in December, Kitsap County Sheriff's Office Lt. Jim Harris said. They allegedly had sexual contact on several occasions. Those contacts occurred in the church van when he drove her home, Harris said. (2/5/2000, The Sun, Bremerton, WA.)
Youth pastor charged with molestation
http://www.thesunlink.com/news/2000/february/0205a1f.html
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TAMPA - A former minister faces up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty in federal court to receiving child pornography on his computer.
Lawrence Kilbourne, 43, wept at the hearing, but later spoke calmly when a magistrate asked if he understood the consequences of pleading guilty. Kilbourne resigned as pastor of Forest Hills United Methodist Church in Oct. shortly after his arrest. He told the 500 parishioners in the church he founded that he had a sexual addiction.
FBI agents found thousands of images of child pornography on his computer that his daughter discovered after becoming suspicious of her father because he flirted with young girls at restaurants. She notified authorities after finding in his church-owned home a videotape of a man fondling a young child,which she feared was him.
He faces life in prison if convicted of capital sexual battery for allegedly molesting his daughter's friend during a sleepover in 1994. He admitted that he fondled the girl while she slept after prosecutors confronted him with the videotape he made of the incident. Kilbourne wept in court before pleading guilty to the pornography charges.
Authorities seized more than 200 videotapes and 15,000 computer files from Kilbourne's home. Some of the items depicted toddler and preadolescent children posed or engaged in sexual conduct.
Kilbourne pleaded guilty to federal charges of receiving the explicit computer files. He also faces state charges of sexual battery on a child under age 16 for the alleged videotaped molestation. A trial on that charge was set to begin in April. Investigators also were checking allegations that Kilbourne had improper contact with members of his church youth group, as well as children from the church day care center. Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 2/4/00; AP, 2/3/2000
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RALIEGH - Non-denominational minister Howard Hunichen, 36, pleaded for nearly an hour in his own defense, imploring a judge not to believe he is a "cruel, evil beast" who beat infants senseless and raped people. But Superior Court Judge Henry Hight Jr. imposed the maximum sentence of 6 years in prison as soon as Hunichen finished speaking and said it was not enough.
Hunichen was found guilty of shaking, stomping and hitting 7-month-old Zachary Fortner to force him to crawl and walk and be quiet. The boy was left with severely limited mental and physical abilities, and is not expected to recover.
His parents, Kevin and Lisa Fortner, face felony child abuse charges and their 2 daughters have also been removed from their custody. During the trial they testified that Hunichen assaulted them and forced Lisa to have sex with him. The district attorney, however, is not considering bringing rape charges against Hunichen. News & Observer, 1/21/00
Howard Hunichen
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SAN JOSE - More than 2 years after his arrest, a former Lutheran pastor testified that he did not molest a teenage boy, but instead was teaching him about his body in a sexual-learning experience that went awry.
Frequently closing his eyes to recall details from Oct. 1997, Howard DePorte, 44, denied he was guilty of 10 felony child-molestation charges involving a now-17-year-old, mildly retarded student.
But DePorte did admit that his actions were inappropriate. "I knew it was conduct contrary to theR law, but I had the growing sense that no one would take the risk to help him (the teen) the way I thought he needed to be helped," said DePorte, who resigned from the Holy Redeemer Church in 1997.
DePorte testified in front of a packed courtroom made up mostly of his church supporters that he knew he was in a "moral dilemma." If convicted on all counts, DePorte could face a maximum 21 years in prison.
The boy, whose testimony was sometimes contradictory, said the ex-pastor molested him on two separate occasions.
According to DePorte, the boy, who was in his confirmation class for 2 years, repeatedly talked about sexual fantasies with soap-opera actresses and how he thought sex was evil. On several occasions, the boy told the ex-pastor that his genitals were in pain because he masturbated without lotion. DePorte testified he decided to show the boy step by step how to masturbate. Then they masturbated in front of each other in DePorte's church office, he testified. DePorte also testified that he knows his open views about sexuality and masturbation go against the teachings of the conservative branch of the Lutheran church. Mercury News, 1/6/00
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MARLOW Robert George, 53 Melbourne Pentecostal born again Christian and revival church member. Receives 3 year and 6 month jail sentence in VIC County Court after pleading guilty to 3 child sex offences, including 1 count of committing unlawful sexual intercourse and 2 of performing indecent act, against boy, aged 13, in 1997 during business trip to Nadi, Fiji. Court hears Marlow, of Blackburn, performed "sordid activities" on boy after giving his family gifts of money, food and presents. Judge says Marlow, who was described in court as "deeply religious", displayed "ultimate act of hypocrisy" by baptising victim in waters of Nadi Bay. (Victoria, Australia, 2000).
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SAMPSON Lloyd Luciano, 47 WA Pentecostal born again Christian and New Apostolic Church minister. Receives 10 year jail sentence in WA court after being convicted on 15 child sex charges, including 5 counts of committing unlawful sexual intercourse and 3 of indecent dealing, against 3 sisters, aged under 15, in WA. Offences surface after youngest girl complained minister was hurting her and wanted to commit suicide. Court hears minister married with 2 children. (Western Australia, Australia, 2000).
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SOUTER Robert Leslie, 46 Wollongong Jehovah's Witness church member. Receives maximum 5 year jail sentence in Wollongong District Court after pleading guilty to 5 sex charges, including 1 count of buggery and 4 of indecent assault, against 2 teenage boys between 1978 and 1980. Court hears Souter, who attended Jehovah's Witness Corrimal congregation at Balgownie, assaulted victims while on beach and Blue Mountains church outings. Court told church elders told of offences in 1990 but failed to contact police. Judge criticises church for failing to report criminal activity, saying church may have spiritual responsibility but it does not exceed state authority. (New South Wales, Australia, 2000).
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AURORA, IL. - A self-proclaimed minister and schoolbus driver faces multilple charges with soliciting sex from two 18-year-old males assigned to court-ordered community service at the church he ran from his home. Terrance Johnson, 45, was charged also with bribery and record-tampering for allegedly offering to falsely report that the men had finished their work in exchange for sex. He resigned as bus driver when local school officials got wind of the police investigation, and after more than 50 calls from concerned residents to investigators, more charges might follow. Tribune 1/28/00, 12/28/99, 12/3/99
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NORTHFIELD, MN. - Pastor and youth minister Grant Junior Grayson, 32, was sentenced to 9 months in jail after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a 12-year-old boy whom he took to his house and on church trips. He will be on probation for up to 25 years, must pay over $6,000 in fines and restitution, register as a sex offender, refrain from drugs and alcohol and complete treatment. AP, 2/12/00, 12/7/99
Arrest
Guilty Plea
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CLEVELAND - Rev. Charles O. Clarke, 74, pastor of Freedom Chapel, was placed on 5-years probation for molesting 5 boys during the last 18 years. He pleaded guilty in Oct. to 5 counts of gross sexual imposition as part of a plea agreement. Judge Janet Burnside said she gave that sentence because Clarke is not a pedophile and unlikely to repeat the offense. She said and investigation had disclosed his preference was for age-appropriate women. He does, however, have to register with law enforcement authorities every year for the next decade. Plain Dealer, 11/30/99
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AIKEN. SC. - A former youth minister who admitted to molesting church members on camping trips and manipulating neighborhood boys with money and gifts during 3 decades has received a 30-year prison sentence.
Robert Dorsett, 65, pleaded guilty to 15 sex crimes involving children during an emotional hearing in which the offenses were read in detail to a hushed courtroom. Some of Dorsett's victims - who range in age now from 9 to 43 - attended the hearing and asked the judge to keep Dorsett from abusing more children. Friends and family members of Dorsett attended the hearing, lining up to speak on his behalf. Many were neighbors or co-workers who called him a father figure and hard worker.
Dorsett met many of his victims while he was a training director at First Baptist Church in Aug.a years ago. During trips in a church program, he would organize shaving cream fights and have the youths shower together, police said. He encouraged them to go streaking.
During a search of Dorsett's home, sheriff's officers found a brown suitcase containing X-rated videotapes and magazines along with candy, cookies and other items he gave the children, police said.
Investigators found notebooks where Dorsett kept track of neighborhood boys and their telephone numbers. Publicity about his arrest last year led to new allegations by victims who had tried to forget the abuse, police said.
Augusta Chronicle, 11/30/99
Molester pleads guilty
http://www.augustachronicle.com/stories/113099/met_124-3417.shtml
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Gwinnett, GA. Gwinnett police say a man who claims to be a street preacher is also the bus stop rapist. Cyril Ramsley 33, is accused of raping a 15-year-old girl and sexually assaulting a 27-year-old woman. He allegedly abducted them from bus stops during attacks a month apart. On Tuesday, the victims picked Ramsley out of a lineup, said Gwinnett police Detective Curtis Clemons. (The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 11-24-1999)
Street preacher held in 2 bus stop assaults
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TAMPA - A church deacon already accused of Internet sex crime against a teen-age girl faced more sexual extortion charges for allegedly terrorizing 5 other high school and college students. Robert Harvey Alexander, 41, a deacon at the First Baptist Church in Tampa, was being held in lieu of $150,000 bond after an appearance in federal court to advise him of the 5 additional charges.
Three 21-year-old students at Georgia Tech in Atlanta and two students at Plantation High School in Florida were the latest alleged victims of attempts to engage them in telephone and cybersex, federal agents said. Frank Gallagher, head of Tampa's FBI office, said the new charges grew out of interviews with people named on a "Victim's List." Agents seized the list with 99 names and e-mail addresses on it when they arrested Alexander for using the Internet in an attempt to extort a 16-year-old girl.
All of those on the list received virtually identical messages threatening to destroy their reputations unless they engaged in phone or computer sex with the sender. Gallagher called it "cyberterrorism" because of the fear created in the recipients. One women told her father, an assistant federal public defender, about the message. Another contacted university officials.
Investigators are trying to reach other women included on the list. So far, have traced 17 of them, and are continuing their search. Prosecutors said they hope the new charges will bolster their claim that Alexander is a methodical and dangerous sexual predator. AP, 11/11/99
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WALDORF, VA. - After an emotional 6-hour court hearing, a judge sentenced a former Waldorf minister to 18 months in jail for repeatedly sexually abusing his 12-year-old stepdaughter throughout the spring of 1992.
John Joseph Damba, 42, one of the co-founders of the Gathering Place church here, was sentenced to 10 concurrent years, all but 18 months of which was suspended, for the abuse, which took place over several months in 1992 at the family's home. The victim, who is now 20, came forward to report Damba to the police this year after the emotional effects of the abuse resurfaced during premarital counseling.
In the lengthy sentencing hearing, Judge Steven G. Chappelle heard testimony from the victim, whom he called "brave," and from a string of Damba's supporters and church members who described Damba's deep anguish over the repeated incidents of sexual fondling.
Indicted in May on 8 counts of child abuse and third-degree sexual offense, Damba pleaded guilty to reduced charges of 2 counts of child abuse in Sept.
Chappelle chastised Damba at the end of the hearing, saying that any man who went into a 12-year-old girl's bedroom to touch her sexually was committing a "cruel and evil act." Damba told his stepdaughter that he was ashamed of what he had done.
The young woman read from a prepared text with her head bowed, frequently overcome by emotion. She said that while she had initially forgiven her stepfather for the abuse, years of hurt and confusion had followed. "Nothing healed the pain," she said. "I still felt alone." She said that finally confronting the abuse, going through counseling and notifying the police has been a freeing experience. "I feel like I am myself again," she said.
His wife, Darlene Damba, described a "broken, weeping" Damba who begged for his wife's and stepdaughter's forgiveness shortly after the girl told her mother of the abuse in June 1992. The mother said they tried family counseling and used Christian healing books. However, the victim said she had not gone to counseling at the time.
The Gathering Place, a nonaffiliated Christian church established in 1996, has been shaken by the allegations against Damba, who was asked to step down from his position as "worship minister" shortly after the allegations surfaced this spring. The 100-member congregation has been deeply divided - with members supporting either the Dambas or the victim, who no longer attends church there.
"Mr. Damba has manipulated his religious community into shunning her," Collins said during the hearing.
Church Pastor Paul Goodwin disagreed. "We're really praying for the families, that there will be healing and restoration," Goodwin said. "There are no winners in a situation like this. It saddens the whole church community." Washington Post, 11/7/99
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JOHNSON CITY - A monk was found guilty of indecency with a child for his relationship with a boy at a monastery in east Texas.
Jonathan I. Hitt, 38, known as Fr. Jeremiah, was convicted on 8 counts stemming from incidents at the Christ of the Hills Monastery in the summer of 1997. The monastery is near Blanco. He could face up to 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000.
The 14-year-old victim, who was a novice monk studying at the monastery, testified during the weeklong trial that he had several sexual encounters with Hitt. Despite feeling awkward about the episodes, the youth testified he didn't object on the advice of Sam A. Greene Jr., the spiritual leader of the religious enclave. Greene, 54, known as Fr. Benedict, also was charged with indecency with a child. He hasn't yet gone to trial.
The boy's 47-year-old mother testified he had struggled in public school and that she had hoped the monks would provide individualized lessons and serve as father figures for him. The attorney for the defendant claimed during the trial that she was a "scorned woman" whose advances Hitt had rebuffed.
The Russian Orthodox Church recently broke ties with the monastery because of its refusal to let church officials inspect records and the premises. Christ of the Hills opened near Blanco in 1980 and is best known for its icon of the Virgin Mary that the monks claim weeps tears of myrrh. AP 10/27/99
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TAMPA - A former Forest Hills pastor has been arrested and charged with receiving child pornography after federal agents searched his church-owned home and found at least one homemade videotape showing a child being molested.
Lawrence Kilbourn, 43, was arrested 4 days after his congregation at Forest Hills United Methodist Church was told that he had resigned from his post because of a "sexual addiction."
Kilbourn's 17-year-old daughter turned her father in to authorities about a month ago after she discovered footage of a man molesting a young girl on a videotape of church activities, said FBI task force agent Robert Sheehan.
She couldn't see the man's face in the video, but she recognized a ring that looked just like the one her father once wore and had given to her.
More than 200 videotapes and 15,000 computer files were seized from Kilbourn's church-owned home in north Hillsborough County, and were being reviewed, said Sheehan. At least one home videotape shows a young child being molested. The computer files also contain child and adult pornography, Sheehan said.
Investigators are also checking allegations that Kilbourn had improper contact with members of his church youth group as well as children from the church day care. A dozen families, all with children in the church's youth group, have stepped forward with the allegations, police said.
Kilbourn was being held in jail in lieu of $80,000 bail, the amount of equity in his elderly parents' home. The judge also set strict guidelines for his release, including no contact with minors, no computer access and electronic monitoring of his whereabouts.
At a court hearing, Sheehan testified that Kilbourn admitted making the videotape and possessing computer files, some of which depicted toddler and preadolescent children posed or engaged in sexual conduct. Kilbourn admitted he had made another videotape with child pornography about a year ago and that he was unable to stop himself from molesting children, the agent said.
The tape his daughter saw was made 5 years ago in Bradenton, where Kilbourn once worked at another church, he added.
Kilbourn's attorney said the charges are "traumatic" for Kilbourn's family. Kilbourn's daughter moved out of her father's home Oct. 12 and moved to Tallahassee to live with her mother, Sheehan said.
Kilbourn is divorced and has 3 daughters. He was pastor at the 500-member church for 16 months. An interim pastor has been named to the church.
Dave Brazelton, a United Methodist official, stripped Kilbourn of his church credentials and accepted his resignation. "I had felt really hurt for Larry," he said, "and now it's switched to any potential victims." AP 10/23/99
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PRINCE GEORGE, British Columbia - A 5,000-member Anglican diocese may face bankruptcy if it is forced to pay major damages as a result of a series of court cases on sexual abuse.
The Supreme Court of British Columbia ruled that the Diocese of Cariboo, the Anglican Church of Canada and the federal government were jointly liable for compensation in the case of Floyd Mowatt, who was sexually abused 30 years ago at a church residential school in British Columbia.
The amount of damages has not yet been made public, but the Anglican Journal, the church's national publication, estimated the church's portion of the award at about C$200,000 (US$135,000). Although the Diocese of Cariboo has sufficient resources to pay its share of damages, there are 4 more actions pending related to the same offender. It is expected that the award will be the same in each of the cases, which are likely to be dealt with quickly in the courts because they are based on the evidence already presented in the Mowatt case.
Derek Clarke, a residence supervisor at St George's residential school in Lytton, was convicted in 1993 and jailed for sexually abusing the plaintiff and several other boys. The issue before Justice Dillon was to determine who the employer was and who should pay the damages. She found the church, which ran the institution and had hired Clarke, 60% responsible and the government, under whose mandate the school operated, 40% responsible. She found they both breached their duty, but that the church, in a position of trust, had greater liability for failing to protect the children in their charge.
The diocese might be faced with bankruptcy, Abp. David Crawley said. He said: "The Primate [Archbishop Michael Peers, head of the Canadian church] has publicly apologized for our involvement in the residential school business and what happened at them. The church will pay its obligations."
This is the first decision involving residential schools and the Anglican Church. The church still faces more than 200 similar lawsuits involving hundreds of plaintiffs. ENI, 10/5/99
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A pair of Tulsa police detectives were assigned Wednesday to investigate whether Oral Roberts University officials may have violated a law by failing to report the sexual assaults of boys who were attending summer camps there, as alleged by an investigating officer. At the same time, ORU officials released a statement saying that when they investigated initial reports in June, the incidents were not believed to have been criminal. (Tulsa World, 08/26/1999)
Oral Roberts University officials failed to report the sexual assaults, police say.
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BERGEN, NJ. - A state judge sentenced a New York City man to 180 days in the county jail for lewdness in front of children, saying that the Salvation Army captain brought disrepute to the organization and that he still does not fully appreciate the consequences of his actions. Philip Bentley, 33, was convicted by a jury in March on counts of child endangerment, criminal sexual contact, and lewdness for masturbating in front of 3 boys who were riding their bikes in the woods.
Bentley, who also was a minister for the Salvation Army, will be required to continue counseling and will remain on probation for 5 years. He also will be required to register as a sex offender and must stay away from children.
On June 20, the 3 boys - then aged 13, 14, and 18 - were riding their bikes in the woods in a park when they noticed Bentley watching them. Bentley then removed his clothes and started masturbating, said the county assistant prosecutor. He said Bentley was in the area that day because he had been driving children from the New York Salvation Army group to a nearby camp.
The judge could have given Bentley probation but said he was concerned because Bentley admitted "acting out," in similar ways twice after he was arrested. Bergen Record, 8/14/99
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Dekalb, GA. Rev. Thomas Brown III, the former pastor of Bentley Hill United Methodist Church in Stockbridge. Brown disappeared last November on his way to turn himself in to Henry County police. When Brown jumped from his wife's car last November, he was wanted for aggravated sodomy, aggravated assault, armed robbery and burglary in an Oct. 24 attack on an 17-year-old female. (The Atlanta Journal and Constitution 08-04-1999)
Police identify skeleton
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AKRON. OH. - The family of 15-year-old murder victim Cassandra Blondheim has filed a wrongful death suit against evangelist Ernest Angley and his various ministries. The suit says that the man accused of the murder, Shane Partin, was retained as a volunteer at the Cathedral Buffet despite repeated warnings about his behavior.
Partin has been charged in the Jan. stabbing death of Cassandra at the Cuyahoga Falls restaurant, which is own be Angley's ministries. He has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Cassandra also was a volunteer there, and the suit alleges that she complained repeatedly to Angley and other ministers that she had been harassed and stalked by Partin. Plain Dealer 7/30/99
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LA CROSSE, WI. - The former pastor of a Chicago church was facing charges of sexually assaulting two teenage girls in a La Crosse, Wis., Bible class nearly 20 years ago. Richard D. Ahlberg, 47, who now lives in Minn., served as the youth pastor for the Bethany Evangelical Free Church near La Crosse from 1979 to 1982, when the criminal complaint alleged he committed numerous sex acts with the girls.
The District Atty. said one of the girls made the allegations to church officials in the mid-1980s, but law enforcement authorities weren't notified until last year. One of the alleged victims finally stepped forward after hearing that Ahlberg wanted to return to the La Crosse church as pastor.
Ahlberg was free on bond. Chicago Tribune 7/4/99
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The Rev. David Kingston, a leader of the Latter-Day Church of God, a polygamous Mormon offshoot in Utah, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for marrying his 16-year-old niece against her will as his 15th wife. (unknown, 7/3/99)
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The Rev. Andras Pandy, a Belgian minister and religion teacher, was charged with murdering five family members and sexually molesting his daughters.(unknown, 7/3/99)
Pastor, 74, faces incest and murder charges
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CHICAGO - A former pastor from Bridgeview has been sentenced to 5 years in prison for having sex with a 16-year-old church member. Scott A. Shelby, 30, formerly of Calvary Tabernacle Church pleaded guilty to 3 counts of criminal sexual assault against a juvenile. Sun-Times 6/99/99
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Atlanta, GA. The Rev. Danny B. Moody may have slipped in the eyes of the law, but he hasn't fallen from grace in the hearts of his followers. Moody, 52, who has served as Pastor of Mount Carmel Baptist Church in Douglasville for 24 years, was arrested May 29 on a felony Peeping Tom charge. Atlanta police allege Moody aimed his Camcorder beneath the skirts of females while riding escalators at Hartsfield Internationa Airport. Moody was released under $5,000 bond the same day. Almost three weeks later, Moody's wife, Brenda, said his congregation still supports him. "The church has been told about the charges against him, but the church stands behind him by an overwhelming vote," Brenda Moody said. (The Atlanta Journal and Constitution 06-19-1999)
Minister faces felony Peeping Tom charge
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HAMILTON, OH. - A Pentecostal minister convicted of repeatedly raping his daughter has been sentenced to 17-50 years in prison and fined $7,500. Yet the judge declined to classify Rev. Darrell Bell, 50, as a sexual predator, based on court-ordered psychological exams that concluded he has a low probability of repeating the offense. Bell has been ruled a sexually-oriented offender, which means he will have to notify local authorities where he is living and check in with them.
His daughter, Dawn Bell, asked to be publicly identified as she helped prosecute her father, including testifying against him at trail. She said her abuse began at age 10 and continued until she was 18 and moved away. She later confronted her father and went to prosecutors after he refused to get counseling. AP 6/12/99
Jury gets minister's abuse case
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LIHUE, HI. - A self-proclaimed Buddhist priest pleaded no contest to 20 counts of sexual assault involving a young girl.
Thich An Thanh, 53, had been charged with 551 counts of sexual assault against the girl. The extra counts were dropped under a plea agreement with prosecutors. An Thanh, a Cambodian national, faces a prison term of up to 400 years and a maximum fine of $1 million.
An indictment returned in March by a Kauai grand jury accused An Thanh of sexually assaulting the girl from 1996, when she was 12, until 1998. She says the attacks occurred after regularly-scheduled religious services An Than held in a Kilauea barn.
The girl was 6 years old when she and her mother met An Thanh when they began attending religious sessions he held in Los Angeles, police said, and they followed him when he moved to Kauai 6 years ago. AP 6/11/99, 5/12/99
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PHILADELPHIA - After two days of testimony, a county judge took less than a minute to decide to deny a request to grant a new trial to Fr. Robert K. Orr, 55, an Episcopal priest convicted of possessing child pornography and distributing it on the Internet.
The defense attorney has 30 days to appeal to State Superior Court. For now, the former pastor from Wyncote still faces an 11- to 23-month prison sentence,handed down by the judge April 27. Defense had argued that crucial evidence, including phone records and witness testimony, were not adequately addressed by Orr's former defense attorney during the March trial.
He tried to show that much of the evidence used against Orr was part of a larger conspiracy that included one of Orr's former parishioners, John Ralston, whom Orr claims downloaded the pictures and framed him. Additionally, he raised questions about a message allegedly left by a school principal saying he had the photographs Orr requested. The recording was later determined to be a hoax.
The assistant district attorney agreed that the message was a setup, but said that it could not be used to prove that the entire case against Orr was part of an elaborate scheme to get him. Instead, she said much of Grimes' questioning amounted to a "smear campaign," to target Ralston.
Police acting on a tip found about 20 pictures of children engaging in sex acts on the new computer in Orr's church office at in May 1998. Shortly after his arrest, Orr was relieved of his priestly duties by the Episcopal Diocese of Philadelphia. He was later inhibited, meaning he cannot perform in a religious capacity, pending a church investigation. Inquirer 6/7/99, 3/11/99
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TACOMA, WA. - Elders from the Bethel Christian Assembly have defended their handling of a complaint against a youth pastor now charged with eight counts of child molestation and rape, saying the allegations against Herman Glenn Jr., 34, amounted to "hearsay."
The elders also said in a statement that Glenn was returned to his job only after they were assured he would not be a threat to children.
Prosecutors charged Glenn with 8 counts stemming from alleged assaults on two teen-age boys beginning last year. Possible cases involving as many as 16 other boys remained under investigation.
After his arrest, Glenn told authorities he'd had sexual contact with 3 youths in the Chicago area and 14 others in Tacoma. Another boy came forward recently to say he was sexually molested by the pastor, according to a police spokesman.
Glenn resigned his post at the 2,000-member Bethel Christian Assembly,citing "gross moral failures by engaging in sexual contact with minors." He was being held on $75,000 bail in the county jail on 6 counts of third-degree rape, one count of second-degree rape and one count of child molestation. He has pleaded innocent.
The boys described a grooming process that involved passwords and progressive levels of contact between them and Glenn, prosecutors said. Glenn told authorities he would pretend to be sleepwalking or talking in his sleep to get the boys to engage in sex acts. "A lot of mind-control was involved in it," the spokesman said. Detectives say Glenn would approach boys and tell them he needed help curing his alter personality.
None of the sexual contact involving the two boys occurred at the church but at Glenn's home, charging papers said.
Glenn said church officials had no knowledge of what he'd done prior to his admission. In their statement, the church council of elders said Glenn came to the Tacoma church in 1991 with "glowing recommendations" from Homewood Full Gospel Church in Homewood, Ill., a Chicago suburb.
Rumors reached them that something had happened there. Although the elders did not describe the nature of the information they received, investigators said a pastor at Homewood had contacted Tacoma church officials after two boys in the Chicago area accused Glenn of touching them inappropriately when he was pastor there.
The elders asked a counselor to evaluate Glenn "We were given complete assurance that Herman was within normal sexual limits and posed no threat to children or society," they said. The counselor told The Seattle Times that he was shocked by Glenn's arrest. AP 6/5, Chicago Sun-Times, 6/4/99
Another teen says pastor molested him
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ROCKFORD, IL. - Roald Hasley, a retired bishop in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, has resigned from the clergy a week after he was stripped of his duties amid allegations of sexual misconduct. 4 women claimed he engaged in improper sexual conduct while he was a bishop, church officials said.Daily Herald, 5/29/99
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FAIRBANKS, AK. - A Baptist pastor from an interior village was arrested on charges he molested his adopted teen-age daughter, State Troopers said.
Richard Cook, 46, is accused of having sex with the girl twice and touching her genitals often during the past 19 months, according to court documents. He has been charged with one count each of first- and second-degree sexual abuse of a minor.
Troopers said Cook first sexually touched the victim, then 13, in Oct. 1997. Four months later, the molestation became an "almost daily" event despite the girl's protests, according to court documents.
The girl's adoptive mother, who had started working outside the home,suspected something was amiss because Cook "changed his behavior and demeanor," according to the documents. But when she questioned her husband and daughter, both denied anything was going on, troopers said. The girl attempted suicide before she reported what happened.
Troopers said Cook has since admitted to the sexual contact, stating he knew his actions were wrong but that he "just got mixed up a bit," according to documents.
He was arrested at a Fairbanks motel. Cook and the women had traveled to town to seek help, said police. AP 4/27/99
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ST. PETERSBURG, FL. - Pastor Conny Sjostrom told some of the women he counseled for alcohol and substance abuse problems that they were special. Kerry Fitzgerald wanted to hear those words and said she trusted a man of the cloth to help her through the toughest battle of her life.
Now Fitzgerald, who went to Sjostrom for help in overcoming her alcoholism, is suing him, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, of Chicago, and the Florida-Bahama Synod, its local governing body.
In a civil trial in circuit court, Fitzgerald said that Sjostrom took advantage of her sexually during counseling sessions in his Fort Lauderdale office and at her home. Her lawyers say the church failed to supervise Sjostrom adequately and ignored warnings from other women, including one of his former wives, that he used his clerical collar to gain their trust and then had sexual contact with them. Sun-Sentinel 4/27/99
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DALLAS - Six women have accused a retired missionary of molesting them 30 years ago in Africa, shortly before Highland Park Presbyterian Church hired him as an associate pastor.
Similar allegations by others forced Rev. Bill Pruitt, 87, to quit his mission job in 1970, say two of the women and a former mission official. All the accusers are daughters of people who worked with Pruitt in Congo, then called the Belgian Congo.
An inquiry stemmed from a 1998 complaint filed by several women against Pruitt, who was then retired in Dallas. Pruitt, who died in 1999, denied the allegations. No criminal charges were ever filed. Church officials received credible information that the missionary molested children, but took no disciplinary action.
Another accuser said she hopes publicity will lead other victims to get help. She said she felt powerless to complain when abused in the late 1960s in Congo's capital of Kinshasa, at a boarding school for missionaries' children where Pruitt worked as a dormitory supervisor.
Her parents, she said, "were 500 miles away" at a rural mission post. "There was no telephone or radio connection."
Pritchard said she was aware of at least 6 victims beyond the women who have spoken to investigators. Some were abused at the school, as she and the second accuser were, she said, and others were targeted when Pruitt visited mission posts. Because children were separated from their parents, Pruitt was like a father or an uncle, who charmed them with everything from toys to tricks to hypnosis, she said.
Her father, John Pritchard, said two girls from other families accused Pruitt in the late 1960s. Mr. Pritchard, then chief administrator for US Presbyterians' mission work in Congo, said he ordered Pruitt never to be alone with girls again and to quit his mission work. Pruitt, he said, did not respond to the allegations, "but his wife did. She was very strong in denying that such a thing could happen."
Mr. Pritchard said his daughter told him only recently that she, too, had been molested. Mr. Pruitt enjoyed a reputation as "a very gentle and compassionate man... one of the most loved and admired missionaries we have," he said.
A retired pastor, speaking on condition of anonymity, said his daughter was one of the two who complained in the late 1960s and is not part of the six coming forward now.
Pruitt was later hired by the Highland Park church, one of the largest Presbyterian congregations in Texas. Morning News 4/26/99
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FORT WORTH - Five women agreed to drop their sexual-misconduct lawsuits against the founder of a Baptist church in exchange for his admission to some of the affairs, according to court papers.
The lawsuits against OllinCollins, founder of Harvest Baptist Church and a former board chairman of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, were dropped after Collins acknowledged that he "engaged in an adulterous relationship" with three of the women. But all five women retained the right to sue Collins again their attorney said. "We had asked him to apologize to the church and agree not to be in the pulpit until Sept. of 2000, and he refuses to do that," he said.
Four women and the family of another filed lawsuits in state district court contending that Collins had used his position to force them into "lewd, lascivious, obscene conduct."
Harvest Baptist Church, with 3,500 members, fired Collins in Nov.
The church and the women agreed to a settlement in which the church and its insurance company would pay $400,000 to the women and their families, the Star-Telegram reported. The church has paid about $100,000 of the settlement and will sell a piece of property to cover the cost said an attorney for the church. AP 4/22/99
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WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, OH. - A former youth pastor who admitted to having sex with a 15-year-old member of his youth group has been sentenced to four years in prison. Matthew Eric Moore, 30, was sentenced after pleading guilty in Feb. to one count of sexual battery. Moore was originally charged with sexual battery and corruption of a minor for encounters with the girl in 1997, when he was 28 and she was a 15-year-old member of the youth group at Heritage Memorial Church.
He was sentenced to one year less than the maximum. Moore will be placed on probation after his release and must register as a sexual offender. AP 4/17/99
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DUBUQUE, IA. - A woman is suing her former pastor and the Baptist church for which he worked. Sheldon D. Stotmeisteris accused of having exploited the woman in order to have a sexual relationship when Kim Deutmeyer came to him for counseling. He is also alleged to have encouraged her to divorce her husband and to not tell anyone about the relationship.
Two weeks earlier, her ex-husband Darrell, filed a similar suit.
Stotmeister resigned in March and was arrested in Aug. on charges of sexual exploitation by a counselor as a result of his relationship. Telegraph Herald, 4/15/99
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TRENTON, NJ. - Two adult males who alleged they were sexually abused as teenagers by a former Presbyterian youth minister have no right to sue the local church and its hierarchy because of the state's charitable immunity law, an appeals court has ruled.
The men sued the national Presbyterian Church, the church's Synod of the Northeast, the Presbytery of Elizabeth and the Presbyterian Church at Pluckemin claiming they had been repeatedly sexually abused by their Presbyterian youth minister, Jeffrey Cheseboro. A lower court dismissed the case against the church defendants saying that they were afforded charitable immunity under state law. The appellate panel concurred.
"People don't realize this but if you send your child to a church-affiliated nursery school and they are abused by the teacher the only cause of action you have is against the abuser itself. The church is immune," said John Thatcher, who represented the plaintiffs in the case.
The way the law works, Thatcher said, if you are a member of a church and slip and fall on the stairs, you have no right to sue the church because you are a beneficiary of the church's "charitable purposes." A stranger,or nonmember, however, can bring a case, the courts have found.
In 1995, lawmakers did amend the charitable liabilities law. They said that trustees, directors, officers, employees, agents, servants or volunteers ofcharitable organizations were not granted immunity if they committed an act of sexual assault and other crimes of a sexual nature, but the charitable institutions themselves were.
The appeals court also upheld a dismissal of the case against Cheseboro. The court found that the two-year statute of limitations, which in most sexual abuse cases begins once a child reaches adulthood, had expired. AP 4/5/99
Youth Paster arrested
News Report
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MASCOTTE, FL. - A Baptist preacher was charged with molesting three foster children left in his care. Pastor William Nathan White, Jr., 50, was being held at the county jail on $45,000 bond,charged with three counts of sexual battery of a child under age 12, a capital offense, jail officials said.
Following his arrest, 8 foster children and 3 adopted children were removed from his home and placed in other foster homes according to a spokeswoman for the state Dept. of Children & Families. State records show that White and his wife, Susan, have taken in at least 20 children since they were licensed by the state to become foster parents in 1995.
White first was accused of sexual battery when a 7-year-old girl, who lived with the family for two weeks, told her natural mother during a visit monitored by social workers that White had molested her a sheriff's spokesman said. The girl told investigators that while sitting on White's lap, the minister asked her if anyone had ever touched her "private area." White then placed his hand inside her clothing and fondled her, reports said.
In a videotaped interview, a 10-year-old told authorities White had repeatedly molested her since she came to live with him in Aug., according to reports. An 11-year-old, who lived with the Whites from Aug. into Nov., said the pastor often had her sit on his lap while she played computer games, and he once fondled her, records said.
Investigators plan to question every child the Whites have had in their custody since 1995. State social workers are also reviewing their files to determine if there were any concerns raised about the Whites' home in the past AP 3/5/99
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Rev. Thomas W. Nissley on trial for molestation of a teenage girl. The girl, now 17, said in her testimony that Rev. Nissley rubbed her inner thigh just inches from her groin during the entire ride, which lasted about 10 minutes. (Feb. 24, 1999, Eagle Tribune)
Rev. Nissley on Trial for Molestation
Tribune Report
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FORT WAYNE, IN.- The second youth pastor from from Good Shepherd United Brethren Church in Huntington to stand trial for child molesting in just over two years has been convicted in circuit court.
A jury deliberated just under three hours before finding Bobbie Joe Parris, 35, formerly of Huntington, guilty of of child molesting. A teen-age girl testified that she was "uncomfortable" when her church youth pastor pulled up her shirt and kissed her stomach at his apartment last Aug. Journal Gazette 2/19/99
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ST. PETERSBURG, FL. - A family is suing the Episcopalian Diocese of Southwest Florida and the Church of the Good Shepherd in Punta Gorda, charging a deceased assistant priest molested their son.
According to a civil suit, Fr. Greydon Copeland "exploited the power of his position ... to perform lewd and lascivious, homosexual acts" on the boy, now an adult, while he went to the church there from 1985 to 1989. The boy was a minor at the time.
The suit alleges Copeland told the boy that if he told anyone about the molestations, his family would be humiliated and harmed, and the community would ostracize him. The boy's father was studying to become a Episcopal priest at the time. The boy apparently made the allegations after Copeland was investigated by the church on charges he molested another minor while serving at another parish.
The suit claims Copeland did not deny the allegations when confronted by church officials in May 1994 and that he committed suicide immediately afterwards.
Bp. Rogers Harris and Rector Vincent Scotto of the parish are also named as defendants in the suit. Scotto said he remembered that Copeland was questioned by Harris and another bishop about the incident, and that Copeland committed suicide, but did not know the details of the alleged molestations.
Copeland did perform some services but did not perform children's Sunday School services or have contact with the church's youth other than the families with whom he was directly involved, he said.
The family seeks a jury trial and monetary damages against the defendants on 13 charges, including negligent hiring and supervision, fraud and negligent infliction of emotional distress on all of the family members. The unidentified family contends the son is "severely and permanently injured" by the charged molestations. He continues to incur expenses for medical, psychiatric and psychological treatment, therapy and counseling. Sun-Herald, 2/17/99
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LAWTON, OK. James Lamont Newton, the 25-year-old pastor of Another Chance Outreach Ministries Inc. faces one count of lewd molestation following an investigation into whether he sexually abused members of his congregation. Lawton police Detective John Whittington said the department's investigation began in April but stalled because people were afraid to come forward because of Newton's position in the church. (Tulsa World, 02/06/1999)
Lawton pastor faces sexual abuse charge
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MILWAUKEE, WI. - A self-proclaimed pastor who held church services for children in his home was sentenced to 80 years in prison on charges of sexually molesting 4 girls. Kenneth Spaulding, 47, had been convicted in Dec. of four counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child.
Authorities said children were molested during services at his home where he sponsored "sleepovers" at night. AP, 2/6/99
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VINELAND - A lawsuit filed by a teen-age girl who was an altar server, choir member and Sunday school aide accuses an Episcopal priest of sexually assaulting her. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the family of the unidentified girl, now 18 and living in another county. A second lawsuit filed there the same day alleges the priest also fondled a 40-year-old parishioner.
The lawyer representing the two unidentified women said they came forward after speaking with six or seven other parishioners who made similar claims against Fr. Thomas Berlenbach. Berlenbach and his lawyer denied the allegations. The diocese removed Berlenbach from his post at the Trinity Episcopal Church in Feb. 1997. He faces a trial in the diocese's ecclesiastical court.
The county prosecutor would not comment on whether Berlenbach was ever investigated on criminal charges, but said no investigation is pending. The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, medical and legal expenses, and payment for the clients' lost capacity to earn money in the future.
In the summer of 1994, the girl, then 14, was "violently raped" in a basement meeting room during a coffee hour after a Sunday service, according to the lawsuit, and 3 years later, the girl was sexually assaulted in Berlenbach's office.
The second lawsuit claims a woman, now 40, was abused by "inappropriate touching of the plaintiff's lower torso" on Feb. 22, 1997. The lawsuits also name Bps. Mellick Bellshaw and Joe Morris Doss as defendants, alleging they knew about Berlenbach's "deviant sexual conduct" before the women were abused, but failed to investigate. AP, 1/30/99
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NORRISTOWN, PA. - A clergyman was charged with murdering a 4-year-old boy whom he and his wife had agreed to look after as a favor to the child's impoverished mother, authorities said.
Rev. Javan McBurrow, 47, beat Michael Davis across the back of his legs as many as 10 times with a two-foot metal mason's level, and then forced the child to march the length of the family's squalid suburban home until he dropped, police said. They said the boy was being punished for wetting his pants and for looking at one of the couple's daughters in the bathroom.
McBurrows and his wife, Jane, took the boy to the hospital, telling doctors he had fallen in the bathtub. They then fled with their own five children to Georgia. The boy died soon after and an autopsy showed he had been beaten over a prolonged period.
McBurrows, pastor of the Third Christian Church was arrested for child endangerment in Georgia and returned to Philadelphia.
The 4-year-old, his 7-year-old sister and 5-year-old brother had been living with the McBurrows for about a month because their mother, who also has 3 other children, could not care for them.
After being charged with first-degree murder, McBurrows was remanded to jail with bond set at $500,000. Police who searched the family's home described the two-story house as a "squalid, uninhabitable" dwelling with only one bed. The property has since been condemned. Reuters 1/15/99
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CHICAGO - A former pastor, arrested on charges of sexual assault and abuse of a teenage girl in DuPage County, faces similar charges involving the same 16-year-old in Will County.
Bond was set at $250,000 in Circuit Court for Scott Shelby,30, of Bridgeview. Shelby was charged with sexually assaulting and abusing a young female parishioner at a motel last winter.
Shelby had been a minister at the Calvary Tabernacle Church. He is charged with one count of criminal sexual assault and one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in DuPage County for allegedly taking the teen to motels over a six-month period in 1997 and 1998. Shelby, who left his post when church members and police began investigating his activities, is being held in county jail on $250,000 bond.
A Will County assistant state's attorney will be assigned to help DuPage prosecutors in their prosecution of the case in DuPage County Circuit Court and vice versa. Tribune, 1/15/99
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An Ardmore youth minister has been charged with child molestation. Everice Daniel Johnson appeared in district court Tuesday for initial arraignment on one count of lewd acts against a child under 16. Johnson, a youth minister at Mount Zion Baptist Church, was released following the court appearance on a $2,000 personal recognizance bond. According to charge information filed by the district attorney's office, Johnson allegedly touched the girl "in a manner relating to sexual matters or sexual interests." (The Daily Admoreite, January 14, 1999)
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BRISCOE Phillip Martin Lawrence, 53 Adelaide Salvation Army member. Fined $1200 in Adelaide District Court after pleading guilty to possessing, in late 1997, 2 sets of pornographic photographs of 2 foster girls, aged under 12, entrusted to his care. Court hears Briscoe, of Valley View, Adelaide, photographed victims in shower and in adult clothes. Judge says images showed "little sensitivity" to girls. (South Australia, Australia, 1999).
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BLENNERHASSET Earl Ross, 27 Melbourne Seventh Day Adventist. Pleads guilty in Melbourne County Court to 7 charges, including 3 counts of physical assault and 1 of child stealing, against girl, aged 12, in 1999 at Seventh Day Adventist church in Melbourne. Court hears Blennerhasset, of Croydon, grabbed girl after asking her to go to toilet with him during church service. (Victoria, Australia, 1999).
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CURNUCK Lawrence Joseph, 74 Busselton Seventh Day Adventist youth leader. Receives 12 year jail sentence in Bunbury Supreme Court after pleading guilty to 20 child sex offences, including 14 counts of unlawful sexual intercourse, 5 of indecent assault and 1 of indecent dealing, against at least 2 girls, aged around 14, during 1970s at Busselton, south of Perth. Court hears Curnuck, of Busselton, took young girls on camping trips and other activities where he raped and molested them. Judge says Curnuck abused his authority by sexually abusing girls in church group settings. Court told Curnuck earlier received 18 month jail sentence for indecently assaulting child, aged 14, in 1951. (Western Australia, Australia, 1999).
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DANIELS Reverend Louis Victor, 51 Burnie Anglican archdeacon and former Church of England Boys Society (CEBS) leader. Receives 9 month jail sentence in Hobart Supreme Court after pleading guilty to 6 child sex charges, including 4 counts of indecent assault and 2 of committing oral sexual intercourse, against boy, aged 14, in 1992 while rector at St George's Anglican church, Burnie. Court hears Daniels, who was extradited from Canberra, assaulted boy on TAS northwest coast and that charges were laid following church inquiry into sexual misconduct of priests. (Tasmania, Australia, 1999).
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NAME SUPPRESSED BY COURT ORDER, Canberra Anglican deacon. Receives 5 year jail sentence after being convicted in ACT Supreme Court on incest-related charges, including indecent assault, against daughter, aged 13, over 4 year period. Name SUPPRESSED BY COURT ORDER to protect daughter. Court hears character reference from Canberra Bishop George BROWNING who in 1999 was found guilty by church inquiry of adultery with female parishioner. For other accused or convicted Canberra Anglican offenders, see Reverend John AITCHISON, Bishop Owen DOWLING and Reverend Eric GRIFFITH. (ACT, 1999).
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BROWN Stephen John, 49 Sydney Anglican Boys Society camp caretaker and youth group leader. Found hanged in cell at Silverwater Remand Centre 2 days before facing Sydney Local Court over 170 child sex offences, including committing unlawful sexual intercourse and aggravated indecent assault, against 27 boys, aged 11 to 17, between 1979 and 1998 at 18 locations across NSW. Court hears Brown, of Blackheath, committed many offences while caretaker with Church of England Boys' Society at Loftus, south of Sydney, and while leading skiing, canoeing, camping and shooting trips across country NSW. Police claim Brown's victims highest ever attributed to single alleged sex offender in NSW. (New South Wales, Australia, 1999).
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BOSTON - The state Dept. of Social Services is seeking more than 50 fosterchildren cared for by a Worcester pastor who now stands accused of raping an 11-year-old girl and sexually assaulting two of his foster children. Rev.Jose Castillo, 52, pleaded innocent to charges of rape and abuse of a child, indecent assault and battery of a child and threatening to commit a crime. He was ordered held on $500,000 bail. Police found him hiding in the basement of the Iglesia Abrigo del Altisimo church, where he serves as pastor, when they went to arrest him.
The sexual assault allegations surfaced during the investigation into the disappearance of 5-month-old Marlon Santos, according to the assistant district attorney. The baby still has not been found.
Castillo and his wife Yolanda were the baby's foster parents. After the baby's disappearance, the Dept. of Social Services took custody of 2 other foster children staying with the Castillos, a brother and sister ages 23 months and 3 years. The Castillos'3 children were also removed in response to an abuse complaint. Two boys, ages 12 and 13, were returned to their parents, but a 17-year-old girl has been placed in a foster home in the area. AP, 12/30/98
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DALLAS - A youth minister of the Church of Christ has been arrested after allegedly sending nude pictures of himself to a 14-year-old girl over the Internet. Matthew Washington, 23, was charged with distribution of harmful material to a minor. Police said Washington sent her four photos of him seated nude on an exercise bike at the church after talking to her in an Internet chat room. The girl showed them to her mother who alerted the police. Washington was released on bail but faces up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine. (12/22/98)
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LOS ANGELES - A priest was arrested on allegations of sodomizing a 21-year-old Colombian man at knife-point, police said. Fr.Juan Correa, 27, of Los Angeles, was being held on $200,000 bail, a LAPD spokesman said.
The man, whose name was not released, had apparently recently arrived in Los Angeles from Colombia and Correa befriended him, offering a place to stay. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles said Correa wasn't affiliated with the church. He is believed to belong to a small sect called the Old Catholic Church, which broke away from the Roman Catholic Church last century when it rejected the doctrine of papal infallibility. AP, 12/16/98
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Cherokee County, GA. A Cherokee County church deacon was convicted Saturday of molesting a 14-year-old girl who attended his church. Jurors deliberated about 14 hours Friday and Saturday before finding John M. Eatman guilty of child molestation and enticing a minor for indecent purposes. He is to be sentenced in several weeks. Prosecutors said he showed the girl an adult magazine and made sexually explicit comments to her in August, then touched her buttocks during Sunday morning services Sept. 27 at South Cherokee Baptist Church. (The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 12-13-1998)
Deacon convicted of molestation: Man fondled teen in Cherokee church
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MILWAUKEE - A former pastor faces a felony theft charge accusing him of stealing money and equipment worth more than $6,000 from the congregation. Rev. Larry James Taylor Sr., 49, was charged in a criminal complaint that said the cash came from parishioners' donations to a new building fund and the equipment, including musical instruments, came from general church funds. The complaint said the money and equipment belonged to the Word of Faith Victory Center, a nondenominational Christian church. If convicted, Taylor could be sentenced to a prison term of up to 10 years and a fine of up to $10,000.AP, 12/11/98
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Tampa, FL. Dan Earl Allmond, Youth Pastor of Tampa Baptist Church, a Southern Baptist Church, and a married man, suddenly resigned on December 9, 1998 and disappeared off the scene when the police were called in concerning a complaint made by a female high school student that she was having sex with the pastor as a minor. Senior Pastor McCormick of Tampa Baptist Church denied all knowledge about the sexual activities and ordered the staff of Tampa Baptist Academy to stay silent on the whole matter and not to discuss Dan's previous sexual escapades with no one! McCormick's own daughter was sexually promiscuous and had to leave school for a while for fear of being pregnant. (Tampa Tribune, December 9, 1998)
Dan Earl Allmond faces two counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor
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APOPKA, FL. - A minister who molested third-graders at his church school couldn't promise that he wouldn't molest again, and so was sentenced to prison for 7 years and 4 months, followed by 10 years of probation. The judge acknowledged the remorse of David Joe Rich, 55, and that he took responsibility for his crimes, but said she wanted to ensure he would not harm anyone again.
Rich, former pastor of Springs Community Baptist Church, pleaded guilty to molesting 2 girls and trying to molest a third during the 1995-96 school year. He fondled the girls, ages 8 and 9, at his desk while other students were in the classroom, said the prosecutor. The desk concealed the probing.
Rich apologized and made no excuses for his conduct but could not explain it. With God's help and counseling, he said, he hoped never to molest again. But he said he would be foolish to make a "100 percent" guarantee. He had resigned when confronted about the abuse 2 years after it ended.
While on probation, Rich must get counseling. He cannot be alone with children younger than 18 or live near a school or other place where children visit. The judge told Rich he should bring his ministry to prison. "There are people in prison who could use your services," she said. Orlando Sentinel, 12/4/1998
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HARTFORD - A pastor who regularly sexually assaulted two teenage sisters, threatening them and their mother with deportation if they complained, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison and 20 years probation. Rev. Carlos Sunun, 41, entered an Alford plea which permitted him to deny the facts of the crimes but agree he would likely be convicted at a trial.
Yet he fathered a daughter on the younger sister, a 15-year-old. His abuse of his parishioners took place regularly during 1995-6. He first started molesting the older sister, a 16-year-old, and then the younger. The attacks occurred on numerous occasions at his home and in his vehicle. The police were tipped off a year before Sunun's arrest, but the older girl denied the allegations and did not cooperate with the investigation. It was dropped until both sisters approached the police in Nov. 1996.
Both girls said he deserved a harsher penalty, and even his lown awyer characterized him as "a horrible person." (11/21/98)
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TALLAHASSEE - Three sisters have accused their former pastor of seducing them when they were girls, including one who said she she went to him for counseling after losing their virginity.Fr. Donald McCreanor, 49 and a licensed therapist, resigned his post, was suspended, and entered a church-run treatment center after the women went public with their story. They claim they did so because they had informed the diocese of their charges 14 months previously and nothing had been done.
After the story was published, two other women told the local paper that McCreanor had made sexual overtures to them as well. One had a troubled marriage and claims he propositioned her during confession. She said he suggested that she have an affair "with someone safe, like me."
She eventually did have a tumultuous affair with him that lasted about a year. After working out her marital problems, she complained to the state Dept. of Professional Regulation but her charges were dismissed because the affair happened before he was licensed as a therapist.
McCreanor allegedly bought the other woman, his housecleaner, risque lingerie and suggested that she wear it at his house.
The vice chancellor of the diocese said later that five women had called to accuse McCreanor since the articles ran. He would not confirm if the callers included the women who had contacted the newspapers.
The accusations were made public the same week that Fr. Rick Castillo, 43, who had enrolled himself in the same treatment center last spring, admitted sexually abusing four teenage boys several years ago. (11/21/98)
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DANBURY, CT. - A former priest has been defrocked by the Episcopal Church for allegedly offering oral sex to a 13-year-old boy as a "confirmation gift." Fr. Bruce Jacques was removed as a priest from the Diocese of Connecticut after he unsuccessfully appealed a similar decision made by a lower church court, the diocese announced. The embattled pastor, who denied the boy's accusations, resigned from his parish in Feb. 1995, after the boy's family went public.
Jacques had been pastor for more than 10 years in 1984, when church officials reviewed the accusation and ruled that he could remain at the church if he received counseling. But the boy's family objected. He sued the family in 1995, and the boy's parents filed a countersuit. Both suits were withdrawn after a settlement in 1997. No criminal charges were filed against Jacques.
In Sept. 1997, the diocese ecclesiastical court found Jacques in violation of his ordination vows and "conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy." He unsuccessfully appealed that decision. AP, 11/10/98
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MILWAUKEE, WI. - Rev. Gerald Saffold,39, a minister accused of having a sexual relationship with a teenage boy waived his right to a preliminary hearing and has been ordered to stand trial on a charge of second-degree sexual assault of a child.
The complaint says the boy reported that he had a sexual relationship with Saffold from Jan. 1996-98, starting when he was 15. Saffold, pastor of the Foundation of Prayer Evangelistic Ministry and founder of a popular youth choir, remained free on $25,000 bond posted by supporters under orders that he remain under house arrest while his case is pending. AP, 10/29/98
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WEST PALM BEACH - A former pastor who claimed he was testing a girl's virginity was convicted of sexually molesting the teen-ager. Rev. Joseph Millien, 51, was found guilty of felony sexual activity with the 17-year-old member of the Full Gospel Assembly Church, but acquitted of a sexual battery charge. He denied having any other sexual contact with the girl. The judge revoked Millien's bond and ordered him to jail until sentencing scheduled a few weeks later. Under sentencing guidelines, he could get 6 to 12 years in prison as a first-time offender. AP, 10/28/98
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BATON ROUGE - A local minister was booked into jail in connection with a sex sting, records show.
According to an arrest warrant, Rev. Alfred Prellop, 61, was arrested after allegedly soliciting sex from an undercover Sheriff's Office deputy, but was not booked that day because the jail was full. Prellop, a minister at Trinity Lutheran Church for the last 28 years, said he would not comment publicly on his arrest. More than a dozen other men were arrested in the three-day sting operation. 10/28/99
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VANCOUVER, WA. - A former pastor who pled guilty to having oral sex with one boy and trying to seduce his brother has been sentenced to 6 months in jail followed by therapy. The judge rejected a request by prosecutors that Robert Dwayne Bennefield, 33, be sentenced to more than 12 years in prison but accepted a defense proposal that he be granted the special sex offender sentencing alternative and ordered him to pay $500 to each victim and a $250 fine, and have no contact with the victims or other youngsters.
Bennefield pled guilty in Aug. to one count of first-degree rape of a child and one count of attempted second-degree assault involving two brothers who attended Lighthouse Christian Center. He later admitted molesting 9 other youngsters. AP, 10/28/98
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KANSAS CITY - A minister who participated in a school program to counsel troubled youths has been charged with rape and other sex offenses involving 3 teen-age girls. Rev. Gregory Robertson, 40, was accused of using his affiliation with the Kansas City School District to befriend families of students outside of school, said a spokesman of the police sex crimes unit. Robertson convinced parents to allow some children to temporarily move into his home to "give them guidance," he said.
Robertson has pleaded innocent and is free on $15,000 bond. He faces charges of statutory rape, 2 counts of statutory sodomy, attempted statutory sodomy and 4 counts of sexual misconduct. The charges involve 3 girls ages 12 to 14. The girls told police the incidents occurred between Feb. 1996 and Dec. 1997 at Robertson's home.
Police said Robertson met at least one of the girls through his work with the school district. They were not sure how he met the other two. The three girls did not know each other.
Robertson was part of a Ministers Alliance, a group formed last school year by a former superintendent to counsel troubled students. The program no longer exists, and Robertson was banned from the schools after officials heard about the investigation, said a district spokeswoman.
Police began investigating Robertson in Sept. 1997 after a girl told officers she had lived in Robertson's home in 1996. No charges were filed. The investigation was reopened in Jan. after a 12-year-old girl made new allegations. Detectives then found 3 other girls who had lived in Robertson's home, including one who said Robertson offered to buy her a pair of shoes in exchange for a sex act.
Robertson was ordained at Zion Grove Missionary Baptist Church about 6 years ago, but has since left the church, police said. AP, 10/28/98
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BUENA PARK, CA. - A controversial Southern Baptist paster known for his support of a boycott of the Walt Disney Co. was sentenced to 1,500 hours of community service for violating city building codes by sheltering the homeless at his church. However, the judge also credited Rev. Wiley Drake, 53, with the same amount of time for his past efforts to aid the homeless. (10/23/98)
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SAN FRANCISCO - A minister already facing theft and arson charges was sued by 10 parishioners who allege he convinced them to take out mortgage loans for church improvements and then stole the money.
Rev. Thomas McCall allegedly used the loan money, totaling more than $850,000, to buy real estate in San Francisco and Southern Calif., according to the lawsuit. The members of the Concord Missionary Baptist Church are seeking damages for breach of contract, breach of good faith and fair dealing, fraud and negligent misrepresentation.
McCall had been under investigation since last Jan., when 7 parishioners claimed the pastor convinced them and others to mortgage their homes to finance $1.1 million in church renovations.
Records show church members raised a total of $2.9 million in equity, donations and construction loans - about $1.1 million more than was necessary for the work.
In addition to 4 counts of grand theft for allegedly taking $2.5 million in church funds, including the $850,000 mentioned in the suit, McCall also faces an arson charge for allegedly trying to destroy financial records by setting his apartment on fire. He has been dismissed from the church and the trial was scheduled to begin Jan. 25. AP, 10/14/98
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WILLIAMSBURG, VA. - Plaintiffs in a sexual molestation lawsuit against BrutonParish Church are alleging that a former priest abused children and had a sexual relationship with a male teen-age baby sitter.
The lawsuit stems from charges first filed against baby sitter Richard Wescott Weaverling, who was later convicted of multiple sex crimes and sentenced to 73 years in prison. Weaverling molested children in their homes and at the 300-year-old Episcopal church, where he baby-sat with his mother from Jan. 1993 until Sept. 1994. The plaintiffs allege that John A. Grubb,a church member, and Fr. Michael W. Jones, the associate rector, also took part in the abuse. The amended suit raises to more than $250 million the amount of damages sought by the 35 plaintiffs, who include more than a dozen children.
Jones, now rector in Chesapeake, denied the allegations. Grubb has an unlisted phone number and could not be reached. No criminal charges have been lodged against Jones or Grubb, but prosecutors said they are continuing to investigate the case. AP, 10/14/98
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WASHINGTON, DC. - A Baptist minister in Texas who had sex with two women while counseling them about their marriages lost his appeal to the Supreme Court. He now must pay each one $115,000.
The court, without comment, turned away Rev. Shelby Baucum'sargument that a federal jury violated his religious freedom by deciding he had committed malpractice and breached his fiduciary duties. Baucum had sexual relationships with two women who were church members and employees in 1991. One woman was fired from her job as the church receptionist and the other lost her job as his administrative secretary when they disclosed the relationships. Baucum was asked to resign, which he did.
The women then sued him in federal court, and each won awards of $30,000 in compensatory damages and $85,000 in punitive damages. Baucum appealed, contending the jury had punished him for what he said was a mixture of secular and spiritual counseling - the equivalent of "clergy malpractice."
But in upholding the awards, the Court of Appeals ruled that the religious-freedom difficulties posed by such a finding were not present in Baucum's case. The appeals court ruling added: "The First Amendment does not categorically insulate religious relationships from judicial scrutiny, for to do so would necessarily extend constitutional protection to the secular components of these relationships É To hold otherwise would impermissibly place a religious leader in a preferred position in our society." AP, 10/5/98
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HAMILTON -- A Butler County jury will resume deliberations today, deciding the fate of a Middletown minister accused of sexually molesting his daughter. After Thursday's final arguments, jurors began deliberations around 11 a.m. They continued their work until 7 p.m. They will decide whether the Rev. Darrell S. Bell, a longtime preacher and steelworker, is guilty of molesting his daughter repeatedly from the time she was 10 until she turned 18 and went away to Bowling Green State University. (Oct. 2, 1998, Cincinnatti Enquirer)
Jury deliberates on charge of molestation by paster
Cincinnatti Enquirer Report
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CATHLAMET, WA -- A former minister who served as a Wahkiakum County sheriff's chaplain has been sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to third-degree rape. David Wayne Gerlach, 58, was accused of using religious, emotional and physical threats to intimidate a 13-year-old girl into a sexual relationship that lasted 14 years. (The Oregonian, September 21, 1998)
FORMER MINISTER SENTENCED AFTER PLEADING GUILTY TO RAPE
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BOONE, NC. - A long-standing pastor and high school teacher accused of raping a 15-year-old student two years ago was sentenced to spend up to two years in prison as part of a plea arrangement.
Rev. Larry Edward Elliott, 50, pleaded guilty to 3 counts of taking indecent liberties with a minor. He entered his plea just before the jury was to be selected for his trial. A judge ordered Elliott to serve time for one of the 3 counts, the others suspended and the district attorney dropped 3 other charges of statutory rape.
Elliott, a Baptist pastor for 20 years, resigned after the accusations surfaced. He had worked as a substitute math teacher at the school where he met his victim. (9/15 Watauga Democrat)
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DENVER - An Episcopal priest will be leaving her parish and moving to another after acknowledging that she had "relationships" with two women in her congregation. The admission by the Rev. Sandra Wilson, 45, a black female pastor was cited in a confidential memo from Colorado Episcopal Bishop Jerry Winterrowd.
The memo's recipients are not identified, but sources said it was written to two women who accused Wilson in late March of "sexual and ethical misconduct," prompting Wilson's suspension from the pulpit. A third woman also filed a complaint but the nature of it has not been made public. Although a diocesan "response team" found the women's complaints "credible," Winterrowd reinstated Wilson saying the case was closed.
Wilson denies any "exploitation of those parties or abuse of her role" as a priest, the bishop's memo says. But official guidelines of the Episcopal Church forbid a priest from having a sexual relationship with a member of his or her congregation.
Wilson declined comment on the memo because of a confidential agreement between Wilson and her bishop. (9/7 Denver Post)
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Antioch, CA. Police arrested Duanne Dee Shoemake, 55, in September 1998 on five felony counts of molestation. He was accused of sexually abusing two girls to whom he is related. He was a deacon at Harvest Time Assembly of God in Brentwood. "This has split up the family, and split up the church," said the mother about the molestation allegations. (Sept. 1998)
Norrell Informant to be Tried for Child Molestation
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Timothy A. Rasey, a Lombard, IL, minister was charged with possession of child pornography and attempted aggravated criminal sexual abuse when he allegedly tried to meet a 14-yr.-old girl for sex, who was really an undercover officer. (Daily Herald, 7-24-98.)
Registered Sex Offenders
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A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit in which two women had charged that United Methodist Church officials in Fort Worth, Texas, ignored their complaints about a pastor's sexual misconduct. The settlement comes only days before the June 29 trial date set by Judge Jeff Walker in the 96th State District Court. Gail Cooke and Dorayne Levin, who were members of First United Methodist Church in Fort Worth, had sued First Church, the United Methodist Church's Central Texas Conference, Fort Worth Area Bishop Joe Wilson, and three First Church officials, the Revs. William Longsworth, Weldon Hayes and Kay Johnson. The two women had charged that officials were negligent in dealing with alleged sexual misconduct on the part of former First Church pastor Barry Bailey. (United Methodist News Service, 6/26/98)
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CHARLESTON, WV. - The state Supreme Court refused to reinstate a man lawsuit that claims he was sexually molested by an Episcopal priest when he was a boy but repressed memories of it until years later. The man claimed the memories resurfaced while under hypnosis, but in an unanimous opinion the court said the lawsuit was filed too late.
In 1996, the man filed a suit against Fr. H. Willard White, and the Protestant Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia, claiming the diocese knew White had a "proclivity for deviant sexual behavior" and did nothing about it. White and the church immediately sought to have the case dismissed because of the statute of limitations. The county circuit judge agreed and the high court upheld his ruling. White's attorney said the molestation never occurred and White was surprised by the allegations.
White is still a minister and lives somewhere in Tennessee. He has never been charged with a crime and no one has ever made a similar allegation against him, his lawyer said. (6/23 Associated Press)
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OTTAWA. Ontario -- A landmark court ruling that ordered the federal government and the United Church of Canada to compensate victims of sexual abuse at a church-run native school could be a devastating blow to Canadian churches and social agencies, observers said.
"This is a major threat to every church in the country," said Gerry Kelly of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. "The potential costs are exceedingly high. I don't really know what's going to happen. The number of cases has just grown and grown."
In Ottawa, federal bureaucrats met with officials from several churches, trying to determine what should be done in the face of what appears to be a staggering number of claims. At the moment, churches and the federal government face at least 1,000 abuse cases from native Canadians who attended the schools, and lawyers connected with the issue say the number may escalate.
Prime Minister Jean Chretien said that Canada, which has been asked to defend its treatment of native children at the schools before a United Nations tribunal, is ready to accept its responsibility, although it will review each case separately.
"It looks like the court has attributed to the federal government some responsibility," he said. "If we have responsibility, we have to meet our responsibilities."
In a court ruling dealing with a residential school in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island, the B.C. Supreme Court found that both the federal government, which financed the school, and the United Church, which ran it, were jointly liable and must compensate those who were sexually assaulted at the school by Arthur Plintdecades ago. The ruling is considered a landmark because it transfers accountability from Mr. Plint to his employers. Although it has been cheered by victims, others warn that the ruling could have far-reaching effects.
Observers say the crucial aspect of the decision is the way it extends the concept of vicarious liability, which determines where an employer's accountability ends and an individual's begins. Until now, the courts have generally ruled that an employer can't be held liable for their employees'actions if there was no way to anticipate them. One expert warned it could mean the end of girl's soccer and the Boy Scouts.
More than 80 residential schools for native children were set up in the past century in almost every province. Officials estimate that up to 125,000 native children passed through the system before it was closed in the mid-1980s.
In June, the Prime Minister or a senior government representative has been asked to appear before an international human-rights tribunal to defend Ottawa's record on caring for the children at the schools. An international court, convened by tribal leaders from across North America, was to hold three days of public hearings in Vancouver as a response to complaints of sexual abuse, assault and cultural genocide at the schools and pleas for justice.
The testimony is mainly for the benefit of the International Human Rights Association of American Minorities, which is formally affiliated with the UN. The association is expected to report to the UN Secretary-General. It is believed to be the first time that the non-governmental organization has investigated a situation in Canada. Although the tribunal does not have the force of law behind it, the association's findings could embarrass Canada at the UN, where Canada often criticizes other countries over human rights. (6/9/98 Canadian Press)
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HARARE -- Zimbabwe's former president Rev. Canaan Banana denied charges of sodomy, but one of his former guards said the 62-year-old cleric had laid on alcohol and ballroom music before sexually attacking him.
Banana, the southern African state's first but largely ceremonial president after independence from Britain in 1980, is facing 11 charges of sodomy, attempted sodomy and indecent assault in a high-profile trial in Harare.
He pleaded not guilty to all the charges, which the state said would be backed by 40 witnesses, including top government officials. Chief state prosecutor said the former head of state had abused his authority by homosexually attacking some of the presidential staff.
The Methodist priest has been charged with two counts of sodomy, 3 of attempted sodomy and 6 of indecent assault, including that he sexually molested a gardener and a job seeker he picked on the streets. The trial is expected to last a month.
Out of court Banana has dismissed the charges and all suggestions that he is homosexual as "a mortuary of pathological lies and a malicious vendetta of vilification and character assassination."
He retired in 1987 when then prime minister Robert Mugabe became executive president. (6/1/98 Reuters)
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Overlake Christian Church elders moved to debatable theological ground when they used the Bible to justify dismissing sexual-misconduct allegations against their pastor, other church leaders say...Many of the verses cited by the elders referred to needing more than one witness to support accusations of wrongdoing, particularly against church leaders. Others require "greater scrutiny" for allegations against leaders. Another "biblical principle" requires one who is violated to "cry out," the elders said, though they cited no Bible reference for the principle. (Seattle Times, 5/29/98)
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Grass Valley/Nevada City, Cal.: A former youth pastor and Bear River High School soccer coach pleaded innocent Thursday to charges stemming from an alleged intimate relationship with a 16-year-old female student-athlete. Appearing for the first time with an attorney - Greg Hodges of the Public Defender's Office - Dan Jimerfield, 42, entered a formal plea to the 28 criminal counts against him. He is accused of engaging in an affair with a girl he coached on a school soccer team then recruited into a church youth group he headed. (The Union, May 22, 1998)
Former soccer coach-youth pastor pleads innocent to molestation charge
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DALLAS - An 18-year-old man and his parents sued the Assemblies of God and the church's ranch for troubled youths, claiming the youth was molested by a counselor at the center two years ago. The alleged victim was 16when he went to Dallas Teen Challenge Boys Ranch in January 1996. According to his lawsuit, a counselor and convicted drug trafficker sexually molested him on at least six different occasions. The lawsuit further alleges that the church ranch Executive Director Paul Ecker and the ranch's board knowingly employed men with criminal histories as counselors despite being informed by state regulators that the practice was illegal.
According to the lawsuit, most of the residents were there as a condition of probation, and had psychological or substance abuse problems. During the day,they performed chores, including caring for livestock, and took part in religious education. At night, they were "locked down" and monitored by alarm systems to prevent unauthorized departures. Among the employees and volunteers working at the ranch were men in a program called "Life Challenge," designed for adults. Many of them had substance abuse problems and were improperly admitted to the program as part of their probation, the lawsuit states. (5/18/98)
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PASADENA - 66-year-old John Gottuso, a Pasadena psychologist who runs a church and Christian school, be sentenced for demonstrating a sex act with a teenage girl. Yet he will still be able to operate a school.
It began nine years ago when Gottuso lost his license to practice because a state agency found that he was having sex with some of his patients. Two years later, another state agency forbade Gottuso from having any involvement with his church's preschool, partly because agency investigators said he once played "sex tag" under a blanket with two girls. In March, Gottuso settled a sexual- and psychological-abuse lawsuit by 11 plaintiffs.
A Pasadena Municipal Court judge sentenced him to 30 days house arrest and five years probation after he pleaded no contest to demonstrating a sex act with a 15-year-old girl in late 1995 in front of a class at his Christ-Bridge Academy, now based in Altadena. But because of a loophole in a state law, those legal problems have done little to restrict Gottuso's ability to counsel and teach children. Even after the state Department of Social Services took action against his church's license to operate a private preschool in 1989, Gottuso continued to operate. (4/28)
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DALLAS - A pastor convicted of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl was sentenced to 12 years in prison following testimony that he agreed to let her graduate early from the church's school in exchange for sex. Rev. Jerry Wayne Power, longtime pastor of Irving Baptist Temple and principal of the church's school, was convicted of two counts of sexual assault of a child.
Power, 51, hopes to be released on bond while appealing the decision, his attorneys said. The jury of 11 women and one man deliberated 31/2 hours before deciding to punish Power with 12 years on one count and 11 years on the other. The jury fined him $10,000 on each count. He will serve both sentences simultaneously and will first be eligible for parole in six years.
Power's attorneys argued that the girl should be held accountable because she testified that she and her friend initiated the deal with Mr. Power.
A former student testified that Power fondled her, placed his foot in her crotch and masturbated in front of her. The woman said he told her that he would kill her parents and her horse if she quit his school. (4/17/98)
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MIAMI - So sure are parishioners of Camino de Santidad church that their pastor, Rev. Daniel Garnicki, is innocent of charges of having sex with a 15-year-old girl that more than a dozen of them have declared a hunger strike. Camped out on mattresses under a large tent covering the parking lot of their church, 14 people have vowed not to eat until Garnicki is set free. Among the fasters are the minister's wife, stepson, brother, and the accuser's ex-boyfriend.
The church crisis stems from the September arrest of Garnicki, an evangelical minister who hosts a four-hour Christian radio program . A teenager who attended services at the church told police that, one night after service last year, Garnicki lured her to a motel in Miami Beach by saying he needed her assistance with a study on how Christian women and worldly women's interest in pornography differed. Once there, she told police he ordered a pornographic movie and forced her to perform oral sex on him. He allegedly had intercourse with her, and then made her pray for forgiveness for having sinned.
Garnicki was charged with having sex with a minor in his custody. He is under house arrest in his West Dade home but continues to preach each night via satellite. His case is expected to go to trial in May.
Though prosecutors say they have witnesses and evidence that Garnicki signed in at the hotel and rented the movie, members of Garnicki's church have taken their outrage to the radio waves.T hey claim the accusations are creations of a troubled and promiscuous girl who is only out for money. Parishioners believe the accusations are a conspiracy by homosexuals who resent Garnicki's fight against gay-rights laws. (4/6/98)
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HARTFORD - A former Baptist deacon who fathered a child with a young parishioner was sentenced to 18 years in prison for raping her and another girl as well.
Edward Brown, Jr., 39, asked for forgiveness in court. The young woman was 6 years old when Brown began molesting her. He raped her several times and she became pregnant in 1994 at age 14. She hid the pregnancy, giving birth alone in her room. When the baby died shortly thereafter, she threw away the body, which has never been found.
Six months later, she had a nervous breakdown. Doctors would not believe she had been pregnant until a medical exam proved it.
After Brown pleaded guilty to the rape, one of his family members came forward to accuse him of molesting her since age 5. 4/4/98
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HOUSTON - A lawsuit has been filed accusing the national Jehovah's Witnesses organization of refusing to alert authorities to the extended sexual abuse of a minor by her brother while they were both members of the church.
The plaintiff, a 19-year-old woman, said that she had been sexually abused by her brother, now 22, since the mid-1980s. In 1988, the family sought counseling by church elder Kerry "John" Landers. The suit claims that Landers was instructed by the national office to handle the matter in-house rather than to report the abuse to the authorities as required by Texas law.
Despite counseling, the brother continued to molest his sister. In 1992 the local church leadership appointed Landers and two other elders to investigate. The brother confessed to them and apologized and the elders put the matter to rest. He was convicted of sexual abuse and sentenced to prison. In that trial,Landers testified under a grant of immunity about his instructions to keep it quiet.
The attorney representing the church said it strongly believes it committed no wrongdoing and said they vowed to defend themselves vigorously. (3/24/98)
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DALLAS - A pastor convicted of assaulting two teenaged girls in his congregation has been sentenced to life imprisonment. Wendell Jones, 44, who had been on probation as a convicted sex offender since 1992 in a similar case, will be eligible for parole in 30 years. (3/24/98)
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MARIETTA, GA. - Rev. Jane Payne, 61, a United Methodist minister, has been charged with striking her 92-year-old mother, Margaret, at least 6 times. A neighbor who witnessed the alleged incident early one morning reported it to the county's Adult Protective Service. After the charges were filed, Margaret was taken to a nursing home. Payne has continued to lead services. (3/18/98)
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DENVER - A minister of The Way International was sentenced to prison for 30 months and ordered to pay restitution of $528,000 to his former followers after he admitted he had bilked them out of their money, in some cases life savings and inheritances.
Richard Panyard, 45, in Jan. pleaded guilty to commit fraud. He and two followers, Jack Northart and Charles Mandrey, founded three companies in the late 1980s using money coerced out of The Way's members. Around 1989, the struggling companies became a scheme to defraud, characterized by the judge as a classic "Ponzi scheme," where one person's investment is used to pay off another's. Panyard has also been accused of sexual misconduct. One woman, who was married by him, claims she had to fight off his advances less than a year later.
The Way International, often described as a cult, was founded in New Knoxville, OH, in 1961 as a biblical research and teaching ministry. It claims that Christ is not God, there is no Trinity and the Jews are a tribe from Siberia. It has been known to arm its senior members and some wear bulletproof vests to meetings. From its height in 1985 with an estimated 100,000 members, it has dwindled to a current estimate of 20,000. A large number of followers live north of Colorado Springs where the church owns an encampment that has been the target of numerous investigations involving firearms and munitions. (3/18/98)
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EAU CLAIRE, WI. - A Lutheran pastor accused of offering to pay male students from Panama if they allowed him to watch sex acts with women now faces felony charges of bail jumping for mailing letters to two victims. Rev. Richard Kittilstad, 50, had been charged in Nov. with 6 counts of soliciting prostitution involving 5 Panamanian men he had sponsored to live with him and attend classes at a technical school. None of the men took him up on his offer.
One of his congregations has put him on a paid leave of absence but he is still allowed to preach for the other until the legal issues are resolved. (3/13/98)
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FREEHOLD, NJ. - A Episcopal priest was convicted of sexual assault charges involving three teen males and one adult between 1991 and 1995.
Charles Mitzenius, 60, was found guilty by a jury which had deliberated a little more than a day. The victims testified during the trial that Mitzenius showed them sexually-explicit movies and offered counseling, gifts and trips in exchange for sexual contact.
Mitzenius was scheduled to be sentenced in late May. He faces between 61/2 and 361/2 years in prison. (3/12/98)
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DENVER - One of the city's best known ministers has resigned from the church he founded due to financial troubles. Rev. Charles Blair announced his resignation from the pastorship of Calvary Temple, an independent church he founded in 1954. In 1976 Blair was convicted of securities fraud when more than 3,000 investors lost $18 million in one or more of the institutions he controlled. He was placed on 5 years probation and find $12,750 with promises to pay back the lost money. He was taken to court again in the early 1990's by investors who claimed they had not received any money from a fund-raising campaign to pay them off. He then agreed to pay $700,000 in a settlement, but investors are still complaining that they have received no money and that all the funds raised went to Blair and his friends. (3/7/98)
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CASSOPOLIS, MI. - A United Church of Christ minister convicted of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl was to remain free on bond pending sentencing scheduled for March 27.
John Charles Yeager, 52, who was also an administrator at an Indiana center for abused children, was convicted by jury of first- and second-degree criminal sexual conduct. He was found guilty of molesting the girl while he, the girl, and his own daughter of the same age, were under a blanket on a couch in his basement in August 1996. That daughter and at least two of his other 3 daughters, which he has been raising alone since his wife died in 1987, have publicly supported him.
As of publication time, it is not known what sentence was handed him. (3/4/98)
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NEW YORK CITY - A Manhattan judge has declined to hold the Episcopal Diocese or Trintity Church Retreat civilly liable to a man who was allegedly sexually assaulted by one of the retreat's priests. Judge John Koeltl found no merit to claims that the church should be held responsible for Fr. Masud Syedullah's alleged sexual assaults on a former parishioner of his from Oklahoma. The judge did allow the plaintiff to proceed against Syedullah on the claims of assault and battery, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress. (2/27/98)
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COPPELL, TX. - Monte Ray Freeman, 68, a former Baptist deacon and school board member, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined $750 after pleading guilty to aggravated sexual assault of a 4-year-old girl last year. He had been alleged to be molesting girls over a decade ago, but church officials persuaded the accusers' parents not to pursue criminal charges. (2/27/98)
Coppell church accused of hiding sexual abuse
http://www.opengovtcoppell.com/file/news/1998/8227dmn1.htm
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ORLANDO - A minister surrendered to faces charges of molesting two elementary-school girls and sheriff's investigators were seeking more possible victims. Rev. David Joe Rich, 54, who resigned his post at Springs Community Baptist Church in Apopka, was arrested after confessing to the assaults. He was charged with four counts of lewd and lascivious acts and released on bail.
The two girls, whose parents confronted Rich, said they were fondled during classes while standing behind the pastor's desk. Other girls were also called to stand there, according to a detective. (2/14/98)
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DALLAS - A Baptist pastor awaiting trial on a sexual abuse charge involving an 11-year-old girl is now accused of molesting a 3-year-old girl at her mother's home.
Police arrested Rev. Ronroyal Owens at his church office after a mother reported finding him nude in bed with her daughter. She told police she and Owens had gone to sleep in the living room but when she awoke shortly later and checked on her daughter, she discovered Owens with her, touching her leg. Her panties had been pulled down. An officer of the child exploitation unit of the Dallas PD said it did not appear that the child had been harmed.
Owens was being held on a $300,000 bond. (2/11/98)
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ELGIN, IL. - A convicted child molester who became a self-styled psychic and spiritual healer has been convicted again of sexual abuse.
Jeffrey Knapp, 47, founder of the Inner Journey Institute for the Healing Arts in Elgin and a former schoolteacher appeared stunned when the judge read the verdict. He was convicted of second-degree criminal sexual conduct for making a 14-year-old boy touch him under the guise of an Oriental healing technique called reiki.
Knapp's wife, three of their children, as well as the female state trooper who investigated the case all wept after the verdict was read, though for different reasons.
The key testimony was from the victim himself, who sobbed most of the way through his time on the witness stand. Later the boy said, "I don't hate him. I just think he is really sick." (1/17/98)
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EMBARRASS, MN. - The former pastor of a Lutheran church here and in Pike pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting two boys between 1987 and 1997. Rev. James Holmgren, 46, entered his plea of guilty to one count each of first-degree and third-degree criminal sexual conduct just two hours before his trial was to start.
Three felony charges were filed against him in late June 1997 accusing him of abusing a boy from 1987 to 1989. A complaint filed in July said holmgren admitted to investigators that he abused a second juvenile from 1994 to about Feb. 1997. The criminal complaint said the assaults against the boy, now 25, occurred at the church, the pastor's home and in a car. Sentencing was set for March 3. (1/14/98)
editor: James Holmgren is back pastoring ast his church as of April 2002: EMBARRASS EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH,The Rev. James Holmgren "SUNDAY -- Sunday School at 10:30 a.m., Worship Services at 11:00 a.m., followed by Fellowship.
(from
http://www.lakevermilionchamber.com/clubs_and_organizations/)
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DALLAS, Tex. - A youth minister at a Texas church has been arrested and charged with distribution of harmful material to a minor. Police allege that Matthew Washington sent nude pictures of himself from a computer at the Hillcrest Church of Christ, Gainesville Texas over the Internet to a teen age girl whom he had contacted in a chat room. (Jan. 8, 1998)
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LEADVILLE, CO. - A Las Vegas, New Mexico couple has sued the Community Evangelical Free Church of Leadville alleging that a church volunteer molested their three children. The claim Brian Manuel, recommended by Rev. Geoffrey Nelson, who is accused of negligence, molested the children, who were 3, 4 and 6 years old at the time, while babysitting on New Year's Eve in 1995. (1/4/98)
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TACOMA, WA. Another teen came forward yesterday to allege he was sexually molested by a Bethel Christian Assembly youth pastor, according to Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer. Meanwhile, elders from the church defended their handling of a 1995 complaint against the youth pastor now charged with eight counts of child molestation and rape, saying the 4-year-old allegations against Herman Glenn Jr. amounted to "hearsay." The elders also said in a statement that Glenn was returned to his job only after they were assured he would not be a threat to children. (Seattle Times, 1998)
Another teen says pastor molested him
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ELGIN, IL. - A former associate Baptist minister has been found guilty of aggravated criminal sexual assault involving two girls aged 4 and 9 in 1995 in an encounter in which the girls' mother participated. Juan Wyley, 39, faces 12 to 60 years in prison. Sentencing was scheduled for Dec. 3. Wyley testified that he had accepted lodging from the woman while he pursued a reconciliation with his ex-wife, but that the girls' mother was "crazy" causing him to leave after a stay of only 5 days. Investigators were alerted by the mother's psychiatrist and later learned that she was involved in the incident. (1998)
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WYNCOTE, PA. - A suburban Philadelphia Episcopalian priest is facing child pornography charges. Fr. Robert Orr, 54, was arrested after images of young boys engaging in sex acts was found on a computer at his church in Wyncote, where Orr is the rector. He was being held on $50,000 bail at the pending a hearing scheduled for mid-May. (1998))
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ When he was 5 and 6 years old, the boy explained when they got home, he was abused by Robert D. Tardy, a deacon at Peace Baptist Church on 18th Street NE. This month, Tardy was sentenced to two to 10 years in prison for molesting the boy, plus 100 days for abusing a girl at the church. Tardy pleaded guilty to molesting the boy and in the second case entered an Alford plea, in which he did not admit guilt but conceded that there was enough evidence to convict him. (Washington Post, 1998)
Sex Abuse at Church Shatters a Family
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MIKKLESEN Raymond, 71 Sydney Seventh Day Adventist church member. Receives 3 year $5000 good behaviour bond in Sydney District Court after pleading guilty to 2 counts of indecently assaulting girl, aged 12, between 1982 and 1987. Court hears Mikklesen, of Clovelly, Sydney, assaulted girl on 2 occasions resulting in victim suffering from severe depression, inability to work, low self esteem and weight problems. Report in 1998 says Mikklesen attended Seventh Day Adventist Church at Woollahra, Sydney. (New South Wales, Australia, 1998).
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ELDRIDGE Reverend Graeme Alfred, 58 VIC Presbyterian minister. Appears in Melbourne Magistrates Court charged with 28 child sex offences, including 17 counts of indecent assault and 9 of committing unlawful sexual intercourse, against 3 boys, aged 9 to 12, in 1981 at Presbyterian church and manse in northern VIC. Court hears assaults involved oral sex, talcum powder and showering with victims. (Victoria, Australia, 1998).
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JAMIESON Keith, 47 Newcastle Pentecostal born again Christian, youth group worker and Assemblies of God charismatic church member. Convicted in Newcastle District Court on 16 sex charges against young men, aged 10 to 17, between 1981 and 1996 while helping with Newcastle Assemblies of God youth group. Court hears Jamieson, of Newcastle, befriended young men and abused them after building up trust. Judge says Jamieson acted out desires in predatory way. (New South Wales, Australia, 1998).
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SARGENT Haydn Gerald, 62 Sydney Pentecostal born again Christian, Church of Christ charismatic church minister and Brisbane talkback radio host. Charged with 12 child sex offences, including 2 counts of committing unlawful sexual intercourse and 10 of indecent assault, against boy, aged under 16, between 1959 and 1960 in Sydney. Charges dropped in 1999 on grounds victim allegedly disturbed. (New South Wales, Australia, 1998).
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SCHMITT Raymond George, 67 WA Christian missionary. Receives 3 year and 6 month jail sentence in WA court after being convicted on charge of indecent dealing with boy, aged 14, under his care in WA. (Western Australia, Australia, 1998).
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SMEDLEY Derek Neil, 44 Perth Jehovah's Witness church member. Receives 9 year jail sentence in WA District Court after being convicted on 5 counts of indecent assault against stepdaughter, aged 12 to 14, between 1984 and 1987 at Gnangara, Heathridge, Kingsley, Northam and Wanneroo, WA. Court hears Smedley, of Heathridge, sexually assaulted stepdaughter at Northam during construction of Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall. (Western Australia, Australia, 1998).
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A youth minister of the Church of Christ has been arrested after allegedly sending nude pictures of himself to a 14-year-old girl over the Internet. Matthew Washington, 23, was charged with distribution of harmful material to a minor. Police said Washington sent her four photos of him seated nude on an exercise bike at the church after talking to her in an Internet chat room. The girl showed them to her mother who alerted the police. Washington was released on bail but faces up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine. (Dallas, 12/22/97)
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Cobb County , GA. A former Gwinnett church youth group worker accused of child molestation was sentenced to five years in prison Thursday after pleading guilty to Cobb County charges that he molested two young boys there between 1991 and 1993. Adam Lee Gilliam, who still faces charges in Gwinnett, was sentenced to serve five years in prison and 15 years' probation and ordered to pay more than $4,000 in restitution to the boys' families. Gilliam, 28, was out on bond awaiting trial in Cobb when Gwinnett police arrested him Dec. 8. Cobb Magistrate Judge Vic Reynolds also ordered Gilliam to undergo treatment for sexual deviancy and to avoid any contact with his victims or their families. Before he would accept Gilliam's guilty plea, Reynolds required Gilliam to admit to prosecutors' charges that while he was a youth minister at a Cobb church, he fondled the buttocks of one boy and the penis of the other. Gwinnett police say Gilliam, of Sugar Hill, persuaded a 12-year-old boy he met through a Cumming church to have oral sex by showing him pornographic pictures and citing biblical passages that supposedly proved "it was all right for them to be doing these acts." Between September and December, Gilliam often took the boy to softball games with his parents' permission, police say. He is charged with 16 counts of child molestation and aggravated child molestation and is being held without bond in the Gwinnett Detention Center. (The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 12-19-1997)
Man gets 5 years in abuse case: Youth worker also to pay restitution
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LIVERPOOL, England - A vicar who sexually assaulted boys during holidays with a church youth group has been convicted to three years in jail. Fr. David McIntosh, 52, pleaded guilty to seven indecent assault charges. (12/13/97)
http://www.objectivists.org.au/May09-1999/BM.htm
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Cumming, GA. A 28-year-old church youth group worker who spent nights alone with a 12-year-old boy persuaded the youngster to have oral sex by showing him pornographic pictures and reading what he said was Scripture stored in his computer, police said Tuesday. Adam Lee Gilliam of Sugar Hill was arrested Monday night and charged with 16 felony counts of child molestation and aggravated child molestation, police said. The arrest is the second Gwinnett case in two weeks where police claim a church youth group leader molested a child. Gilliam met the boy at Calvary Chapel North in Cumming, said Gwinnett police Sgt. Jeff Sligar. (The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 12-10-1997)
Youth worker accused of molestation: 16 felony counts: Police say church's ex-staffer spent numerous nights: alone with 12-year-old boy
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Nunavik pastor charged with sex crimes against a minor. The leader of Ivujivik's evangelical congregation, the Full Gospel Church, faces trial next January in connection with incidents dating back ten years . (11/28/97, Nunatsiaq News, Iqaluit, NU, Greenland.)
Nunavik pastor charged with sex crimes against a minor
http://www.nunanet.com/~nunat/week/71128.html#1
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Buford, GA. A Buford couple who coordinated youth activities at a local church were arrested Tuesday and charged with numerous counts of child molestation for allegedly engaging in illicit sex acts with a 14-year-old girl whom they had met through the church, authorities said. Warrants for the arrests of Marcus Ray Bellew and Janice Bellew, both 21, allege the couple had engaged in a kind of menage a trois with the teenager on several occasions dating back to July. (The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 11-26-1997)
Buford couple charged with child molestation
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SWANSEA, England - An Anglican vicar who jumped bail and fled to the Czech Republic while awaiting sentencing after admitting taking indecent photographs of young girls in his Welsh vicarage has begun a 15-month prison term - a year for the seven counts of sexually explicit photos and another three months for fleeing. First arrested after taking film to a local photo shop to be developed, a search of the vicarage revealed thousands of photos and slides depicting nude girls and women.
Fr. Merlyn Roberts, a 62-year-old grandfather and former chaplain at two English top-security prisons, spent more than a year on the run. He was finally spotted by a Welshman working in Prague who recognized his picture in a newspaper. Roberts was arrested at an boys' school where he worked and was extradited to Britain after being held for 18 weeks.
The sentencing judge also ordered the confiscation of Roberts' photos and ordered him to register with the police as a sex offender upon his release.
Another Anglican priest was arrested in Romania on suspicion of having had sex with a local boy. Fr. Michael Taylor, 34, was found with a 14-year-old boy in an apartment near the Bucharest train station. Romania is said to have become a magnet for pedophiles because of the widespread poverty and the large number of runaway children who frequent the rail stations. (11/25/97)
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Kennewick, WA. A former Pasco pastor pleaded guilty Tuesday in Franklin County Superior Court to second-degree molestation of a girl who was a member of his congregation. With his wife, children and other supporters seated in the courtroom, a stony-faced Michael V. Miranda apologized for fondling a 14-year-old girl who was a member of his tiny Protestant church, Templo Bethel Apostolico. (Tri-City Herald, Nov. 19, 1997)
Ex-Pasco pastor pleads guilty to child molestation
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PORTAGE, WI. - Episcopal Church officials here and in Ft. Worth, Texas, allowed a now-imprisoned man to become a priest despite accusations of sexual misconduct during his seminary training, police records show. Defrocked priest Eugene Maxey, 43, now serving 20 years in Wisconsin, admitted to police that he abused four boys at Nashotah House, a Wisconsin seminary, in the late 1980s, some of them dozens of times. He denied sexually molesting a young man there whom he had driven up with from Texas and gotten drunk, saying it was consensual. No charges were filed in that incident nor in regards to his confession to police of abusing boys in Albany, New York, after ordination. Maxey served there until the early 1990s and then worked at parish in Chester, England, until his arrest.
Signs of trouble first surfaced by early 1986, when a fellow seminarian told the dean that she suspected Maxey of trying to seduce her 12-year-old son. Police records show that men who lived in the dormitory with Maxey backed up her claims, saying boys often visited him behind closed doors.
The dean at the time, Fr. Jack Knight, said it was only "innuendo" and Maxey denied wrongdoing. Knight is himself now suspended from the priesthood for sexual misconduct with a Colorado woman.
After more allegations were made, Maxey was allowed to transfer his allegiance to the Albany diocese. Fr. Rex Perry, who worked at the seminary and served as mediator, resigned last year as a pastor in Dallas after pleading no contest to fondling a Dallas police officer in a public restroom. Since completing a probationary sentence, he is now an assistant pastor in Baton Rouge.
Several people interviewed by police at Nashotah House, one of the most conservative Episcopal seminaries in the country, said that at the time consensual adult misconduct was common there, describing heterosexual adultery, homosexual promiscuity and faculty-student liaisons.
Five prosecutions resulted from the investigation. Along with Maxey, Fr. Russell Martin, 39, also sponsored by the Ft. Worth diocese and now suspended, was convicted for three incidents of child-abuse, and is serving a four-year term which he is appealing.
Along with another seminarian, courts found they abused a young teenage boy whose stepfather was studying for the priesthood at the seminary at that time. The victim came forward in early 1994 with allegations of everything from fondling to rape, sometimes accompanied by pornography and drug use. This led to the identification of other victims of Maxey, most of whom were also sons of fellow seminarians. (10/5/97)
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LONDON - The Church of England is facing a series of allegations by the wives of clergy who claim their husbands violently and sexually abused them. One spoke of violence when her husband's parochial church council meetings had not gone well, involving "smashing everything in sight," being dragged by her hair and kicked. Another spoke of being strangled during love-making, raped, and having her body marked "in a foul way." They claimed that their appeals for help from the church were initially ignored.
The women decided to speak out after a decision by the Church of Scotland to open a care line for the battered wives of clergy, which followed a study by Edinburgh University which suggested that clerical wives are as likely to suffer assault as those in the general population, where it is thought 1 in 10 may be abused. The report cataloged abuse by ministers and included instances of wife beatings, damage to internal organs, kickings, and sexual advances made by clergy towards other women who sought counseling.
Lesley Macdonald, author of the study, said some of the women accused the church of "closing ranks" when faced with their complaints. "The status of clergy has dropped," she said. "Often wives take the flak for the minister's economic inadequacy and irresponsibility. The violence has been caused in some cases by the minister's lack of self-esteem."
Since the study of 25 women, she has been contacted by more than 40 abused wives of clergy from other parts of Britain. (10/5/97)
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Christian School Officials Face Hearing on Failing to Report Suspicions.The pair face charges in a case involving sex abuse of male students by a teacher. Prineville, Oregon -- A pretrial bearing will be October 20 for two Christian school officials cited for failing to report their suspicions that a teacher was molesting male students. Sue Uptain, principal of the 180-student Crook County Christian School, and James Donohue, the school's superintendent, pleaded not guilty to the charges, which carry maximum $1,000 fines. Donohue is also pastor of the First Assembly of God Church in Prineville, which opened the preschool through 12th grade school three years ago. Both claimed they didn't know state law requires school employees to immediately report suspected sex abuse cases. School officials learned May 9 that Phillip Marland, French and physical education teacher, might have molested a boy. But it wasn't reported to law enforcement officials until May 27, and that report was from the pastor of another church. One of Marland's victims was reportedly molested after Crook County Christian School officials learned of the abuse but before it was reported to authorities.
Feared Attendance Would Drop: Marland had been indicted on 54 counts of sex abuse involving four boys. Last month, Marland, 42, pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual abuse and was sentenced to 7½ years in prison. As a French citizen, he likely will be deported when released from prison. Crook County undersheriff Clyde McLain said there is evidence Donohue and Uptain knew they were legally required to immediately report suspected cases of sex abuse. He said Donahue was informed about the reporting requirements at a meeting last February. The meeting with area clergy was arranged by the district attorney's office to discuss the sex abuse reporting law. McLain said one pastor reported that Uptain admitted she understood the law but delayed action out of fear attendance at the school would drop. (The Oregonian, October 2, 1997)
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KOKOMO, IN. - Former televangelist William E. Tully, Sr., 51 and 5 others are awaiting trial on charges of conspiracy to commit mail and securities fraud and money laundering. Tully and his Charter Financial Group, Inc., lost nearly $7 million, said by authorities to have floated a lavish lifestyle, including a 57-foot yatch, rather that the mortgages to build churches for poor congregations as claimed. His TV ministry collapsed in 1995 under the weight of a 61-count indictment. The trial, which is expected to start in Nov. and take several months, has already drawn battle lines over the use of videotaped statements from aged, frail investors and a defense fund in support of Tully. (8/22/97)
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BUENA PARK, CA. - A pastor convicted for violating city zoning rules by operating a makeshift homeless shelter has won the support of several of the jurors who voted against him. Four jurors attended services at Rev. Wile Drake's First Southern Baptist Church. Two declined comment but two others said they were impressed with the sermon and will donate money after touring the patio and parking lot where some 40 homeless people now live. They said they were forced by the law to convict, and Drake said he understood and thanked them for coming. He faces up to $4,000 in fines and 6 months in jail. Sentencing was scheduled for Aug. 22 (8/9/97)
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JACKSON COUNTY, MI. - Jeffrey Knapp, 47, a registered nurse who presented himself as a master spiritual healer, has been charged with molesting an 11-year-old boy under the guise of spiritual healing. He allegedly coerced the boy into fondling him during a class in "reiki," an Asian healing technique, at his home. It was revealed that in 1977 he was convicted of molesting an 11-year-old and sentenced to 5 years probation and in 1986 had lost a job as a principal after parents complained about sexual conversations he was having with students. (8/8/97)
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BAKERSFIELD, CA - A church school youth pastor will go to jail for two years for sexually molesting a 16-year-old girl. Jon Jon Jessee, 28, allegedly had sex with the girl while she was staying at the home he shared with his wife and young daughter.
The girl told police she was living with the Jessees because of family problems she was having. She said Jessee would touch her inappropriately and then pray and ask forgiveness, and that they had sex in March after he came into the bathroom while she was taking a shower. After the incident he packed her bags and asked her to move out. Jessee pled no contest to the charges. (8/8/97)
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CHICAGO - Rev. Casey January, 30, a pastor at God's Tabernacle of Praise was charged with two counts of criminal sexual assault and one count of criminal sexual abuse. He allegedly assaulted a teenage girl after counseling her about a year ago in the church and her home. The alleged victim tried to commit suicide after the incidents. (8/7/97)
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LOS ANGELES - Ronald Reagan's former pastor returned to active ministry two years after he was disciplined for sexual misconduct with 5 women. Presbyterian minister Rev. Donn Moomaw, 66, accepted an interim position in a San Diego church after the presbytery had determined he had fulfilled all the requirements, including signs of full repentence. (7/27/97)
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TRENTON - The state Supreme Court said that the trusting relationship a person has with a religious leader has legal weight and a clergy member can be sued for sexual misdeeds that abuse that trust. However, the court stopped short of opening doors for lawsuits against clergy specifically for malpractice, like doctors and therapists. It concluded that a mal- practice rule for clergy would violate the First Amendment.
The case involved Episcopal priest Fr. Alex MacDonell, who had counseled a female parishioner who claimed that in 1992-3, MacDonell, who was married, engaged her in sexually intimate behavior, but not intercourse, when she visited. She alleges the distress led to a suicide attempt and required psychiatric hospitalization.
After MacDonnell left the church, she confided in his successor, Fr. Fletcher Harper, about their affair. She said Harper violated her confidence, telling the congregation about the affair during a sermon and in a church newsletter.
After a dismissal of the suit and a reversal on appeal, the Supreme Court struck a middle ground, permitting the lawsuit on breach-of-trust points only. Lawyers on both sides claimed victory. (7/23/97)
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BAKERSFIELD - A Mormon missionary working as a reading volunteer at an elementary school was arrested on suspicion of molesting an 8-year-old girl at the school. Jason Chad Larsen, 20, is alleged to have fondled the child in the school cafeteria which was filled with other children and reading volunteers. The girl reported the incident to a teacher's aide. The principal called the girl's parents and then the police.
Larsen posted bond the next night. (5/24/97)
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Fort Wayne, IN. MOLESTING PASTOR GETS 28 YEARS HE DRUGGED AND FONDLED YOUNG BOYS. A Huntington youth pastor who admitted molesting 10 juvenile boys ages 11 to 17 between 1993 and February 1997 was sentenced to 28 years in prison Monday.Mark Kline, 33, admitted eight felony counts of child molesting, seven felony counts of sexual misconduct with a minor and seven misdemeanor battery counts. Some of the incidents, which involved fondling the boys, took place in Kline's apartment at Good Shepherd United Brethren Church, where he worked as a youth minister. The youth pastor told police he ``drugged'' many of his victims with a sleeping aid, a Huntington police report states. Mark A. Kline told police he bought the sleeping aid in a gel cap, which he punctured, squeezing its contents into a nighttime beverage for his young victims.``The sleeping aid would cause the person to be drowsy and most of the time unaware of the sexual contact that Kline was having with them,'' (July 29, 1997, The Fort Wayne, IN. Journal Gazette)
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TIERRA AMARILLA, NM. - The Chama First Baptist Church has been sued by a man who claims the church should have stopped the pastor, Rev. Louis Day, from wrecking his marriage. Eileen Dement began counseling soon after he became pastor in 1993, but she testified that she never considered him a psychological counselor, and began an affair which included lovemaking sessions in the church. She left her former husband for Day, whom she married in 1996, and has a 7-month old son by him.
She testified it would have taken "an act of God" to save her marriage to the plaintiff, Richard Hurd. He testified that Day told him to try to add some romance to their marriage. (8/29/98)
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NEW YORK CITY -- An Episcopal Church investigation confirmed allegations, raised in Penthouse magazine, that Episcopal priests in Brooklyn held sex orgies with youths, including young men brought from Brazil. (The Living Church magazine, 6/29/97)
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A teen-age girl testified in Provo, Utah, that her father, John Chaney, leader of a Mormon polygamy sect, repeatedly had sex with her and forced her to marry a middle-aged man when she was 13. (unknown, 6/27/97)
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TACOMA., WA. - Six more men have filed lawsuits against TV's "Frugal Gourmet" for sexual abuse, bringing the total to ten plaintiffs so far. Rev. Jeff Smith, 58, ordained as a Methodist minister, served as a campus chaplain at the University of Puget Sound in the late 1960s. He gave up preaching for cooking in 1973 when he started a restaurant and catering business called the "Chaplain's Pantry." Located near a high school, he hired students to help him in the kitchen as part of the work study program.
Eight of the plaintiffs are men who say Smith abused them as boys, with accusations ranging from fondling to rape. The other two plaintiffs are the parents of an alleged victim.
The earliest incident is said to have happened in 1974 and the most recent in 1992. The statute of limitations for criminal prosecution has passed. The civil suits are scheduled for trial next January.
Smith has kept quiet about the cases, but they have already put his burgeoning career in jeopardy. His newest cable TV cooking show has been suspended and talks with PBS about new episodes for his series are also on hold. His book publisher won't talk about him.
Smith, who has two adult sons, is married but has not lived with his wife Patricia for more than 20 years. She is named in the suits as having known of her husband's activities and has retained her own lawyer. (6/17/97)
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Universal Church of God pastor Ellis Butler of Shirley, Arkansas, was sentenced to 60 years in prison for raping three church school girls. (unknown, 5/31/97)
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The Rev. Jeffrey Horton of Liberty Christian Center in Michigan was sentenced to jail for planting hidden video cameras in women's restrooms. (unknown, 4/97)
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Richard Peter Gilliland is accused of sexually molesting a 17-year-old male in West Allis, Wisconsin, on March 14, 1997 while working as a minister of a church.
Minister Gilliland Wanted
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A North Carolina jury ordered Methodist minister Ed Privette to pay $420,000 damages to two women who were minors when he sexually molested at his church. (unknown, 3/97)
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The Rev. Bryan Buckley of Christ Community Church in St. Charles, Ill., drew a seven-year prison term for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. (unknown, 2/97)
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Church of God minister Scott Hogan of New Castle, Pa., was charged with "flashing" a group of girls on a store parking lot. Last year he pleaded guilty to burglary and indecent exposure. (unknown, 1/97)
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LYNCH Kevin John, 64 Brisbane Anglican school student counsellor. Found dead in car just hours after being charged with 7 counts of indecent assault against boy, aged 14, between 1992 and 1993 while counsellor at St Paul's Anglican College, Bald Hills, in Brisbane's north. Described by victim support group as one of QLD's most audacious child molesters. Lynch allegedly abused countless number of boys, aged 10 to 16, while at St Paul's Anglican College, Bald Hills (1989-1997), and St Joseph's Christian Brothers College, Gregory Terrace, Brisbane (c1979-1989). Also taught at Brisbane Grammar. Law firm Shine Roche McGowan estimates at least 23 potential litigants from St Paul's alone. In 2002, allegations surface AUS Governor-General and former Brisbane Anglican archbishop Peter HOLLINGWORTH authorised secret cash settlements to hush up evidence of sexual abuse against Lynch. (Queensland, Australia, 1997).
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LANE John Henry, 68 Brisbane Sunday school teacher and Salvation Army officer. Receives 12 month jail sentence in QLD District Court after being convicted on 1 charge of indecent dealing with girl, aged 7, in 1970s during Sunday school class in Brisbane. Court hears Lane, of Brisbane, worked as hospital chaplain at time offence occurred. (Queensland, Australia, 1997).
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BLENCOWE Peter Scott, 39 Melbourne Christian school teacher. Pleads guilty in Melbourne County Court to 6 counts of committing indecent act on 5 girls, aged under 16, between 1991 and 1993 while teacher at Westbourne and Williamstown Grammar school, in Melbourne's west. Court hears Blencowe, of Newport, encouraged girls to touch him through his pants. Judge describes offences as "bizarre and ludicrous". In 1980, Blencowe placed on 3 year probation after being convicted on 5 counts of indecent assault against 3 young girls at Dandenong primary school where he taught. In 1993, Blencowe accepted position as head of junior campus of Firbank Anglican Girls School, Brighton, where he worked until charges laid in 1995. (Victoria, Australia, 1996).
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COTTON Pastor Victor Clifford, 56 Adelaide pastor. Appears in Adelaide District Court charged with 3 child sex offences, including 2 counts of unlawful sexual intercourse and 1 of indecent assault, against teenage boy in 1995 while pastor of Adelaide northern suburbs church. Court hears victim former member of Cotton's congregation. (South Australia, Australia, 1997).
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BAZELY Reverend Frank Dennis Martin Perth Anglican priest. Receives maximum 5 year jail sentence in Perth court after pleading guilty to 12 child sex charges, including 9 counts of indecent assault and 3 of carnal knowledge, against 3 children, aged 6 to 16, between 1969 and 1975. Court hears Bazely, of Belhus, Perth, indecently assaulted 2 boys as well as their sister. (Western Australia, Australia, 1997).
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Lexington, KY. Donald E. Mikesell, a church deacon and auxiliary deputy jailer -- gave up the fight to prove his innocence yesterday, pleading guilty in U.S. District Court to interstate cigarette smuggling and two other felonies. Mikesell, 50, already is serving a 20-year prison sentence after his May conviction in Fayette Circuit Court for using a minor in a sexual performance. "I'd say it probably will be quite a while" before Mikesell is a free man again, said one of his attorneys, Thomas W. Miller. Fayette Circuit Judge Lewis G. Paisley sentenced Mikesell to 20 years in state prison for using a child in a sexual performance. Prosecutors said Mikesell fondled young, teen-age girls and asked them to pose for him in suggestive photographs. (Lexington Herald-Leader, 1997)
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FISHER Mark Geoffrey, 55 Sydney Anglican church choirmaster and scoutmaster. Receives 18 month jail sentence in Parramatta District Court after pleading guilty to 11 child sex charges against 8 boys, aged 11 to 15, between 1969 and 1988 while Anglican church choirmaster and 1st Hunter's Hill scoutmaster in Sydney. Fisher, of Hunter's Hill, originally charged with 35 child sex offences. (New South Wales, Australia, 1997).
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NAME SUPPRESSED BY COURT ORDER, Reedy Creek Pentecostal born again Christian and Reach Out For Christ International youth pastor. Appears in Southport District Court charged with committing unlawful sexual intercourse with girl, aged 16, while independent church youth pastor at Reedy Creek on Gold Coast, QLD. (ER 00) (Queensland, Australia, 1997).
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NAME SUPPRESSED BY COURT ORDER, QLD church elder. Receives 4 year jail sentence in Brisbane District Court after pleading guilty to adultery-related charges, including unlawful carnal knowledge and maintaining sexual relationship, against sister-in-law, aged 15, in QLD. Court hears defendant, who had been married 18 years, was excommunicated after committing adultery with wife's sister but readmitted by church hour later. Court told victim ostracised by community instead of perpetrator. Name SUPPRESSED BY COURT ORDER to protect sister-in-law. (W Howell 971127; DT 971128; HS 971128; ER 00) (Queensland, Australia, 1997).
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O'CALLAGHAN Kevin James, 39 Rockhampton Pentecostal born again Christian, Assemblies of God charismatic church member and secondary school teacher. Appears in Rockhampton Magistrates Court charged with 8 child sex offences, including indecent dealing, indecent assault and aggravated sexual assault, against 2 girls, aged 15, between late 1996 and early 1997 at Rockhampton and Yeppoon, north of QLD. Court hears O'Callaghan, of Rockhampton, allegedly committed offences while teacher at Assemblies of God Cathedral of Praise Christian College, Rockhampton. (Queensland, Australia, 1997).
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SMITH Major Charles Alan, 65 WA Salvation Army officer. Receives 15 year jail sentence in Perth District Court after pleading guilty to 39 child sex charges, including gross indecency, carnal knowledge and indecent assault, against 9 boys, aged under 17, during 1960s and 1970s in WA. Judge describes Major Smith as "true pedophile who preyed on young boys and used them as sexual playthings". (Western Australia, Australia, 1997).
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UNDERWOOD Frederick Charles, 58 Bunbury Anglican youth group leader and scoutmaster. Receives 12 year jail sentence in Bunbury District Court after pleading guilty to 92 child sex charges, including 79 counts of indecent dealing, 10 of gross indecency, 1 of inciting indecent dealing and 1 of attempting carnal knowledge, against 17 boys, aged 8 to 16, between 1971 and 1991 in WA. Originally charged with 500 sex offences against 25 boys. Some victims reportedly committed suicide or molested children themselves after assaults occurred. Church allegedly knew of offences in 1984 but permitted Underwood, of Bunbury, south of Perth, to continue preying on victims for 7 more years. (Western Australia, Australia, 1997).
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Natick, MA. After being molested by a former United Methodist pastor for three years in her teens, Rebecca Nault of Canton, Mass., finally got what she wanted: her day in court. Nault testified that in the late 1970s, Earl Haywood, then pastor of Fisk Memorial United Methodist Church, Natick, Mass., molested her repeatedly beginning when she was 12. She sued Haywood last year, settling out of court for an undisclosed amount of money. Then she took her legal actions further, suing retired Bishop Edward G. Carroll and the New England Conference. She claimed the bishop knew of earlier sexual molestations by Haywood and failed to remove him from ministry.
Parents of a previous victim testified that Haywood molested their child at a family wedding in 1976. They said they reported the incident to the bishop. They also testified that Haywood, brought into the meeting, admitted molesting the child. The parents said they left the meeting with Carroll believing that Haywood would be removed from access to children. The bishop reportedly sent Haywood to counseling, but allowed him to continue as pastor in Natick. That allowed him to molest Nault, her lawyer asserted. (Sept. 17, 1996;UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS)
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BROKEN ARROW, OK. A resigned youth minister at Arrow Heights Baptist Church apparently killed himself early Tuesday after police told him late Monday that he would be charged with molestation and related offenses. John Priddy, a Tulsa assistant district attorney, said the charges stemmed from allegations that Randol sexually abused a teen- age girl who attended the church. The alleged incidents began when the girl was 13 and ended when she was 15, Priddy said, adding that the incidents allegedly occurred at the church. Randol was the youth minister at the church until he resigned in April. A church secretary said Randol had worked for the church for one year, but she refused to comment further. Pastor Bob Green was unavailable for comment. (Tulsa World, 07/24/1996)
Broken Arrow youth minister dies of a bullet wound hours after being told he would be charged with sex offenses
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A youth minister who fled the state with a 14-year-old girl is expected to arrive in Ohio by Tuesday to face charges of child stealing and corruption of a minor. A private security firm on Saturday picked up Keith Luecke, 35, in South Carolina to bring him to Clermont County for prosecution. Luecke and Alecia Campbell disappeared April 10. They were found June 28 in a motel in Hanahan, S.C. A diary - written by both the girl and Luecke - was left at the motel when Luecke was arrested. (July 7, 1996, The Fort Wayne, IN. Journal Gazette)
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San Diego, CA. Officials of the California-Pacific Conference of the United Methodist Church have filed suit in San Diego to block St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Coronado, Calif., from keeping a man accused of molesting women as its pastor. The complex case began in 1993, when four women told denominational officials that they had been molested as teenagers 25 years ago by Thomas Warmer at another church. Warmer, who became pastor of St. Paul's in 1989, has denied the charges. (The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 06-08-1996)
Suit filed in dispute over pastor
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Tulsa, OK. A Tulsa jury on Wednesday handed a 79-year-old Oakhurst preacher prison terms totaling 30 years upon convicting him of molesting and sodomizing a 5-year-old girl. William Euel Riley received 10 years on each of two counts of lewd molestation, and one count of forcible sodomy. Jurors acquitted him of another sodomy count. Riley, pastor of Mission of Love Pentecostal Church in Oakhurst, denied the allegations. Formal sentencing is set for Feb. 15, one day before his 80th birthday. (Tulsa World, 01/11/1996)
Preacher Sentenced in Molestation
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KAY Stephen, 56 (Queensland, Australia, 1996). Brisbane Mormon school teacher, scoutmaster and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints member. Receives 15 month jail sentence in Brisbane District Court after pleading guilty to 5 child sex charges, including 3 counts of indecent treatment and 2 of indecent dealing, against 3 school students, aged under 12, in 1993 while teacher at southside Brisbane school. Court hears Kay assaulted boys on school premises. Also receives additional 6 month sentence in 1996 for indecent assault of boy, aged under 16, in 1993 at boy scout camp, QLD.
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DEBOO Vivian Frederick, 51 SA Pentecostal born again Christian, Uniting Church member, caterer and Christian Camping Association president. Receives 6 year jail sentence in Adelaide Supreme Court after pleading guilty to 10 child sex charges, including 9 counts of indecent assault and 1 of committing unlawful sexual intercourse, against 3 boys, aged 14 to 16, between 1989 and 1990 while caterer at Aldgate, Carrickalinga, Normanville and Victor Harbour, SA. Court hears Deboo, of Victor Harbour, committed many offences while active member of Christian Gospel church group and caterer at St Joseph's Convent, Aldgate. Victim's mother tells court she thought she did "right thing" allowing "good Christian man" to become involved with son. (South Australia, Australia, 1996).
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Anglican Pastor John Phillip Aitchison, Canberra 1996, 18 to 36 months for indecency on a boy (plus various other court appearances);
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COLUMBIA, S.C. Former youth minister Donald Baston pleaded guilty in January 1996 to 17 counts of criminal sexual conduct against young boys. (AP via NewsEdge, 1996)
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BURTON Pastor Keith John, 55 Brisbane Protestant church associate pastor and children's ministry leader. Receives 7 year jail sentence in Brisbane District Court after pleading guilty to 7 child sex charges, including 5 counts of indecent treatment, 1 of maintaining sexual relationship with minor and 1 of permitting himself to be sodomised, against 2 brothers, aged 12 and 14, between 1985 and 1993 while associate pastor at North Brisbane Protestant church. Court hears Burton, of North Brisbane, committed offences after offering boys "sports" massages during church outings, fishing trips and Bible classes. Judge accuses pastor of "stunning hypocrisy" and says he could not recall more gross breach of trust. (Queensland, Australia, 1996).
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AITCHISON Reverend John Phillip, 45 Canberra Anglican priest. Receives maximum 3 year jail sentence in Queanbeyan District Court after being convicted on 2 counts of performing indecent act on boy, aged 10 and 13, in 1987 and 1989. Court hears Aitchison, of Canberra, committed first offence while deacon at Ainslie All Saints Anglican church, Canberra, and second offence while minister at Bombala Anglican Rectory, southeast NSW. Court told Aitchison rubbed talcum on boy's genitals, performed oral sex on him, then clothed him in nappies. Records show Aitchison ordained in 1988 despite being convicted in Wangaratta Magistrates Court in 1973 on 2 counts of indecently assaulting girl, aged 7, and her brother, aged 8, between 1970 and 1971. (ACT, 1996).
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MOWDAY Darryl Lindsay, 43 QLD Christian youth group leader. Receives 7 year jail sentence in Brisbane District Court after pleading guilty to 8 child sex offences, including indecent dealing and carnal knowledge, against girl, aged 13, between 1992 and 1994 at locations in QLD. Court hears Mowday, from Sydney, had sex with girl in parks, car and in his home while wife away. Report describes youth leader's affair with girl as "torrid". (Queensland, Australia, 1996).
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HORNE Raymond Kenneth, 49 Brisbane City Mission volunteer worker. Receives 12 year jail sentence in Brisbane District Court after being convicted on 14 child sex charges, including 9 counts of indecent dealing, 3 of committing unlawful sexual intercourse, 1 of maintaining sexual relationship with minor and 1 of taking indecent photographs, against 2 boys, aged 13 and 15, between February and April, 1995. Court hears Horne, of New Farm, preyed on street kids and molested them in his flat. (Queensland, Australia, 1996).
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NAME SUPPRESSED BY COURT ORDER, 70 VIC Presbyterian training farm superintendent. Appears in Melbourne Magistrates Court on child sex charges, including committing unlawful sexual intercourse and indecent assault, against 3 boys, aged under 16, between 1954 and 1961 while head of Dhurringile Training Farm near Tatura, north of Melbourne. Court hears offences occurred in dining room of Presbyterian Church-run home, in showers, in one boy's bed and in car. (A MacLean; HS 960228; APP 960515) (Victoria, Australia, 1996).
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NAME SUPPRESSED BY COURT ORDER, Reverend Sydney Anglican priest and rector, aka AC1. Appears before Justice James Wood's NSW Royal Commission into Pedophilia accused of sexually abusing girl, aged 14, in 1980 at his North Sydney parish. Commission hears AC1, who forced victim to perform oral sex on him and other acts, commenced 3 year affair with girl soon after she began attending Bible and confirmation lessons. Priest described before commission as "disgrace". (SM 960508; 960509) For other accused or convicted church offenders exposed during Wood Commission, see Robert "Dolly" DUNN, Brother Michael EVANS, Brother Brian GORDON, Brother John LITTLER, Brother NAME SUPPRESSED BY COURT ORDER and Brother Francis RILEY. (New South Wales, Australia, 1996).
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REYNOLDS John Claude, 60 Launceston Christian youth group leader and Care and Rehabilitations Ministries (CARM) director. Receives 3 year jail sentence in TAS Supreme Court after pleading guilty to 5 gross indecency charges, including 2 counts of committing unlawful sexual intercourse, against boy, aged 7, between 1967 and 1973 while head of CARM drop-in centre, Launceston, TAS. Court hears Reynolds took boy to popular fishing spot and attempted to have anal sex with him in kombi van. CARM described as Christian organisation with links to Memorial Baptist church and St Aidan's Anglican church, Launceston. (Tasmania, Australia, 1996).
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SMITH Edwin James, 69 Brisbane Plymouth Brethren children's home boarding master and handyman. Receives maximum 7 year jail sentence in Brisbane District Court after pleading guilty to 21 child sex charges, including 12 counts of indecent dealing and 9 of gross indecency, against orphan boy, aged 10, over 5 year period between 1959 and 1964 at Plymouth Brethren Silky Oaks Children's Haven, Manly, Brisbane. Court hears victim suffered 5 years of torture including being sexually assaulted while waiting for ambulance after breaking arm. Home described in court as "pedophile's paradise for sick religious zealots". (Queensland, Australia, 1996).
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West Sacramento, CA. The Word of Life Assembly of God church of West Sacramento, 2 ministers and the Assemblies of God Northern California and Nevada District Council Inc. are being sued by the parents of a teenage girl who was involved in a sexual relationship with a minister. Donald Wisdom pleaded no contest to 11 counts of sex with a minor and was sentenced to 1 year in jail. Wisdom reportedly induced the girl, then 15, into a sexual relationship from October '94 until July '95. The civil suit claims that church officials knew about the relationship, refused to remove the minister, and attempted to silence the family. The suit seeks $10 million in punitive damages plus general and specific damages for battery, sexual battery, sexual harassment, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, slander and invasion of privacy. (The Sacramento Bee 12/27/95)
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Round Lake, MI. Bible Teacher Had Prior Sex Offenses Round Lake Community Church Sunday and vacation bible school teacher Joseph Escalera, 51, was sentenced to 7 years in prison for sexually molesting a boy, 10. In return for a guilty plea to aggravated criminal sexual abuse, other charges against Escalera were dismissed. The boy and Escalera's mentally disabled roommate participated in the church's youth group. In June and July of '94 the boy befriended the roommate and slept over about once a week. Police say Escalera admitted he fondled the boy and masturbated while the boy undressed. At the time of his arrest, Escalera was on 4 years probation for a 1988 conviction of 3 counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault for incidents in Mount Prospect. (Waukegan News Sun 12/22/95)
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Miami, FL. Unitarian Universalist church vice president David Reed Whitehead, 32, was charged with lewd and lascivious assault. According to allegations made to police, the youth counselor engaged in sexual activity at least 3 times with a boy, 15. The last incident was said to have occurred Dec. 3 when the teen stayed overnight at Whitehead's home. Whitehead taught a sexuality course for teenagers. (The Miami Herald; Chicago Sun-Times 12/13/95)
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El Cajon, CA. An El Cajon youth minister was extradited from Kentucky for 15 charges of committing lewd acts on a child in California. Trevor Scott Hanes, 28, headed youth activities at the First United Methodist Church for 6 years before resigning and accepting a part-time position as youth minister with the Second Presbyterian Church in Lexington. (Lexington Herald-Leader, 12/7/95)
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Florida. Harold Ragin was charged with sexual battery on a child in familial or custodial authority. According to reports, a teacher contacted authorities after a girl told her of a Nov. 24 incident in which Ragin, 47, assaulted her. Ragin told police he was an associate pastor of Life Tabernacle Ministries and that he and his wife were watching the girl, 13, while her mother was at work. He blamed the girl for the incident, but admitted penetrating her with his finger. (The Daily Commercial 12/1/95; 11/30/95)
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Lock Haven, PA. Pastor of the First Church of Christ in Lock Haven attempted suicide at a city park last June and 5 admitted in a written confession to repeatedly raping a girl, 8, between Nov. '94-May '95. Darran Andrew Chick, 32, pleaded guilty to 3 counts of rape, 1 count each of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and aggravated indecent assault. He was sentenced to 14-62 years in prison. Chick was originally charged with 56 counts each of rape and statutory rape, and 20 counts each of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and indecent assault. (The Patriot-News 11/28/95)
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Lancaster County, PA. A volunteer for the Lancaster Brethen in Christ Church was charged with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and endangering the welfare of a child. Andrew Lee Tonsager, 18, was arrested in November when allegations surfaced that he performed oral sex on a boy, 4, in the church. Tonsager defaulted on $10,000 cash bail and has been committed to Lancaster County Prison until a district court hearing is scheduled. (New Era 11/21/95)
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North Charleston, WV. North Charleston Baptist Church youth leader Gerald Mollohan, 47, was convicted by a jury on 2 counts of rape and received consecutive sentences of 15-35 years for each assault. The teen, 16, testified that Mollohan, a 28-year postal employee, befriended several brothers through a church youth group and bought 1 of them gifts and took him on a trip to Disney World. The victim said he resisted Mollohan's sexual advances several times before the youth leader raped him at knifepoint on 2 separate nights at the leader's home in December '93. (The Charleston Gazette 11/7/95)
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Isaac Park, IL. A popular preacher from Lawrence County was convicted of sodomy and sexual abuse, including 9 felony counts for molesting 4 boys in his rural farmhouse. Gallie Isaac Sr., 78, was recommended by jury to serve 25 years in prison for his sexual crimes. The pastor of Isaac Park Free Baptist Church was indicted in '94 on charges of molesting 8 boys from 1984-94. Four of the boys, ages 11-14 at the time of the incidents, testified saying that he engaged in masturbation and oral sex with them. "He was saying stuff like, 'God's watching you, and you're doing good,' and 'All the boys do this,' " the witness, now 18, said. One of the victims said Isaac played a Halloween tape before having sex with him and told him that having sex was okay. "He began to touch me and he would whisper, 'I will protect you . . . from the house,' " another alleged victim, now 25, told jurors. Formal sentencing for Isaac, father of 6 and former county clerk, is scheduled for Dec. 14. Isaac is free on bond until sentencing and faces a second trial on charges relating to the 4 other alleged victims. (Lexington Herald-Leader 11/4/95, 10/31/95)
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ON, Canada. Rev. Joanne Thompson-Millar, 37, a youth pastor for the Victory Christian Centre, was charged with sexual exploitation, sexual assault and sexual interference. A girl, 15, said she was assaulted by Millar at the pastor's home and at a trailer park in north-central Ontario. (The Ottawa Citizen 10/7/95)
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Coronado, CA. After a $100,000 settlement with the United Methodist Church, lawsuits filed by 2 women claiming they had been molested as teenagers by Rev. Thomas Warmer were dropped. Melissa Knight and Jayne Relaford Brown said they were molested by Warmer in '68 at his Lemon Grove church. Warmer, who is the senior minister at St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Coronado, has maintained his innocence and will pay no money in the settlement. (California State University at Long Beach Daily 49er, 10/5/95)
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Lemon Grove, CA. Two lawsuits filed against the United Methodist Church in Lemon Grove have been dismissed upon settlement of about $100,000. Melissa Knight and Jayne R. Brown came forward in '93 with claims that Rev. Thomas Warmer molested them at the church in 1968 when they were teenagers. Warmer, who is now senior minister at St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Coronado, has maintained his innocence. Source:
[email protected] 10/4/95
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Montgomery County, PA. Minister Sneaks Into Girl's Bedroom. Montgomery County YouthQuest executive director Rev. Stephen E. Aiken, 37, was charged with corruption of a minor after forcing himself on a girl, 17, about 15 times in the course of 4 months, beginning in April 1994. The teenager and her infant daughter moved in with Aiken, his wife and their 3 girls after she was referred to Aiken by an educational program for teenage mothers. The girl reported that Aiken had come into her room while she was asleep, undressed her and began to rub her breasts. "Sometimes I would say, 'no,' and sometimes I would just let it go because I didn't know what to do," the woman, now 19, said. (The Philadelphia Inquirer 10/6/95, 9/24/95)
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McIntosh, AL. A McIntosh pastor has been indicted by a grand jury of having sexual relations with a female minor. Rev. Floyd Wilson Reynolds, 67, was released on a $5,000 bond after his July arrest. Records state that Reynolds, pastor of Magnolia Holiness Church, stopped on the roadside when taking the girl home, saying he had to use the restroom. He then told the girl to remove her underwear and attempted to have sexual intercourse with her, she reports. (Birmingham Post-Herald 9/11/95)
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Barry William Katzer, 32, is charged with a 2nd degree sex offense involving an underage victim, possession of child pornography and unnatural and perverted sex acts. He was held in lieu of $50,000 bond. Katzer was arrested after an anonymous caller asked police to check on the welfare of a boy who was with Katzer at a motel. Police found pornographic magazines and tapes in the room. Katzer gave officers a business card that identified him as the pastor of the Butler-Richland Seventh-Day Adventist Church pastor. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 8/28/95)
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Minister Willie Crawford (a.k.a Willie Brown) who is serving time in prison for raping a learning-disabled woman in '93, has recently been convicted of sexually abusing his daughter. Crawford was acquitted on charges of rape, but was convicted of incest and endangering the welfare of a child and using his daughter in a sexual performance. The conviction stems from photographs of Crawford sexually abusing his daughter, which police found in his home. The photos were discovered while police were carrying out a search warrant issued as part of the investigation into the rape of the learning-disabled woman, who was the daughter of a friend. Crawford was convicted last year of raping and sodomizing the woman, 21, and was sentenced to 8-16 years in prison. During his court appearance on that charge, he was arrested on the charges involving his daughter. The girl said that she had been abused from age 9 until 14. Crawford, former minister of Bethesda Temple Church, pleaded guilty to attempting to sexually abuse 2 of his other daughters, then 13 and 14. He was sentenced to 5 years probation. He faces 7 1/2 to 15 years for the count of using his daughter in a sexual performance. (Newsday, 8/19/95)
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Lancaster. PA. A Lancaster man who helped teach Bible study for teenagers planning to join a church was arrested and charged with 2 counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse. The victim, 15, was in the process of becoming a member of the Conestoga Valley Church of Christ. John Mark Nadeau, 44, allegedly assaulted the boy during "one-on-one" study sessions. Nadeau turned himself in after a child abuse prosecution unit began investigating the alleged assaults. He waived a preliminary hearing and was freed on $10,000 cash bail. Nadeau faces a maximum penalty of 20-40 years in prison if convicted. Each charge of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse carries a maximum penalty of 10-20 years, said a detective from East Lampeter. (New Era, 8/9/95)
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QUINCY, MA. Lutheran minister Frederick W. Chapman, 70, has been arrested and charged with forcible rape of a child and indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. The abuse was reported to have begun when the youth was 13. Chapman is accused of repeatedly molesting the boy twice a week over the course of a year. Allegations arose after a failed attempt by the victim to blackmail the ex-minister, said Chapman's attorney. Chapman faced a similar accusation in New York in '77. He was charged with having sexual contact with a child under 17, acting to harm a child and endangering the welfare of a child. Chapman pleaded guilty in the case to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct, but was not placed on probation nor did he serve any time in jail. At the time of the newly alleged assaults, Chapman was on probation for molesting a girl, 8, in Milton, NY in '94. Chapman had admitted to sufficient facts to warrant a guilty finding for indecently assaulting the Milton girl. (The Patriot Ledger 8/9/95)
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Mahtowa, MN. An evangelical pastor of the Mahtowa Covenant Church has been convicted on 2 charges of 4th degree criminal sexual conduct involving touching but not penetrating a teenage boy. Rev. Kenneth Lucht, 54, had served as pastor of the Mahtowa church since '87, but resigned amid allegations. Lucht also resigned from a part-time teaching position at Barnum High School. He was charged with 4 counts of criminal sexual conduct for 2 incidents reported in February. Sexual contact was alleged to have occurred while the teen was asleep. The first incident occurred in Lucht's home in June '93. The boy awoke to find his pants unzipped and Lucht's hands beneath his underwear. The second incident occurred a month later in a cabin on Goodrich Lake. The teen said he punched the pastor after awaking to find him touching him sexually again. The teen was a student at the Barnum school and mowed the church's lawn. Reports say Lucht befriended the boy, who was from a broken home, and, on several occasions, invited him to stay at his home. Court documents show Lucht established a bank account for the victim, bought him gifts and acted as a "surrogate father." (Duluth News-Tribune 8/1/95)
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Montgomery County, Maryland. Methodist minister Harry Budd Miles, 65, was sentenced to 1 month in jail for each year he sexually abused a boy from 1972-76. Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Vincent E. Ferretti Jr. suspended consecutive sentences of 10 years each for the 2 counts of child abuse. If, after his jail sentence is served, Miles violates the terms of his probation, he could be ordered to serve the 20-year suspended prison sentence. Miles, the pastor of North Bethesda United Methodist Church, began molesting Scott Bisset when he was a Boy Scout whose troop met at the church. Miles met Bisset, then 11, while helping with a merit badge program. (Washington Post 7/20/95)
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Birminghan, AL. The pastor of Bon Secour Assembly of God, Marshall David Cumbie, 37, has been accused of sexually abusing a teenage boy and was arrested on similar charges with another boy. Cumbie has been charged with 2 counts of 2nd degree sodomy and 1 count of 2nd degree sexual assault. Cumbie was also arrested earlier the same month on charges of 2nd degree sodomy and 2nd degree sexual abuse and was freed on bond. (Birmingham News 5/28/95)
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Tulsa, OK. A Tulsa County minister accused of molesting a teen-age church member was sentenced Friday to five years in prison. Steve Lamberson, 35, pleaded no contest April 3 to two molestation counts. Lamberson, a resident of the Mounds area, was pastor and principal of Liberty Heights Free Will Baptist Church and academy in south Tulsa County when the offenses occurred, said a report by Sheriff's Deputy Gary Ross. Lamberson was charged in 1994 with molesting a girl -- now 18 years old -- in December 1991 and March 1992, when she was 14 and 15. (Tulsa World, 05/27/1995)
Lamberson Sentenced for Molestation
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Upland, CA. Upland Church of Christ Pastor Alan Wilson, 35, pleaded no-contest to 1 count of misdemeanor child annoying after a Superior Court Judge dismissed a felony charge of child molestation against Wilson. Commissioner J. Michael Welch granted the motion to dismiss by the defense because the incident did not involve sexual contact. A boy, 15, reported that Wilson gave him a massage on a bed in the pastor's home after a private singing lesson. Wilson was arrested when he suggested performing a sexual act on the boy during a phone conversation which was monitored by police. (Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, CA) 4/26/95)
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Utah. Episcopal bishop Steven Plummer was reinstated as the bishop of the Navajo Indians on June 1. Plummer, who admitted he had a 2 year sexual relationship with a teenage boy, took leave of absence last year after acknowledging the allegations. He was granted absolution and was given counseling. The young man he abused also received counceling. Episcopalians are divided on Plummer's return. (The Milwaukee Journal, 4/21/95)
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Gwinnett, GA. A former church music minister was arrested Monday on charges that he improperly touched a boy, Gwinnett County police records show. Cecil Gray "Trey" Clegg III, 24, of Lawrenceville, was charged with one count of sexual battery, records show. Clegg was accused of improperly touching an 11-year-old boy sometime between last Oct. 1 and Nov. 23 at Amazing Grace Lutheran Church, 3305 U.S. 29, according to police. (The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 01-24-1995)
One-time music minister charged with sex offense
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NAME SUPPRESSED BY COURT ORDER, Ballarat youth leader. Receives 12 month good behaviour bond in Ballarat Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to 2 counts of indecent assault against boy, aged 12, between August and September 1984. Court hears defendant drove boy to secluded bushland where he engaged in mutual masturbation with boy. Court told defendant's offences largely "extension of perversion" perpetrated by notorious pedophile priest Father Gerald RIDSDALE, who sexually abused defendant as youth. (R McIndoe 951005; AG 951006) (Victoria, Australia, 1995).
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NAME SUPPRESSED BY COURT ORDER, Brisbane Mormon school teacher, scout master and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints minister. Receives 15 month jail sentence in Brisbane District Court after being convicted on 3 child sex charges, including 3 counts of indecent assault and 2 of indecent dealing, against boy, aged 12, at Mt Cotton scout camp, south of Brisbane. Court hears defendant, of Manly West, Brisbane, assaulted boy at scout camp. (CM 951209) (Queensland, Australia, 1995).
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Anglican Pastor Robert Winston Duffield, of Victoria and NSW, 6 months suspended jail term (Melbourne, 1995) for gross indecency against a boy;
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THORNE George Frederick, 67 Melbourne Christian school music teacher. Convicted in VIC court on 14 child sex charges, including 11 counts of indecent assault, 2 of gross indecency and 1 of carnal knowledge, against girl, aged from 7 over 13 year period between 1969 and 1982 while teacher at Scotch Uniting Church College. (Victoria, Australia, 1995).
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PA. Rev. Joel Williams, 39, pleaded guilty to repeatedly raping the teenage daughter he called his "pride and joy" from March 1990 until she ran away 4 years later at age 17. Prosecutors said the abuse began a week after the death of his wife, the girl's mother. (Tribune-Democrat, 11/18/94)
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Jackson, MI. A Mormon bishop's clerk, Bruce A. McAskill, 66, with a past rape conviction, faces a minimum sentence of 5 years in prison after a judge found him guilty of kissing and fondling a boy, 8, whom he was babysitting. The boy's mother attended McAskill's church. A police officer who was called to the scene said McAskill told him "he didn't see any problem" with an adult sleeping naked with a child. (Jackson Citizen Patriot, 10/25/94)
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Utah. The first Native American named as a Mormon general authority, George P. Lee, 51, pleaded guilty to attempted sexual abuse of a girl, now 17. He entered his plea as he was on the verge of being tried on a felony charge of aggravated sexual abuse of the girl, who lived across the street from him. Lee was sentenced to 18 months' probation, fined $1,850, and ordered to undergo counseling and pay for his victim's counseling. Brother Lee told her he had fallen in love with her, and that it was OK with God, the girl reported. (Arizona Republic, 10/12/94; Salt Lake Tribune, 10/11/94)
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Linwood,NJ. A Linwood minister who had been in charge of children's activities at the 250-member Mainland Assembly of God Church for 9 years pleaded guilty to molesting a girl parishioner. Richard L. Kim, 29, admitted he molested the girl, 16. (Philadelphia Inquirer, 9/9/94)
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Ottowa, CA. A Baptist lay minister, Walter Howe, was sentenced to 3 months in jail for sex crimes since the 60s. Howe, 85, admitted to abusing 8 girls between ages 5 and 15 at the time of the abuse. Source: The Ottawa Citizen, 9/2/94
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Cocoa, FL. A teacher, athletic director, counselor and coach at Bethel Christian Academy in Cocoa was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison, followed by 10 years probation for the kidnapping and sexual battery of a student, 13. Daniel Perdue was arrested outside a motel in Vero Beach. Perdue must pay for his victim's counseling and is forbidden to ever hold a position of authority over minors. (Florida Today, 8/9/94)
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Missouri. The leader of a religious commune in Clay County has been convicted of kidnapping, raping, sodomizing and restraining the daughter of one of his followers. The recommended sentence for Nelson DeCloud, 53, is 220 years in prison. (Centre Daily Times, 8/5/94; AP, 8/4/94)
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Aurora, IL. An Aurora mail-order minister who also owned Hal's Lock & Key locksmith business will be under prison lock & key after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a girl, 10. Harvey Lee "Hal" Sechler, 53, who operated Universal Life Church out of his home, admitted to molesting the girl whom he babysat in 1993. Sechler had previously admitted having repeated sexual relations with his daughter when she was 4-12 years old. Although no charges were ever brought in that case, his daughter was placed in a Kane County orphan home. Records also show that Sechler once sold child pornography at Hal's Food Store in Montgomery before child pornography was illegal in Illinois. (Chicago Tribune, 8/3/94)
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Menomenee Falls, WI. An instructor at Pembine Bible camp and Grace Evangelical Lutheran church in Menomenee Falls, Fritz A. Callies, 61, has been sentenced to 8 years in prison for sexually assaulting 2 girls, ages 9 and 10. Over a dozen women have come forward saying Callies abused them as girls. He was investigated in 1978 for sex crimes, but was not charged. Source: Kenosha News, 7/17/94
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Scottsdale, AZ. A Mormon bishop, Arlo Kay Atkin, 38, who was excommunicated from the church for sexual misconduct, is being sued by a Mesa woman who says their sexual relationship beginning when she was 15 resulted in a pregnancy and a child, now 4. The suit alleges negligence by the church in trusting him with minors. Atkin, now of Ventura, CA, pleaded guilty in February 1991 to sexual contact with the woman and was sentenced to 4 months in jail. Source: Arizona Republic, 7/8/94
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Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. An Anglican minister and Boy Scout leader was sentenced to 6 years in prison for sexually abusing 16 boys between 1976-81. More boys are expected to come forward. Ralph Rowe, 54, of Thompson, Manitoba, pleaded guilty to 28 charges. Rowe received police protection due to death threats. (Star Phoenix [Saskatoon, Saskatchewan], 7/2/94; Chronicle Herald, 7/94)
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Palmdale, CA. An Episcopal priest of Palmdale, Robert. L. Ducker, 63, received the maximum sentence of 12 years in prison for repeatedly molesting 2 parishioner boys. (Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, 6/26/94)
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Auckland, NZ. A widowed former leader of an Aukland religious sect was sentenced to 9 months in jail for raping and assaulting 7 girls, including 1 of his daughters. (New Zealand Herald, 6/18/94)
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BAPTIST MINISTER CONVICTED OF SEXUAL ABUSE. A married minister, who worked at Tiverton-Freeport United Baptist Church from 1976-1981, was convicted of 21 charges of indecent and sexual assault involving 13 boys in Digby County between those years. Floyd Delano Gale, 46, had written a letter of apology to the family of one of his victims. According to the family's testimony, he sat in their living room and admitted he was a pedophile, and had sexual relationships with boys, including their son, then 12, but claimed they were of legal age and consented. Gale claims to be a victim of childhood sexual abuse himself. Gale's assaults included oral sex and fondling of the boys, some in their own home while their parents slept. During the trial one of his victims punched Gale in the head outside the courthouse. When the judge denied a request for Gale to be set free until sentencing, the courtroom applauded In 1988 Gale resigned from the Church of Christ in Garnet Settlement, New Brunswick, amidst rumors of his sexual misconduct. (The Chronicle-Herald (Nova Scotia) 5/17,18,19,20,26/94, 6/7/94.)
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WEST VIRGINIA. MINISTER INITIATES SEX WITH INCEST VICTIM. A girl, 14, who sought help from a Baptist minister because her father was sexually abusing her was then sexually abused by the trusted pastor during counseling sessions. Gary Hackler Kendall, 40, pastor of North Hills Baptist Church, pleaded guilty. The victim's father also pleaded guilty and received a 5-15 year prison term. (Charleston Gazette_ 6/1/94.)
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ASSEMBLIES OF GOD CHURCH CAMP IMPLICATED. An Assembly of God church camp boys counselor, Matt Thrasher, 17, of Belton, pleaded not guilty to felony indecency with a child. He was released on $10,000 bond. The North Texas District Council for the Assemblies of God is a defendant in a civil lawsuit filed in Rusk, which claims church officials ignored the physical and sexual abuses occurring at the Mountain View Camp near Jacksonville. Source: _Lufkin Daily News_ 5/29/94.
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GOOD SHEPHERD MOLESTS FLOCK The former pastor of Good Shepherd Assemblies of God Worship Center in Carlsbad has been accused of sexually molesting 5 males on hundreds of occasions between 1976 and 1984. Rev. Dalton Webber, Sr., now 65 and living in Arkansas, declined comment, but the 5 men say Webber performed sex acts against them in their homes, his home, his car, and at overnight church youth activities and church conventions. One of the boys was abused from 3rd grade until he left for college. An out-of-court settlement was reached for $1.75 million, and Webber Sr. finally admitted guilt and stated he had been forgiven, but it is not known by whom. These five men witnessed Webber Sr. molesting many other children, who have not come forward yet. Source: _Blade-Citizen_ 4/29/93; _Los Angeles Times_ 5/14/94; _News On The March_ (Edward Lozzi & Associates, Beverly Hills, CA) 5/20/94.
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WOMAN SUES MINISTER. Janet Walker, 35, of Westport, has filed a $2 million lawsuit in federal court against Massachusetts resident Rev. David L. Dickerman, pastor of Immanuel Congregational Church in Hartford, for sexual abuse. She alleges the abuse began in the early 1970s when she was 13 or 14 years old and a member of his church. She and her husband also filed suit against the church for failing to properly supervise Dickerman. Source: _Hartford Courant_ 5/5/94.
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EPISCOPAL TEACHER CHARGED WITH MOLESTATIONS. A Sunday school teacher and church elder at St. Cuthbert's Episcopal Church in Harris County has been charged with the sexual molestation of 2 male teens. A third boy, 15, may be a victim also. Assaults began in May 1992 and ended this February after a boy, 16, told his mother that Richard Dick Gray, 59, had molested him. Gray admitted having sex with another boy, 14. Gray was released on $20,000 bond. The 16-year-old is under psychiatric care and cannot testify. One mother invited Gray into her home to be an adult male role-model for her son. While she was away, Gray molested the youth. Gray was also accused of molesting a family member 20 years ago, for which his relatives have severed ties with him. Gray was also arrested 10 months ago for exposing himself to an undercover officer in an adult book store. Source: _Houston Chronicle_ 4/27/94.
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LUTHERAN MINISTER ADMITS PAST MOLESTATIONS. Criminally charged with sexually abusing 2 boys, aged 12, Rev. Daniel Seedorf, 36, admitted being accused of fondling another boy while a pastor in southern Illinois. Seedorf, now part-time pastor of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, was restricted from acting as pastor by the Lutheran Church's Missouri Synod. Sources: _Chicago Sun-Times_ 4/27/94, _Chicago Tribune 4/27/94.
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Lutheran Minister ACCUSES 13-YEAR-OLD BOY OF "SEDUCTION". A jury found in favor of plaintiff David Samarzia, 40, who filed a lawsuit against Rev. Daniel Reeb, 58, for sexually abusing him from 1965-68. Also named was the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod. Although Reeb admitted the abuse to an attorney, other defendants in the case denied any abuse and claimed that if it had occurred, it was Samarzia's fault. Reeb claimed the sexual relations were not molestation and that Samarzia, then 13, seduced him, then 32. Other testimony accused Reeb of masturbating in front of a confirmation class. The jury ruled that the church was partially responsible for Reeb's misconduct and must pay $643,800 to Samarzia. Three other men have filed suit against Reeb for sexual abuse spanning 11 of Reeb's 18 years at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Duluth. Sources: _Duluth News-Tribune_ 3/29/94, 4/10,13,14/94; AP/_Leader-Telegram_ 4/13/94.
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WOMAN SAYS DEACON ASSAULTED HER. Englewood deacon David I. Thomas was arrested after a woman, 20, told authorities he sexually assaulted her in his basement repeatedly when she was a 12-year-old member of his congregation. Source: _Today's Sunbeam_/AP 4/11/94.
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LUTHERAN PASTOR IMPREGNATES VICTIM. Lutheran pastor, Russell Tessman, 40, was sentenced to 2 years probation for the sexual exploitation and impregnation of Carla Vetters while he counseled her between Dec. 1990 and July 1993. He faced a maximum of 2 years in prison. Following his jury conviction he was ordered to pay $500 fines plus a 30% surcharge and court costs. Source: _Des Moines Register_ 3/23/94, 4/10/94.
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BOBO SENTENCED. A Baptist deacon accused of fondling several girls has been sentenced to 3 years in prison for the molestation of a female student. Wallace Bobo, Jr., 57, was a high school teacher and coach at Meridian High in Mound City. The father of one victim, who shot Bobo 5 times, awaits trial, while Bobo is out on bail pending an appeal. (Philadelphia Inquirer_ 4/9/94.)
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WOMAN SUES MINISTER FOR MILLIONS. A 35-year-old woman has filed a $140 million lawsuit against a Baltimore youth minister for raping her when she was 14. Daniel Robinson Sr., now of Chicago, was youth minister at Brooklyn Church of God in Baltimore and pastor of the Church of God in Cleveland, TN. The defendant seeks $140 million in compensatory and punitive damages. She was babysitting his children in exchange for piano lessons when he began molesting her and later raped her in the manse, according to the lawsuit. He apologized, she said, but later exposed himself to her again and threatened to hurt her if she told. Source: _Baltimore Sun_ 4/9/94.
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MISSISSIPPI PENTECOSTAL MINISTER JAILED FOR FONDLING TOT. Convicted of molesting a boy, 4, a former local TV minister was sentenced to 5 years in prison. Earl Bishop, 69, assaulted the child in Feb. 1993. The daycare center operated by Bishop's wife was ordered closed. Source: _Clarion-Ledger_ 4/9/94.
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MINISTER PLAYING DOCTOR An assistant minister and youth choir director at First Church of God has been charged with practicing medicine without a license and criminal sexual conduct for the rectal exam of a male and pelvic exams on women involving penile catheters. Dean Willoughby, 29, was apparently practicing medicine from his apartment on homeless people, including children. HIV+ blood samples were found there, also apparently drawn from "patients". Willoughby's attorney says, "All he's ever done is do community work ... with street people, with the homeless, with AIDS patients. He has not a blemish in his background. He's very highly respected in his church." (Lexington Herald-Leader 4/8/94)
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YOUTH LEADER FIRED FOR "AFFAIR" WITH TEEN. A Goleta Christian High School math teacher was fired for the sexual assault of a female student, 16. Dale Swanson, married and 27, was her math teacher and youth group leader. The teenager says the two had sex over 100 times and now feels very betrayed by Swanson, who promised to leave his wife for her. Source: _Santa Barbara News-Press_ 4/7/94.
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GEORGIA. BAPTIST MINISTER ACCUSED. For being accused of sexually molesting several male teens between Sept. 1992-93 while serving as youth minister at Western Hills Baptist Church in Cobb County, Kevin DeRosa, 33, of New Jersey is being held at the Paulding County jail on similar charges in that county. (Atlanta Journal_ 3/94)
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SOUTH CAROLINA. Episcopal Priest on Church Trial. Rev. Antoine Campbell of Charleston was relieved of his duties during a second church trial on charges of misconduct. He was cleared of charges of sexual misconduct in a previous church trial. Source: _San Antonio Express- News_ 3/30/94.
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CHURCH STANDS BEHIND PASTOR ACCUSED OF LEWDNESS. The senior pastor of Upland Church of Christ is being held on $20,000 bail for sexual lewdness. A boy, 15, who was taking singing lessons from Alan Wilson, 34, was lured into Wilson's bedroom and molested. The boy bolted from the house and informed his parents and authorities. In a police-tapped phone call the boy contacted Wilson, who suggested performing sexual acts on the boy. The church is standing behind Wilson. Source: _Inland Valley Daily Bulletin_ 3/18/94.
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MINISTER GETS 189 YEARS. For the sexual assault of 2 boys, both 15, the minister of the now-defunct Family Life Church in Park Hills has been sentenced to serve at least 28 years in prison before he is eligible for parole. Rev. Richard L. Jones, 30, was sentenced to 189 years for sexually assaulting the boys in his home and car in 1990- 91. He told them it was sanctioned in the _Bible_. In court Jones claimed the boys were trying to seek revenge when he confronted their drinking and sexual activities. Source: _News-Leader_ 3/16/94, AP 2/8/94.
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OREGON. YOUTH PASTOR AND GIRL RUN AWAY. Youth pastor and _Bible_ study teacher of Hope Christian Church in Central Point, Brett Aaron Rossback, 25, is being held on $80,000 bail, on charges of rape, sodomy, and sex abuse of church member Stacie Webber, 13. The family of the girl had known Rossback for 3 years when he abducted her. The child, now with her mother in Oregon, was gone for 6 weeks. The child's stepfather said, "We don't want the church getting a bad name." Source: _Daily Barometer_ 2/3/94, _Register-Guard_ 3/9/94, _Mail Tribune_ 3/16/94.
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YOUTH LEADER ACCUSED OF CHILD MOLESTING. Fullerton's First Evangelical Free Church has a second associate accused of pedophilia. Michael Webb Blinkhorn, 29, was the youth leader and is now facing 18 felony counts for sexually assaulting 4 boys, aged 12- 15, in his apartment over a 3-year period. He could receive up to 30 years in prison if convicted of all counts. Blinkhorn was very well liked in the church until now. Source: _Orange County Register_ 3/10/94.
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PASTOR MOLESTS. Former associate pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church and parent representative at Pittsburgh's Margaret Milliones Middle School, Rev. Rudolph B. Walls, 43, was a defendant in a lawsuit filed in May 1992 by a male teen and his mother. Walls was accused of sexually molesting the teen, now 18. Also involved in the suit were the principal, school board, and Pittsburgh Public Schools. They settled for $425,000. In August 1991 Walls was sentenced to 1-5 years in prison for indecent assault. Walls was on probation for a North Carolina molestation at the time he began assaulting the teen in this lawsuit. (Pittsburgh Post- Gazette_ 2/24/94.)
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SALVATION ARMY VERDICT CONTROVERSIAL. For being sexually abused by Salvation Army _Bible_ teacher Gary Hallock, 4 boys and their parents were awarded over $500,000 in compensatory damages for the years of therapy needed, but only $1 each for punitive damages. Although an officer of the Army knew of Hallock's pedophilia years ago, the Army was not held responsible for the abuse. Hallock is serving a 36-72 year jail term, and has admitted to abusing 30 children. The plaintiffs' lawyer was seeking $4 million in the case, and accused jurors of wanting child abuse to continue because they did not award high punitive damages. Source: _Tribune_ 2/18,22/94; _Tribune-Democrat_ 2/94.
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BAPTIST MINISTER SENTENCED. For sexually abusing 2 boys who were members of his Community Baptist Church near Lake Lavon, Gene Allen McDonald, 55, of Nevada will serve a minimum of 2 years in Collin County Jail before parole. He was sentenced to 2 concurrent 5-year sentences. (Dallas Morning News_ 2/8/94.)
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Miami, FL. CHURCH TO PAY MILLIONS FOR MINISTER'S ABUSES. Wayside Baptist Church in Miami received a $6.7 million judgment for negligence in hiring and retaining Keith Geren as youth minister. The church did not do background or reference checks, nor did Geren even fill out a job application, though Geren did admit urges to molest boys. He sexually molested nearly a dozen teenage boys. Church officials say they had no idea Geren was a pedophile. All of the money is going to one victim, Daniel Artis, for emotional pain, treatment, and punitive damages. (Sarasota Herald-Tribune 2/6/94)
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MINISTER ADMITS SEXUAL MISCONDUCT. A Baptist minister and social activist, Rev. Donovan Cook, has been under investigation for sexual misconduct involving 3 women. It has been recommended that his ordination be suspended. Cook is popular for his work helping Central American refugees, and allowing homosexuals to be church members. One member said, "If we can't get justice for the women, how are we going to ask for justice in Central America?" Supporters of Cook say the American Baptist Church's political conflicts with Cook's work make their judgments "hardly impartial". (Seattle Post-lntelligencer_ 1/31/94.)
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CHAPLAIN'S SUSPENSION FOR CHILD PORN UPHELD. Arrested for videotaping 2 girls in bondage scenes in 1985 and 1991, Rev. Donald G. Phillips, 55, was suspended without pay from his job as chaplain at the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center. His challenge of the suspension was denied. He was earning $4,000 per year, paid by taxpayers, and could be paid lost wages if found innocent. If convicted he would no longer work for the VA. Source: _Daily American Republic_ 1/27/94.
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ASSAULT CASE SETTLED. A man, 28, who was recovering from epileptic seizures in his apartment when he was attacked, will receive $300,000 in damages from the Sierra Vista Baptist Church for the sexual assault by John Adams Marshall in April 1991. Marshall performed oral sex and fondled the weakened man while pinning him down. The jury found the church 40% liable for Marshall's assault and negligent in retaining him as minister. Marshall did not lose his ordination to be a minister elsewhere. (Inland Valley Daily Bulletin 1/15/94)
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WASHINGTON STATE. MINSTER ACCUSED OF RAPING GRANDDAUGHTER. A tattooed minister, who used to be in a motorcycle gang called the "Outlaws" but began his own orthodox Christian church from his home, kidnapped his granddaughter, 9, recently and planned to vacation in Hawaii and move to India with her. Rev. Frederick Robert Aylward, 51, staged a car wreck with the assistance of Angela Marie Blees, 19, who later turned herself in but pleaded innocent to custodial interference; and stayed in a hotel 2 nights in Portland, where he is alleged to have raped his granddaughter. The aunt of the girl, Aylward's daughter, says he raped her when she was a girl, and was concerned that he was molesting the 9-year-old. The girl eventually said her grandfather had been sexually abusing her for 2 years. Aylward was charged with kidnapping his stepdaughter, 12, in 1978 and was also arrested for insurance fraud of Arizona senior citizens, for which he served 7 years in prison. He is also being investigated for forging state documents and using his wife's credit card. She has just filed for divorce. One of his former wives says he battered her and molested her daughter. He is a former Marine Corps sergeant, having served for 8 years and earning medals for good conduct. The Kitsap County Sheriff's Guild has started a $2,000 fund to send his granddaughter and her family to Disneyland, as she was promised by Aylward. Source: _Peninsula Daily News_ 1/4/94, _Seattle Post- lntelligencer_ 1/5,7,10,18/94, _Register-Guard_ 1/7/94.
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PASTOR PLEADS INNOCENT TO SEXUALLY ABUSING 2 GIRLS. Assistant pastor Edwin Huff, 58, has been charged with sexually molesting a girl, starting when she was 3 or 4 until she was 11. She is now 17. Then he began molesting another girl, now 5. He was in the Pierce county jail but was released on his own recognizance. He has pleaded innocent. He calls the allegations a scandal. Source: _News Tribune_ 1/5/94.
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Militant Moralist is a Molestor; Gets Eight Years. Brisbane, Australia -- Keith Wright, a former member of Parliament, born-again Christian, antiporn crusader, and militant moralist was handed an eight-year prison sentence for molesting and raping a teenage girl during the years 1983 through 1986. Wright faces additional charges of sexually abusing two other young girls between 1984 and 1990 -- a period during which he actively campaigned to have the town of Rockhampton declared a "porn-free zone." (January, 1994)
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Park Hills, Missouri. Reverend Richard Jones of Family Life Church: molested boys and told them the Bible sanctioned the abuse (source unknown, 1994)
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Anglican Pastor Gordon Virgo King, jailed in WA in 1956 (but was kept in the Anglican ministry), jailed again in Cairns in 1993 and jailed again in Townsville in 1994 for offences (including sodomy) against boys;
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PASTOR/WIFE MOLESTING CASE DROPPED. The pastor of Corner Stone Ministries of Lilly, Juan Mark Lopez, 36, and his wife, Tesa A. Lopez, 33, had been scheduled to stand trial for the sexual molestation of a girl, 4, in their home. The child's therapist and parents felt testifying in court would be too traumatic for her, and the case was dropped. The child allegedly was touched while the Lopez' and another child were naked in their bed. The Lopez' claim innocence. Lopez has lost his job as pastor of the church and as a truck driver. The D.A. could refile the charges within the year, before the statute of limitations expires. Source: _Tribune- Democrat_ (Johnstown, PA) (1994).
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For the crime of "LEWD ACT UPON A CHILD" Anton William Hein pleaded no contest in July 1994 in San Bernardino County Municipal Court and spent about 6 months in jail filed in July 1994. After his release from Prison, Mr. Hein moved to Holland.
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Reverend Richard Jones of Family Life Church: molested boys and told them the Bible sanctioned the abuse (Park Hills, Missouri, 1994)
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KING Reverend Gordon Virgo, 70 Cairns Anglican priest. Receives 4 year jail sentence in Townsville District Court after being convicted on child sex charges, including committing unlawful sexual intercourse and indecent dealing, against boys, aged under 16, in 1994 at Anglican youth drop-in centre, Cairns, QLD. In 1993, received 12 month jail sentence after being convicted on charge of gross indecency against young man between 1962 and 1963. Also, in 1956, received 12 month jail sentence after being convicted in Perth court on 4 charges of indecent dealing with boy, aged 14, in WA. (Queensland, Australia, 1994).
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NAME SUPPRESSED BY COURT ORDER, QLD Jehovah's Witness church member. Appears in Brisbane Magistrates Court charged with 24 sex offences, including incest and indecent assault, involving adolescents, dating back to 1960s. Court hears defendant had allegations made against him at church meetings in 1972, 1993 and 1994. Judge told 6 elders, who attended these meetings, refused to give evidence in court on grounds they were "religiously bound" not to divulge "privileged" information. Judge rejects claims. In 1994, defendant's wife, 62, also appears in Brisbane Magistrates Court charged with carnal knowledge against nature and deprivation of liberty. (R Quinlan CM 941103) (Queensland, Australia, 1994).
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NAME SUPPRESSED BY COURT ORDER, WA Brethren church elder and secondary school deputy principal. Appears in Bunbury Supreme Court charged with 42 incest-related offences, including committing unlawful sexual intercourse, indecent assault and deprivation of liberty, against 2 daughters, aged from 3, between 1964 and 1989. Described as one of AUS most unusual trials. Court hears father sadistically abused daughters with knives, screwdrivers and hammers and tortured them with snakes, cockroaches and dead rabbit. Bizarre rituals involved sexual assault with crucifixes, daughters being hung upside down, crosses being drawn on their chests in blood and one where knife held over daughter, aged 3, while family chanted about "lamb that was slain". Prosecutor describes family as "normal, church-going family" but with "terrible secret". Name SUPPRESSED BY COURT ORDER to protect daughters. (HS 941113) (Western Australia, Australia, 1994).
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LOWE Robert Arthur Selby, 57 Melbourne Sunday school teacher and Presbyterian church elder. Receives life jail sentence in Melbourne Supreme Court after being convicted of kidnapping and choking to death girl, aged 6, whose decomposed body was found in 1991 near Rosebud, south of Melbourne. Court hears Lowe, who attended Rowville Presbyterian Church, killed "for sexual purposes". Report says Lowe on two occasions waved Bible at courtroom, swearing he "never saw girl". Earlier, in 1984, Lowe was charged with exposing himself to schoolgirls at Glen Waverley shopping centre, Melbourne; in 1991, he was warned for indecent exposure at Croydon, Melbourne. In 1997, report lists Lowe as one of VIC's top 4 sex fiends. (Victoria, Australia, 1994).
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PAINTER Reverend Michael Roderick, 54 Perth Anglican priest. Receives 3 year probation and 240 hour community-based order in Perth District Court after pleading guilty to 2 charges of indecently assaulting boy, aged 17, at Mt Hawthorne Anglican rectory, Perth. Court hears boy awoke to find Painter, of Middle Swan, Perth, performing oral sex on him. Priest found dead in car south of Perth after sentencing. (Western Australia, Australia, 1994).
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RICHARDSON Robert John, 44 Melbourne YMCA youth leader and scoutmaster. Receives 10 year jail sentence in VIC County Court after being convicted on 41 child sex charges, including 32 counts of indecent assault, 7 of performing indecent act and 2 of committing unlawful sexual intercourse, against 12 boys, aged 11 to 16, between 1973 and 1993 in VIC. Court hears Richardson, of Brunswick, used position to win trust of children and parents. Judge says Richardson's crimes numbered "about 100" and at least 3 victims suffered psychological damage. Originally faced 41 child sex charges. (Victoria, Australia, 1994).
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Navajo Mormon Tried For Molesting Girl. In August 1989 George P. Lee was charged with the sexual abuse of a girl, 12, his daughter's friend. He surrendered to police but was released with orders not to have contact with anyone under 18. He appeared in court in September and asked for more time before his preliminary hearing. He is accused of fondling the girl, now 16, in her home and on trips. Lee contends he is innocent and the charges are part of a big plot by the church to excommunicate him, which they did in 1989 for polygamy and immorality and later apostasy, before the current charges were brought forward. Lee was also dismissed as high school principal in Tuba City for insubordination. If convicted, Lee could be sentenced to life in prison. Source: Sunstone, 12/93
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ST. LOUIS, MO. A judge's decision to sentence Thomas Jolly to five years' probation has outraged the victims and their parents, who argue that the 83-year-old defrocked minister should have gone to jail for molesting three girls. Jolly was accused of molesting three girls, ages 9, 13 and 16, between September 1987 and August 1988 at the Gospel Assembly Church, a nondenominational church at 13169 Tesson Ferry Road in southwest St. Louis County. Jolly was minister for the congregation of 600. . (St. Louis Post Dispatch, August 11, 1993 By William C. Lhotka )
Probation For Abuser Stirs Anger Minister Molested Girls Who Sought Counseling
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Gwinnett, GA. A 22-year-old woman has accused a Southern Baptist minister from Gwinnett County of sexual abuse saying he touched her improperly several times over a period of almost 10 years. The Rev. Franklin, now pastor of Northbrook Baptist Church in Lawrenceville, could not be reached for comment, but his attorney said Tuesday that he denies the allegations. (The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 03-10-1993)
Parishioner claims pastor sexually abused her
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SETTLEMENT SHROUDS BAPTIST CASE. A secret settlement was reached just before a civil suit went to jury against Moffett Road Baptist Church minister Henry Hobson, Mobile, for sexually abusing a girl, 14. Hobson admitted having sexual intercourse with the girl he referred to as an adopted daughter, once when she accompanied him on church "visitation". He admitted she "wanted out", but called her a "pleasant diversion". At first he denied her accusations and asked her to say she had lied, for "damage control". He resigned in April 1991 after a suicide attempt when the girl confided in the youth pastor about him. Attorney Robert Cunningham, Jr. told jurors that many church members shunned the 9th grader, blaming her. His attorney argued, "It certainly was not part of his job to have sexual intercourse with her, and therefore the church is not responsible," adding: "He thought it was better she learn about sex from him rather than some young boy at school." Source: _Mobile Register_ 2/12/93.
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CONGREGATIONAL MINISTER RENEGES CONFESSION. Facing 11 felony counts stemming from molestations of 2 young brothers since 1987, Rev. Boardman Kathan says a damaging statement he gave police in July was coerced. Former chair of the Region 16 Board of Education, Kathan retired last summer as associate minister of the First Congregational Church of Cheshire in Waterbury. Police say their investigation shows he molested a boy, 17, numerous times over the past 5 years, & once molested his brother, now 12. Source: (Waterbury) _Republican American_ 1/23/93.
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DAVIS FACES MORE CHARGES. Rev. L.R. Davis, charged in Illinois with criminal sexual misconduct, child pornography, and perjury, was also charged with assaulting a teenage boy in San Diego. Davis, 57, is a prominent Waukegan minister with Christian Fellowship, Inc. Two fellow ministers, Michael Camer, 30, and David Annstrong, 33, are indicted on lesser charges. Young boys may have been brought from Tijuana, Mexico to Davis' San Diego church for molestation.
L.R. DAVIS LOSES APPEAL. The Illinois Appellate Court upheld the conviction and 31-year prison term of Rev. L.R. Davis. His conviction for child pornography was reversed, but his 15-count conviction for child sexual abuse of 2 boys was upheld. The Illinois Supreme Court will review the dismissal of Davis' perjury charges in a related civil suit. Source: _News-Sun_ 3/29/94, 4/9/94.
RELIGIONIST MOLESTS GIRL, 6, IN CHURCH NURSERY. A church member of the Christian Fellowship Church, founded by L.R. Davis (see above) has pleaded a stipulated guilty plea to the charges of sexually molesting a girl, 6, in the church nursery. Michael Larson, 27, awaits sentencing. Source: _News-Sun_ (no date).
DAVIS GETS 31 YEARS, CLEMENCY ASKED. The founder of the notorious First Christian Fellowship Church of Waukegan, Rev. Lloyd Davis, 57, flanked by many supporters, was sentenced to 31 years in prison for criminal sexual assault, child pornography & sexual abuse. He imported teenaged boys from Mexico for sex. Lake Co. Judge Christopher C. Starck said: "The burning question in this case is whether this man is a minister or a monster, a pastor or a pedophile." Starck said he is all of those things. Davis is believed to have molested children since the 1960s. Former church members accuse him of running a cult, making sexual demands on supporters & locating all churches near Naval bases, where he is known for trying to lure young sailors into his churches for sexual purposes. About 374 persons wrote letters to the judge asking for mercy. "He is the greatest person there is," insisted Martha Allsopp, a Kenosha church member. He faces more charges in California. Two other ministers from his Waukegan church, David Lee Armstrong & Michael Carner, go on trial in March. In January, 200 supporters led by Rev. Peter Paine of the Christian Fellowship Church presented a request for clemency for Davis to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board. "I believe L.R. Davis may be the most sexually dangerous man to have ever walked the streets of Lake Co.," maintains Assistant State's Attorney Jeff Pavletic. Sources: _Chicago Tribune_ 8/15/92, AP/ _Quad-City Times_ 8/15/92, _News-Sun_ (Lake Co.) 1/15/93.
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LUTHERAN PASTOR CONFESSES TO 13 YEARS OF CRIMES. The 500 members of Christ Lutheran church in Palatine were sent a letter informing them that Rev. Wayne Tellekson has confessed to sexual misconduct while he was pastor from 1975 to 1988. He was removed from his current St. Paul, Minn. church when a former victim confronted Tellekson. Source: _Chicago Sun-Times_ 1/15/93.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Anglican Pastor Raymond Frederick Ayles, of SA (formerly Qld.), 12-months suspended jail term (SA, 1993) for attempting to procure boys to commit acts of gross indecency;
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Jeffrey Black, former rector of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Kansas City, Missouri, knows the pain that child sexual abuse can cause a church. In May 1993 a 15-year-old parishioner came forward and indicted the church's music minister for molestation. The minister confessed, and the church terminated him after seventeen years of service. (1993)
Music minister confesses to molestation
Report in Christianity Today
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CULT LEADER GETS 16 YEARS. Fugitive religious leader James Randazzo, convicted in 1989 of sexual exploitation of children, was sentenced to 16 years in prison. Founder of Spiral of Friends cult, he videotaped sex sessions with teenaged children during "therapy". His wife Colleen is serving an 8-year prison term. Randazzo had skipped the country, but was nabbed last fall in Hungary. Source: _Rocky Mountain News_ 1/30/93.
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MAYER (FINALLY) GETS 3 YEARS. The Rev. Robert E. Mayer, 53, implicated in numerous cases of sexually abusing minors, was sentenced to 3 years in prison for molesting a girl, 13. Four men also testified during the trial about Mayer's advances toward them 9 years ago, when they were 13 and 14. "The evidence indicates a long history of sexually inappropriate conduct with children and adults," said prosecutor Mark Cavins. "This crime was not committed on impulse or spur of the moment." Mayer is the first priest in Cook Co. to be sentenced to prison. He continued to maintain his innocence, pleading for mercy: "As God is my witness, I was never alone with the girl," Mayer told the judge. Judge Thomas Durkin replied, "God is not your judge today." Source: _Chicago Tribune_ 2/6/93.
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YOUTH MINISTER CHARGED. Garden City Church of Christ youth minister Rev. Cameron K. Huffman, 41, was charged with 21 counts of child molestation for molesting a young boy for a year. Huffman had admitted to being a pedophile during a counseling session. When the church in Columbus was notified of Huffman's admission, it fired him and informed the congregation, also calling police. Police received complaints against Rev. Huffman from other Indiana cities and states, but the 5-year statute of limitations has hampered some investigations. Source: _Indianapolis Star_ 1/28/93.
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METHODIST MINISTER ASSAULTS DEPRESSED TEENAGER? A lawsuit filed in February accuses United Methodist minister R. Gene Voss of sexually assaulting a female teenager during counseling sessions for depression at the First United Methodist Church, Crawfordsville. In 1984 her minister began fondling the 15-year-old, initiating intercourse when she was 16. "Over the next four years Gene Voss raped the plaintiff over 60 times," says the lawsuit. The woman has incurred more than $65,000 in treatment for abuse. Voss gave up his minister credentials in 1991. She is also suing the Crawfordsville church and the United Methodist South Indiana Conference. "You can say anything in a lawsuit," was the cavalier response of the conference's legal advisor. Source: _Indianapolis Star_ 2/4/93.
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LUTHERAN TEACHER CHARGED. St. Paul's Lutheran elementary school teacher Gerald J. Bauer, Jr., 31, was charged with molesting a student, 12, during a visit to his home. The Farmington Hills teacher was charged with 1st and 2nd degree criminal sexual conduct. Source: _Detroit Free Press_ 2/13/93.
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MORE CHARGES DISMISSED AGAINST BAPTIST. Washtenaw Co. Dist. Judge Thomas F. Shea threw out 2 charges of 1st-degree criminal sexual conduct against Baptist deacon Mark Foeller, leaving 6 counts of criminal sexual conduct. The deacon and bus driver at North Sharon Baptist Church is accused of raping a boy, 9, twice, at the church, which has a campaign to bus low-income children from 4 counties to its Sunday school and church camp. The dismissals follow earlier dismissals against assistant pastor Timothy Lee Leonard, 33, originally charged with 12 similar counts. Judges dismissed all his charges, saying the alleged victims were either too young to testify or that their testimony was too vague. At least one family will file a civil lawsuit against the North Sharon Baptist Church and Leonard, according to Ann Arbor attorney Mark A. Hopper. "We will sue the church for negligent hiring and negligent retention of those workers." Leonard has been invited back to the church and is directing its music programs. A mother told a reporter she was "stunned" and "numb" by the judge's decision. Shea ruled that a 9-year-old could not testify about being raped in the church nursery, because she couldn't say on which day it happened. Source: _Jackson Citizen Patriot_ 2/5&18/93.
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MOLESTER STILL LISTED IN CHURCH ANNUAL. A Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod pastor who admitted to sexually molesting a Duluth boy and who is being sued for molestation by 3 others, is still listed as a pastor in good standing in the synod's 1993 Lutheran Annual. Rev. Daniel Reeb admitted in 1991 that he molested a parishioner, 13, several times in the 1960s, and made official testimony about it to church officials. His victim and several others have filed lawsuits. Reeb resigned a year ago, but was put on "restricted status" and can still preach. He moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming. Source: _News-Tribune_ 3/3/93.
STATE OF MINNESOTA IN COURT OF APPEALS
Reeb loses appeal of criminal conviction
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LUTHERAN PASTOR ADMITS SEX WITH BOY. Cloquet pastor Wayne Vetter of Zion Lutheran Church pleaded guilty to 1st degree criminal sexual contact with a juvenile. He is in counseling for sexual abuse and is expected to be sentenced to a correctional center. He served ministries in Madison, Wis., and Grand Forks, N.D. A man came forward to say Vetter had molested him in Grand Forks, but the statute of limitations has expired. Vetter admitted to a habit of anonymous Sex in public places. Source: _Duluth News-Tribune_3/19/93.
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POLL REVEALS WIDESPREAD ABUSE. 7% of Minnesotan protestants personally know someone who has been sexually abused by a member of the clergy, while 5% of Catholics did, and 2% say they have been touched by a clergyperson in a way that made them uncomfortable, according to a _Star Tribune_/WCCO-TV Minnesota Poll phone survey of 1,222 Minnesotans was taken from Jan. 26 to Feb. 5. 1991 survey of Minnesota clergy showed 15% of mainline Protestant clergy admitted to an affair outside of. Source: _Star Tribune_ 2/21/93
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CHARGES REDUCED FOR PASTOR. Third-degree sexual assault charges were reduced to attempted contributing to delinquency of a minor against Beatrice pastor Rev. Norman Scott Callahan, 50, associate pastor of Centenary United Methodist Church. He is accused of sexual contact with a boy, 15, and was suspended for 60 days from his post. Source: _Omaha World-Herald_ 3/20/93.
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MENNONITE REV. RAPED DAUGHTER? The Rev. Eugenio Matos, 61, was charged with 18 counts of repeatedly raping his daughter over an 11- year period. The pastor of the Spanish Mennonite Church in Trenton has 12 children. He is accused of sexually assaulting the girl when she was 5 in 1981, continuing the abuse until his arrest in March, 1992. Source: _Trenton Times_ 2/4/93.
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EPISCOPAL PRIEST CHARGED WITH SEXUAL BATTERY. An Episcopal priest, Douglas Hodges, 57, was charged with sexual battery, a 3rd-degree felony, in a 1991 incident involving a parishioner in counseling. A Fostoria woman and her husband, who said Hodges had sexual intercourse with her during counseling, had previously filed a civil suit against Hodges, Bishop James Moodey of the Episcopal diocese of Ohio, Trinity Episcopal Church, Fostoria, and the owner of the counseling center. An episcopal official says Hodges is no longer a priest, but declined further comment. Source: _Toledo Blade_ 2/11/93.
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PARISH SUPPORTS PORTLAND PREYING PASTOR. Prominent pastor Rev. Willie B. Smith, 64, former president of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, is accused of sexually abusing 3 teenage girls at First African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. He was charged with 11 counts of 1st degree sexual abuse, a felony, and 1 count of 3rd degree sexual abuse, a misdemeanor. Pastors in the community werequick to speak about his "exemplary" work. Two of the victims told police Smith had cornered them in his church office and groped them. A third said she was repeatedly abused by Smith for 16 months, beginning in September 1990. The victims were 12, 13, and 17 at the time of the incidents. Almost every parishioner lined up to hug, kiss and reassure Smith following the arrest. Source: _Oregonian_ 3/13,15/93.
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EPISCOPAL PRIEST, "ABOVE REPROACH", SUED, INVESTIGATED. Six women including one filing a $4 million civil lawsuit have accused ByronBruce Newell, 60, former assistant pastor of Falls Church Episcopal Church, of sexual molestation or advances. The plaintiff alleges Newell forced her into sexual activities during counseling sessions at the church for 2 years, telling her that her sexual feelings toward him would bring her closer to God. Episcopal officials said they removed him from his pastoral role and ordered counseling after learning of complaints by women in 1988. However, they only launched a full inquiry last September. Newell, now a fundraiser for Trinity Episcopal School for the Ministry near Pittsburgh, is named in the suit, along with the church, the diocese, the bishop and church pastor John W. Yates ll. According to the suit, Yates told the woman what happened during counseling was her fault, and did not act on complaints from 5 other women that Newell had verbally or physically harassed them. The dean of the seminary insisted Newell "has more than amply repaid our trust. His behavior has been above reproach". Source: _Washington Post_ 3/20/93.
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Deacon A.V. Ballenger was convicted of fondling a 7-year-old girl in Sunday school class and sentenced to 8 years in prison. A.V. Ballenger, a deacon and bus route driver at Hyles' First Baptist Church Hammond, was convicted in March of 1993 (and sentenced in July of 1993 to five years in jail) of molesting a seven year old girl. (This crime occurred in a Sunday School room of the church! Incredibly, after conviction, but prior to sentencing, Ballenger was allowed to resume his FBCH bus route!) The highlight of the sentencing hearing was the testimony of three young women. Each was molested by Ballenger when she was a child, and in each case, before age seven. Jack Hyles, who testified in Ballenger's behalf, defiantly declared the outcome of the trial null and void, claiming that the courts had no jurisdiction in this matter. Hyles told the girl's parents, "Deacon Ballenger just likes little girls."
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PASTOR ADMITS ABUSE OF GIRLS. Admitting having intercourse with a female teenager and indecently touching another, Rev. Larry G. Johnson pleaded guilty to 2 counts against him dating from 1977-79 while pastor of Buffalo Wesleyan Church. He recently resigned his position as superintendent of the Dakota District of the Wesleyan Church Source: _Rapid City Journal_ 2/28/93.
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Christian televangelist William Wasmus of Church of the Living Savior: convicted of having sex with children and video-taping it on church equipment. (Columbus, Ohio, 1994)
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DEKALB CHURCH BLESSES COVER-UP. A sex scandal, now encompassing 4 ministers from one family, has been uncovered at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in DeKalb, Georgia, praised by former President Bush as one of his "1,000 Points of Light". The $12 million, racially diverse 7,700-seat church with a TV program, social services, lost half of its 12,000 members following revelations that its minister, Bishop Earl Paulk, had an adulterous affair. Other church employees or members have stepped forward to say they had affairs with the bishop's brother, Rev. Don Paulk, & his nephews Rev. Duane Swilley & Rev. Alan Mushegan. Women charge the ministers coerced them into having sex in order to "serve God." The church filed, then dropped a slander/libel suit against several former members & staffers, resulting in a gag order by a DeKalb judge forbidding them to discuss their allegations of sexual misconduct. It promotes a doctrine of "covering", blessing cover-ups of sexual misconduct & requiring submission to authority. Don Paulk accuses former church schoolteacher Rebecca Moses of seducing him, saying "I know now what it was like for Samson to place his head in the lap of Delilah." Six victims have not filed suit, but are asking for legislation making it a felony in Georgia for clergy to have sex with members of their congregations. Sources: AP/_Atlanta Journal/Constitution_ 11/14/92; _USA Today_ 12/18/92; _Boston Globe_ 1/9/93.
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PASTOR BOOKED FOR MOLESTING SCHOOLGIRL. A girl, 15, was molested at a church-run school in Birmingham by Rev. James E. Johnson, of Ensley, according to police. He was charged with 2nd degree sexual assault, a misdemeanor. Source: _Birmingham News_ 11/21/92.
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BAPTIST PASTOR GOES TO TRIAL. Indicted for 6 counts of aggravated sexual battery & 5 counts of sexual battery was Rev. George Walker, 64, of New Tazewell, who has pastored a number of area Baptist churches. He is accused of victimizing a female piano student instructed by his wife for 4 years. Source: _The Daily News_ Middlesboro, 12/24/92.
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Pablo Geraldo Boas, 28, charged with sexual molestation. Assistant pastor at Jubilee Christian Center, San Jose, was charged with 2 felony counts of lewd & lascivious conduct with children, stemming from assaults on 4 boys, ages 10-15, at the church between September 1988 & February 1992. Sources: _L.A. Times_ 12/19/92, _San Francisco Examiner_ 1/10/93.
Brentwood Man Held in '90 Molestation
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David Ernest Brimmer, 39. Charged with sexual molestation. Assistant pastor at Jubilee Christian Center, San Jose, was charged with 5 felony counts of lewd & lascivious conduct with children, stemming from assaults on 4 boys, ages 10-15, at the church between September 1988 & February 1992. Sources: _L.A. Times_ 12/19/92, _San Francisco Examiner_ 1/10/93.
Brentwood Man Held in '90 Molestation
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ AYLES Reverend Raymond Frederick, 48 Adelaide Anglican priest and Order of AUS recipient. Receives suspended 12 month jail sentence and 18 month good behaviour bond in Adelaide District Court after being convicted on 2 charges of attempting to procure 2 boys, both aged 15, to commit acts of gross indecency at Anglican church camp in SA. Court hears Ayles, formerly of Adelaide, asked boys to masturbate in front of him while conducting sex education talk. In 1987, Ayles receives Order of AUS medal but loses it in 1998 over offences. (South Australia, Australia, 1993).
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NAME SUPPRESSED BY COURT ORDER, age 49 Adelaide church member. Appears in Adelaide Magistrates Court charged with 15 sex-related offences, including unlawful sexual intercourse, indecent assault and possession of pornographic material, involving children, aged under 15, between 1990 and 1993. Court hears defendant, who headed pornographic ring, chose up to 30 victims from church and disabled groups before subjecting them to masochistic behaviour involving leather. Court told police monitored defendant over 4 month period before seizing photographs and videos during raids on Enfield home, Sydney, and SA properties in Adelaide's northern and southern suburbs. (S O'Connor 930910; AG 930911) (South Australia, Australia, 1993).
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HOLMES Garry William, age 48 Perth Pentecostal born again Christian, New Day Ministries elder, Rhema Family Church missionary and former Jesus People mission director. Receives 4 year and 6 month jail sentence in WA District Court after pleading guilty to 30 child sex charges, including 29 counts of indecent assault and 1 of indecent dealing, against boy, aged 13, over 3 year period between 1983 and 1986 while elder of New Day Ministries. Court hears Holmes, of Rivervale, Perth, masturbated boy after inviting him to spend nights at presbytery. Also worked as Jesus People mission director in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and with Aboriginal communities in WA, QLD and NSW. (Western Australia, Australia, 1993).
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PITTS Kevin, 42 Sydney Pentecostal born again Christian, independent church member and Sunday school teacher. Receives 3 year jail sentence in Penrith District Court after pleading guilty to 12 charges of indecently assaulting boy, aged 9, and girl, aged 10, over 10 year period while Sunday school teacher at Werrington Community Church, Sydney. (New South Wales, Australia, 1993).
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WRIGHT Keith Webb, 51 Rockhampton Pentecostal born again Christian, Baptist church member, preacher, evangelist, school teacher and Labor MP. Receives 8 year jail sentence in Brisbane District Court after being convicted on 6 child sex charges, including 5 counts of indecent dealing and 1 of committing unlawful sexual intercourse, against girl, aged 11, over 3 year period. Court hears Wright sexually molested girl in parliamentary suite while Leader of Opposition and masturbated girl in flat in Brisbane while watching pornographic video. In 1994, Wright receives additional 12 month jail sentence in Brisbane District Court after being convicted on 3 further charges of indecently assaulting girl, aged 11, over 6 year period between 1984 and 1990. (Queensland, Australia, 1993).
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SEXTON GETS 35 YEARS. A sexton at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Whitehall Township was sentenced to 35-70 years in jail for molesting boys. Adam Tannous, 61, of Allentown, agreed to plead guilty to 7 merged charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, after originally being charged with more than 4,000 crimes. One victim said Tannous bragged of having sex with 400 boys over the past 40 years. He was removed as pastor of St. George's Episcopal Church in Hellertown in 1970 because of similar allegations. In 1972, he was arrested on a morals charge in Emmaus. He was "treated", not jailed, then expelled from the ministry. Despite this record, St. Stephen's hired him in 1976 to be custodian, saying he was rehabilitated. Many victims say Tannous caused them alcohol problems by plying them with liquor. Source: _Express-Times_ 12/17/92.
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PROMINENT METHODIST PASTOR WITH AIDS EXPLOITED PARISH? Following the death on July 4 of Rev. William O. Walker, a prominent Eugene pastor at First United Methodist Church, it was discovered he not only died of AIDS but had used his ministerial position to make sexual advances to at least 12 men, including 6 ministers. Walker infected his wife Carol with AIDS; she died in 1990. In November a church superintendent told parishioners that Walker had been accused of making sexual advances to 2 male teenagers at a Methodist church camp 17 years earlier. Source: _Register-Guard_ 12/6/92.
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LAY PREACHER WITH AIDS TRIED TO INFECT KIDS? Lay preacher Adam Brown, of Roseburg, Oregon, infected with HIV, was indicted Nov. 13 for sexually abusing children to infect them with AIDS, including 5 counts of attempted murder, 9 counts of sodomy, 4 counts of rape, 5 counts of reckless endangerment, & 3 counts of sexual penetration with a foreign object. Boys & girls told police he molested them repeatedly, threatening them with knives, scissors & matches. One boy said Brown rubbed semen into a scratch on his arm. Another said Brown burned a _Bible_, warning that Satan would come unless the child stopped resisting. Alleged victims include a 3-year-old girl, 7-year-old girl & 8-year-old boy. AIDS tests so far for the children have been negative. Source: AP/_Boston Globe_ 11/29/92.
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CHURCH EVANGELIZERS PREYED ON LOW-INCOME KIDS. Men from a rural Baptist church known for its aggressive evangelizing of children are suspected of molesting as many as 22 boys & girls. The associate pastor, volunteer bus driver & a third church member are believed to have fondled some & raped others, ranging in age from 3 to 10, on church buses & property. Charges involving 10 victims were brought against Associate Pastor Timothy Lee Leonard, 32, of North Sharon Baptist Church near Grass Lake, & volunteer Sunday school bus driver, church deacon Mark Foeller. Three other church members are being investigated. The suspects went to low-income housing projects or trailer parks in 4 counties, telling parents they would "take the children to church & teach them about God", according to Det. Robert Fitzpatrick, Jackson Co. Men would walk up to children in their yards, coaxing them with treats to come to weekend services or summer _Bible_ school. Leonard was relieved of church duties involving children in August, after police started investigating him when a doctor reported suspected abuse in a child with a sexual disease. He also worked as instructor & gym teacher in the North Sharon Christian School, enrolling about 65 students. Church members were not informed, even after the arrests. In November, Gail Ganger, who lives 5 houses from the church, organized a Sunday morning picket after learning that the church secretary knew about the allegations, yet still recommended Leonard as a babysitter for her children. He & his wife Nadine had babysat for her 3 children 7 times since Oct. 1. About 2 dozen protesters carried signs saying "Close It Down." "The church knew about the allegations of child molesting, but nobody told me about it. This church should not be able to carry on business as usual," she said. "What a wonderful thing it is to be part of a church where adversity happens," said Rev. Bill Wininger, senior pastor. In January, Leonard was released after 72 days in jail after 10 charges were dropped over the objections of the DA by Washtenaw Co. Dist. Judge Thomas Shea, saying victims were either too young to testify or could not pinpoint the time of their assaults. Leonard still faces 2 2nd degree criminal sexual conduct charges. Although he resigned from the church, church funds are being used to help support his family & pay his legal expenses. The pastor said if he is acquitted, "I'm sure he would be welcomed back with open arms." Sources: _Ypsilanti Press_ 11/12/92, _Detroit Free Press_ 11/12/92, _Toledo Blade_ 11/18/92, _Jackson Citizen Patriot_ 11/16/92, 2/1/93.
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New South Wales Anglican priest Eric William Griffith, 50, of Gratton, was jailed for 18 months after pleading guilty to 3 counts of indecent assault & 4 counts of gross indecency against a boy, 14. Source: _Courier-Mail_ 11/15/92.
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CHURCH SUED FOR CHOIRMASTER'S ASSAULTS. St. George's Cathedral & the Anglican church are being sued over a choirmaster's sexual assaults on choirboys. John Gallienne is serving a 6-1/2 year sentence for abusing boys. Now 17 plaintiffs are suing, claiming damages, plus interest & costs. The suit in part claims church officials were aware of Gallienne's misconduct & held at least 5 meetings over a 6- year period to discuss them, yet took no action to protect boys. Source: _Ottawa Citizen_ 11/11/92.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Mansfield, OH. Tales of Satanism Divide Mansfield; City Agonizes Over Children's Claims by Michael A. Hobbs; "Months after two baby sitters were convicted of sexually assaulting more than 60 children at First Presbyterian Church in Mansfield, rumors persist that there is much, much more to the case. Like murder, cannibalism, mutilation of corpses, forcing children to consume bodily fluids and waste and animal blood. All part of satanic rituals. Children and their parents insist at least 18 more church members should be charged. (Plain Dealer, November 29, 1992)
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MINISTER PLEADS GUILTY TO ABUSING NIECE. Baptist minister Rev. Ernest Lee Rowsey, 51, of Wharton Missionary Baptist Church in Bim, pleaded guilty to 1 count of 1st degree sexual abuse, involving his niece. Originally, he was charged with molesting 2 nieces between 1976-1982, but they agreed to drop all but one charge against their uncle. The kids were molested for 6 years starting from ages 5 & 7. Rowley's sister also said he molested her as long ago as 1969, but at that time, child sexual abuse was a misdemeanor, & the statute of limitations has expired. Source: _Charleston Gazette_ 11/1/92.
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YOUTH PASTOR JAILED FOR ABUSING GIRL. Sentenced to 60 days in jail for molesting a young girl was Michael Wayne Cross, 32, youth pastor of Oregon City Evangelical Church. He must undergo a sex offender treatment & register with the state for life as a convicted sex offender. The girl, now 17, said he sodomized her numerous times over a year. An officer said the crimes occurred at the church or at church functions. Source: _Oregonian_ 10/29/92.
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FUGITIVE RELIGIOUS LEADER NABBED. Fugitive religious leader James Randazzo, convicted in 1989 of sex crimes, had skipped the country in 1990 & was nabbed in Hungary after a manhunt. He will now be sentenced on 10 counts of sexual exploitation of children & drug use. Randazzo founded Spiral of Friends Church in Molina. Source: _Pueblo Chieftain_ 10/29/92.
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LUTHERAN PASTOR RESIGNS. For the third time Rev. Rod Broding has left a job after being accused of sexual improprieties. The Lutheran pastor resigned from First Lutheran Church in Pine River following accusations he admitted to sexual misconduct there, but denies earlier accusations. Bishop Roger Munson, who oversees the Northeastern Minnesota synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, said, "The church will assist in providing counseling to work through this turmoil & pain so that healing & wholeness can be experienced in their lives." Source: _Star Tribune_ 10/22/92.
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BAPTIST CHARGED WITH INDECENCY. Charged with indecency for fondling a preteen girl in 1991 was Norman "Buddy" Wilcoxen, 60, former pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Bastrop. Source: _Austin American-Statesman_ 10/17/92.
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SEXUAL HARASSMENT SUIT HITS CHURCH. A female employee at World Harvest Church in Columbus has filed a lawsuit saying the father of the pastor sexually harassed her, also naming the church & its pastor as defendants. Naomi Endicott, 48, said Rev. Rodney L. Parsley knew about the harassment but did nothing to stop it. James G. Parsley, his father, was her supervisor & made unwanted sexual advances, even offering money for sex, she said. Source: _Columbus Dispatch_ 10/17/92.
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CONVICTED PASTOR "RIGHT WITH LORD". Rev. Virgil Carpenter, 48, pastor of Bible Missionary Church in Ontario, was convicted of sodomy & sexual abuse of a girl, 9, over a 1-1/2 year period. A jury convicted Carpenter of 2 felony counts of sodomy & 4 felony counts of sexual abuse. He faces 5 additional felony charges in 2 upcoming trials. "I'm really not worried," he told supporters who had gathered in the courtroom before the verdict. "I'm right with the Lord." Source: _Corvallis Gazette-Times_ 10/11/92.
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WOMAN SUES EPISCOPAL PRIEST. A Fostoria woman is suing Rev. Douglas Hodges, of Trinity Episcopal Church, Bishop James Moodey & the owner of a counseling center, alleging the priest forced her to have sex as "treatment". The abuse occurred at a counseling center & the church. Shelley & Daniel Lebay seek more than $700,000 in damages. Source: _Columbus Dispatch_ 10/9/92.
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TOP EPISCOPAL PRIEST RESIGNS AMID SEX SCANDAL. The highest-ranking U.S. Episcopal priest, who ironically headed a national committee examining the church's position on sexuality, resigned in October following charges he sexually abused young men in his congregation. Rev. Wallace A. Frey, rector of St. David's Church in DeWitt, is married with 2 grown children. A church official said he had been involved in "sexual misconduct over a lengthy period with some male, young adults & a teenager under his pastoral care". The official said the number of victims appears to be "less than 10". Source: NYT News Service/_Chicago Tribune_ 10/7/92.
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BAPTIST VOLUNTEER CONVICTED. Granite State Baptist Church volunteer David Kirsch, 39, of Salem, was convicted of sexually assaulting 6 young girls through the church from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. Source: _USA Today_ 9/25/92.
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LUTHERAN PASTOR NABBED. Dirk van der Linde, 43, pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Waterloo, was charged with intent to commit sexual abuse of a boy, 14. He is affiliated with the Missouri Synod. Relatives complained about a 2 month delay in arresting him. An aunt said she believed the delay stemmed from racism, because the victim is black & the minister white. "It would not be this way if it had been a black minister molesting a white child," she said. Source: _Waterloo Courier_ 9/23/92, _Des Moines Register_ 9/24/92.
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METHODIST LEADER ADMITS IMPROPER RELATIONS. Newly retired Rev. Edward W. Bauman, once named one of the country's top preachers by _Time_ Magazine, admitted in a September letter to the Foundry United Methodist Church in D.C. to "relationships of a sexual nature ... with several women in the congregation". Bauman, 65, has a TV show, "Bauman _Bible_ Telecast", airing worldwide. The admission came only have 2 women filed grievances with Bishop Joseph Yeakel; one had sought counseling from Bauman. Bauman agreed to seek counseling at Johns Hopkins Hospital & to retire. After a 3rd woman came forward. Bauman agreed to write a letter to the congregation & make financial restitution to 2 women. Bauman insists the relationships were "fully consenting" & "could not be interpreted as harassment". Among Bauman's congregants were Sen. Bob Dole & Elizabeth Dole, & former Sen. George McGovern. According to the national United Methodist newsletter, 13% of pastors in 5 Protestant denominations acknowledged having intercourse with parishioners. Source: _Washington Post_ 9/18/92.
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BAPTIST VOLUNTEER PREYED ON GIRLS? Thomas Road Baptist Church in Phoenix failed to screen churchvolunteer John Herman Kuiper for a criminal record when it permitted him to drive a church bus & volunteer at youth events. Kuiper, who had been convicted in 1991 of a felony charge of 3rd degree sexual assault, was arrested in Phoenix for molesting 5 girls. As a church bus driver in Fort Collins, Colorado, he had received a deferred sentence for molesting a little girl, 5. Rev. Ken Adrian, church pastor, complained to media that the publicity was not good for his Phoenix church. Source: _Arizona Republic_ 11/4/92.
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EPISCOPAL PRIEST SETTLES. Episcopal Rev. Paul Robinson agreed to pay $575,000 in damages to Mary Tenantry, mother of 5, for luring her into an extramarital affair while counseling her. Source: _Reuters/Boston Globe_ 8/92.
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PROMINENT EVANGELICAL RESIGNS; NO CHARGES? Prominent Sunday-school teacher/leader James C. Truxton, 77, resigned his positions at the 5,000-member First Evangelical Free Church in Fullerton. The founding president of Mission Aviation Fellowship admitted he was stepping down because of "molestation perpetrated by me in the past upon young girls within & outside this congregation". Truxton & his wife's memberships were revoked They were told not to set foot on church property again. Both had been teaching second-graders; the wife was called "culpable". At least 7 church members in their 20s & 30s said they were molested by Truxton as children. The statute of limitations has expired; no criminal charges were filed. When parents 20 years ago complained to Mission Aviation Fellowship officials about Truxton, they were told a psychologist at Fuller Seminary evaluated him, concluding he was in no need of help. Source: _National & International Religion Report_ 10/19/92.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CULT LEADER'S SON GETS YEAR. The son of Connecticut religious cult leader "Brother Julius" was sentenced to a year in prison for sexually abusing 4 children, ages 7, 9, 10, & 17. His father claims to be God & a "sinful messiah" & has also been accused of molesting children. His civil suits have been settled out of court, but he has never been criminally indicted. (Boston Globe 9/20/92)
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METHODIST MINISTER PLEADS GUILTY. Rev. Lawrence "Larry" E. Trim, 55, of Evangelical Methodist Church in Methow, pleaded guilty to 3rd degree rape of a child, in connection with an assault of a boy, then 13. Source: _Wenatchee World_ 9/17/92.
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MINISTER & GIRLFRIEND INDICTED. Trenton pastor Franklin Tucker, 37, Final Call Ministry, was indicted for molesting his girlfriend's daughters, 9 & 15. His girlfriend was indicted for forcing her daughters to recant the allegations to police. The abuse came to light when the 9-year-old told a school official, who contacted police. Source: _Trenton Times_ 9/15/92.
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MORMON TEACHER GETS 30 YEARS. Sobbing Mormon Sunday School teacher John Allen Midgett asked for God's forgiveness before being sentenced to 30 years in state prison for molesting & terrorizing 8 girls, ages 5-10. A parent testified Midgett turned her cheerful, trusting daughter into a frightened, scarred recluse. He was also ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution Source: _San Diego Times Union_ 1992, _Los Angeles Times_ 9/12/92.
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BAPTIST CONVICTED OF RAPING BOY. A jury convicted Baptist minister Edward Quakenbush, of New Testament Baptist Church, town of Wyoming, of raping & molesting a teenage boy in his church over a 4-year period, starting when he was 12. Members of his church & family sobbed & shouted at jurors & a police detective who testified that the pastor had confessed to the molestations. Quakenbush later denied confessing. Source: AP/_Daily Telegram_, Adrian, Ml 9/12/92.
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JURY ACQUITS PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. A Louisville jury of 6 men & 6 women found in favor of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in a $5 million sexual-harassment suit brought by Janet Gellhaus. The employee claimed her superior Nagy Tawfik sexually harassed her, pressuring her into a sexual relationship by threatening to fire her. Church attorney Michael Valenti, apparently conceded the relationship when he said after the acquittal (shades of the U.S. Senate): "The lesson should be you need to immediately tell people about it, you need to immediately investigate your rights, you need to use some common sense & say 'no'." Source: _Presbyterian Outlook_ 9/7/92.
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CULT PASTOR NOT PROSECUTED. Officials in Clearfield & Delaware counties won't prosecute doomsday pastor Anthony Marcolongo of Johnstown, despite allegations by 6 women followers of sexual assault. "We thought this wasn't the type of case that tax dollars should be spent on," said Assistant DA Sheldon Kovach. The women said the minister broke them physically, making them work 18-hour days, & filled them with fear of doom in Hell if they did not have sex with him. Source: _Clearfield Progress_ 9/1/92.
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BRONSON MINISTER ARRAIGNED. First Congregational Church minister David Covert Moore was charged with 5 counts of criminal sexual conduct of 4 children under the age of 15. In July he checked himself into Pine Rest Christian Counseling Services in Grand Rapids. Source: _Jackson Citizen Patriot_ 8/29/92.
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"SOUND DOCTRINE" PASTOR QUITS. After nearly 20 years as pastor, Rev. Wendell Beets, of Sound Doctrine Church, resigned following a claim of sexual impropriety with a female church member, 19. A married couple who were also ministers at the church expressed indignation that "he would attack a 19-year-old girl", & concern that Beets will tart a new church & continue preying on the congregation. Louise & Clarence Ellis of Cedar Rapids say others have criticized them for speaking out against Beets. Source: _Cedar Rapids Gazette_ 8/29/92.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - A Southern Baptist minister's conviction for child molestation has led to five lawsuits seeking a total of $10 million in damages against the minister, the Southern Baptist Convention and three other Baptist groups. Each is named in a $2 million suit. They are Donald McCary, minister of music and youth at Chattanooga's Central Baptist Church of Hixon for 17 years until his arrest; the church itself; the Tennessee Baptist Convention; the Hamilton County Baptist Association; and the denomination. McCary was convicted last April of 13 counts involving aggravated sexual battery, assault, sexual battery, rape and statutory rape of four boys, then aged 12 to 15. He was sentenced to a maximum 72 years in prison. Attorneys for the denomination and congregation voiced certainty they would be dismissed from the suit. The suits allege that Central's pastor, Ron Phillips, failed to investigate McCary's activities after complaints about him in 1989. Phillips also is also chairman of directors of one of the denomination's major agencies, the Home Mission Board. (Tulsa World, 08/23/1992)
Minister convicted of molesting 4 boys: 2 brothers already in prison for abuse lawsuits allege that pastor, Ron Phillips, failed to investigate McCary's activities after complaints about him in 1989.
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$10 MILLION SOUGHT FROM BAPTISTS. Five civil lawsuits asking for $10 million in damages were filed against the Southern Baptist Convention for sexual assaults by convicted minister Donald McCary, of Chattanooga, sentenced in April to 72 years in prison for assaulting 5 boys. James Guenther, general counselor for the SBC in Nashville, shrugged off the suits: "We've probably had a dozen of these cases where a plaintiff has undertaken to show that SBC controls a minister." He says no SBC agency beyond the level of the congregation has legal or disciplinary authority over pastors. McCary's twin brother is also in prison for abusing children; their older brother is on parole for similar charges. Source: _Birmingham News_ 8/21/92.
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BAPTIST YOUTH PASTOR NABBED. Youth minister-Sunday School teacher William Speaker, 21, of First Baptist Church in Excelsior Springs, was charged with a felony for sexually molesting a boy, 14, while chauffeuring him to church activities. Source: _Kansas City Star_ 8/21/92.
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ANGLICAN PRIEST SUSPENDED WITH PAY. Owen Sound minister Jim Francom was suspended With pay from St. George's Anglican Church after being charged in July with rape & assault of a girl under 14. The assaults were alleged to have occurred in London, Ontario between 1975-1984 Source: _Ottawa Citizen_ 8/18/92.
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PASTOR GETS 13 YEARS FOR INCEST. Springfield Baptist Church pastor Jon L. Walker, 43, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for molesting a relative for 2-1/2 years, beginning when she was 13. Twenty persons pleaded for leniency, including the local NAACP president. Walter's defense was to accuse his wife of concocting the charges to get even with him because he had an affair with a young church member! Deputy DA Karen Gray said the letters of support were "a sad testimony to the fact that Mr. Walter's life has been a fraud". Source: _San Luis Obispo Telegram Tribune_ 8/5/92.
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ACCUSED PASTORAL COUNSELOR A PHONY. Port Charlotte church school principal Albert Joseph Clerico Jr., 47, charged with sexual misconduct by a psychotherapist by means of therapeutic deception, claims to be licensed by a nonexistent "scripturally based" group, National Christian Counselors Association & to have attended the nonexistent Carolina University of Theology. State investigator Robert Ford charged that Clerico "did cloak himself in the guise of Christianity & did represent to the female defendant that sexual contact" was part of the treatment. Clerico maintains his position as "pastoral counselor" exempts him under state law from charges. Police miked the victim & recorded Clerico making sexual advances, soliciting her comment on his graphic fantasies & telling her to perform oral sex. He was arrested after the 75-minute "counseling session". He has been suspended as principal of Community Christian School of First Baptist Church in Port Charlotte, & as minister of First Baptist Church, which operates the school. Source: _Sarasota Herald-Tribune_ 8/4/92.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Denver, CO. Winkler was awarded more than $163,000 in January by a Denver District Court jury in her civil suit against the Rev. Glenn Chambers, former pastor of Grace United Methodist Church in southeast Denver. She alleged sexual harassment. (Rocky Mountain News, 8/2,29/92)
CHURCHES SHIFT ABUSE DEFENSES
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Denver, CO. Bohrer was awarded more than $700,000 in her civil suit in Denver District against former minister Daniel DeHart and the United Methodist Annual Conference (the equivalent of a diocese). She alleged DeHart seduced her into a sexual relationship when she was 13 and he was youth minister at First Methodist Church in Greeley. (Rocky Mountain News, 8/2,29/92)
CHURCHES SHIFT ABUSE DEFENSES
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PROMINENT EPISCOPALIAN REMOVED. Nationally known Rev. W. Graham Pulkingham, now living in Virginia, was suspended temporarily from the Episcopalian priesthood after admitting he initiated a sexual relationship with a man he was counseling, destroying the man's marriage. Church officials asked everybody to pray. Source: _Denver Post_ 8/92.
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COUNSELING VICTIM GETS $300,000. The Bear Valley Church of Christ & its former minister Homer Wolfe agreed to pay $300,000 to a man whom Wolfe sexually assaulted during family counseling sessions. Earlier, a boy, now 17, was awarded $450,000 by a jury for similar charges. Wolfe, 59, has not been criminally charged. He told parishioners to undress & massage themselves, & masturbated during counseling sessions, also touching parishioners. The fundamentalist Church of Christ teaches that nonchurch members will go to hell. Wolfe now lives in Texas. Source: _Rocky Mountain News_ 8/2,29/92. Denver, CO. A Dever woman and her son were awarded $450,000 by a Denver District Court jury. The woman, who son was a minor at the time, claimed the Church of Christ minister, Homer Wolfe, inappropriately massaged and fondled him during counseling sessions for five years. That case is before the Colorado Court of Appeals. ( Denver Post 18-May-94)
CHURCHES SHIFT ABUSE DEFENSES
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METHODIST MINISTER PLEA BARGAINS. Rev. Wally Walton, Grace United Methodist, Pierre, pleaded no contest to felony charges of incest & sexual contact with a minor, & was immediately jailed. Walton has agreed to provide details of "sex crimes & illicit sexual activities" against latchkey kids, Girl Scouts & other children. Additionally, Walton's wife Betty was charged with sexual contact with a child, incest, & failure to report a felony. Also indicted are Walton's adopted twin daughters & son-in-law, facing similar charges. Walton drove a bus for a local latchkey program. Mrs. Walton worked with the Girl Scouts. Fellow minister Rev. J. Edwin Coates of the First United Methodist Church in Mitchell, accuses social workers of being overzealous, & said the arrests were indicative of a "police state" & a witchhunt. Prosecutor Mark Moreno excused the delay in charging Walton by saying: "If you charge a minister as I've done, you'd better be sure that you have some concrete evidence, because it's going to totally annihilate his future." Walton voluntarily surrendered his ministerial credentials. Methodists dropped a 2-year statute of limitations on disciplinary problems in May 1992, with no time limit on sex offenses. Source: _Rapid City Journal_ 7/28,29,31/92, 8/1/92.
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VICTIM SUES CONVICTED MINISTER. Rancho Cucamonga pastor John Marshall, convicted of sexually battering an ill man, 25, is being sued for $1 million by victim Kirk Judy, along with his church, the American Baptist Churches of USA & of the Pacific Southwest. The 6'2", 200-lb pastor overpowered the 5'6", 140-lb victim at a bedside counseling visit. He got only 2 years of probation. The suit alleges that Marshall had committed other crimes, & that the 2 Baptist groups should have known about them. Source: _Ontario Daily Bulletin_ 7/29/92.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ McALESTER, OK. A man who said he was former pastor was in the Pittsburg County Jail on Tuesday on charges of rape and sodomy of three boys. A preliminary hearing is scheduled Sept. 22 for Kenneth Raymond Dewoody, 50, of Crowder. He was charged with nine counts of rape and sodomy. The boys, ages 14 to 17, allege Dewoody raped and sodomized them, sometimes in front of other boys, sometimes while watching pornographic movies, authorities say. Two of the boys met Dewoody at Ask Creek Church, where Dewoody was a pastor, authorities say. (Tulsa World, 07/29/1992)
Pastor Accused of Raping Boys
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METHODIST COVER-UP ALLEGED. No charges were brought when youngsters in Piedmont told police & social services they were molested in 1983 by Rev. Wally Walton (see above) at Piedmont Grace United Methodist Church. After a 2-year sabbatical, Walton became pastor at Grace United Methodist in Pierre, where he has been charged with sex offenses against children. The Methodist hierarchy decided he was "not a danger to anyone", permitted him to give sermons during his 2-year break, & "felt he should be given another chance", said Rev. Dick Fisher, formerly Westem Dist. superintendent of the Methodist Church in Rapid City. "We had two concerns at the time: to protect the people & save a person for the ministry." Source: _Rapid City Journal_ 7/29/92.
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LUTHERAN COUNSELOR NABBED. St. Paul Lutheran Church youth counselor John Wayne Nase, 40, Phoenix, was accused of multiple counts of child molesting, sexual conduct with a minor & kidnapping. Police say he ordered a boy, 12, into the choir loft & performed sex acts on him after Nase's Sunday confirmation classes. Source: _Arizona Republic_ 7/21/92.
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REDEEMER CHURCH SETTLES SUIT. Redeemer Lutheran Church, Redwood City, made a secret settlement to a victim of youth counselor James A. Weller, who had sought $25,000. The victim said the pastor and other church officials interrupted Weller when he was molesting the victim, then 13, but failed to report it. Weller had been dishonorably discharged from the Navy for sexual molestation and had a record when he was hired by the church. He was convicted in 1990 of 27 counts of sex crimes against 4 boys and a girl, including oral sex, rape and pornography. He is serving a 4-year prison sentence. Source: _Redwood City Tribune_ 5/19/92.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ In Ventura, David L. Campos, a convicted child molester was arrested At the King's Chapel for failing to register as a sex offender, and on suspicion of molesting 2 girls in bible study class. His Pastor, Gary Rice was also arrested, charged with felony obstruction for trying to prevent the girls from testifying. San Luis Telegram-Tribune 7/16/92
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"NOT A TIME FOR JUDGMENT." The arrest of Brookfield minister Richard O. Bidwell for lewd & lascivious conduct is "not a time for judgment" but "a time when we in the Christian community need to offer our support & our prayers," opines Rev. Kenneth Wheeler, an official with the Greater Milwaukee Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Bidwell, pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church, married with children, was arrested at a park in the afternoon with his genitals exposed, in the company of another exposed man. Source: _Milwaukee Sentinel_ 7/14/92.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Northampton, MA. Charges of raping a 16-year-old from Poland were dropped against Rev. Julian Pagacz, 50, pastor of St. Valentine's Polish National Catholic Church in Northampton, after she refused to testify. Charges of indecently assaulting a Hampshire Co. girl, age 17, were plea-bargained down to one charge of indecent touch. Pagacz was accused of threatening to deport the Polish girl if she reported the rape. A judge ordered him to turn over the girl's passport, as well as his own. He also denies a charge by a neighbor that she and her husband caught him looking in her window late one night and that she had stopped sunbathing in the backyard because he ogled her. She wrote out a trespass notice against him and informed the church, but was told "he wouldn't do that". Angry parishioners decried the women's complaints as a "witch hunt". Follower Ellen Mierzewski called one of the alleged victims "a Communist who thought she'd get money out of it". (Springfield Union-News 2/17,18/92, 5/8/92; Sun-Republican 2/16/92; Boston Globe 5/5,8/92)
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CONVICTED MOLESTER STOPS TOUR. Following an investigation by the West Virginia attorney general's office, convicted child molester John B. Shallenberger, 74, folded his Children's Choir Federation, soliciting boys from grades 4-7 to take 2-week singing tours in Europe. He had been convicted in 1975 & 1961 for child molestation. In 1991, Pennsylvania authorities charged him with ignoring a court order to reveal his child molestation convictions to the parents of recruited children, so he moved to West Virginia. Shallenberger has moved back to Pennslyvania & is running an elevator repair company. Source: _Charleston Gazette_ 7/8/92.
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CHURCH SUED FOR NEGLIGENCE. One of several girls who said Alva minister Rev. Robert Bruce Brigden molested her is suing the First Presbyterian Church for failing to check his background before hiring him. Allegations of sexual crimes were made at his former position in Kansas. Charges allege that he molested Alva church girls, ages 4 to 14. The church posted his bond. Source: _Tulsa Tribune
Alva, OK. MOLESTING MINISTER STABBED TO DEATH BY INMATES. Robert Bruce Brigden, former pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Alva, was stabbed to death by 2 fellow inmates of the Oklahoma State Reformatory while serving a 40-year prison sentence. He was convicted of rape by instrument, lewd molestation, and fondling of 11 girls, aged 4 to 14. (Dallas Morning News 6/14/94)
Former Minister Fatally Stabbed in Prison Cell
PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER GETS 40 YEARS. Rev. Robert Bruce Brigden was sentenced to 40 years in prison for molesting young girls in his congregation, convicted on 8 counts of lewd molestation & 1 count of rape by instrumentation involving a girl, 7. Bridgen, 57, was accused of molesting 11 girls, aged 4 to 14, during the 4 years he was at the Alva church. His congregation put the church up as bond, insisting he was innocent. He was placed in protected custody. Brigden blamed his arrest on a girl, 4, whose parents were the first to take the children's allegations seriously. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," Brigden wrote his wife about the 4-year-old, whom he described as "4 going on 400 years old", saying she invited him to spend the night in her bed, & was mad that he declined. Source: _Tulsa Tribune_ 8/92, _Tulsa World_ 9/3/92, _Daily Oklahoman_ 6/14/92.
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PRESBYTERIAN REFORM URGED. The Presbyterian General Assembly, meeting in Baltimore in June, voted 446-78 to recommend abolishing the statute of limitations for reporting sexual misconduct by clergy. The church, citing critical proportions, has a 3-year time limit for reporting sexual misconduct by church officials. The vote must be ratified by 2/3 of the church's 171 regional presbyteries. It also voted 491-26 to establish a policy on sexual misconduct, advising local churches to set up "sexual misconduct response teams" & notify secular authorities "when appropriate". The adopted policy said there is evidence that "10-23 percent of clergy nationwide have engaged in sexualized behavior or sexual contact with parishioners, clients, employees, etc., within a professional relationship". Source: AP 6/12/92.
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LUTHERAN MINISTER REMOVED. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America removed Rev. Wendell Henkenmeier of Marblehead from the ministry after a panel found him guilty of sexual misconduct & destructive practices during counseling of 5 victims. Source: _Union-News_ 5/30/92.
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SUPPORTERS GATHER FOR CONVICTED "FRIEND". Pastor Roy McKinley, 45, who stepped down from Milan Friends Church after being charged with molesting a teenage girl, pleaded guilty to gross sexual imposition and related charges. Supporters, including a minister, crowded the courtroom where McKinley pleaded for mercy. Source: _Toledo Blade_ 5/25/92.
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SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER IMPRISONED. Groton Sunday School teacher Leslie Richard Danielson, 63, was sentenced to 5-10 years after pleading guilty to sexually abusing 6 children under 14 years. He is already serving up to 10 years for a 1991 conviction involving 4 other children, but will be eligible for parole in 4 years. Source: _Boston Herald_ 5/22/92.
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CHURCH COUNSELING TURNED ABUSIVE. A Fairless Hills couple filed suit against a church counselor and Calvary Full Gospel Church, alleging the pastor referred them to abusive Aldo Maselli. The depressed woman said he told her he "had prayed about it and that God told him that it was OK for him to express his feelings of love", initiating a 2-year sexual relationship. The suit by Rebecca and Steven Hicks charges negligent, reckless practices contrary to accepted counseling standards, and battery and sexual abuse. Source: _Bucks County Courier Times_ 5/20/92.
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UNITARIAN GUILTY ON 6 CHARGES. Northboro minister Mack W. Mitchell, 56, was convicted on 6 of 23 charges of sexual assault involving a Tibetan woman who testified he sexually abused her as a teenager after offering to sponsor her education in this country. "I came here with a lot of wonderful dreams, and my dreams were shattered," said the victim, now 23. With the conviction, "I can dream again and become a whole person again." Rape and assault-battery charges are still pending against him by another Tibetan woman. Source: _Worcester Telegram & Gazette_ 5/15/92.
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NUDE MINISTER CONVICTED. Rev. Bruce Rentz, found guilty of indecent exposure after a state trooper saw him jogging naked and chased him to his home, has resigned as minister from Greenbush Presbyterian Church. He was ordered to perform community service, pay a $50 fine, and get counseling. Source: _Union News_ 5/14/92.
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ANGLICAN BISHOP CHARGED FOR SOLICITATION. Anglican Bishop Owen Dowling, 57, of Canberra and Goulburn, was recently charged with soliciting a male off-duty cop for prostitution. Source: _Christian Century_ 5/13/92.
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"WOUNDED SOLDIER" LEAVES CHURCH. Senior pastor of Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, with 12,000 members one of Atlanta's largest churches Q stepped down, admitting an "improper" relationship with a female church employee. Charismatic Rev. Don Paulk, 53, sermonized, "I am not here today as a martyr or hero, but as a fallen, wounded soldier ... My family's forgiveness was second only to the forgiveness of God." His brother, Bishop Earl Paulk, berated the media for exposing the "weaknesses" of others, and blamed "Satan", promising Don would return. Source: _Atlanta Constitution_ 5/11/92.
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MOLESTING MINISTER CONVICTED. Youth minister Don McCary, 48, was sentenced to 72 years of prison for molesting 4 boys at his Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tenn. Explains sex offender therapist Deloris Roys, Don McCary "had a perfect camouflage ... For the person who uses religion as a camouflage, it gives them the mantle of being an OK or holy person. We all imbue religious people with the idea they wouldn't hurt us. They have instant authority, a power we don't have, a mantle of respect." Don McCary had been youth/choir director for 15 years at Central Baptist Church of Hixson, Tenn. He recorded lewd conversations with young boys and gave copies to his brother Ron in jail. Source: _Birmingham News_ 5/9/92.
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MOLESTING MINISTER. The twin brother of Don McCary, Ron McCary, a Christian comedian and pastor, is in prison after committing aggravated rape on a boy, 6. Source: _Birmingham News_ 5/9/92.
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MOLESTING MINISTER. The older brother of Ron and Don McCary, Richard McCary spent 2 years in the California prisons in the 1980s after conviction on 6 charges of child molestation. Explains sex offender therapist Deloris Roys, Don McCary "had a perfect camouflage ... For the person who uses religion as a camouflage, it gives them the mantle of being an OK or holy person. We all imbue religious people with the idea they wouldn't hurt us. They have instant authority, a power we don't have, a mantle of respect." Don McCary had been youth/choir director for 15 years at Central Baptist Church of Hixson, Tenn. He recorded lewd conversations with young boys and gave copies to his brother Ron in jail. Source: _Birmingham News_ 5/9/92.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma County courts have given a seven-year suspended sentence to former Del City minister Rev. Roy E. Jones, 56, who pleaded guilty to molesting young girls in his congregation. In 1986, Jones molested several young girls in his congregation at the First Baptist Church of Del City, where he was pastor for 35 years, authorities said. (Tulsa World, 05/09/1992)
Sentence Suspended For Molesting Minister
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CLERIC FACES INCEST, RAPE CHARGES. Rev. Eugenio Matos of Spanish Mennonite Church, Trenton, father of 12, was charged in March with raping his daughter from the time she was 5 to 15 years. In April he was charged with endangering welfare of a child and 2 counts of aggravated sexual assault when a 23-year-old woman told investigators he repeatedly raped her while she was between the ages of 8 and 10. Source: _Trenton Times_ 4/28/92.
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DEACON ACCUSED OF ASSAULTING 8 GIRLS. Victory Baptist Church deacon Daniel Eaves, 34, was arrested for sexually assaulting 8 girls, ages 3 to 14, at his Springfield home and during youth groups last year. Source: _Philadelphia Inquirer_ 4/25/ 92.
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LUTHERAN LEADER ADMITS CHARGES. Lutheran pastor David L. Anderson admitted having sexual relations with a number of boys and young men while pastor of a leading Lutheran congregation in Moorehead, Minn. He resigned from the clergy of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and as vice president for college relations in St. Olaf College in April, admitting sexual misconduct with minors, college students, and male parishioners from 1973-1985. He confessed only after a parishioner approached a staff member at the 4,000 member church with allegations in March. Source: _Star Tribune_ 4/20/92.
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CHURCH VOLUNTEER CHARGED WITH CHILD PORNOGRAPHY. Church volunteer Seven Jon Long, 41, was arrested for sodomy and taking pornographic pictures of young girls under 12 from Assembly of God Church in Rogue River, where he was a youth volunteer. He told detectives his pictures were art. Source: _Daily Courier_, Grants Pass, 4/17/92.
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LUTHERAN PRINCIPAL ACCUSED. Denying charges of indecent liberties with a student is John P. Rossow, who resigned in March as principal of Central Lutheran Christian School, Tacoma. Now a senior, the youth said Russow took him on outings and French kissed him for hours when he was a 5th grader, and tried to masturbate him at a state park after plying him with whiskey. A teenager said, "He had kids at his house a lot." Source: _Morning News Tribune_ 4/8/92.
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RAPIST-MINISTER GETS 12 YEARS FOR INCEST. Suspended associate rector of a Tucson Episcopal church, Stephen P. Apthorp, 56, pleaded guilty in Massachusetts to repeatedly raping his stepdaughter between her 10th and 16th birthday, an estimated 830 incidents of abuse. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Charges included indecent assault and battery, rape and distribution of pornographic materials to a minor. The assaults began in 1980 when a Lincoln, Mass. congregation asked him to leave because he was abusing alcohol, ignoring their problems, and "using the women of the parish like they were some kind of fringe benefit", Apthorp said. He was suspended from the Tucson church. His contract as a counselor for Tucson General Hospital's Westcenter was not renewed. He gave nationwide worships and lectures based on a book of advice for clergy with alcohol and drug addictions. The 21-year-old victim, who publicly identified herself as Mimi Coleman, noted the betrayal made her suicidal, gave her eating disorders and nightmares, shameful feelings over sex, continuing gynecological problems, feelings of someone always watching her, feelings of panic whenever she sees a man in a clerical collar, and feelings that she is a freak. "Never have I seen him practice what he preached, and I heard him preach a lot." Source: _Arizona Daily Star_ 3/13/92; _Boston Herald_ 5/7/92; _Lincoln Journal_ 5/14/92.
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PRESBYTERY REMOVES PASTOR. The Pittsburgh Presbytery removed the associate pastor of the prominent East Liberty Presbyterian Church on charges of sexual misconduct. Rev. Howard Eybers, 43, is accused by 3 women of making sexual overtures. Source: _Pittsburgh Post- Gazette_ 3/7/92.
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MINISTER GUILTY. Murrayville minister L.G. Gilsrap pleaded guilty to 2 counts of child molestation after the state high court in 1991 overturned a 1989 conviction for molesting young boys at church. Source: _USA Today_ 3/6/92.
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NEW BRUNSWICK PREACHER CONVICTED. Calling his crimes a "most sick, disturbing and tragic matter", Justice Thomas Riordon convicted Pentecostal preacher Rev. Aubrey McCallister of touching, fondling and sodomizing a young girl for 10 years, beginning when she was 7. The assaults took place at his home and church Sunday school in Minto, New Brunswick. He was convicted of the same offense 2 years ago and sentenced to 5 years in jail but was granted a new trial. His loyal congregation packed the courtroom during both trials, and had to be warned not to repeat their angry outburst. Followers shook the convict's hand and said they were sticking by him. The victim, now 20, was jeered by the minister's congregation. McCallister called her "daddy's little girl" and rewarded her with Oreo cookies or told her to pray for forgiveness after each encounter. "Aren't we sneaky? If we ever get caught, mom would kick us both out," he told her. Source: _Telegraph Journal_, Saint John, N.B., 3/6/92.
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MINISTER MOLESTER OF 400 SENTENCED. Eugene Church for the Deaf minister Joseph Bernard Ponder, 47, was sentenced to 2 years for violating probation in 2 felony convictions of 1st degree sexual abuse of boys. He had received a year in jail for 2nd degree sexual abuse of a boy, 14, in 1988. Officials believe an estimate that he molested 400 boys may be low. "This may be the most prolific abuser of young boys who has ever stood in this court," said prosecutor Kent Mortimore. "His whole life has revolved around this his ministry, his choice of careers to put himself in contact with potential victims." Ponder denies abusing the boy during a swimming incident, and failed to complete court-ordered sex offender treatment. Source: _Register-Guard_ 3/5/92.
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LUTHERAN TEACHER CHARGED. Arrested for sexually assaulting boys at John Calvin Christian School in Burlington, Ontario is Theodore Richard Vanderveen, 30, who taught 4th grade for 4 years. Source: _Spectator_ 3/2/92.
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Holy Way leader Clarence "Brother Will" Williams was arrested after a 19-year-old woman said he brainwashed her into having sex starting when she was 15. The member of the sect said he forced sex upon her and other women more than 40 times between 1987-1990. Williams, who pleaded guilty 5 years ago to "cleansing" underage members by ordering them to bare their breasts, was 2 months short of completing his 5-year probation. Terms of probation prohibited practicing aspects of his religion such as nudity, fondling children, and having non-related children spend the night. In 1986 prosecutors interviewed about a dozen girls and their mothers who described a religious ritual in which they would strip and fondle each other at Williams' command. Williams claimed this was _Bible_-based: "Our belief is that biblically if you have a problem within yourself, it is because of sin or weakness, and about the only thing that's going to cleanse you of that is if you expose it before the Lord." Source: _Palm Beach Post_ 2/26/92.
Sex abuse and mind control in the name of Jesus was uncovered at the Holy Way religious commune in Florida. "Brother Bill" Clarence E. Williams, its leader, was convicted of sexually abusing two girls during church ceremonies; inducing the sexual performance of children and other indecent assaults. Williams' commune was established on strict adherence to traditional sex roles and patriarchal rule. (Source: Palm Beach Post, 3/13/86; Tampa Tribune, 4/5/87)
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AIR FORCE CHAPLAIN RAIDED. Deputies raided the home of Veterans Administration chaplain Rev. Donald G. Phillips, of Butler County, seizing 500 video tapes, movie equipment and restraints following a tip that he produced pornographic movies with young girls. The Baptist minister recently received the highest recognition awarded a VA chaplain, "the Award for Excellence in Chaplain Service". Source: _St. Louis Post-Dispatch_ 2/19/92.
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AIR FORCE CHAPLAIN COURT-MARTIALED. Capt. Perry W. Bell, 37, pleaded guilty to adultery with 6 women, conduct unbecoming an officer, and bringing discredit upon the armed forces. He was also convicted of attempted seduction of a 19-year-old Air Force cadet who fought off advances in his chapel office. The Scott Air Force Base chaplain was court-martialed and given 3 months in jail. He could have been sentenced for up to 12 years. In exchange for guilty pleas, the Air Force agreed to a brief sentence and dropped other charges of indecent advances, possession of a pornographic videotape while in the United Arab Emigrates during the war against Iran, ordering an enlisted man to obtain a pornographic tape, and dereliction of duty. Three of the victims were Air Force Officers, others were a sergeant, a sergeant's wife seeking counseling, and an enlisted woman. The senior Protestant chaplain sought out vulnerable women seeking help for emotional upsets. Source: _Edwardsville Intelligencer_ 2/19/92.
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CONVICTED MOLESTER RECRUITING BOYS. A convicted child molester barred in Pennsylvania from recruiting choirboys to tour in Europe is now operating out of Morgantown, WV. John B. Shallenberger, 74, was convicted in 1985 of indecent assault, indecent exposure and corrupting the morals of a Dutch choirboy, 11. He was convicted in 1961 and 1975 on similar charges. In 1990, a judge ordered him to reveal his criminal record while recruiting boys and to pay a $5,000 fine for violating a 1978 agreement with the Bureau of Consumer Protection to reveal his background. He has not paid the fine or signed the petition. Shallenberger insists, "Every choirmaster and every music teacher in the country knows of my criminal record ... You would be surprised at how many parents beg me to take a second brother on tour." His July in Paris tour was handled through the Children's Choir Federation. Source: _Pittsburgh Post-Gazette_ 2/15/92.
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"GOD HAS FORGIVEN ME FOR WHAT I'VE DONE." Nova Scotia religious leader Harold Jollimore, 63, convicted in December of sexual and indecent assault of young girls, was sentenced to 2 years in prison. He preached biblical passages while sexually abusing neighbor girls. One 9-year-old who had a breakdown after 8 years of abuse has been in therapy since 1978. He attracted children by running a candy and soda pop store on his property. He told the judge, "God has forgiven me for what I've done," saying he doesn't understand why the victims haven't been able to "put this behind them". He was also ordered to take psychiatric counseling during a 3-year probation. Source: _The Spectator_ 2/11/92.
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POLYGAMOUS HILLBILLY PREACHER CHARGED. The leader of the Evangelistic Tabernacle in Martinsville was charged with felonious seduction & taking indecent liberties with a minor when he "married" a 16-year-old high school junior. Although already married, he was not charged with polygamy since he did not legally marry the teenager. Rev. Elwood Gallimore, 42, was also charged with performing marriage ceremonies without a license. His favorite topic for sermons is polygamy, citing such polygamous biblical characters as David & Solomon. He said the _Bible_ will be his only defense during the trial. Gallimore, whose dutiful 42-year-old wife was hospitalized for "nerves" after the second "marriage" was proposed, says he is being prosecuted by "jealous" men. A magistrate ordered him to stay away from the teenager on Jan. 19. Source: _Washington Post_ 1/21,27,28/92.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ RELIGIOUS BROADCASTER MOLESTED GIRLS. Well-known former broadcaster Tom Speed, 35, for Billings Christian radio pleaded guilty to sexually molesting 6 girls ranging in age from 4 to 14, who were at his home for day-care or piano lessons. (Missoulian 1/18/92)
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CIVIL SUIT: 11-YEAR-OLD MOLESTED. A family in Dare County, North Carouna is suing Methodist minister Carl M. Eller for abusing their daughter, 11, as well as the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, a bishop and a reverend for knowing of his history of sexual misconduct but doing nothing about it. The family says she was molested when her father, a carpenter, was installing cabinets in the parsonage. Eller pleaded no contest to a charge of criminal assault on a female. However, the family said that in 1987 Eller had molested or made lewd comments to 4 women at his church, and forcibly kissed and touched 2 girls age 13. Three women had lodged formal complaints with the church, but the only action was to transfer him from Aurora to Hamlet. Source: _News & Observer_ 1/15/92.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2,000 SUPPORT MINISTER MOLESTER. About 75 supporters from the Christ Universal Church picketed before the Criminal Courts Building in Chicago in support of Rev. Paul Hall, 47, convicted of sexually abusing a boy, 13, in 1989. He had been free on appeal since then. His 4-year sentence began in January. The Illinois Appellate Court, which denied him a rehearing, received more than 2,000 letters in his behalf. Source: _Chicago Sun-Times_ 9/3/92, 1/8/93.
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CANCER VICTIM ALLEGES MISCONDUCT. Carolyn Kruse, Aurora, filed suit against her minister and church, saying he coerced her into a sexual relationship when she went for counseling while ill with Hodgkin's disease. Sued is John R. Leonard, pastor of Harvest Christian Center, who told the congregation Kruse was possessed by a demon. Source: _Rocky Mountain News_ 1/1/92.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ BOSSE Pastor Harry, 37 Adelaide pastor, former scoutmaster and former police constable. Receives suspended 12 month jail sentence and 250 hour community-based order in VIC County Court after pleading guilty to 16 child sex charges, including 12 counts of indecent assault and 4 of gross indecency, against 2 boys and 1 girl, aged 8 to 14, between 1973 and 1978 while scoutmaster at Apollo Bay, Brunswick, Ivanhoe, Northcote, Preston and Watsonia, VIC. Court hears Bosse, of Parafield Gardens, Adelaide, joined Church of Nazarene in 1978 before being transferred to Adelaide where he served as pastor until police interviewed him in 1990. (Victoria, Australia, 1992).
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MONAGHAN Ian James, 29 Coffs Harbour Anglican church elder and former altar boy. Receives 7 year jail sentence in Coffs Harbour District Court after pleading guilty to 30 child sex offences, including committing unlawful sexual intercourse, performing indecent act and performing indecent act in aggravated circumstances, against 11 boys, aged 6 to 15, while involved in Anglican church groups in Coffs Harbour, on NSW's northern coast. Judge describes assaults by Monaghan, of Coffs Harbour, as "particularly depraved". (New South Wales, Australia, 1992).
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MORLEY Reverend John Sydney, 67 SA Anglican priest and army chaplain. Receives suspended 18 month jail sentence and $1000 good behaviour bond in Adelaide District Court after pleading guilty to 2 charges of indecently assaulting 2 girls, aged 11 and 15, in 1988 and 1990 in SA. Court hears Morley had touched girls' breasts on outside of clothing. Judge says abuse stemmed from Morley's "hidden aberration". (South Australia, Australia, 1992).
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MOUNTFORD Reverend John Adelaide Anglican priest and boys school chaplain. Returns to Britain before being interviewed by police and Family & Community Services Department officials over claims he engaged in sexual relationship with student, aged under 18, while chaplain at St Peter's Anglican College, Adelaide. Investigation reveals relationship "common knowledge" at school and that Mountford fled soon after being confronted over claims by deputy principal. (South Australia, Australia, 1992).
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NAME SUPPRESSED BY COURT ORDER, age 43 VIC Pentecostal born again Christian and charismatic church member. Receives 3 year and 9 month jail sentence in VIC County Court after pleading guilty to 14 counts of incest and 1 of indecent assault involving stepdaughter, aged 13, between 1984 and 1989. Court hears defendant visited victim's bedroom despite becoming heavily involved in Pentecostal church and being "born again" during period of offending. Name SUPPRESSED BY COURT ORDER to protect stepdaughter. (920115; HS 920116) (Victoria, Australia, 1992).
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REID Malcolm "Happy Harry", 24 Orange church youth group leader. Receives 18 month jail sentence in Wollongong Local Court after being convicted on charges of committing acts of indecency against 2 boys, both aged 14, at his Orange home, central NSW. Reid known as "Happy Harry" to readers of Illawarra Mercury. (New South Wales, Australia, 1992).
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SEDDON Phillip Andrew, 25 Melbourne Christian church member and technical officer. Receives suspended 12 month jail sentence and 3 year good behaviour bond in VIC County Court after pleading guilty to 7 child sex charges, including 4 counts of indecent assault and 3 of committing unlawful sexual intercourse, against girl, aged 2, over 4 year period in Melbourne. (Victoria, Australia, 1992).
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TASKER Donald Gilbert, 61 Melbourne trainee Presbyterian minister and school teacher. Receives 6 year jail sentence in Melbourne County Court after being convicted on 29 child sex charges, including 12 counts of indecent assault, 5 of attempting indecent assault, 7 of gross indecency with aggravating circumstances and 5 of committing unlawful sexual intercourse with aggravating circumstances, against 4 boys, aged 5 to 11, between 1986 and 1991 at Melbourne home and suburban swimming pool. Court hears Tasker, of Croydon, abused his victims after volunteering to become surrogate parent with Melbourne community welfare agency. (Victoria, Australia, 1992).
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Anglican Pastor John Sydney Morley, 18-month suspended jail term (SA, 1992) for indecently assaulting two girls;
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The arrest of Rev. Jack Law, a Baptist minister, was heralded by a headline, "Girl, 5, Raped Under Pew." He was accused not only of that, but of molesting and raping her two sisters. These crimes took place at the family home as well as during an outing arranged by him so the girls could help him distribute religious tracts. The girls had tried to tell their parents, but were not believed. "Being a preacher," the father said of him to local media, "we thought he was a good man." Law killed himself that year rather than face trial. (The Scandal of Pedophilia in the Church By Annie Laurie Gaylor © 1992)
Pastor molests 5 year old
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Christian Fundamentalist school operator Reverend Duane Smith: molesting children (Laporte, Indiana, 1992)
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PASTOR GETS 6 MONTHS. Pastor Ed Brennan, 45, of Whitehorse Christian Bible Fellowship Society, got 6 months in jail and 3 years' probation for sexually assaulting a young married parishioner in the Yukon. Source: _Spectator_ 12/17/91.
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Christian deacon Henry Meinholz: raping and suffocating to death a 13-year-old girl. (Kingston, Massachusetts, 1991)
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1991, England. Baptist Minister Ashby Breneman jailed for molesting 6 boys at his Christian Youth camp.
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Baptist Minister Rev. Robert Burton charged after admitting long-term serious sexual abuse of his six and eight year old stepsons. (1991, England)
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Baptist Minister Larry Bernard 45, sentenced to 7 years for molesting a boy of 14. (1991, England)
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1991, England: Rev G Snow, 38 jailed for sexually assaulting a 10 year old boy. Police found two suitcases filled with indecent photographs of boys and men in Snow's vicarage.
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Church Choir tenor and dole fraud investigator Ian MacKenzie, 35, was jailed for four years for sexually assaulting boys aged between 12 and 14. MacKenzie forced them into felatio after making them shackle him with chains and rope and then thrashing him with a horsewhip. (1991, England)
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Church Organist Vincent Smith jailed at Leeds Crown Court for repetitive sexual abuse of a 9 year old boy which extended over a six year period. (1991, England)
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Anglican Pastor Leslie James Wiggins, 63, three-months suspended jail term (Vic., 1991) for indecently assaulting three boys.
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WIGGINS Reverend Leslie James, 63 Rosebud Anglican priest, boarding master and associate chaplain. Receives suspended 3 month jail sentence in Dromana Magistrates Court after being convicted on 4 charges of indecently assaulting 3 boys, aged 11 and 12, between 1989 and 1990 at Rosebud, south of Melbourne. Court hears Wiggins, of Rosebud, exposed himself to one boy and asked another to "move his gear stick". Also served as boarding master and associate chaplain at Trinity Grammar Anglican College, Kew, Melbourne. (Victoria, Australia, 1991).
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Jury awarded a Colorado woman $1.2 million in a judgment against the Diocese of Colorado and then-Bishop William Frey in 1991 (Frey was named as ecclesiastical authority).
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GUTHRIE, OK. Gordon Earl Hoefer, 57, The pastor of a Logan County church has been ordered to stand trial on charges he molested a 10-year-old boy in August. Assistant district attorney Laura Austin Thomas said the victim testified during the hearing that he was fondled by the minister while he and his 13-year-old brother spent the night at Hoefer's house. (THE TULSA TRIBUNE, 12/21/1990)
Molestation trial ordered for pastor
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Tulsa, OK. Police are investigating a complaint that an 11-year-old girl was molested by a church organist and volunteer youth sponsor, an official said. Cpl. Randy Lawmaster said the girl's parents filed a complaint with police Thursday, accusing Robert Horton, 29, an organist and youth sponsor for Yale Avenue Christian Church, at 3616 S. Yale Ave., of molesting their daughter on more than one occasion. Horton is not in custody. (THE TULSA TRIBUNE , 07/20/1990)
Serial Molester hired by Church after multiple convictions.
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Cobb County, GA. A Minister pleaded guilty Tuesday to child molestation and cruelty charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison for having
sex with a 11-year-old girl who attended his church's vacation Bible school. The Rev. James Calvin McCurry, 38, a former pastor at the Greater Zion Hills Baptist Church in Smyrna, had been charged with forcing the girl to have sex three times in 1985 and 1986. (The Atlanta Journal and Constitution 05-30-1990)
Minister sentenced to 20 years in sex case: Cobb preacher pleads guilty to molesting child
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An undisclosed out-of-court settlement was made by the Mormon Church to Cynthia Brown of Mesa, Az., who accused the church of failing to report to law enforcement authorities that a man had molested her daughter, age 2. A July 1988 ruling by the Arizona Court of Appeals had compelled two Mormon bishops and another church official to testify about conversations they had with RICHARD KENNETH RAY about molesting children. Ray, 47, was sentenced in Sept. 1984 to 61 years in prison for molesting 5 girls, including Brown's daughter. (Arizona Republic, 1/11/90)
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GARY HAMBRIGHT, a Southern Baptist minister accused of molesting dozens of children at the Presidio daycare in San Francisco, died of AIDS Nov. 8. Between 60-102 tots were suspected victims of child sexual abuse by Hambright and others, but 2 investigations led to dismissal of charges. Five children had contracted chlamydia, a sexually transmitted disease. The Army daycare was closed. Parents have filed more than $60 million in claims against the Army alleging negligence led to sexual abuse of kids. The claims haven't been heard. Hambright died maintaining his innocence, leaving an obituary rife with references to " my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ." A Presidio spokesperson said none of the children have shown signs of AIDS. (San Jose Mercury News, 1/5/90; Orange Co. Register, 1/6/90)
Rev. Gary Willard Hambright, a Southern Baptist, was charged as a daycare worker with sexually abusing 10 little boys and girls at the U.S. Army preschool at its Presidio base. Four of the tots had contracted the sexually transmitted disease of chlamydia. A grand jury spent 10 months investigating charges. (Source: San Francisco Chronicle, 11/5/87; Wall Street Journal, 11/16/87)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Lutheran church settles: The Redwood City Tribune reported that a local Lutheran church made a secret settlement to a victim of the church’s youth counselor. The counselor was convicted in 1990 of 27 counts of sex crimes against 4 boys and a girl, including oral sex, rape and pornography. He is serving a 4-year prison sentence.
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A 14-year-old girl in foster care is raped and impregnated by Deacon Stephen Andrews of the Advent Christian Church in Kennebunk, Maine, a trusted figure. She gives birth. Andrews gets 5 years in prison, 3 of them suspended, despite the protests of the prosecutor. (1990)
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Salvation Army Captain William Douglas is convicted of molesting, sodomizing and sexually terrorizing young Indian boys in a village in British Columbia. Douglas was acquitted of similar charges in 1985; the judge said he could not accept that a minister would lie. (1990)
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Chaplain assistant Steven Ritchie: convicted of raping a six-year-old girl. (Fort Lewis, Wash-ington, 1990)
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Born-again Delaware preacher William J. Keichline, Sr. is commended by the legislature for running Mission of Care ministry for the homeless. As a landlord he assaults and rapes a girl for 3 years starting when she is 7, threatening to evict her family if she tells. He gets eight 20 year prison terms for rape, bondage and child pornography. (1990)
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Slough Christian Social Worker sentenced to jail at Old Bailey for taking indecent photographs of a mentally retarded 8 year old boy. His job was to look after handicaped children to give parents a break. (1990, England)
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Jehovah's Witness Thomas Rosserr, 38, pleaded guilty to two sexual intercourse with a 13 year old girl at Bible Classes and was sentenced to 21 months at Teeside Crown Court. (1990, England)
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Rev. Stephen Horkin pays rent-boy to sadistically abuse him whilst dressing up as the devil. (1990, England)
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The Salvation Army would not remove its minister, Gary Hallock of Pennsylvania, from his duties teaching children bible stories, even after he had been arrested for sexually abusing children at his church! The "captain," an equivalent of minister, had victimized seven children, ages four to 15, and even a profoundly retarded 15 year old boy. He was sentenced in 1990 to up to 72 years in prison. Meanwhile, a civil suit was launched against the Salvation Army for their negligence by parents of victims. (1990)
Salvation Army protects guilty minister
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Methodist Reverend Paul Flowers, vice--chairman of Rochdale social services committee which had control over the Rochdale Satanic Abuse Cases is discovered to have a conviction for indecency during the height of the allegations. Flowers was caught in a public lavatory with a boy. (1990, England)
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1990, Solihull, England. Pentecostal Minister D. Stenhouse jailed on 5 charges of indecent assault on boys aged 12 to 15.
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1990, England: Rev Gordon Haggarty, TV vicar and celebrity jailed for lewd and libidinous practices at Edinburgh Crown Court. He bound, blindfolded and gagged girls in his care aged from 8 to 12 years, then took photographs of them.
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JAMES KENNEDY, a Salvation Army pastor from LaCrosse, WI, was sentenced to 6 years in prison plus 10 years' probation for 1st degree sexual assault of a girl, 10. He was ordered to pay for counseling. She was sexually abused at his home 4 times in 1985. Supporters have rallied to his cause. The day after his sentencing, he was released on $15,000 bond posted by a relative, pending appeal. (AP/Wisconsin State Journal, 12/22/89)
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REV. ROBERT G. HALVERSTADT, 61, of Victory Center Church, Pueblo, CO, was sentenced to a year in jail, after admitting he used games, coercion and drugs to sexually molest 3 girls in his congregation. Charges involving 4 other victims were dropped when he pleaded guilty to reduced counts. He was given credit for 135 days already spent in jail, plus 4 years' probation. Halverstadt assaulted a girl, 9, who volunteered to help him clean his church. Another girl said he gave her something to drink that made her fall asleep. She woke up naked with pain in her groin area. (Chieftain, 12/15/89)
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REV. ROBERT A. KULZER, 65, was convicted of molesting 2 boys at Faith Temple Church, in Brighton. He was sentenced to 1 to 3 years in prison but it was stayed pending appeal, meaning if he can make $10,000 cash bail he will not serve time yet. The married grandfather was convicted of 3 counts of sodomy and 1 count each of promoting prostitution, sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child involving boys aged 12 to 16. Abuse included oral sex with a 16 year old boy, putting a condom on a 12 year old boy during a discussion about " the facts of life," and arranging for a boy to have sex with a 62 year old woman in the parsonage. Defense involved Kulzer's " good deeds," including being a missionary in Africa. (Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, 12/13/89)
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A 'God Fearing' 38 yr old Foster Parent sentenced to 4 years for indecently assaulting three girls aged 8 at Bodmin Crown Court. (1989, England)
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REV. THOMAS WELSCH, 39, and his wife Jean, 40, were sentenced to 30 years in prison with all but 6 years suspended, after pleading guilty to 5 counts each of child sexual abuse. Originally they were charged with 571 counts involving 3 victims. Welsch and his wife abused twin sisters, 13, and a 17 year old girl. He was pastor at Immanuel United Church of Christ in Cambridge, MD for 10 years. The state's attorney praised all 3 victims for showing " a lot of courage " in testifying against their popular pastor. (Washington Post, 12/10/89; The Sun)
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The Kansas Supreme Court upheld the convictions of REV. DARWIN G. DAMEWOOD, 54, sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping a teenager in 1987 and sexually assaulting him. The Court affirmed all 8 counts against Damewood, formerly with the Rossville Methodist Church, ruling it permissible for another teenager to testify at the trial that Damewood had molested him too. (Topeka Capital-Journal, 12/9/89)
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WALTER HEROLDO SOLIS, 54, charged with molesting 3 girls at Glendale Spanish 7th-day Adventist Church in Glendale, was killed Nov. 29 after stepping into a traffic lane in what police believe was a suicide. (LA Times, 12/8/89)
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ROY YOUNG, 29, charged in Washington state in 3 molestation cases, is now suspected of molesting dozens of boys in Austin, TX, whom he befriended as a volunteer for youth programs at 2 churches. He lived in Austin for 8 years until moving to Washington 18 months ago, where he was busted for molesting boys in bible study groups he formed. Police seized a collection of photographs, some pornographic, involving as many as 65 Texas boys (ages 8 to 13). At least 4 Texas youths say they were molested. Police regard the photographed boys as suspected victims. Young, who is not married, is accused of performing sex acts in front of Austin children, showing them adult movies, giving them massages, photographing some in the nude and providing some with alcohol. For years he took young boys to movies, dinner, roller-skating, camping and on motorcycle rides, buying kids watches, boots, bracelets & gifts. He also invited youths to spend the night with him. "He gained the confidence of the parents by pretending [1] to be a devout Christian who wanted to enhance the spiritual life of the kids, " said a detective. (Austin-American Statesman, 12/8/89)
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MARY LOU GALLUP, 61, was sentenced to 2 years in prison for child molestation, and must pay for counseling for her victim, a 4 and a half year old girl. Her husband, Edward Sr. and son, were convicted of molesting kids at the family's two Christian preschools in Portland. (Register-Guard [Eugene, OR], 12/5/89)
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JAMES ALLEN WELLER, 31, a day care teacher and youth counselor at Redeemer Lutheran Church, Redwood City, CA, was booked on 20 counts of child molestation, oral copulation, sexual battery and child exploitation. A counselor in another state contacted police after a boy reported being abused by Weller. Boys ages 13 to 17 told police he paid or tricked them into posing for pornographic photographs over the last 3 years. Weller was also a Boy Scout leader and coached a youth basketball team at the church. Church officials hired him even though they knew he was a convicted felon who had served 6 years in prison for bank fraud, and was on parole. (San Jose Mercury News, 12/2/89)
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REV. ANGEL CANDALARIA, 70, was charged with sexual contact and endangering the welfare of a girl, 10, at his church in Vineland, NJ. (Daily Journal, 11/15/89)
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REV. WALTER N. STONE, pastor of Rollstone Congregational Church in Fitchburg, MA, was sentenced to 7-15 years in prison after being convicted by a jury of 8 counts of molesting 2 boys. Two victims, now 18 and 21, testified Stone befriended them during church counseling and activities. Stone, 56, is married with 4 children, an Air Force veteran, with a doctorate in theology from Boston University. Several friends and colleagues wrote letters of commendation for him. (Worcester Telegram, 11/10/89)
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REV. JIM " PAPA" CATER, 50 founder and head of Living World Church in Dickson Co., TN was indicted on 6 new counts of child sexual abuse, for a total of 56 charges. The crimes reportedly occurred at the church compound during April, May and June 1989. The state raided the church in June, taking 11 children into protective custody, ordering him to close his illegally operating residential child-care facility. Cater became a minister after converting while serving time in Florida for strong-armed robbery and forgery. His ministry specialized in helping recovering alcoholics & addicts. Following the arrests, he was injured in the county jail after inmates attacked him, calling him " baby raper." (Huntsville Times, 11/9/89)
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REV. JOHN MICHAEL LIADIS, 56, of Largo, FL, was sentenced to 10 years' probation after a no-contest plea to 1 count of committing a lewd and lascivious act on a child under 16. He was also fined $500, told to stay away from children, and ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. He grabbed a girl, 15, the daughter of friends, at a church retreat. Liadis was relieved of his duties at the church camp. (NT Times, FL, 11/4/89)
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George Degoyler, 42, pastor of Verona Christian Fellowship, WI, was sentenced to 30 days in jail, 5 years' probation after pleading no contest to 1st degree sexual assault of an 8 year old girl visiting his home. He carried the girl upstairs, pulled down her pants and molested her. He was ordered to have no unsupervised conduct with minors except his children. The DA agreed to ask the court to amend the charge to 4th degree if he does not violate probation. (Wisconsin State Journal 11/1/89)
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REV. ROBERT DUANE SCHULTZ, 52, of Washington, Iowa, was sentenced to 30 years in prison after confessing to acts described as " horribly perverse" on boys under age 12, involving 1 count of sexual abuse and 3 others of lascivious acts. Officials are giving him polygraph tests and blood tests in an effort to identify other victims. The married minister was a foster parent honored in 1989 by Gov. Terry Branstad for volunteer service. Victims included foster children; five were removed from his home upon his arrest. The prosecution said a law preventing prosecution for sex assaults occurring more than 4 years ago should be changed, and would have resulted in more charges against Schultz. Rev. John Bennett told Schultz' congregation at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), " Bob has fallen...into a deep pit of despair. But Bob has not fallen from the grace of God." Church policy requires that he be defrocked for committing a felony. (Des Moines Register, 10/30- 11/3/89; AP/Clinton Herald, 10/30/89)
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JOHNNIE VERNON WOODS JR., 36, a lay minister at a North Little Rock church, got 3 consecutive sentences for abducting and raping a girl, 9. A jury found him guilty of 2 counts of rape and 1 count of kidnapping. (Tulsa World, 10/29/89)
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REV. DAVID SWOPE, minister at Sparks United Methodist Church, NV, was sentenced to 1 year in county jail, suspended to 3 years' probation, and psychological counseling. Swope pleaded no contest to a plea bargain of open & gross lewdness. He molested a girl, age 10, after choir practice, telling her she was one of his favorites and it meant nothing sexual. He was accused of taking indecent liberties with another girl 8 years ago. (Reno Gazette Journal, 10/28/89)
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BRUCE KRAHN, 37, pleaded guilty to molesting a student, 15, at Calvary Academy where he taught math. He got 1 year probation, a $500 fine, and a possible 60-day jail sentence. He asked her to stay after school, turned off the lights, shut the door, asked her questions about sex education she got in the public schools, hugged, fondled her and asked her to touch him. She reported it to her parents. He was fired and the state will revoke his teaching license. (Journal-Register [Springfield, IL], 10/25/89)
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The father of a young child was raped by HEATH TURNER, 16, a childcare worker at the First United Methodist Church, Mount Dora, is suing the church for negligence. Turner was convicted of assaulting the child at a church with a toy boat, his finger, and ice. [2] The church's youth minister, RALPH SMITH, who testified on Turner's behalf, has since been charged with the indecent assault of a child. The suit says that the church failed to check backgrounds, supervise childcare, and Sunday school classes. (Daily Commercial, 10/10/89)
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It took a jury only 28 minutes to find ANTONIO S. MARTINEZ, 59, a Pentecostal evangelist from Mathis, FL, guilty of aggravated sexual assault of a girl, 12. He claimed they had a common-law marriage. He first assaulted her when she was 11 and in 5th grade. Her grandmother forced her into the arrangement. A doctor turned Martinez in after Martinez asked him why she didn't become pregnant. (Corpus-Christi Caller Times, 9/27,28/89)
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REV. L.G. GILSTRAP, 54, an Assemblies of God minister, was convicted by a jury on 3 counts of child molestation and sentenced to 33 years in prison for a string of fondling incidents in 1988 involving brothers aged 10 and 13. The older boy said Gilstrap once tried to have sex with him in the shower. Eight men testified during the trial that they too were molested by the minister when they were boys. Three said they were also abused by the Sunday school teacher, who was not tried. Gilstrap denied the charges but corroborated their accusations against the teacher. The prosecutor called Gilstrap the " Pied Piper of pedophilia." Gilstrap, defrocked, started a new church, New Hope Ministries. Married, he was a former clerk for the Georgia House of Representatives. (Atlanta Constitution, 9/22/89)
Ex-Minister Gets 33-Year Sentence In Child Sex Case: Gilstrap Guilty of 3 Molestation Counts
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REV. WILLIAM MURRAY HENDRICKS JR., 50, pastor of Clay Hill Baptist Church, pleaded guilty to 2 counts of lewd & lascivious assault on a minor. The victim: a girl, 7, molested at the church, parish house in 1988 where he pastored for 15 years. As a plea bargain he agreed not to perform pastoral duties until his probation ended. (Florida Times-Union, 9/19/89)
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STANLEY DENNIS CUMMINGS, 34, a bible school teacher, was sentenced to more than 2,000 years in prison after being convicted of 60 counts of child molesting and sexual exploitation of a minor. Cummings befriended 8 boys he met through church, friends and employment, molesting, sodomizing and photographing them in sexual acts. He beat one victim, tape-recording it for sexual gratification. "Ten seconds of indiscretion is ruining my entire life," he complained, referring to oral sex with a boy, 10. He told the judge: " But I have an illness. You cannot make me a criminal." (Arizona Daily Star, 9/19/89)
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$450,000 jury award against UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF ILLINOIS upheld by Judge Stuart Shiffman involving REV. WILLIAM FYFFE, who molested 3 brothers in Macon, 1982. The church was held responsible because it knew Fyffe had molested boys at Taylor Ridge parish, 1975, but still ordained him, expunged records of counseling for molestation, and transferred him into a community unaware of the episodes. Fyffe served nearly 3 years of prison after pleading guilty to the Macon molestings. (Quad-City Times, 9/7/89; 10/18/89)
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Six girls who were sexually abused by REV. FRANCIS G. HAIGHT, head of ex-Baptist Christian Academy, Monroe, WI, were awarded a total of $57,440 in court settlements. Haight is serving a 20 year term for molesting children; He is eligible for parole in 4 years. (8/14/89)
Rev. Francis Guy Haight, principal of the Baptist Christian Academy in Monroe, Wisconsin, pleaded guilty to a reduced number of charges of sexually assaulting four young girls at his church school. He had had sexual contact with up to 11 girls at his school on an almost daily basis. Haight admitted the abuse was "happening pretty near everyday" and that he could not "even begin to estimate how many times this occurred." Most of the abuse took place in his office. A five year old girl said she was molested in her preschool program at the church. An 11 year old was abused when Mrs. Haight sent her to the office, telling police that it "kind of hurt." She didn't tell, she said, because she was scared. A 12 year old said the contact began when she attended summer bible school, where the minister molested her once or twice per day. One former student said she left the school after the eighth grade to avoid the constant abuse. Two victims said the minister would molest them by touching them under their dresses. As principal, he required that all girls wear dresses as part of the school dress code. Haight had been asked to leave a previous job under mysterious circumstances. Apparently the school had not made inquiries. Haight's attorney William Lansing said Haight plea-bargained in order to spare the children from testifying in court. "He's a very religious man," Lansing said. Haight's views on religion and compassion toward children obviously did not preclude constant sexual exploitation of them. (Sources: Wisconsin State Journal, 11/12/87; 1/9/88)
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A boy's father is suing Methodist Home of New Orleans, charging that his son, 12, was molested by a counselor during a field trip. REV. DALE HAGGARD pleaded guilty in Jan. 1989, and was sentenced to 4 years' probation, 500 hours community service, and therapy. Haggard, Louisiana Methodist Conference was also named. The suit alleges that [the Methodist Home] knew Haggard " had a propensity to engage in sexual acts with young boys." (Times-Picayune, 7/19/89)
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Lawsuits were filed against REV. ALBERT C. MAGNUSON, pastor, Redeemer Covenant Church, Brooklyn Park, MN, for molesting 3 brothers, their sister, seminary student nearly 20 years ago when they went to him for counseling. Church, church's Northwest Conference likewise sued for negligence. (Star Trib., 6/89)
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REV. WILLIAM EDWARD THOMPSON, JR., 45, charged with 21 counts of child sexual abuse, pleaded guilty in a plea bargain. The married father of 4 sons was headmaster at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church in Catonsville. He was charged with child pornography and molesting 7 boys, ages 11 to 16, in his home and on church property. A social worker reported him. (The Maryland Sun, 4/8/89)
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Indianapolis music minister REV. CLAYTON DUANE HEIL, 42, employed by Lighthouse Tabernacle, is being sued by a 14 year old choir girl for rape over a 3 month period in 1985. The suit also names REVS. WILLIAM W. and DAVID TOTMAN. Said a church official, " they're not just fighting us, they're fighting God." (Carmel News- Tribune, 4/5/89)
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Shawn Charles "Brother Dusty" Williams, 50, got 10 years in jail after pleading guilty to showing pornography and fondling 2 young boys. The preacher-plumber worked as a volunteer bus driver for the New Covenant Fellowship Church of San Antonio, picking up stray kids to take them to church. He blamed the " devil" for his crimes. (San Antonio Light 4/6/89)
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REV. THOMAS HUNT was convicted by a jury of sexually abusing a 5 year old girl and her 7 year old brother during visits in the rectory. He was children's choir director at the United Methodist Church in East Benton. The girl had nightmares before visits and asked her mother to make the minister " stop rubbing" Vaseline on her " privates." The boy added, " Believe her, mommy, he did it to me too." (Scranton Times, 4/4-7/89)
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PAUL ROSS INGRAM, 43, who formerly ran the Four Square Gospel Church, is charged with rape and statutory rape. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 4/4/89)
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JAMES CLIFTON NALLEY, a volunteer at Bible Baptist Church in Fernandina Beach, Fla., was charged with fondling 2 church girls, ages 9 and 11. Church members phoned police after a child reported the abuse. (Florida Times-Union, 4/4/89)
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Evangelist TONY LEYVA received a 20 year prison sentence on March 28 for child molestation and running a child prostitution ring. Federal Dist. Judge James Turk called him and his 2 partners " bad to the core." Leyva was previously sentenced to 2.5 years for sexually abusing 2 boys in Virginia. His religious accomplices RIAS EDWARD MORRIS, 27, got 15 years, and FREDDIE H. HERRING, 50, got 12 years. All were fined $5,000. Agents located at least 30 boys, some as young as 8, molested by Leyva in the past 20 years; some put the total at 800 victims. (New York Times, 3/29/89)
Leyva will reside in the Roanoke area; Convicted molester returning next week
book on BROTHER TONY'S BOYS
Parole for Leyva?
Tony's Boys
5 more men say they were molested by ministers
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Evangelist Freddie M. Herring convicted for running a child prostitution ring. (New York Times, 3/29/89)
book on BROTHER TONY'S BOYS
Tony's Boys
5 more men say they were molested by ministers
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Evangelist Edward Rias Morris convicted for running a child prostitution ring. (New York Times, 3/29/89)
book on BROTHER TONY'S BOYS
Tony's Boys
5 more men say they were molested by ministers
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A federal sting operation to find child pornographers/molesters yielded 6 arrests in Philadelphia, including Presbyterian minister JOHN MCVAY, 53. He allegedly solicited sex with 2 girls ages 9 and 12. He was charged with criminal solicitation to commit involuntary deviant sexual intercourse. He also sent a 15 year old girl obscene material and a letter soliciting sex. (Intelligencer-Record, 3/10/89)
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Former Salvation Army Capt. JACK HOLCOMB, 50, pleaded guilty to having intercourse with a girl under the age of 14 while heading the chapter. During his tenure, he received a community service award for trying to house and feed refugees in the Plattsburgh, NY area. (Syracuse Herald- Journal, 3/1/89)
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Radio preacher REV. FRED KENTON BESHORE, 63, of Newport Beach, Calif., was charged with influencing the testimony of a witness, a felony. He is accused of phoning the father of a girl reportedly molested by neurosurgeon Dr. Francis Williams, offering him $1,500 a month for 2 years if he would stop his daughter's testimony. Police taped offers. Charges against the neurosurgeon for molesting preteen and adult patients were dropped, but could be reopened. Beshore runs Bible Institute of the Air, buying bibles to smuggle into communist countries. (Orange Co. Register, 2/28/89; 3/1/89)
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"Popular, dedicated" youth pastor DOUGLAS BOUDINOT, 39, married with children, has been charged with 2 counts of rape while leading a Christian youth group in California. Santa Cruz authorities charged him with rape when a young woman reported that Boudinot had sexually assaulted her in 1983, when she was 17 and a member of Young Life. Professing medical expertise, he reportedly committed many of the assaults under the guise of conducting medical examinations. Washington police have also located victims reportedly abused while Boudinot worked as youth pastor at Kent Covenant Church, taking youth groups on overnight outings and trips to Germany and Mexico. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 2/23/89)
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PAUL SLATER, 64, a traveling evangelist, was charged with 4 counts of sexual battery after 8 and 12 year old sisters reported being molested and raped by him. Slater, a " trusted neighbor," befriended their family. An investigator said, " We encourage people to listen to what their children have to say. Many of these cases go on for months and years. " (Ocala Star-Banner, 2/18/89)
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Baptist minister HENRY BAZIL WATERS, 49, was convicted of fondling 3 young boys and untold others at the Grace Baptist Temple Church in Statesboro, Ga., and in his home and car. Waters' testimony that he " saved" youth through " sex instruction " matched testimony of the victims. Waters admitted fondling boys in Latin America, saying " I have no idea " how many children he had abused. Waters was given permission to attend church while free on bond. (Atlanta Journal, 2/18/89)
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Tulsa, OK. Tulsa District Court jurors on Thursday urged that Doy Dale Peninger spend six years in prison for making lewd advances to an 11-year-old child entrusted to his care. Peninger, a foster father since 1981, was convicted on two counts of making an indecent proposal to a child. The child, now 12, testified that Peninger asked him to perform sexual acts in exchange for $2. Peninger is a former associate pastor of Tulsa's Gleaner Tabernacle, 3615 W. 51st. (Tulsa World, 01/20/1989)
Jurors urge 6-year term
Parole Bid Denied Child Molester
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Baptist minister Henry Waters, convicted of sexually abusing young boys whose souls he claimed would be 'saved' through his 'sex instruction'. (1989, England)
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Rev. Thomas Welsch 39, and his wife accomplice were sentenced to 30 years in prison for a string of abuses on twin sisters (13) and a 17 year old girl, both members of his congregation. (1989, England)
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Minister Bernard Ponder 46, already on probation for the sexual abuse of boys now accused of sexually abusing a deaf boy. (1989, England)
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Cobb, GA. A Baptist preacher who established a Cobb County ministry after leaving two other churches amid allegations of sexual misconduct was arrested in Marietta Monday on charges of child abuse, police said. Cobb police arrested the Rev. Tony McGowan, pastor of the New Grace Baptist Church in Powder Springs, Monday on two counts of cruelty to children and one count of child molestation in connection with alleged fondling incidents involving a 12-year-old and a 17-year-old he met through his ministry. The allegations came to light after the youngest girl, now 14, told her mother that the minister, 43, fondled her in a church van. (The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 08-02-1988)
Preacher Charged With Child Abuse
Baptist Minister is Guilty of Molestation, Sexual Assault
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Robert D. Campbell, 20, a Mormon missionary from Idaho, was CHARGED with sexually assaulting two Tennessee sisters, ages 7 and 9, at a prayer meeting. David Campbell, of Nashville, president of the missionary program, told the press "That's not true." The thirty two year old woman said "I'll probably be excommunicated over this." She said David Campbell advised her not to call the police, although he denies that too. She also said church officials called her an hour after the missionary's release from jail asking permission for her daughters to "take a lie detector test." Said the mother: "He can deny it all he wants to. He told me not to tell anybody, and not to report it... He said the church's attorneys would look into it. (Idaho Statesman July 21, 1988)
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Oreste Victoriano Lopez, 60, was ARRESTED by Miami police for sexually assaulting male and female teenagers he met through his business, community and church activities. Victims said they were wooed by Lopez's kindness and financial generosity and his use of bible verses to justify his actions. He met youth at his church, West Flagler Park Baptist Church. Police found pornography, comic books, bibles, toys and children's clothes at his home, as well as 1000 files detailing children's lives. On his wall was a letter thanking him for his work with youth. (Miami Herald July 17, 1988)
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Elliot Lake, Ontario. Rev. Russel Nicolle, 50, an Anglican minister RECEIVED 8 months in jail for "repulsive, disgusting and degraded" sexual abuse of a 12 year old and 16 year old boy. Judge M.C. DiSalle said he "seriously breached" his position of trust as rector of St. Peter the Apostle Anglican Church. (Scranton Times 7/14/88)
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Todd S. Clark, 26, youth leader of the Royal Rangers boys' program at First Assembly of God church, Albany Oregan, was INDICTED for sexual abuse and sodomy of young boys. (Hamiltin Spectator (Canada) 7/9/88)
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Ralph W. Gantt, 26, youth leader of the Royal Rangers boys' program at First Assembly of God church, Albany Oregan, was INDICTED for sexual abuse and sodomy of young boys. (Hamiltin Spectator (Canada) 7/9/88)
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Gilbert Crowell, 27, commander of the Salvation Army in Burbank and an ordained minister with a wife and 3 children, was convicted on July 1 of molesting 3 girls inside the Army's office. He was convicted of 4 misdemeanor counts of child molestation and two counts of battery but was acquitted by a jury of 7 related charges.(Los Angles Times 7/2/88)
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Rev. James Anthony Colyn, 39, former pastor of the Glendale (Az.) Bible Baptist Church, received a sentence of seven and a half years in prison. Colyn was described by police as a "sexual predator" who molested a teenage girl who asked him for counseling because she was being abused by her stepfather. Colyn PLEADED GUILTY to a charge of attempted molestation as a plea bargain. He moved to Phoenix 12 years ago after resigning as youth pastor of Temple Baptist Church in Albuquerque, N.M. after admitting sexual involvement with a teenage member of that congregation. The Glendale church said they were not aware of that when Colyn was hired. (Phoenix Gazette 7/1/88)
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Rev. Russel Nicolle, 50, an Anglican minister from Elliot Lake, Ontario, received 8 months in jail for "repulsive, disgusting and degraded" sexual abuse of a 12 year old and 16 year old boy. Judge M.C. DiSalle said he "seriously breached" his position of trust as rector of St. Peter the Apostle Anglican Church. (Hamilton Spectator 6/30/88)
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Gilbert Crowell, 27, commander of the Salvation Army in Burbank and an ordained minister with a wife and 3 children, was CONVICTED on July 1 of molesting 3 girls inside the Army's office. He was CONVICTED of 4 misdemeanor counts of child molestation and two counts of battery but was acquitted by a jury of 7 related charges. (Scrantonian Tribune 6/29/88)
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Rev. Ronald Terry Litz, 50, of Riverside, Penn., sentenced to 2-5 years in jail for morals offences in Luzerne, Co., was sentenced in June to 6-23 months in the Northumberland Co. Prison on similar charges. He pleaded guilty Feb. 4 to 3 counts of corrupting the morals of minors. Litz, former pastor of the Danville Apostolic Church, molested 2 boys at a church camp. His sentences are concurrent. (Scrantonian Tribune 6/29/88)
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Richard J. Wagner, 26, a volunteer youth leader at the Warminister Hts. Community Church in Philadelphia, was charged with assaulting a 14 year old boy and 3 others between the ages of 7 and 15 years of age, all part of the church youth program. (Philadelphia Inquirer 6/27/88)
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Rev. Randall Wayne Brewer, a youth minister of Faith Community Church in West Covina, Calif., is charged with 3 counts of oral copulation with a Redlands teenager who said he was bribed and molested after being befriended at home Bible studies in 1985. The youth, now 17, testified that Brewer gave him $200 from a church checking account for running naked across an empty church hallway in a game called chicken. "I was told to tell everyone that I got the money for doing work at the church." (San Gabriel Valley Tribune 6/18/88)
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Rev. J.D. Henderson, 51, of Russellville, Ark., was convicted of molesting twin 6 year old girls, and sentenced to 4 years in prison. Henderson is an ordained Free will Baptist minister. (Little Rock Arkansas Gazette 6/10/88)
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Former Mormon missionary Arthur Gary Bishop, 36, was executed on June 10th in Utah for killing 5 boys (ages 4-13) for sexual gratification, saying he was "misled by Satan." (New York Times 6/10/88)
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Rev. Cleveland "Rapper" Mack, 24, of Tampa. Fla., was charged with sexually abusing 2 young boys during "Bible lessons", including a charge of sexual battery which carries a possible death sentence. He struck a boy in the face when he tried to flee. (Tampa Tribune 5/31/88)
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Rev. Thomas Streitferdt, 59, a white Pastor in charge of the mostly black 700-member True Church of God in Harlem, was charged with rape and sodomy of two young sisters (ages 14 and 16) in his congregation. Law enforcement officials charge that Streitferdt told females worshippers that they could end up in hell if they refused his sexual advances, and raped at least one woman during premarital counseling.... Members were told that if they were not buried under church auspices at an additional fee in the church cemetery that "they would not go to heaven." (New York Times 5/23/88)
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Rev. Joe Marino, host of Christian talkshow "Inner Visions" in Jacksonville, Fla., and youth minister/counselor at Beaches Chapel in Neptune Beach, plead no contest to custodial sexual battery and soliciting sex from a 16 year old member of his church. Other charges were dropped. The abuse was disclosed after a victim from the church had attempted suicide. (Florida Times-Union 5/13/88)
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A Duval county minister, Rev. Roy Lynn Gaskins of Edgewood Heights Baptist Church, was accused of forcing a 13 year old boy at gunpoint to have sex. (Florida Times-Union 5/13/88)
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The notorious Community Chapel & Bible Training Center, a sect based in Burien, Wash. near suburban Seattle, not only mentally abused children with doctrines of demonology and stunted education in their backward and repressive classrooms, but involved children in sexual abuse, according to reporter Mary Rothchild. The Center, besieged by civil suites by ex-members claiming abuse, including women charging sexual exploitation, recently deposed it founder Rev. Donald Lee Barnett on charges of promiscuous adultery. In 1986, after followers complained, Child Protective Services met with Burien officials, spelling out guidelines, for example, that the church policy condoning French kissing of children was unacceptable. Three counselors were convicted of failing to report child sexual abuse in 1987. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer 3/23/88)
Youth minister Richard Cole of Community Chapel and Bible Training Center in Burien, Washington, received prison time for molesting a 14 year old boy. A psychologist's report said Cole's religious beliefs allowed him to shirk responsibility for his own actions. (Source: Seattle Times, 7/29/87)
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Rev. William S. Barrett, a rector of Episcopal churches in Moreau and Fort Edward, New York, pleaded guilty to providing alcohol and drugs and showing pornography to two 14 year old boys with whom he engaged in oral sex. Barrett's crimes were particularly shocking to those who knew him since he had made a 20-year volunteer career of supposedly helping troubled youths. He was a certified foster parent for eight years, and had founded Project STRIVE in the late 1960s, a program for troubled youths. Barrett was known as a very religious man, who offered prayers during class reunions. (Source: Schenectady Gazette, 1/15/88)
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Rev. James Leech, an Episcopalian priest formerly at St. Paul's Church, Minneapolis, was charged with sexually molesting a 15 year old boy who came to him for religious instruction before confirmation in 1985. According to a complaint, he molested the boy at his house when his wife was away. Reports of other victims have surfaced, and a psychiatrist recommended treatment for a drinking problem. In February 1986 Episcopal church officials offered Leech a chance to sign a document saying that he would enter a program at the University of Minnesota for sexual evaluation and/or treatment, and that he would tell his wife everything. If he had signed it, they told Leech he would have been suspended rather than fired. Leech resigned and moved to Massachusetts with his wife. He was charged with criminal sexual conduct on a Minnesota warrant. The youth said that he had not reported the abuse earlier because he was "ashamed and embarrassed to talk about it." Although Minnesota law requires people who have professional relationships with suspected victims of child abuse to report it to authorities, a county attorney was apparently not pursuing the failure of Episcopal officials to report the case. (Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune, 1/9/88)
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1988: Church of England Vicar Michael Walter, already having served time for indecently assaulting little boys yet allowed to continue his clerical career by the church, is found guilty of further assaults on children.
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1988, Winchester, England. 2 Anglican vicars, a choirmaster, a solicitor and an already convicted child molester all jailed at Winchester Crown Court on 21 specimen charges of sexual abuse of boys as young as seven which were carried out on them at church outings, at the YMCA and in churchyards. The men made the children take an oath never to breathe a word of what was going on and paid them 1.00 for each session. Sometimes the children's private parts were beaten with a fly swatter.
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1988, Lancashire, England. Congregational Church Minister Garvock convicted of raping 4 yr. old girl.
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1988, England: Vicar Trevor Ward jailed for 7 years for using pornographic books to corrupt boys as young as eleven. Ward arranged sex 'threesomes'. Ward admitted offences of indecent assault, gross indecency and buggery over an 8 year period.
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Born Again Christian Tate who works for a religous magazine, confesses to seducing ten year old girl. (1988, England)
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A 'devout Christian; and a Sunday School teacher, Scott Williams, 29, admitted to raping a 13 year old girl and strangling and beating her to death. (1988, England)
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Rev. Joseph Got jailed for indecently assaulting a 10 year old boy and taking obscene photographs of him. Glos. Crown Court. (1988, England)
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Rev. Donald VanLiew, pastor of the First Christian Church, Kentland, Indiana, was sentenced to 300 hours of community service and five years informal probation for one count of child molestation. He was given such a light sentence because he had no prior record. Originally, his sentence was proposed as a $1 fine and court costs! That his friends and family did not regard the offense as a serious reflection on the minister was indicated by his mother's comment to the press: "This isn't easy for us to take. We have a reputation to maintain, and it's not true anyway." (Source: Journal and Courier, Lafayette-West Lafayette, Indiana, 12/23/87)
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Rev. Bill Peckham, of Springfield, Illinois, known nationally for his work with the poor and homeless through Contact Ministries, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and a reduced misdemeanor charge of sexually abusing a 14 year old boy. The victim, a ward of the state, reported the abuse on January 1, 1986. He was then "wired" to secretly tape-record conversations with the minister, which led to Peckham's arrest on January 5. Peckham also founded the Holy Fools Clown Ministry, which has chapters all over the nation. Although Peckham could have received three to seven years imprisonment for the felony charges, he was given only four years' probation, and was sentenced to a year in jail for the misdemeanor charge. (Sources: [Alton, Illinois] Telegraph, 12/3/87; Peoria Journal Star, 1/7/88)
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Ron J. Steckbauer, an Ocean Beach, California video arcade owner who ran a bible study group for boys and chaperoned them on weekend trips to Arizona, was arrested on molestation charges. Police believe there may have been more than a hundred individual molestations committed against 15 boys between the ages of 10 and 14 years. Steckbauer was also charged with failure to register with local police as a convicted sex offender. The bible study was reported to be his modus operandi and cover for finding victims. (Source: Los Angeles Times, 12/10/87)
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An American missionary and her daughter were stabbed to death near American Bible College in Yapeka, Liberia by Baptist seminary graduate Benjamin Moley Morris. He confessed, saying he killed the pair after the mother had caught him trying to molest the child. (Source: Sacramento Bee, 11/30/87)
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Rev. Billy Walker of Sheepfold Ministries shelter home for transient and displaced workers in Lamar, Colorado abused his position of trust in order to molest a seven year old girl. He received eight years in prison. He had fled the state upon discovery, but was arrested later in Lake City, Florida. The judge recommended that Walker receive counseling and treatment in prison for pedophilia. Walker had three prior felony convictions for child sexual abuse. (Source: Rocky Mountain News, 10/25/87)
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Rev. Robert Henry, of San Luis Obispo, California, a married man with two grown children, was accused of seven felony counts of child molestation, resigning from his position as Ventura church rector and dean of a school. Described as a "well-known and respected community figure," he was charged with molesting two boys in 1984 and 1985 during private counseling sessions at the school and church office. (Source: Los Angeles Times, 10/23/87)
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Rev. William Bosley of Kenosha, Wisconsin, was sentenced to 55 years in prison for sexually abusing a six year old girl in his church while her blind mother was cleaning the building. Bosley founded the Sunrise Church of God in Christ, Waukegan, Illinois, in 1969. He also pleaded guilty to sexually abusing the child's 12 year old sister in the home of their grandmother. The sentencing took into account Bosley's recent conviction for firing a gun into a car. He had served a 28-month sentence for sexual abuse of an 11 year old girl in Washington state 20 years before. Sentencing Judge Walter Block stated: "He took his position, duty and responsibility and used it to facilitate his criminal behavior." Assistant state attorney Victoria Rossetti, of Lake County, stated: "These people trusted him. He helped them, but he continuously violated these young girls." (Source: Chicago Tribune, 10/22/87)
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Rev. William Henwood, pastor of the Jericho Independent Church in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, pleaded no contest to charges of sexual contact with a 10 year old girl. He had molested her in his own home, as well as on the school bus he drove for the church. The little girl explained to investigators, "He'd drive with one hand." (Source: Scranton Times, 10/9/87)
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Rev. David Ray Miller was indicted for sexually molesting a little girl from his congregation for two years. "We can't weigh the damage," said Police Chief Larry Barmore. Yet her parents were so intimidated by the prestige of their daughter's assailant that they had to be talked into pressing charges. The exposure came none too soon. Miller had been in the process of opening a church elementary school. (Source: [Smithville, Texas] County Times, 9/24/87)
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Church elder Edward Scott Hartley of Community Chapel and Bible Training Center in Burien, Washington, had been told that a 12 year old girl had been sexually molested by her stepfather since she was four, but did not report this information to the proper authorities. The stepfather was eventually sentenced to 10 years in prison, no thanks to Hartley. Hartley was found guilty of violating Washington state law requiring that suspected child abuse cases be reported. King County Superior Court Judge Faith Enyeart ordered him to enroll in a 16-hour program on how to deal with family violence and sexual assault, and to report to her what he learned. (Sources: Peninsula Daily News, 9/18/87; Seattle Post-Intelligencer 12/2/87)
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Priest Rev. Francis Papworth, rector of the Santa Rosa Episcopal Church of the Incarnation, was sentenced to seven years for molesting several teenagers at his Windsor home. A $120 million lawsuit was filed against the Northern California Diocese of the Episcopal Church, claiming church leaders knew of Papworth's problems but failed to take action. (Source: San Francisco Chronicle, 9/12/87)
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Rev. Simon Douglas Jr., a minister at an East Spencer, North Carolina church, was charged with murdering a 13 year old girl. Her body was found gagged and bound with wires in a church parking lot. Douglas's record involved a sexual offense in Alabama in 1976. At that time, a babysitter wrote a testimonial that he was a "warm, gentle and courteous Christian-hearted young man who loves his wife and family." (Source: Charlotte Observer, 8/8/87)
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A minister in Santa Barbara, California was accused of sexually preying upon women molested as children, by offering them "special services" ostensibly to overcome painful childhood memories. (Source: Santa Barbara News-Press, 8/1/87)
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Rev. Jack Law, a Baptist minister in Nashville, was accused of molesting and raping three small sisters during church outings and visits, once raping a five year old girl under a church pew. He was also accused of molesting and raping the sisters at their family's home and during an outing arranged to help him distribute religious tracts. The girls had tried to tell their parents, but were not believed. "Being a preacher," the father said, "we thought he was a good man." Law killed himself in July 1987 when facing trial for abusing the three sisters. (Sources: Nashville Banner, 7/26/86; Tennesseean, 7/10/87)
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Rev. David Lee Taylor, of Grace Epworth United Methodist Church in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, was sentenced to two years in prison after admitting to two counts of sodomy involving a 10 year old boy he was assigned to help through the Big Brother program. Taylor also received eight years' probation and was fined $3,600, as well as being ordered to pay $100 to the victim compensation program. Taylor was the victim's "Big Brother." (Source: Tulsa World, 7/3/87; 10/15/87)
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A 16 year old Nashville boy filed a civil lawsuit charging that he was not only sexually assaulted at a children's camp but that others conspired to silence him. The boy had been recruited to work at the camp by Rev. Ron Teed, Family of Faith Lutheran Church. Following an assault by the minister, the complainant said he sought safety and protection from another counselor, who detained him on behalf of the minister. The boy reported that he was then subjected to an all-night meeting alone with his assailant. (Source: Tennesseean, 6/4/87)
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Episcopal priest and military chaplain Rev. Thomas Evans Dobson was convicted of pushing methamphetamines in exchange for sexual acts with young boys in Seattle's street culture. His attorney defended him on the basis of his religious career, and because he is a "family man who has children." Charges of pedophilia stuck in Dobson's case--but the abuse continued undetected for so long precisely because of the perceived incongruity of someone of his status victimizing homeless boys. (Source: Seattle Times, 6/4/87)
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A lawsuit against a clergyman who failed to report sexual child abuse was dismissed by a Denver judge. A young girl who was being assaulted by her adoptive father went to Rev. Lou Montecalvo for counseling. He told her to "get on your knees and pray for forgiveness" for violating the sanctity of her parents' marriage. The father eventually was sent to prison. The girl's attorney called the minister's behavior "an outrageous, intentional infliction of emotional distress on the girl." (Source: Denver Post, 6/3/87)
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Deacon James Nordgren, a Sunday School teacher at Sherwood Park Baptist Church in Irving, Texas, was indicted for aggravated sexual assault of three boys under age 14. He was charged with assaulting the boys at his home after showing them a book with a cover resembling a bible but which contained pictures of nude people. (Source: [Irving, Texas] Daily News; 5/21/87)
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Baptist minister James Luttrell, Bible Baptist Church, Bend, Oregon, was convicted of raping a six month old baby boy. The evidence was incontrovertible, yet another minister outspokenly defended him and paid for his legal help. (Source: Corvallis Gazette-Times, Oregon, 5/8/87)
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The Rev. Clyde L. Johnson, pastor of the largest Baptist church in Petersburg, Virginia and a popular city council member for 14 years, was convicted of the rape and sexual battery of four girls, aged nine to 16, in his congregation. Despite the conviction, and Johnson's cruel and slanderous statements about the young girls made in an effort to protect himself, he received continuous religious support, including prayers, rallies, money and special services. "The bottom line is that all of us . . . has [sic] some skeletons in his closets. That's not our job to judge. It's the Lord's job," said clergy supporter Rev. Kenneth Arrington of the Union Fellowship. One church member, Melvin Harwell, who was angered by this widespread support of a child rapist, commented: "Some people worship preachers." (Source: Washington Post, 4/24/87)
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Church youth minister Timothy J. Ganzel was spared a flve-year prison sentence (receiving one year in jail and probation instead), because the judge said he took into account a courtroom full of relatives, friends and church members. Ganzel molested a teenage boy in Wisconsin Grace Baptist Church, Racine, Wisconsin. (Source: Capital Times, 4/21/87)
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Rev. John S. Lower received three years unsupervised probation for molesting a girl, under age nine, during bible studies at her "home school." (Source: Tulsa World, 4/15/87)
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Wilson A. Mears, Jr., convicted of sexually assaulting his 14 year old stepdaughter, later became a Baptist pastor, and was granted a full pardon by the Florida cabinet. He sought the pardon for his 1977 crime in order to be allowed to serve as a chaplain for the state prison system. He had served 15 months in prison. "If I stood before my God and answer for my crimes, I can certainly stand before my governor and my Cabinet seeking their grace and mercy . . . I've tried to help men with the same crimes I had." He received an appointment as pastor of Pine Grove Baptist Church in Quincey. What does this favoritism say to rape and incest victims, and to imprisoned sex offenders? (Source: Florida Today, 3/8/87)
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Brazenly abusive behavior reportedly went unchecked for more than a year when Pastor Charles Brown of London Baptist Church, in Evergreen, Alabama, latched on to a teenaged boy and initiated a sexually abusive relationship by telling the boy he had a mental problem Brown could cure. The pastor's prescription: to get "closer," ply the boy with drugs, and move him into his own home and his own bedroom (the pastor's wife was relegated to their daughter's bedroom). Brown was convicted of a reduced misdemeanor charge in 1987 and was given a suspended sentence, although he was fired from his position as a public school teacher. (Source: Evergreen Courant, 9/25/86; 1987) Gary R. Martin, who had served as a minister and was a volunteer chaplain for the Indian River County Sheriffs office as well as the Vero Beach Police Department, was charged with molesting 13 boys. He had trusted positions in the community, including an appointment to the school district's sex education committee. His modus operandi was to tell victims he was researching children's growth for a doctoral thesis at Trinity Theological Seminary in Indiana. He pleaded no contest to sexually mishandling three of the 13 boys. In October 1987 he was sentenced to seven years in a state prison with an additional 13 years probation, and ordered to receive treatment for his pedophilia. (Source: Florida Today, 3/1/87; 10/31/87)
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Vicar Cecil Rothery, 63, sentenced to probation at Retford for indecently assaulting a teenage boy. 1987.
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Jehovah's Witness given 8 years at Chelmsford for raping two girls. Yeates chanted "Satan. Satan" whilst raping them and claimed the devil made him do it. 1987.
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Fred Beihl, an employee of the Oklahoma Conference of Churches, raped and sexually assaulted four little girls between the ages of eight and nine, and received a 240-year sentence--despite the testimony in his favor of several religious leaders including Episcopal Bishop Gerald N. McAllister. The judge said, "We're not going to have a fifth little girl that he rapes and sodomizes." (Source: Tulsa Tribune, 8/29/86)
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The grandmother of a minister who abducted an 18 year old woman for 24 days and raped and molested her, could only comment, "If you had seen him when . . . he preached, his face was just shining like an angel." This diabolical crime involved kidnapping Maria C. Smith from a shopping mail in Hattiesburg, Mississippi on July 9, beating her with belts and raping her, and imprisoning her bound-and-gagged in the trunk of a car for what a judge later termed a 24-day reign of "terrorism." On August 2, the assailant Rev. Karl Strahan and his father purported to discover the missing teenager, and were touted as heroes. Two days later police realized Strahan was the abductor. He had threatened Smith's life if she had not backed up his story. On February 6, 1987 he pleaded guilty to kidnapping and armed robbery in Forrest County, where he received a 25-year concurrent sentence. The same day in bordering Covington County where he had taken his victim, Strahan pleaded guilty to rape and sexual battery. He received a sentence of life imprisonment on the rape charges and 30 years on sexual battery to run consecutively. Strahan was a licensed Mississippi Baptist minister. (Sources: Jackson Mississippi Daily, 8/6/86; 8/8/86; Hattiesburg American, 2/6/87)
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Christian psychologist Charles Markham Berry, a married man with children, esteemed in his community as a war veteran and upstanding Christian, was convicted of child molestation and child pornography in Atlanta. He had founded his own Christian-oriented counseling clinic, where he preyed on troubled boys and orphans from the Christian City Home. He assured them that their parents or guardians were aware of his "treatment" methods. He took boys to a warehouse where he kept a camera, tripod and a mattress on the floor. When "treating" a convicted molester, Markham forced him to use his own name to order child pornography from Europe for Markham's use. He kept detailed accounts of his molestations on a computer. As US Attorney Stephen Cowen said: "He wrapped himself in religious piety, used his position in the church and the community to shield himself . . . to find children . . . to seduce them." (Source: Atlanta Constitution & Journal, 7/18/86)
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Rev. Gilbert Hewlett was convicted of the rape, assault and sexual abuse of his 16 year old daughter. The mentally retarded girl had scars covering her face and body. (Source: Dothan Eagle, [Alabama], 6/28/86)
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A mother in Tampa, Florida walked in on Rev. Fonville Gandy when he was placing his hands on her son's genitals. She accepted his (unacceptable) explanation that he was "discussing anatomy" with the youth. This mother realized the truth when Rev. Gandy was later arrested for other molestations, and she testified against him at his trial. Gandy was sentenced to five years in prison for molesting another 11 year old at the Ecumenical Counseling Center. (Source: Tampa Tribune, 6/26/86)
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Army chaplain Lt. Col. Anthony Longval was convicted of sexually abusing young women whom he hypnotized before abusing. "He's a hypocrite who prayed on Sunday, and preyed on young women during the week," said the Army prosecutor. (Source: Yakima [Washington] Herald Republic, 6/8/86)
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Baptist Rev. Bobby Harold Epps of Starke, Florida pleaded guilty in May, 1986 to performing a lewd and lascivious act in the presence of a child under the age of 16. He was convicted of fondling a girl in a church office, and masturbating in her presence when giving her a ride home following a church activity. (Source: Gainesville Sun, 5/28/86)
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Roswell, GA. The Rev. Rance Wellborn, the Roswell Minister accused of a murder prosecutors suspect is homosexually related, had been arrested twice in the past for sex crimes, but charges were dropped in both cases, witnesses testified Thursday. In one of the previous cases, the alleged sexual molestation of a teenage girl, authorities dropped the charge after pressure from influential members of Wellborn's church, witnesses said. (The Atlanta Journal and Constitution 05-23-1986)
Pastor previously charged with molestation
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Rev. Gordon Taylor of Keizer, Oregon was indicted for sodomy, sexual abuse and furnishing obscene material to minors. His reported victims were teenagers at a home for "wayward kids" which he directed. Charges were dismissed but prosecutors said they would reopen the case pending the location of a teenaged boy considered a key witness. (Source: Oregonian, 5/3/86; 6/17/86)
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Church deacon Harley Francis of Powers Drive Baptist Church in Orlando was convicted of molesting six girls, ages six to 13, whom he met through his Sunday School class. The elderly deacon bribed them with gifts and told the court he couldn't understand how people could misconstrue his "kindness toward children." (Source: Florida Today, 4/26/86)
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Mormon Sunday school teacher Thomas Eugene Dawkins was accused of "the worst case of sexual abuse I've ever seen during my 30 years in law enforcement," according to Richard County Sheriff Frank Powell of Elgin, South Carolina. "I'm not sure how a child can cope with something like this." Dawkins was accused of brutally torturing and raping a girl over a two-year period starting when she was 13, terrifying her into submission by cutting her, showing her body parts he kept in jars, and threatening to dissect her. Much of the abuse occurred during church outings, or during privately arranged meetings. Dawkins denied guilt, instead, according to reports, "praying and reading from the Book of Mormon." South Carolina Circuit County Judge John Hamilton Smith termed the abuse of a "sadistic and macabre nature." Dawkins was found guilty and sentenced to 60 years in prison in November 1986. (Source: [Columbia, South Carolina] The State, 4/25/86; 11/8/86)
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Rev. James Britton Myers, a Kenosha, Wisconsin minister, was convicted of the heinous crime of raping a little girl at his Christian school over a five-year period, starting when she was age five. Yet his Christian supporters from three states filled the courtroom, and one member of his congregation called the crime "one drop of ink in crystal clear water." (Source: Milwaukee Journal, 4/23/86)
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According to Bauer of the Crossroads Church of Christ, Charles Lucas, the 46 year old founder of the church was "abruptly terminated from the Crossroads Church of Christ for 'recurring sins in his life'. I was serving on the ministry staff that assisted in covering up the real reason for his termination--sexual perversion and homosexual activity with younger men in his ministry. Irrefutable evidence was presented to the elders of the Crossroads Church clearly depicting a pattern of sexual liberties taken by Lucas over an extended period of time."' (1986)
The Rise and Fall of Kip McKean & Chuck Lucas
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Rev. John Janney Sr. pleaded guilty to molesting three male foster children, following a wild attempt to elude authorities by fleeing to another state, during which time he tried to murder his wife and commit suicide. Ironically, as a pastor of the Calvary Bible Baptist Church, Bridgeton, New Jersey, he had been an outspoken opponent of humanist literature which he said would "corrupt the morals of youths." (Source: Bridgeton Evening News, 12/26/85)
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SAVANNAH, GA. Life was hard the year Larry and Betty Martin pressed charges against a minister of their church for sexually molesting their two sons. The wounds of the trauma itself were fresh and raw, the legal and psychiatric expenses were gutting their bank accounts and the cold shoulder from many former friends in Clayton County was almost unbearable. But after Jerry Sidell, the 26-year-old youth minister of the First Christian Church of Jonesboro, was convicted in the fall of 1983 after authorities said he confessed to molesting nine children, the Martins were confident the schism in their community would heal. (The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 10-06-1985)
The Martin family of Savannah, Georgia was hounded when they charged their youth minister, Rev. Jerry Sidell, First Christian Church of Jonesboro, with molesting nine children, including their two sons. "They just wanted us to keep it quiet, to let the church elders deal with it in their own way. It made me sick to think that if they hadn't gone to the police, that Jerry could go somewhere else and start raping more kids," said Mrs. Martin. A "friend" visited them to suggest they consider "sacrificing a few [their sons] for the good of all [the church]." She told the press, "I don't think it would be right for me to sacrifice my boys by clamming up, keeping quiet, moving out of the city, not doing anything in order to save the reputation of the church. I couldn't sacrifice my two boys for the sake of that church or anybody else." Sidell had molested their sons for two years. He pleaded guilty to four counts of child molestation and one count of enticing a minor for indecent purposes and was sentenced in September 1984 to 10 years. The Martins and another family sued the church and Sidell for $3 million to pay for psychiatric rehabilitation plus damages but settled with the church for less than $5,000, agreeing to seek no further legal action. On April 25, 1984 Sidell pleaded guilty to another count of abuse, stemming from an incident in which he had taken the older Martin boy to Stone Mountain Park and molested him in 1981. He received another 10 year sentence to run concurrently. Following the convictions, the Martins received abusive and threatening phone calls from church members. The family has since become active in the California-based Society's League Against Molestation. (Source: Atlanta Constitution, 4/26/84)
Family heals wounds over molesting case, reaches out to others
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Decatur, GA. DeKalb County police arrested a man Thursday who allegedly kidnapped and raped an 11-year-old girl and held her prisoner in his attic. James Pearson, 45, of 2938 Dale Place in Decatur, was charged with aggravated child molestation kidnapping, possession of cocaine, aggravated assault and three counts of rape. (The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 08-02-1985)
Suspect held in alleged rape of 11-year-old
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Griffin, GA. The leader of a fundamentalist church remained behind bars on child molestation charges Wednesday, the eve of a court hearing on allegations by church officials that law enforcement officers searched the "world headquarters" of the denomination without a warrant. The Rev. Norman LeGallienne, 47, general overseer of the Union Gospel Holiness Church of God, which claims 1,000 affiliate churches nationwide, was arrested at a revival meeting April 12 and charged with child molestation and aggravated sodomy. He has been unable thus far to post a $17,600 bond. (The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 04-25-1985)
Griffin minister held on molestation charge
Church leader jailed on molestation charge
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Rev. Wilbert Thomas, pastor of the Christian Alliance Holiness Church in Trenton, New Jersey, was indicted on charges of conspiring to control his congregation through criminal acts, including sexual assault, lewdness, involuntary servitude and beatings of women and children. He was convicted in 1985. (Source: Trenton Times, 2/83; 1985)
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Rev. John Gargano 67 convicted of 14 counts of rape, sodomy, sexual abuse and child endangerment. His four victims, who were repetitively abused said that the minister represented himself to them as the angel Gabriel. (1985)
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Pastor Herbert W. Armstrong of the Worldwide Church of God begun fondling and heavy petting his daughter Dororthy in 1933 when she was thirteen years old - around the same time that Pastor Armstrong now claims God was using him to found the modern era of the only true church. But he did not begin to "go all the way" with her until three years later. One day Dorothy returned home from a date with a young bank teller to inform her father that she had just been "half-raped". To her surprise, Pastor Armstrong was actually "elated" over the news. Pastor Armstrong decided it was time to show her how it was really done. From then on Herbert went "all the way". The year was 1936; Dorothy was 16 years old. Strangely, Dorothy has claimed her father later went on to become a good friend of the bank teller. (1985)
The Corrupt Leaders of the Worldwide Church of God
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Rev. James E. Wynn, pastor of Mount Pisgah Baptist Temple in Asbury Park, New Jersey, was sentenced to 22 years in prison for sexually assaulting two young girls who were members of his congregation. Wynn was diagnosed as a "compulsive, repetitive sex offender" by doctors who examined him. The girls ranged in age from nine to 13 at the time of the assaults, which occurred at church or in the minister's home. The pastor steadfastly maintained his innocence. His attorney Charles Frankel told the judge at the time of sentencing that his client "stands before your honor with a clear conscience head unbowed." The church fired him from his duties a month after his conviction. Superior Court Judge James Kennedy stated that "these offenses involved the most drastic breach of trust anyone can imagine." (Source: Newark Star-Ledger, 10/13/84)
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A Louisville, Kentucky pastor convicted of sodomy and sexual abuse of young boys testified anonymously before a Senate subcommittee in April, 1982, about hunting boys for sex. He recounted how he had cruised areas where teenaged boys congregate in St. Louis, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Cleveland and Louisville. He received a suspended sentence in March 1982 of 10 years in prison and was given five years' probation. (Source: Lexington Herald, 4/2/82)
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Mormon Sunday school teacher Art Phillips, 43, of Arizona, was arrested in March and arraigned in April for fondling a 15-year-old girl and "solicitation to commit commercial sexual exploitation of a minor"
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Rev. Carey Mavor, an Arizona Methodist, pleaded guilty to 1 count of continuous sexual abuse and 2 counts of lewd acts with a child under 14.
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"HORRIFIC" HARASSMENT IN CHURCH OF CANADA PROMPTS STUDY. The task force on sexual abuse, exploitation, and harassment urged the Church of Canada to develop a code of ethics for ministers because of ~horrific proportions" of sexual harassment in the church. The panel said women are more likely to be sexually harassed in the church than in the workplace. "A five-denominational study [in the U.S.] conducted in 1987 found 5.5% of therapists had sex involving intercourse with their clients, while 12.6% of clergy admitted to sexual involvement including intercourse with their parishioners," reported Rev. Peter Lougheed of Evanville, Ontario. Many ministers are engaging in personal counseling without any training or codes of ethics, said Walter Faquharson, moderator of the United Church.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Christian minister and evangelist Tony Alamo recently went to prison for tax evasion. During his trial it was discovered that he had "married" two fifteen-year-old children and was abusing them.
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Rev. Wilputte Alanson Sherwood admitted recently to having sex with 1,800 males since 1984, at least 22 of whom were under 18. He also kept records and videotapes of the sexual encounters. He was sentenced July 29 by Superior Court and was on PAID LEAVE until then.
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In Indiana, Rev. Raymond Weber is being sued. He allegedly used LSD and alcohol to seduce a teenage boy.
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In Iowa, the pastor of the Wesleyan Church is accused of placing an ad under the name "Diamond Dreams" and agreeing to sex for $150 with an undercover officer while DRESSED IN DRAG. Rev. Jennfrey Dean McKelvey quit his job after his arrest.
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In Kentucky, Rev. Earl Bierman attempted to seduce two boys by telling them all about other parishioners' confessions of sexual aberrations. He pleaded guilty to sexual abuse of 6 boys and was sentenced to 20 years.
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In January in Palm Harbor, Fla., a 41-year-old ex-pastor pleaded guilty to persuading his daughter, then age 6, to touch him sexually while he videotaped her.
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Church of Christ settles: The Rocky Mountain News reported that a Church of Christ church and & its former 59 year-old minister agreed to pay $300,000 to a man whom the former minister sexually assaulted during family counseling sessions. Earlier, a boy, now 17, was awarded $450,000 by a jury for similar charges. The minister has not been criminally charged.
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Civil suit filed against Methodist church: The News and Observer reported that a family in Dare County sued a Methodist minister for abusing their daughter, 11, as well as the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, a bishop and a reverend for knowing of his history of sexual misconduct but doing nothing about it.
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Woman sues Presbyterian church for negligence: The Tulsa Tribune reported that one of several girls who said a Presbyterian minister molested her is suing the church for failing to check his background before hiring him. Allegations of sexual crimes were made at his former position in Kansas. Charges allege that he molested the church girls, ages 4 to 14. The church posted his bond.
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REV. THOMAS V. COSSAIRT, 72, retired former pastor of First Baptist Church, Carter Lake, received a suspended 1 year jail sentence and 2 years' probation after pleading guilty to indecent contact with a child. A charge involving a 2nd child was dropped. He lives in Commerce, Okla. (Omaha World Herald)
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Three sisters from Okanogan County -- Juanita Funkhouser, Sheri Lewis and Janelle Larson -- alleged they were molested between 1969 and 1980 by Orin Wilson, a one-time deacon of their church, Calvary Baptist Church in Twisp. Wilson admitted to the abuse in letters before his death, according to court records. But the sisters claimed the church and its governing body, the Calvary Baptist Conference, were aware of Wilson's alleged abuse of other young girls and failed to warn or protect them.
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A plaintiff identified as "E.R.B." and his parents claimed the New Life Fellowship Church of God in Longview and its governing body failed to properly investigate associate pastor Rick Shaw's conduct after numerous allegations were made against him. Shaw was accused of sexually abusing E.R.B. for five years, beginning in 1985 when E.R.B. was 14 years old.
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Flint, MI. Eight women claim they were molested by Gerald E. Ney insuch places as the pastor's home, a bakery in Metamora and in the Liberty Baptist Church. Most of the victims told police of single incidents that dated back to 1978. Ney, 73, was charged with 1 count of 1st degree criminal sexual conduct, 4 counts of 2nd degree and 1 count each of 3rd and 4th degree criminal sexual conduct, as well as a criminal misdemeanor of allegedly being a sexually delinquent person. An investigation began after allegations from a girl, 16, were reported to police. Ney reportedly molested the parish member from 1993-94. The teen said she would sleep over at the pastor's home on Sundays and clean his house for money. She said he would sometimes molest her when his wife left on errands. (The Flint Journal)
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Jacksonville, FL. Trinity Christian Academy teacher Thomas Rake, 35, pleaded guilty to 1 count of lewd and lascivious conduct for fondling a girl, 13. (Jacksonville Times-Union)
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Episcopal priest Kenneth Behrel, was found guilty on Feb. 7 of abusing a 14-year-old boy at St. James School near Hagerstown, Md., in the 1980s, according to the Washington Post.
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Grangetown, England. A senior Church in Wales vicar has been remanded in custody by magistrates in Cardiff charged with serious sex offences against a young man more than 10 years ago. Canon Lawrence Davies, Vicar of St Paul's Church in Grangetown in Cardiff and an area dean of the city, is charged with the rape of a man, indecent assault of a boy under 16 and gross indecency with a boy under 16.
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