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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Concord, NH. Charles Gravenhorst, the self-described pastor who once preached his fringe Christian ministry on Concord Community TV, was arrested again yesterday, this time by federal agents for allegedly sending obscene material over the Internet and for using the Internet to induce teenage girls to engage in sex acts. Gravenhorst, 45, was charged earlier this year with sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in her Windham, Maine, home. The police said that he had met the girl over the Internet. (August 13, 2002, Concord Monitor)
Pastor arrested again on sex charges
http://www.cmonitor.com/stories/crime/2002/new_gravenhorst_arrest_2002.shtml
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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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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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Charlotte, NC. A worker at a Charlotte church after school program has pleaded guilty to four counts of taking indecent liberties with a minor. Investigators said Larry McCrae, 38, fondled three boys, 10 to 14 years old during the after school program at the Chapel of Christ the King Church on East 17th Street in Charlotte. (July 2, 2002, NBC6-TV)
http://www.nbc6.com/news/local/nbc6-070202-ag-mccrae.3f88315a.html
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Fort Waye, IN. A 65-year-old former church elder of Calvery Temple was arrested Friday and charged with molesting a teen-age boy he had taken to movies and ballgames in 2000, police said. (July 1, 2002, The Journal Gazette)
Ex-church elder charged with molesting
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/fortwayne/2002/06/30/news/3579693.htm
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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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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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Baker, LA. A Baker minister accused of molesting four children is being sought after failing to surrender to East Baton Rouge sheriff's officials Thursday. An East Baton Rouge Parish grand jury indicted McFarland on Wednesday on four counts of sexual battery, two counts of oral sexual battery, four counts of molestation of a juvenile, four counts of aggravated crime against nature and two counts of second-degree kidnapping. 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. (June, 14, 2002, The Advocate)
Rev. McFarland arrested on multiple counts
Newspaper Report
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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 sentneced to 70 years
Troy Brown sentenced on 25 counts DeKalb minister remains defiant
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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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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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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 State Univ.)
Former Youth Minister pleads Guilty
Ex-youth leader admits abuse
Report: Sex Scandal Brewing at Riverside Church
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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. Saturday, November 10, 2001.
Youth pastor faces charges, arraignment lists sexual abuse count
Church rebuilding faith after pastor's disgrace
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DENVER, CO. - 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
Church Problems
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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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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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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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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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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; Bucks County Courier Times
http://www.phillyburbs.com/couriertimes/news/news/897306.htm
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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)
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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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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)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/fndl12ww.shtml
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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 skesman 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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Two South Carolina preachers - the Rev. Johnny William Cabe and the Rev. Shelton Joel Shirley, both of Hisway Ministries - were charged with bilking believers out of $7 million in an overseas investment fraud(unknown 3/24/2000)
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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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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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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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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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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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Youth pastor faces charges
Arraignment lists sexual abuse count
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, 2002) Youth pastor faces charges
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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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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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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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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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BOSTON - A mother, her son and another man have been charged with trying to bilk the Archdiocese of Boston out of $850,000 by claiming sexual abuse against a priest.
Sean Murphy, 35, his mother, Sylvia, 57, and Byron Worth, 41, have been indicted on conspiracy and attempted larceny charges. The trio claimed that Worth, Sean Murphy and his brother were sexually abused by a priest when they were children, said the State Attorney General. In 1998, Sean Murphy allegedly sought $850,000 from the archdiocese.
Police determined that at the time of the alleged abuse, neither Murphy nor Worth lived in the community where the abuse supposedly occurred. To support the scheme, Sylvia Murphy created phony school records showing that the family had lived in the town more than two decades ago, the DA's office said.
An archdiocesan spokesman said no payments were made. Murphy's brother, whose name was not released, was not charged. AP, 2/25/00
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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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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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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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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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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).
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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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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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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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)
ALBUQUERQUE, NM. - A former Church of Christ minister has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for torching or vandalizing 4 Mormon churches, including one where his ex-lover was the organist.
Prosecutors said Walter Grassie, 50, went on his rampage because he was upset when the organist, Sharlene Jensen, broke off their 8-year affair in 1998, saying her Mormon faith bars her from getting a divorce.
Grassie was also ordered to pay nearly $3 million in restitution to the Mormon Church. Grassie, who spent 25 years as a Church of Christ preacher, was separated from his wife and working on his father's farm at the time of the vandalism.
He was convicted of burning a church in Roswell and splashing paint, spraying graffiti or destroying furniture at 3 other churches. Grassie also was convicted of burning a car belonging to Jensen's son.
Prosecutors said Grassie's actions were part of a campaign of violence against the Jensen family and Mormons in general. Grassie's lawyers said his brain was "poisoned by love" and asked that he be sent to a prison hospital for treatment. The judge granted the request. AP 7/21/99
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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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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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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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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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LOS ANGELES - A synagogue official deported from Canada after mailing child pornography to an undercover FBI agent was sentenced here to 15 months in federal prison.
Stuart Friedman, 45, who served as the cantor of a synagogue in Canada, also must undergo three years of supervised release after finishing his prison term. Friedman pleaded guilty in Nov. to one count of distributing child pornography, which carries a maximum 15-year prison term. The judge ordered him to begin serving his sentence April 12.
Friedman, who is originally from Philadelphia, had been a synagogue cantor - the individual who leads a congregation in song - in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In Nov. 1996, he mailed two computer disks containing 13 images of boys having sex to an undercover FBI agent in Long Beach. He was convicted in 1997 at Nova Scotia Provincial Court of possessing child pornography and deported to the United States. Friedman moved to Baltimore, where he was arrested in Aug. on the federal charge of distributing child pornography. LA Times, 3/2/99
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TAMPA - A judge has placed a church on 5 years' probation and fined it $5,000 as part of a plea agreement over allegations of trafficking in food stamps and dealing in stolen property.
As part of the deal with prosecutors, Deeper Life Christian Church was also ordered to pay $21,710 to cover the cost of a sheriff's office investigation into the allegations of food stamp fraud.
In exchange for the church's guilty plea, prosecutors dropped all charges against the church bishop, Melvin B. Jefferson Sr., and his second in command, Brenda Houston Lanier. "As far as we know, this is the first time in the state of Florida that a church has been convicted as a felon," an assistant state attorney said.
Five other Deeper Life ministers, including the sons of Jefferson and Lanier, also entered guilty pleas and were sentenced to probation. Investigators claimed that the church laundered up to $20,000 a month in illegally obtained food stamps through two meat markets it owns.
Deeper Life ministers were accused of buying meat for the meat markets that an informant had told them was stolen and of accepting food stamps as tithes and payment for services from the church. Authorities said the food stamps came from church parishioners and probationers assigned to perform court-ordered community service at the church. AP 6/8/99
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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, 5/1299
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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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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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NEW YORK CITY - A prominent Hasidic rabbi has been charged with making death threats against a 22-year-old woman to keep her from testifying that her father raped her as a child.
Rabbi Bernard Freilich, 47, allegedly went to the woman's home earlier this year and told her he "would teach her a lesson and send her to the cemetery" if she took the stand, court papers said. A grand jury indicted Freilich on felony charges of witness-tampering, witness intimidation, and harassment. If convicted, he would face up to 4 years in prison.
Freilich had pleaded not guilty in May to misdemeanor charges in the same case. His lawyer said he will enter the same plea when he's arraigned on the more serious charges next month. The attorney described his client as a community leader who prides himself on his connections to law enforcement. Before he was first charged, Freilich had been a special assistant to a superintendent in the New York State Police.
The lawyer said Freilich does not know his accuser, whose name was not released. But prosecutors have said the rabbi and the woman's father are close friends. The father was charged in Feb. with first-degree rape, incest, sex abuse, and harassment in the pending criminal case. He was arrested again on April 22 after allegedly violating an order of protection by pounding on his daughter's door and warning her it would be her last day unless she withdrew her accusations.
Prosecutors say that three days later - with the daughter about to testify before a grand jury - Freilich went to her home and threatened her; allegedly repeating the threats the next day. Another Borough Park man also has been charged with trying to get the woman to drop the charges AP 6/24/99
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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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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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MANASSAS, VA. - A former minister was convicted of suggesting to a parishioner that they kill each other's wives.
James Elrod Ogle, 46, entered Alford pleas to charges of attempted capital murder and solicitation of a felony. In an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges that prosecutors have enough evidence for a conviction.
Ogle, former pastor of the defunct Bull Run Bible Fellowship in Manassas, will remain jailed without bail until his sentencing. He could get up to life in prison.
Police said that during a Feb. 24 telephone conversation, Ogle suggested to Scott Jinks that they commit murders for each other. Ogle was counseling Jinks and his wife about their marriage at the time. Jinks told police, and testified against Ogle during a preliminary hearing.
Prosecutors say Ogle typed instructions on how Jinks should kill Ogle's wife, suggesting a drive-by shooting at night while Ogle was driving and his wife was in the passenger seat.
The documents also instructed Jinks to wear gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints, prosecutors said, and asked how much it would cost to buy a silencer, adding that he would "be glad to pay for it." AP 6/28/99
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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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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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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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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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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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BOSTON - The state Dept. of Social Services is seeking more than 50 foster children 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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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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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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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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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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MILWAUKEE - 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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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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BURLINGTON, VT. - A Greek Orthodox priest has reported to jail to begin serving a six-month sentence for fondling a 12-year-old girl, but is still claiming he's innocent. "This is no way to treat a priest," Fr. Emmanual Koveos, 62, said as he arrived at jail.
In lengthy statements Koveos, his wife, and his son, talked about mistakes and possible improper conduct by the judge, jury, defense attorney, police and the victim and her family. (6/18 Associated Press)
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SEATTLE - Rev. Jeff Smith, 59, better known to his PBS cooking show fans as "The Frugal Gourmet" has agreed to settle sexual abuse lawsuits with 7 men before the cases could go to trial.
The lawsuits accused the chef of using alcohol, intimidation, and force to obtain sex from the mid 1970s until 1992. All the men are former employees of a restaurant Smith once ran.
No new Frugal Gourmet shows have been broadcast since the accusations surfaced in 1996. (7/5 USA Today)
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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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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. (4/28/98)
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DENVER - A former 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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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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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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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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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 16 when 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. (5/13/98, AP)
Lawsuit claims church camp hired convict who molested boy
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DALLAS - A former rabbi accused by three women of improperly touching them decades ago apologized for "a very dark chapter in my life".
Rabbi Max Zucker, the longtime head of a synagogue begged for forgiveness when confronted recently by one of the women he is accused of touching. The woman, her husband and parents said Zucker, 73, did not dispute her account that he touched her genitals.
In an interview, Zucker sometimes denied improper touching and sometimes said he couldn't recall any. The three accusers - all middle-aged women - told the newspaper Zucker repeatedly molested them when they were between 11 and 13 years old. "I beg their forgiveness," Zucker said. "I don't recall any such thing ever happening. If they imagined it or if it was fact, I'm certainly sorry."
Meanwhile the synagogue's board has hired a lawyer to examine how its current rabbi responded to the allegations against his predecessor and longtime associate, officials said.
When the women went public they said that Rabbi Cohen seemed unwilling to investigate and offered them little help. He disputed that assertion but acknowledged that he never confronted Zucker and recently allowed him to perform a wedding at the synagogue. 5/20/98
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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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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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BURLINGTON - A former priest of the Greek Orthodox Church will serve six months in jail for molesting a 12-year-old girl. Despite being convicted by a jury, Fr. Emmanuel Koveos, 62, continues to proclaim his innocence. He has been ordered to begin serving his sentence June eighth.
The church has gone to court trying to evict him from a parish rectory. Koveos has ignored repeated orders from his bishop to move out of the rectory, according to letters filed with court eviction papers. Koveos was asked to leave last spring, a few months after he was accused of fondling the girl he was tutoring at the church, said the lawyer for the church. Koveos was convicted of those charges earlier this year.
The parish and the Greek Orthodox Diocese of Boston are upset at Koveos' refusal to follow the bishop's instructions. They worry it might financially ruin the church, which is renting a home for the priest who has replaced Koveos.
An eviction hearing in Superior Court was set for late May. A tribunal of the Greek Orthodox Church will consider Koveos' future as a priest after the sentencing. The Spiritual Court for the diocese, consisting of three to five religious members, could take a range of actions, including stripping Koveos of his priestly duties. The court also can consider other allegations that surfaced since his arrest. A New Hampshire woman has given a sworn statement about sexual misconduct, according to records. (5/22/98)
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WENATCHEE - It has been more than two years since pastor Roby Roberson promised to get even. In December 1995, a jury cleared Roberson and his wife, Connie, of charges they'd raped five children in their home and small, run-down Pentecostal church. Since then, Roberson has turned his church's food bank into a legal war room, becoming the most tenacious critic of the now infamous Wenatchee child-sex-abuse investigations. His weapons are copiers and fax machines, court hearings and media interviews. Roberson, 53, claims he is seeking justice for himself and advocating the liberty of more than a dozen people he says were targeted by a vindictive, manipulative police detective and a group of accomplices in the state's child-welfare department.
He, his wife and six others are suing Wenatchee Police Detective Bob Perez, child caseworkers, and the city, county and state agencies where they work for allegedly violating their civil rights. The complicated case includes overlapping charges against 11 individuals. Together, the plaintiffs are asking for $70 million in damages.
The trial, after three years of media attention on Wenatchee, will take place in Seattle. The civil suit directly involves only a handful of those caught up in the investigations. But it promises answers to the lingering question: Did a routine sex investigation turn into a witch hunt against innocent adults?
It all began in 1995. The allegations of unthinkable child sex abuse, including sex parties in homes and at the Pentecostal church, first sprung up in 1995, while Perez was serving a two-year stint as Wenatchee's only sex-crime investigator. It has since become all but impossible to tally the victims and the guilty.
The cases have touched 17 families, with nearly 40 children still separated from their biological parents, either placed in foster care, therapeutic care, adopted into new homes or living on their own.
All told, 29 adults were charged with child sex abuse in cases commonly linked by the children making the allegations. Some were accused of incest against their own children.
Others were linked to broader secrets - now widely discounted - in which adults were said to swap children in loosely organized sex rings, described by some as "The Circle." Of those charged with various types of sex crimes, 15 pleaded guilty, five were convicted by juries and three, including the Robersons, were acquitted. Charges against six others, including Rodriguez, were dropped.
Police, caseworkers for the state's Child Protective Services office and prosecutors say their investigations were solid. They argue that some children show medical signs of abuse, that some suspects have never recanted their confessions. Prosecutors contend that, despite wider sex-ring allegations, they limited the scope of criminal charges to gain case-by-case convictions. They argue, in other words, that something bad happened to children in Wenatchee. But the outraged protests that accompanied the arrests have only grown louder. Led by a rogue cop, critics say, authorities ran roughshod over people's rights, then closed ranks to cover themselves. Now momentum is shifting.
There are increasing criticism that at least some of the accused, including many vulnerable by virtue of poverty and low intelligence, were victimized by an overzealous prosecutorial system. In February, an appeals court overturned the conviction of the only woman found guilty of charges that actually included allegations of the broader sex ring. A March investigative report by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer maintains that, at most, six or seven children likely were abused by parents, neighbors or school acquaintances. Otherwise, the newspaper maintains, adults were unfairly prosecuted. A judge specially appointed by the state appeals court sharply criticized techniques used by Perez and other investigators, recommending two convicted adults be retried. Perez led investigation.
Attorney General Janet Reno, whose office conducted a cursory review of the cases in 1996, has said the Justice Department will take a closer look. But critics of the investigation look to the Robersons' upcoming civil trial as their best chance for rehabilitation. (4/6/98)
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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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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)
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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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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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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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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) style='font-style: normal'>
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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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SEX ABUSE CASE SPURS CHURCH INTO ACTION. Less than a week after one of its former youth group workers was charged with child molestation, a Cumming church held a closed meeting Sunday to reassure members. "We plan on addressing this head-on," Drew Grubbs, the executive pastor of Calvary Chapel North, said in an interview. Grubbs said that when the church hired Adam Lee Gilliam, 28, of Sugar Hill, as a part-time administrative assistant, it did not know a Cobb County grand jury had indicted him on two counts of child molestation. "This guy had glowing references from church leaders in Atlanta," Grubbs said. "We didn't know what everybody knows now." Gwinnett police say Gilliam, who also worked with youth groups, persuaded a 12-year-old boy he met at the church to have oral sex by showing him pornographic pictures and reading what he said was Biblical Scripture from his computer. The boy got permission from his parents to accompany Gilliam to softball games, police said, and Gilliam took the boy home with him afterward. The child told police that during the sleep-overs Gilliam crawled into bed with him and molested him, police said. the boy also told police that Gilliam "read Scripture off of the computer that said it was all right for them to be doing these acts," according to a search warrant affidavit. Police said they did not know what passages Gilliam could have been citing. Gilliam was charged with 16 felony counts of child molestation and aggravated child molestation. He is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing Tuesday in the Gwinnett County Detention Center, where he is being held without bond. By Larry Hartstein, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - 12/15/97
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A couple who coordinated youth activities at Mount Hermas Church of God in Sugar Hill, Marcus and Janice Bellew, allegedly seduced a 14-year-old girl from the church and had group sex with her, police said. Church officials did not return repeated phone messages. By Larry Hartstein, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - 12/15/97
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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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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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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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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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PETALUMA - A former rabbi faces up to 8 years in prison after pleading no contest to a felony molestation charge involving a 12-year-old girl.
Two misdemeanor molestation charges were dropped against Rabbi Sidney Goldenberg, 58, after the he entered the plea.
The assistant District Attorney said no deals were made on Goldenberg's sentencing, who said he would solicit statements from several adults in New York who say they were molested by Goldenberg as children. They would be considered during sentencing. (6/19/97
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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.)
http://www.nunanet.com/~nunat/week/71128.html#1
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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 Plint decades 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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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
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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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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". 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.
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PASTOR OUSTED FROM 4,500-MEMBER CHURCH. Pastor David Hocking of Calvary Church in Santa Ana was forced to resign after confessing to an affair with a married woman. Hocking, 51, is married with grown children. Source: _National & International Religion Report_ 10/19/92.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 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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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.
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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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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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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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"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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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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"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.
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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.
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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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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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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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"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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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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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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1991, England: Pentecostal Religious teacher who already had convictions for indecency against chldren was allowed to teach bible classes at a Cornwall church and used his position to sexually assault an 8 year old boy who attended his classes.
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1991, England: Minister Alfred Gatehouse 62, sentenced to 10 years for sodomy and soliciting paid sex with teenage girls.
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1991, England: Reverend S Pusateria 40, sentenced to 6 years for criminal sexual assault. He molested his victim repeatedly for over a year.
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1991, England: 51 yr old Minister's Wife convicted of inducing a minor in her foster care to engage in sexual intercourse.
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1991, England: Evangelist preacher Alan Bradley of Skipton convicted of indecent behaviour. Caught by police after revealing himself to young girls wearing a rubber penis and false breasts.PAUL ROSS INGRAM, 43, who formerly ran the Four Square Gospel Church. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 4/4/89)
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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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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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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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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)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 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
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 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
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 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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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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" 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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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. 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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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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GEORGE DEGOLYER, 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. 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. 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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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. 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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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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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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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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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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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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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. 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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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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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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Born Again Christian Tate who works for a religous magazine, confesses to seducing ten year old girl. (1988, England)
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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)
Family heals wounds over molesting case, reaches out to others
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)
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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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Griggin, 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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"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.
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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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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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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.
