Baptist minister rapes 15 year old girl
http://beta.kpix.com/news/local/2001/12/11/Oakland_Minister_
Accused_of_Rape.html
Minister Jailed during rape trial
http://www.free-essays-free-essays.com/dbase/2e/cia61.shtml
Baptist minister and wife convicted
http://www.nospank.net/n-g09.htm
Baptist minister faces five counts of statutory rape
http://www.hannibal.net/stories/032102/tri_0321020011.shtml
Baptist preacher and his wife sentenced to 179 years for the rape and torture of Elsa Garcia
http://www.sullivan-county.com/nf0/combs/
Associate pastor charged with rape of 15 year old girl
http://www.wkrg.com/news/local/MGBRUOX2S6D.html
Pastor charged with rape of two daughters
http://www.inq7.net/met/2001/apr/04/met_7-1.htm
Pastor to stand trial on sex abuse charges
http://relfrauds.www4.50megs.com/christianity/pastormolest2.html
Associate pastor charged with rape
http://www.wkrg.com/news/local/MGBRUOX2S6D.html
83 Baptists Preachers and a Para Tree
First Baptist is a congregation that reveres its pastor. And so a dozen church elders decided unanimously that pastor Rev. Lawrence French, who says he is innocent, should remain as pastor. Convinced that the 72-year-old pastor could not have committed the alleged offenses, they also concluded that it would be unfair to French to notify other members of the church about the allegations. (The Boston Globe, November 1, 2002)
Paster Convicted by Synod, but Congregation doesn't believe Pastor is guilty
http://www.voy.com/122092/10/French1.htm
Congration wants Paster to Remain
http://www.voy.com/122092/10/French2.htm
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OLNEY, Ill. If things had gone as planned, 35-year-old Leslie Mason would have preached the keynote sermon at this year's annual meeting of the Illinois Baptist State Association Nov. 7. Instead the former pastor of Olney Southern Baptist Church faces 10 counts of criminal sexual assault involving two teenage girls who attended his southeastern Illinois congregation. (October 24, 2002, ABP)
Baptist Pastor charged with criminal sexual assault of two teenagers
http://www.voy.com/122092/10/Mason1.htm
http://www.baptiststoday.org/btns11_8b.html
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Austin, TX. A former youth minister faces up to 20 years in prison after he was convicted of nine counts of child sexual abuse. Charles Richard Willits, Jr., 44, a former youth minister at Great Hills Baptist Church, was convicted Saturday. Sentencing was scheduled for Monday. (October 18, 2002; Abilene Reporter-News)
Youth Paster Convicted in Criminal Court
http://www.voy.com/122092/10/Willits.htm
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Fresno, CA. A southwest Fresno pastor has been arrested on suspicion he had a four-year sexual relationship with a teenage boy nearly 20 years ago, Fresno police confirmed Monday. Calvin Eugene Moore, 45, a pastor at King Solomon Baptist Church, was arrested for an alleged sexual relationship he had with the boy, police said. Moore remains in the Fresno County Jail in lieu of $550,000 bail. (The Fresno Bee; October 16, 2002)
Paster Arrested
http://www.voy.com/122092/10/Moore1.htm
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RALEIGH, N.C. A Southern Baptist missionary who was fired for abusing children in Indonesia is working at a Raleigh church where the minister knew of his past. (June 28, 2002; AP)
Molester Paster Knowingly Hired by another Church
http://www.voy.com/122092/10/Mcelrath1.htm
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Gastonia, SC. GASTONIA - A local youth minister has been charged with three counts of taking indecent liberties with a minor, police said Thursday. Marty Eugene Meadows, 34, worked as a minister at the Sunset Lane Baptist Church in Bessemer City, police said. Meadows appeared before a magistrate and a judge Wednesday, and was released after posting a $3,000 bond. "There are multiple victims," said Capt. Tony Robinson, a spokesman with the Gaston County Police. "He was touching them in an inappropriate manner." (June, 14, 2002, The Charlotte Observer)
Youth minister faces sex charges
http://www.voy.com/122092/10/Meadows1.htm
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/states
/north_carolina/counties/gaston/3466742.htm
____________________________________________
Gastonia, SC. On Wednesday, Lincoln County pastor Dewey "Eddie" White was found guilty in district court of propositioning a 15-year-old girl, prosecutors said. The charge was soliciting to commit a crime against nature, said Kay Killian, a Lincoln County prosecutor.(June, 14, 2002, The Charlotte Observer)
Pastor of Heavenly View Full Gospel Baptist Church
http://www.voy.com/122092/10/White1.htm
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/states/north_
carolina/counties/gaston/3466742.htm
_____________________________________________
Syracuse, NY. David Gardiner, the Pastor of Liverpool Baptist Church, was arraigned on sexual abuse charges on Wednesday. Gardiner, 43, eluded a police swat team and dozens of sheriff�s deputies for more than eight hours from around 5:00 pm Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. Sheriff Kevin Walsh says Gardiner is accused of having sexual contact with a girl who is under age 11. Court documents show the allegations do not involve anyone outside the Gardiner home. According to Sheriff Walsh, the investigation began when Gardiner�s wife Deborah contacted his department. Gardiner also taught Bible study and economics classes at the Baldwinsville Christian Academy; he has been fired from the job in the wake of the sex abuse allegations. (March 8, 2002, WTVH news)
Minister flees law after sex abuse charges
http://www.voy.com/122092/10/gardiner1.htm
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/news/0501story115953_news.shtml
____________________________________________
A survey of SBC pastors published in the Winter, 1993 edition of The Journal of Pastoral Care, done by Jeff Seats, an SBC pastoral counselor, revealed that 14.1% of ministers surveyed admitted to "engagement in sexual behavior which was judged by the individual pastors to be inappropriate for a minister."
___________________________________________
Oakland, CA. A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Reverend Charles Thomas of the Foothill Missionary Baptist Church. Thomas is accused of having sex with a 15-year-old girl from his congregation during a month-long period in the fall. Thomas reportedly called a special meeting with church members last week and admitted that the charges were true. If convicted, he could face up to eight years in prison. (12-11-2001; KPIX TV)
Reverend sought in crime
http://www.voy.com/122092/10/Thomas3.htm
KPIX report
http://beta.kpix.com/news/local/2001/12/11/Oakland_
Minister_Accused_of_Rape.html
Beginning at age 11, Esther Combs was regularly sexually abused by her father. She said he told her that King David had concubines, so this behavior was condoned by the Bible. Esther, her three brothers and two sisters were home-schooled. No visitors were allowed into the home � not even parishioners. A later search of the property found it was filthy, garbage and rat-infested and inhabited by caged cats and dogs. The pungent odor was still faintly there last fall when the detective took me and our cameras on a tour of the place. Richmond pointed out the basketball floor where, she says Esther Combs "was beaten with ropes, chains, whips, umbrellas, bats." (ABC News, Oct. 18. 2001)
In November 1998, Joe and Evangeline Combs were indicted on multiple charges of aggravated child abuse, assault and kidnapping; Joe was further charged with rape. Last spring, both were found guilty and sentenced to prison terms that will likely keep them behind bars for the rest of their lives.
How Esther Combs Finally Escaped a Lifetime of Abuse
http://www.voy.com/122092/10/JoeCombs1.htm
http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/primetime/2020/primetime
_esthercombs_feature.html
___________________________________________
ABC released excerpts, including Heche's revelation that she spent the first 31 years of her life suffering from mental illness triggered by sexual abuse by her father. Heche says she was sexually abused by her father from the time she was a toddler until she was 12. Donald Heche, a choir director in a Baptist church who frequented gay bars, died of AIDS in 1983. (USA Today; Sept. 4, 2001)
Anne Heche sexually abused by father, a Baptist choir Director
http://www.voy.com/122092/10/AnnHeche1.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/life/2001-09-04-heche.htm
___________________________________________
TAMPA - A one-time Baptist church deacon was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for what the FBI called "cyberterrorism"that targeted young women on the Internet.
Robert Harvey Alexander, 52, had assembled a list of 100 e-mail addresses of high school and college students and demanded they have sexually explicit conversations with him or he would ruin their reputations, court records said.
Alexander, who was a deacon at First Baptist Church in Tampa at the time of his arrest, also taunted his victims by telling them that police couldn't find him. FBI agents arrested him last Nov. at a computer terminal at a Tampa public library.
Alexanderuilty to 6 counts of extortion. His attorney argued that Alexander suffers from bipolar disorder and didn't fully understand what he'd done. AP 10/7/2000.
Cyber-Extortion Results in Prison Sentence
http://www.voy.com/122092/10/RobertHarveyAlexander2.htm
(http://net4tv.com/voice/story.cfm?storyid=2931)
CHURCH DEACON FACES MULTIPLE CHARGES
http://www.voy.com/122092/10/RobertHarveyAlexander1.htm
(http://faculty.csumb.edu/mountfordcarolin/world/cst371/history.html)
___________________________________________
A former Burlington pastor charged with sex crimes has left his Danville, Va., church after reportedly admitting to deacons there that he acted inappropriately with a child. Many members of the Danville church pastored by the Rev. James Preston Tyndall were shocked Sunday to learn that he had been charged with six felony sex crimes Thursday and had resigned Friday evening. �I would say our people were shocked. But some of them had heard about his arrest on TV prior to the Sunday service,� Bruce Hutcheson, chairman of the deacon board at Stokesland Baptist Church, said Monday of Tyndall�s departure. Hutcheson and other deacons who met with Tyndall after his release from the Alamance County Jail have said that he admitted to them that he engaged in inappropriate conduct with the child. Burlington authorities said the girl, now 14, was 8 and 9 years old when the alleged offenses occurred in Burlington. (4/10/2002, Alamance County Times-News)
http://www.thetimesnews.com/2000/00-04/00-04-11/news-1.html
___________________________________________
CLINTON, IL. - A state district judge levied a total of $20,000 in fines against a minister charged with two counts of molestation of a juvenile.
Rev. William Thomas Rose III, 51, pleaded guilty on April 24 to molesting two girls in Wilson while he was pastor of the First Baptist Church of Wilson in 1986. The girls are now ages 19 and 23, according to court records.
�Unless you come to grips with the fact that you molested two little girls, you�re in trouble - because it could happen again,� District Judge Wilson Ramshur told the defendant. �Contrition is one step toward salvation,� the judge added.
Ramshur also sentenced Rose to two consecutive 10-year prison terms, but suspended the sentences and placed him on probation for 10 years. As a condition of probation, the defendant is prohibited from being alone with anyone younger than 18.
Advocate 6/28/2000
____________________________________________
GREENWOOD, SC. - A minister and former school library aide has been charged with 16 more counts of sexually molesting children after police identified more victims from homemade videotapes.
Fernando Garcia - held on a $4 million bond - is now charged with a total of 44 counts of sexual misconduct with at least 15 victims, police say. �Investigators probably still have several weeks of work left to do - more charges are likely,� said the police chief. Garcia was charged with two counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor and 14 counts of lewd acts on a minor. The latest charges accuse him of fondling children at an elementary school, where he worked for two years, and at the Abbeville Baptist Association, where he was pioneering a Hispanic ministry. The Chihuahua, Mexico-native is a husband and father of two teen-age children.AP 6/28/2000
Tales of horror: Sex crimes victimizing children rock community's foundations
http://www.voy.com/122092/10/FernandoGarcia1.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/journal/indexjournal/01Jan25A.html
____________________________________________
EASTON - A pastor will stand trial on rape and child-abuse charges, a judge ruled yesterday. The Rev. Andrew Roy Tilghman, 32, was ordered to stand trial in circuit court on charges of first-degree rape and first-degree sexual offense against two girls.
Tilghman is pastor of the United Missionary Baptist Church. District Judge William Adkins III also ordered him to stand trial on nine counts each of second-degree rape, second-degree assault, child abuse and third- and fourth-degree sexual offense and two counts of second-degree sexual offense. His wife, Great Elizabeth Tilghman, 33, was ordered to stand trial on charges of child abuse and second-degree assault. Easton Police Detective Brandon Bobbick testified in a hearing that a 10-year-old revealed she had been beaten by Great Elizabeth Tilghman and that she and her sister had been sexually abused by Andrew Roy Tilghman. - AP May 24, 2000
Easton pastor's abuse trial on
http://www.jrnl.net/news/00/May/jrn78240500.html
____________________________________________
AIKEN. SC. - A former youth minister who admitted to molesting church members on camping trips and manipulating neighborhood boys with money and gifts during 3 decades has received a 30-year prison sentence.
Robert Dorsett, 65, pleaded guilty to 15 sex crimes involving children during an emotional hearing in which the offenses were read in detail to a hushed courtroom. Some of Dorsett's victims - who range in age now from 9 to 43 - attended the hearing and asked the judge to keep Dorsett from abusing more children. Friends and family members of Dorsett attended the hearing, lining up to speak on his behalf. Many were neighbors or co-workers who called him a father figure and hard worker.
Dorsett met many of his victims while he was a training director at First Baptist Church in Aug.a years ago. During trips in a church program, he would organize shaving cream fights and have the youths shower together, police said. He encouraged them to go streaking.
During a search of Dorsett's home, sheriff's officers found a brown suitcase containing X-rated videotapes and magazines along with candy, cookies and other items he gave the children, police said.
Investigators found notebooks where Dorsett kept track of neighborhood boys and their telephone numbers. Publicity about his arrest last year led to new allegations by victims who had tried to forget the abuse, police said. Augusta Chronicle, 11/30/99
Molester pleads guilty
http://www.voy.com/122092/10/RobertDorsett1.htm
http://www.augustachronicle.com/stories/113099/met_124-3417.shtml
____________________________________________
TAMPA - A church deacon already accused of Internet sex crime against a teen-age girl faced more sexual extortion charges for allegedly terrorizing 5 other high school and college students. Robert Harvey Alexander, 41, a deacon at the First Baptist Church in Tampa, was being held in lieu of $150,000 bond after an appearance in federal court to advise him of the 5 additional charges.
Three 21-year-old students at Georgia Tech in Atlanta and two students at Plantation High School in Florida were the latest alleged victims of attempts to engage them in telephone and cybersex, federal agents said. Frank Gallagher, head of Tampa's FBI office, said the new charges grew out of interviews with people named on a "Victim's List." Agents seized the list with 99 names and e-mail addresses on it when they arrested Alexander for using the Internet in an attempt to extort a 16-year-old girl.
All of those on the list received virtually identical messages threatening to destroy their reputations unless they engaged in phone or computer sex with the sender. Gallagher called it "cyberterrorism" because of the fear created in the recipients. One women told her father, an assistant federal public defender, about the message. Another contacted university officials.
Investigators are trying to reach other women included on the list. So far, have traced 17 of them, and are continuing their search. Prosecutors said they hope the new charges will bolster their claim that Alexander is a methodical and dangerous sexual predator. AP, 11/11/99
_____________________________________________
FAIRBANKS, AK. - A Baptist pastor from an interior village was arrested on
charges he molested his adopted teen-age daughter, State Troopers said.
Richard Cook, 46, is accused of having sex with the girl
twice and touching her genitals often during the past 19 months, according to
court documents. He has been charged with one count each of first- and
second-degree sexual abuse of a minor.
Troopers said Cook first sexually touched the victim, then 13, in Oct. 1997.
Four months later, the molestation became an "almost daily" event
despite the girl's protests, according to court documents.
The girl's adoptive mother, who had started working outside the home,
suspected something was amiss because Cook "changed his behavior and
demeanor," according to the documents. But when she questioned her husband
and daughter, both denied anything was going on, troopers said. The girl
attempted suicide before she reported what happened.
Troopers said Cook has since admitted to the sexual contact, stating he knew
his actions were wrong but that he "just got mixed up a bit,"
according to documents.
He was arrested at a Fairbanks motel. Cook and the women had traveled to
town to seek help, said police.
AP 4/27/99
MASCOTTE, FL. - A Baptist preacher was charged with
molesting three foster children left in his care. Pastor William Nathan
White, Jr., 50, was being held at the county jail on $45,000 bond,
charged with three counts of sexual battery of a child under age 12, a capital
offense, jail officials said.
Following his arrest, 8 foster children and 3 adopted children were removed from
his home and placed in other foster homes according to a spokeswoman for the
state Dept. of Children & Families. State records show that White and his
wife, Susan, have taken in at least 20 children since they were licensed by the
state to become foster parents in 1995.
White first was accused of sexual battery when a 7-year-old girl, who lived
with the family for two weeks, told her natural mother during a visit monitored
by social workers that White had molested her a sheriff's spokesman said. The
girl told investigators that while sitting on White's lap, the minister asked
her if anyone had ever touched her "private area." White then placed
his hand inside her clothing and fondled her, reports said.
In a videotaped interview, a 10-year-old told authorities White had
repeatedly molested her since she came to live with him in Aug., according to
reports. An 11-year-old, who lived with the Whites from Aug. into Nov., said
the pastor often had her sit on his lap while she played computer games, and he
once fondled her, records said.
Investigators plan to question every child the Whites have had in their
custody since 1995. State social workers are also reviewing their files to
determine if there were any concerns raised about the Whites' home in the past
AP 3/5/99
_____________________________________________
DUBUQUE, IA. - A woman is suing her former pastor and the Baptist church for
which he worked. Sheldon D. Stotmeister
is accused of having exploited the woman in order to have a sexual relationship
when Kim Deutmeyer came to him for counseling. He is
also alleged to have encouraged her to divorce her husband and to not tell
anyone about the relationship.
Two weeks earlier, her ex-husband Darrell, filed a similar suit.
Stotmeister resigned in March and was arrested in
Aug. on charges of sexual exploitation by a counselor as a result of his
relationship.
Telegraph Herald, 4/15/99
____________________________________________
FORT WORTH - Five women agreed to drop their
sexual-misconduct lawsuits against the founder of a Baptist church in exchange
for his admission to some of the affairs, according to court papers.
The lawsuits against Ollin
Collins, founder of Harvest Baptist Church and a former board chairman
of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, were dropped after Collins
acknowledged that he "engaged in an adulterous relationship" with
three of the women. But all five women retained the right to sue Collins again
their attorney said. "We had asked him to apologize to the church and
agree not to be in the pulpit until Sept. of 2000, and he refuses to do
that," he said.
Four women and the family of another filed lawsuits in state district court
contending that Collins had used his position to force them into "lewd,
lascivious, obscene conduct."
Harvest Baptist Church, with 3,500 members, fired Collins in Nov.
The church and the women agreed to a settlement in which the church and its
insurance company would pay $400,000 to the women and their families, the Star-Telegram
reported. The church has paid about $100,000 of the settlement and will sell a
piece of property to cover the cost said an attorney for the church.
AP 4/22/99
_____________________________________________
SAN FRANCISCO - A minister already facing theft and arson
charges was sued by 10 parishioners who allege he convinced them to take out
mortgage loans for church improvements and then stole the money.
Rev. Thomas McCall allegedly used the loan money, totaling
more than $850,000, to buy real estate in San Francisco and Southern Calif.,
according to the lawsuit. The members of the Concord Missionary Baptist Church
are seeking damages for breach of contract, breach of good faith and fair
dealing, fraud and negligent misrepresentation.
McCall had been under investigation since last Jan., when 7 parishioners
claimed the pastor convinced them and others to mortgage their homes to finance
$1.1 million in church renovations.
Records show church members raised a total of $2.9 million in equity,
donations and construction loans - about $1.1 million more than was necessary
for the work.
In addition to 4 counts of grand theft for allegedly taking $2.5 million in
church funds, including the $850,000 mentioned in the suit, McCall also faces
an arson charge for allegedly trying to destroy financial records by setting
his apartment on fire. He has been dismissed from the church and the trial was
scheduled to begin Jan. 25.
AP, 10/14/98
_____________________________________________
WASHINGTON, DC. - A Baptist minister in Texas who had sex
with two women while counseling them about their marriages lost his appeal to
the Supreme Court. He now must pay each one $115,000.
The court, without comment, turned away Rev. Shelby
Baucum's
argument that a federal jury violated his religious freedom by deciding he had
committed malpractice and breached his fiduciary duties. Baucum
had sexual relationships with two women who were church members and employees
in 1991. One woman was fired from her job as the church receptionist and the
other lost her job as his administrative secretary when they disclosed the
relationships. Baucum was asked to resign, which he
did.
The women then sued him in federal court, and each won awards of $30,000 in
compensatory damages and $85,000 in punitive damages. Baucum
appealed, contending the jury had punished him for what he said was a mixture
of secular and spiritual counseling - the equivalent of "clergy
malpractice."
But in upholding the awards, the Court of Appeals ruled that the
religious-freedom difficulties posed by such a finding were not present in
Baucum's case. The appeals court ruling added: "The
First Amendment does not categorically insulate religious relationships from
judicial scrutiny, for to do so would necessarily extend constitutional
protection to the secular components of these relationships � To hold otherwise
would impermissibly place a religious leader in a preferred position in our
society."
AP, 10/5/98
______________________________________________
APOPKA, FL. - A minister who molested third-graders at his
church school couldn't promise that he wouldn't molest again, and so was
sentenced to prison for 7 years and 4 months, followed by 10 years of
probation. The judge acknowledged the remorse of David Joe Rich,
55, and that he took responsibility for his crimes, but said she wanted to
ensure he would not harm anyone again.
Rich, former pastor of Springs Community Baptist Church, pleaded guilty to
molesting 2 girls and trying to molest a third during the 1995-96 school year.
He fondled the girls, ages 8 and 9, at his desk while other students were in
the classroom, said the prosecutor. The desk concealed the probing.
Rich apologized and made no excuses for his conduct but could not explain
it. With God's help and counseling, he said, he hoped never to molest again.
But he said he would be foolish to make a "100 percent" guarantee. He
had resigned when confronted about the abuse 2 years after it ended.
While on probation, Rich must get counseling. He cannot be alone with
children younger than 18 or live near a school or other place where children
visit. The judge told Rich he should bring his ministry to prison. "There
are people in prison who could use your services," she said.
Orlando Sentinel, 12/4/1998
______________________________________________
NORRISTOWN, PA. - A clergyman was charged with murdering a
4-year-old boy whom he and his wife had agreed to look after as a favor to the
child's impoverished mother, authorities said.
Rev. Javan McBurrow
, 47, beat Michael Davis
across the back of his legs as many as 10 times with a two-foot metal mason's
level, and then forced the child to march the length of the family's squalid
suburban home until he dropped, police said. They said the boy was being
punished for wetting his pants and for looking at one of the couple's daughters
in the bathroom.
McBurrows and his wife, Jane, took the boy to the
hospital, telling doctors he had fallen in the bathtub. They then fled with
their own five children to Georgia. The boy died soon after and an autopsy
showed he had been beaten over a prolonged period.
McBurrows, pastor of the Third Christian Church
was arrested for child endangerment in Georgia and returned to Philadelphia.
The 4-year-old, his 7-year-old sister and 5-year-old brother had been living
with the McBurrows for about a month because their
mother, who also has 3 other children, could not care for them.
After being charged with first-degree murder, McBurrows
was remanded to jail with bond set at $500,000. Police who searched the
family's home described the two-story house as a "squalid,
uninhabitable" dwelling with only one bed. The property has since been
condemned.
Reuters 1/15/99
_____________________________________________
NORRISTOWN, PA. - A clergyman was charged with murdering a
4-year-old boy whom he and his wife had agreed to look after as a favor to the
child's impoverished mother, authorities said.
Rev. Javan McBurrow
, 47, beat Michael Davis
across the back of his legs as many as 10 times with a two-foot metal mason's
level, and then forced the child to march the length of the family's squalid
suburban home until he dropped, police said. They said the boy was being
punished for wetting his pants and for looking at one of the couple's daughters
in the bathroom.
McBurrows and his wife, Jane, took the boy to the
hospital, telling doctors he had fallen in the bathtub. They then fled with
their own five children to Georgia. The boy died soon after and an autopsy
showed he had been beaten over a prolonged period.
McBurrows, pastor of the Third Christian Church
was arrested for child endangerment in Georgia and returned to Philadelphia.
The 4-year-old, his 7-year-old sister and 5-year-old brother had been living
with the McBurrows for about a month because their
mother, who also has 3 other children, could not care for them.
After being charged with first-degree murder, McBurrows
was remanded to jail with bond set at $500,000. Police who searched the
family's home described the two-story house as a "squalid,
uninhabitable" dwelling with only one bed. The property has since been
condemned.
Reuters 1/15/99
_____________________________________________
RICHMOND, VA. - Former Mayor Rev. Leonidas
B. Young has agreed to plead guilty to 4 of 19 felony counts alleging
he sold his influence as mayor and, as a pastor, defrauded members of his
congregation, according to a newspaper.
The Times-Dispatch said Young is likely to face 2 years to 2 1/2
years in prison at sentencing. Young will lose his City Council seat
automatically if he pleads guilty. He became pastor of Richmond's Fourth
Baptist Church in 1990 and was elected to City Council 2 years later and
appointed mayor in 1996. Last fall, Young was indicted on charges of
racketeering, fraud, filing false tax returns, suborning perjury and money
laundering. The charges carry prison terms ranging from five to 30 years.
Authorities allege Young peddled influence as mayor and cheated members of
his church out of money he used to help pay for an expensive secret life of
extramarital affairs.
AP, 1/27/99
______________________________________________
KANSAS CITY - A minister who participated in a school program to counsel
troubled youths has been charged with rape and other sex offenses involving 3
teen-age girls. Rev. Gregory Robertson, 40, was accused of
using his affiliation with the Kansas City School District to befriend families
of students outside of school, said a spokesman of the police sex crimes unit.
Robertson convinced parents to allow some children to temporarily move into his
home to "give them guidance," he said.
Robertson has pleaded innocent and is free on $15,000 bond. He faces charges
of statutory rape, 2 counts of statutory sodomy, attempted statutory sodomy and
4 counts of sexual misconduct. The charges involve 3 girls ages 12 to 14. The
girls told police the incidents occurred between Feb. 1996 and Dec. 1997 at
Robertson's home.
Police said Robertson met at least one of the girls through his work with
the school district. They were not sure how he met the other two. The three
girls did not know each other.
Robertson was part of a Ministers Alliance, a group formed last school year
by a former superintendent to counsel troubled students. The program no longer
exists, and Robertson was banned from the schools after officials heard about
the investigation, said a district spokeswoman.
Police began investigating Robertson in Sept. 1997 after a girl told
officers she had lived in Robertson's home in 1996. No charges were filed. The
investigation was reopened in Jan. after a 12-year-old girl made new
allegations. Detectives then found 3 other girls who had lived in Robertson's
home, including one who said Robertson offered to buy her a pair of shoes in
exchange for a sex act.
Robertson was ordained at Zion Grove Missionary Baptist Church about 6 years
ago, but has since left the church, police said.
AP, 10/28/98
Rev. James Anthony Colyn, 39, former pastor of the Glendale (Az.) Bible Baptist Church, received a sentence of seven and a half years in prison. Colyn was described by police as a "sexual predator" who molested a teenage girl who asked him for counseling because she was being abused by her stepfather. (Phoenix Gazette 7/1/88)
_____________________________________________
Rev. J.D. Henderson, 51, of Russellville, Ark., was convicted of molesting twin 6 year old girls, and sentenced to 4 years in prison. Henderson is an ordained Free will Baptist minister. (Little Rock Arkansas Gazette 6/10/88)
_____________________________________________
A Duval county minister, Rev. Roy Lynn Gaskins of Edgewood Heights Baptist Church, was accused of forcing a 13 year old boy at gunpoint to have sex. (Florida Times-Union 5/13/88)
_____________________________________________
TAMPA - The president of the National Baptist Convention USA pleaded not
guilty to federal fraud charges and was allowed to remain free on a $125,000
bond. Rev. Henry Lyons, 56, was indicted by a federal grand
jury on grounds that he had used the organization of black churches to steal
millions of dollars from corporations and activists.
Lyons was indicted on 56 counts including fraud, extortion, conspiracy and
tax evasion. At the hearing, 8 friends of his pledged to cover the bond. He
said that all of his assets were frozen by the government.
Prosecutors charge that Lyons fraudulently solicited contributions for
charitable causes, including the rebuilding of black churches destroyed by
arsonists. The indictment said he used the donations to support a lavish
lifestyle, buying cars, jewelry, country club memberships and homes throughout
the country.
Lyons already faced state charges that he used his position to bilk millions
of dollars from companies doing business with the church group. A federal grand
jury also indicted a convention employees Bernice Edwards and Brenda Harris.
Both are free on bond also.
(7/7/98 Reuters)
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BOONE, NC. - A long-standing pastor and high school teacher accused of
raping a 15-year-old student two years ago was sentenced to spend up to two
years in prison as part of a plea arrangement.
Rev. Larry Edward Elliott, 50, pleaded guilty to 3 counts
of taking indecent liberties with a minor. He entered his plea just before the
jury was to be selected for his trial. A judge ordered Elliott to serve time
for one of the 3 counts, the others suspended and the district attorney dropped
3 other charges of statutory rape.
Elliott, a Baptist pastor for 20 years, resigned after the accusations
surfaced. He had worked as a substitute math teacher at the school where he met
his victim.
(9/15 Watauga Democrat)
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HARTFORD - A former Baptist deacon who fathered a child with a young
parishioner was sentenced to 18 years in prison for raping her and another girl
as well.
Edward Brown, Jr., 39, asked for forgiveness in court. The young
woman was 6 years old when Brown began molesting her. He raped her several
times and she became pregnant in 1994 at age 14. She hid the pregnancy, giving
birth alone in her room. When the baby died shortly thereafter, she threw away
the body, which has never been found.
Six months later, she had a nervous breakdown. Doctors would not believe she
had been pregnant until a medical exam proved it.
After Brown pleaded guilty to the rape, one of his family members came forward
to accuse him of molesting her since age 5. 4/4/98
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ORLANDO - A minister surrendered to faces charges of
molesting two elementary-school girls and sheriff's investigators were seeking
more possible victims. Rev. David Joe Rich, 54, who resigned
his post at Springs Community Baptist Church in Apopka, was arrested after confessing
to the assaults. He was charged with four counts of lewd and lascivious acts
and released on bail.
The two girls, whose parents confronted Rich, said they were fondled during
classes while standing behind the pastor's desk. Other girls were also called
to stand there, according to a detective. (2/14/98)
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DALLAS - A pastor convicted of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl was
sentenced to 12 years in prison following testimony that he agreed to let her
graduate early from the church's school in exchange for sex. Rev. Jerry
Wayne Power, longtime pastor of Irving Baptist Temple and principal of
the church's school, was convicted of two counts of sexual assault of a child.
Power, 51, hopes to be released on bond while appealing the decision, his
attorneys said.
The jury of 11 women and one man deliberated 31/2 hours before deciding to
punish Power with 12 years on one count and 11 years on the other. The jury
fined him $10,000 on each count. He will serve both sentences simultaneously
and will first be eligible for parole in six years.
Power's attorneys argued that the girl should be held accountable because
she testified that she and her friend initiated the deal with Mr. Power.
A former student testified that Power fondled her, placed his foot in her
crotch and masturbated in front of her. The woman said he told her that he
would kill her parents and her horse if she quit his school. (4/17/98)
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COPPELL, TX. - Monte Ray Freeman, 68, a former Baptist
deacon and school board member, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and
fined $750 after pleading guilty to aggravated sexual assault of a 4-year-old
girl last year. He had been alleged to be molesting girls over a decade ago,
but church officials persuaded the accusers' parents not to pursue criminal
charges. (2/27/98)
http://www.opengovtcoppell.com/file/news/1998/8227dmn1.htm
Report: church leaders persuaded parents to drop sex abuse complaints
http://www.voy.com/122092/10/Freeman1.htm
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DALLAS - A Baptist pastor awaiting trial on a sexual abuse charge involving
an 11-year-old girl is now accused of molesting a 3-year-old girl at her
mother's home.
Police arrested Rev. Ronroyal Owens
at his church office after a mother reported finding him nude in bed with her
daughter. She told police she and Owens had gone to sleep in the living room
but when she awoke shortly later and checked on her daughter, she discovered
Owens with her, touching her leg. Her panties had been pulled down. An officer
of the child exploitation unit of the Dallas PD said it did not appear that the
child had been harmed.
Owens was being held on a $300,000 bond. (2/11/98)
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BUENA PARK, CA. - A controversial Southern Baptist paster
known for his support of a boycott of the Walt Disney Co. was sentenced to
1,500 hours of community service for violating city building codes by
sheltering the homeless at his church. However, the judge also credited Rev.
Wiley Drake, 53, with the same amount of time for his past efforts to
aid the homeless. (10/23/98)
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ELGIN, IL. - A former associate Baptist minister has been found guilty of
aggravated criminal sexual assault involving two girls aged 4 and 9 in 1995 in
an encounter in which the girls' mother participated. Juan
Wyley, 39, faces 12 to 60 years in prison.
Sentencing was scheduled for Dec. 3.
Wyley testified that he had accepted lodging from the
woman while he pursued a reconciliation with his ex-wife, but that the girls'
mother was "crazy" causing him to leave after a stay of only 5 days.
Investigators were alerted by the mother's psychiatrist and later learned that
she was involved in the incident. (1998)
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BUENA PARK, CA. - A pastor convicted for violating city zoning rules by
operating a makeshift homeless shelter has won the support of several of the
jurors who voted against him. Four jurors attended services at Rev.
Wile Drake's First Southern Baptist Church. Two declined comment but
two others said they were impressed with the sermon and will donate money after
touring the patio and parking lot where some 40 homeless people now live. They
said they were forced by the law to convict, and Drake said he understood and
thanked them for coming. He faces up to $4,000 in fines and 6 months in jail.
Sentencing was scheduled for Aug. 22 (8/9/97)
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TIERRA AMARILLA, NM. - The Chama
First Baptist Church has been sued by a man who claims the church
should have stopped the pastor, Rev. Louis Day, from wrecking
his marriage. Eileen Dement began counseling soon after he became pastor in
1993, but she testified that she never considered him a psychological
counselor, and began an affair which included lovemaking sessions in the
church. She left her former husband for Day, whom she married in 1996, and has
a 7-month old son by him.
She testified it would have taken "an act of God" to save her
marriage to the plaintiff, Richard Hurd. He testified
that Day told him to try to add some romance to their marriage. (8/29/98)
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FRESNO - A former minister and police officer has been sentenced to 21 years
in prison for killing his lover�s husband.
A Fresno County jury had cleared Paul Hurth,44, of murder but convicted him of manslaughter in the Feb. shooting of car salesman Ralph Peter Gawor. Giving Hurth the maximum term for voluntary manslaughter, the judge said that Hurth had violated his trust as a police officer.
The four-year police officer and department chaplain claimed he killed Gawor, 43, in self-defense with his service weapon after going to Gawor�s house to tell him of the sexual affair he had been having with Nancy Gawor.
Hurth, the former pastor at Heritage Baptist
Church, was arrested more than a week after the killing and fired from the
force.
AP 8/15/2000
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KENDALL, FL. They're more suspicious of people today at Wayside Baptist Church in Kendall than they were before the 1994 trial that convicted Keith Geren, one of their popular youth ministers, of molesting nearly a dozen boys, ages 13 to 16. He was sent to prison for 15 years and cost the church $4.2 million in damages.
''It used to be we just trusted everybody,'' says the Rev. Gary Johnson, Wayside's present pastor. ``We don't trust anymore. We take precautions.''
Today, Wayside gives new employees criminal background checks. It has installed windows in every classroom. At least two adults run every children's class. Men may not change diapers. (1994, Miami Herald)
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Miami, FL. CHURCH TO PAY MILLIONS FOR MINISTER'S ABUSES. Wayside Baptist Church in Miami received a $6.7 million judgment for negligence in hiring and retaining Keith Geren as youth minister. The church did not do background or reference checks, nor did Geren even fill out a job application, though Geren did admit urges to molest boys. He sexually molested nearly a dozen teenage boys. Church officials say they had no idea Geren was a pedophile. All of the money is going to one victim, Daniel Artis, for emotional pain, treatment, and punitive damages. (Sarasota Herald-Tribune 2/6/94)
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BAPTIST VOLUNTEER PREYED ON GIRLS? Thomas Road Baptist Church in Phoenix failed to screen churchvolunteer John Herman Kuiper for a criminal record when it permitted him to drive a church bus & volunteer at youth events. Kuiper, who had been convicted in 1991 of a felony charge of 3rd degree sexual assault, was arrested in Phoenix for molesting 5 girls. As a church bus driver in Fort Collins, Colorado, he had received a deferred sentence for molesting a little girl, 5. Rev. Ken Adrian, church pastor, complained to media that the publicity was not good for his Phoenix church. Source: _Arizona Republic_ 11/4/92.
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ASSAULT CASE SETTLED. A man, 28, who was recovering from epileptic seizures in his apartment when he was attacked, will receive $300,000 in damages from the Sierra Vista Baptist Church for the sexual assault by John Adams Marshall in April 1991. Marshall performed oral sex and fondled the weakened man while pinning him down. The jury found the church 40% liable for Marshall's assault and negligent in retaining him as minister. Marshall did not lose his ordination to be a minister elsewhere. (Inland Valley Daily Bulletin 1/15/94)
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GEORGIA. BAPTIST MINISTER ACCUSED. For being accused of sexually molesting several male teens between Sept. 1992-93 while serving as youth minister at Western Hills Baptist Church in Cobb County, Kevin DeRosa, 33, of New Jersey is being held at the Paulding County jail on similar charges in that county. (Atlanta Journal_ 3/94)
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BOBO SENTENCED. A Baptist deacon accused of fondling several girls has been sentenced to 3 years in prison for the molestation of a female student. Wallace Bobo, Jr., 57, was a high school teacher and coach at Meridian High in Mound City. The father of one victim, who shot Bobo 5 times, awaits trial, while Bobo is out on bail pending an appeal. (Philadelphia Inquirer_ 4/9/94.)
PASTOR MOLESTS. Former associate pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church and parent representative at Pittsburgh's Margaret Milliones Middle School, Rev. Rudolph B. Walls, 43, was a defendant in a lawsuit filed in May 1992 by a male teen and his mother. Walls was accused of sexually molesting the teen, now 18. Also involved in the suit were the principal, school board, and Pittsburgh Public Schools. They settled for $425,000. In August 1991 Walls was sentenced to 1-5 years in prison for indecent assault. Walls was on probation for a North Carolina molestation at the time he began assaulting the teen in this lawsuit. (Pittsburgh Post- Gazette_ 2/24/94.)
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BAPTIST MINISTER SENTENCED. For sexually abusing 2 boys who were members of his Community Baptist Church near Lake Lavon, Gene Allen McDonald, 55, of Nevada will serve a minimum of 2 years in Collin County Jail before parole. He was sentenced to 2 concurrent 5-year sentences. (Dallas Morning News_ 2/8/94.)
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MINISTER ADMITS SEXUAL MISCONDUCT. A Baptist minister and social activist, Rev. Donovan Cook, has been under investigation for sexual misconduct involving 3 women. It has been recommended that his ordination be suspended. Cook is popular for his work helping Central American refugees, and allowing homosexuals to be church members. One member said, "If we can't get justice for the women, how are we going to ask for justice in Central America?" Supporters of Cook say the American Baptist Church's political conflicts with Cook's work make their judgments "hardly impartial". (Seattle Post-lntelligencer_ 1/31/94.)
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WEST VIRGINIA. MINISTER INITIATES SEX WITH INCEST VICTIM. A girl, 14, who sought help from a Baptist minister because her father was sexually abusing her was then sexually abused by the trusted pastor during counseling sessions. Gary Hackler Kendall, 40, pastor of North Hills Baptist Church, pleaded guilty. The victim's father also pleaded guilty and received a 5-15 year prison term. (Charleston Gazette_ 6/1/94.)
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BAPTIST MINISTER CONVICTED OF SEXUAL ABUSE. A married minister, who worked at Tiverton-Freeport United Baptist Church from 1976-1981, was convicted of 21 charges of indecent and sexual assault involving 13 boys in Digby County between those years. Floyd Delano Gale, 46, had written a letter of apology to the family of one of his victims. According to the family's testimony, he sat in their living room and admitted he was a pedophile, and had sexual relationships with boys, including their son, then 12, but claimed they were of legal age and consented. Gale claims to be a victim of childhood sexual abuse himself. Gale's assaults included oral sex and fondling of the boys, some in their own home while their parents slept. During the trial one of his victims punched Gale in the head outside the courthouse. When the judge denied a request for Gale to be set free until sentencing, the courtroom applauded In 1988 Gale resigned from the Church of Christ in Garnet Settlement, New Brunswick, amidst rumors of his sexual misconduct. (The Chronicle-Herald (Nova Scotia) 5/17,18,19,20,26/94, 6/7/94.)
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PASTOR GETS 13 YEARS FOR INCEST. Springfield Baptist Church pastor Jon L. Walker, 43, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for molesting a relative for 2-1/2 years, beginning when she was 13. Twenty persons pleaded for leniency, including the local NAACP president. Walter's defense was to accuse his wife of concocting the charges to get even with him because he had an affair with a young church member! Deputy DA Karen Gray said the letters of support were "a sad testimony to the fact that Mr. Walter's life has been a fraud". Source: _San Luis Obispo Telegram Tribune_ 8/5/92.
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VICTIM SUES CONVICTED MINISTER. Rancho Cucamonga pastor John Marshall, convicted of sexually battering an ill man, 25, is being sued for $1 million by victim Kirk Judy, along with his church, the American Baptist Churches of USA & of the Pacific Southwest. The 6'2", 200-lb pastor overpowered the 5'6", 140-lb victim at a bedside counseling visit. He got only 2 years of probation. The suit alleges that Marshall had committed other crimes, & that the 2 Baptist groups should have known about them. Source: _Ontario Daily Bulletin_ 7/29/92.
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ACCUSED PASTORAL COUNSELOR A PHONY. Port Charlotte church school principal Albert Joseph Clerico Jr., 47, charged with sexual misconduct by a psychotherapist by means of therapeutic deception, claims to be licensed by a nonexistent "scripturally based" group, National Christian Counselors Association & to have attended the nonexistent Carolina University of Theology. State investigator Robert Ford charged that Clerico "did cloak himself in the guise of Christianity & did represent to the female defendant that sexual contact" was part of the treatment. Clerico maintains his position as "pastoral counselor" exempts him under state law from charges. Police miked the victim & recorded Clerico making sexual advances, soliciting her comment on his graphic fantasies & telling her to perform oral sex. He was arrested after the 75-minute "counseling session". He has been suspended as principal of Community Christian School of First Baptist Church in Port Charlotte, & as minister of First Baptist Church, which operates the school. Source: _Sarasota Herald-Tribune_ 8/4/92.
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BAPTIST YOUTH PASTOR NABBED. Youth minister-Sunday School teacher William Speaker, 21, of First Baptist Church in Excelsior Springs, was charged with a felony for sexually molesting a boy, 14, while chauffeuring him to church activities. Source: _Kansas City Star_ 8/21/92.
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BAPTIST PASTOR GOES TO TRIAL. Indicted for 6 counts of aggravated sexual battery & 5 counts of sexual battery was Rev. George Walker, 64, of New Tazewell, who has pastored a number of area Baptist churches. He is accused of victimizing a female piano student instructed by his wife for 4 years. Source: _The Daily News_ Middlesboro, 12/24/92.
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BAPTIST CONVICTED OF RAPING BOY. A jury convicted Baptist minister Edward Quakenbush, of New Testament Baptist Church, town of Wyoming, of raping & molesting a teenage boy in his church over a 4-year period, starting when he was 12. Members of his church & family sobbed & shouted at jurors & a police detective who testified that the pastor had confessed to the molestations. Quakenbush later denied confessing. Source: AP/_Daily Telegram_, Adrian, Ml 9/12/92.
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CHURCH EVANGELIZERS PREYED ON LOW-INCOME KIDS. Men from a rural Baptist church known for its aggressive evangelizing of children are suspected of molesting as many as 22 boys & girls. The associate pastor, volunteer bus driver & a third church member are believed to have fondled some & raped others, ranging in age from 3 to 10, on church buses & property. Charges involving 10 victims were brought against Associate Pastor Timothy Lee Leonard, 32, of North Sharon Baptist Church near Grass Lake, & volunteer Sunday school bus driver, church deacon Mark Foeller. Three other church members are being investigated. The suspects went to low-income housing projects or trailer parks in 4 counties, telling parents they would "take the children to church & teach them about God", according to Det. Robert Fitzpatrick, Jackson Co. Men would walk up to children in their yards, coaxing them with treats to come to weekend services or summer _Bible_ school. Leonard was relieved of church duties involving children in August, after police started investigating him when a doctor reported suspected abuse in a child with a sexual disease. He also worked as instructor & gym teacher in the North Sharon Christian School, enrolling about 65 students. Church members were not informed, even after the arrests. In November, Gail Ganger, who lives 5 houses from the church, organized a Sunday morning picket after learning that the church secretary knew about the allegations, yet still recommended Leonard as a babysitter for her children. He & his wife Nadine had babysat for her 3 children 7 times since Oct. 1. About 2 dozen protesters carried signs saying "Close It Down." "The church knew about the allegations of child molesting, but nobody told me about it. This church should not be able to carry on business as usual," she said. "What a wonderful thing it is to be part of a church where adversity happens," said Rev. Bill Wininger, senior pastor. In January, Leonard was released after 72 days in jail after 10 charges were dropped over the objections of the DA by Washtenaw Co. Dist. Judge Thomas Shea, saying victims were either too young to testify or could not pinpoint the time of their assaults. Leonard still faces 2 2nd degree criminal sexual conduct charges. Although he resigned from the church, church funds are being used to help support his family & pay his legal expenses. The pastor said if he is acquitted, "I'm sure he would be welcomed back with open arms." Sources: _Ypsilanti Press_ 11/12/92, _Detroit Free Press_ 11/12/92, _Toledo Blade_ 11/18/92, _Jackson Citizen Patriot_ 11/16/92, 2/1/93.
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AIR FORCE CHAPLAIN RAIDED. Deputies raided the home of Veterans Administration chaplain Rev. Donald G. Phillips, of Butler County, seizing 500 video tapes, movie equipment and restraints following a tip that he produced pornographic movies with young girls. The Baptist minister recently received the highest recognition awarded a VA chaplain, "the Award for Excellence in Chaplain Service". Source: _St. Louis Post-Dispatch_ 2/19/92.
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BAPTIST VOLUNTEER CONVICTED. Granite State Baptist Church volunteer David Kirsch, 39, of Salem, was convicted of sexually assaulting 6 young girls through the church from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. Source: _USA Today_ 9/25/92.
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DEACON ACCUSED OF ASSAULTING 8 GIRLS. Victory Baptist Church deacon Daniel Eaves, 34, was arrested for sexually assaulting 8 girls, ages 3 to 14, at his Springfield home and during youth groups last year. Source: _Philadelphia Inquirer_ 4/25/ 92.
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MOLESTING MINISTER CONVICTED. Youth minister Don McCary, 48, was sentenced to 72 years of prison for molesting 4 boys at his Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tenn. Explains sex offender therapist Deloris Roys, Don McCary "had a perfect camouflage ... For the person who uses religion as a camouflage, it gives them the mantle of being an OK or holy person. We all imbue religious people with the idea they wouldn't hurt us. They have instant authority, a power we don't have, a mantle of respect." Don McCary had been youth/choir director for 15 years at Central Baptist Church of Hixson, Tenn. He recorded lewd conversations with young boys and gave copies to his brother Ron in jail. Source: _Birmingham News_ 5/9/92.
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MOLESTING MINISTER. The twin brother of Don McCary, Ron McCary, a Christian comedian and pastor, is in prison after committing aggravated rape on a boy, 6. Source: _Birmingham News_ 5/9/92.
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MOLESTING MINISTER. The older brother of Ron and Don McCary, Richard McCary spent 2 years in the California prisons in the 1980s after conviction on 6 charges of child molestation. Explains sex offender therapist Deloris Roys, Don McCary "had a perfect camouflage ... For the person who uses religion as a camouflage, it gives them the mantle of being an OK or holy person. We all imbue religious people with the idea they wouldn't hurt us. They have instant authority, a power we don't have, a mantle of respect." Don McCary had been youth/choir director for 15 years at Central Baptist Church of Hixson, Tenn. He recorded lewd conversations with young boys and gave copies to his brother Ron in jail. Source: _Birmingham News_ 5/9/92.
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$10 MILLION SOUGHT FROM BAPTISTS. Five civil lawsuits asking for $10 million in damages were filed against the Southern Baptist Convention for sexual assaults by convicted minister Donald McCary, of Chattanooga, sentenced in April to 72 years in prison for assaulting 5 boys. James Guenther, general counselor for the SBC in Nashville, shrugged off the suits: "We've probably had a dozen of these cases where a plaintiff has undertaken to show that SBC controls a minister." He says no SBC agency beyond the level of the congregation has legal or disciplinary authority over pastors. McCary's twin brother is also in prison for abusing children; their older brother is on parole for similar charges. Source: _Birmingham News_ 8/21/92.
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BAPTIST CHARGED WITH INDECENCY. Charged with indecency for fondling a preteen girl in 1991 was Norman "Buddy" Wilcoxen, 60, former pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Bastrop. Source: _Austin American-Statesman_ 10/17/92.
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MINISTER PLEADS GUILTY TO ABUSING NIECE. Baptist minister Rev. Ernest Lee Rowsey, 51, of Wharton Missionary Baptist Church in Bim, pleaded guilty to 1 count of 1st degree sexual abuse, involving his niece. Originally, he was charged with molesting 2 nieces between 1976-1982, but they agreed to drop all but one charge against their uncle. The kids were molested for 6 years starting from ages 5 & 7. Rowley's sister also said he molested her as long ago as 1969, but at that time, child sexual abuse was a misdemeanor, & the statute of limitations has expired. Source: _Charleston Gazette_ 11/1/92.
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SETTLEMENT SHROUDS BAPTIST CASE. A secret settlement was reached just before a civil suit went to jury against Moffett Road Baptist Church minister Henry Hobson, Mobile, for sexually abusing a girl, 14. Hobson admitted having sexual intercourse with the girl he referred to as an adopted daughter, once when she accompanied him on church "visitation". He admitted she "wanted out", but called her a "pleasant diversion". At first he denied her accusations and asked her to say she had lied, for "damage control". He resigned in April 1991 after a suicide attempt when the girl confided in the youth pastor about him. Attorney Robert Cunningham, Jr. told jurors that many church members shunned the 9th grader, blaming her. His attorney argued, "It certainly was not part of his job to have sexual intercourse with her, and therefore the church is not responsible," adding: "He thought it was better she learn about sex from him rather than some young boy at school." Source: _Mobile Register_ 2/12/93.
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MORE CHARGES DISMISSED AGAINST BAPTIST. Washtenaw Co. Dist. Judge Thomas F. Shea threw out 2 charges of 1st-degree criminal sexual conduct against Baptist deacon Mark Foeller, leaving 6 counts of criminal sexual conduct. The deacon and bus driver at North Sharon Baptist Church is accused of raping a boy, 9, twice, at the church, which has a campaign to bus low-income children from 4 counties to its Sunday school and church camp. The dismissals follow earlier dismissals against assistant pastor Timothy Lee Leonard, 33, originally charged with 12 similar counts. Judges dismissed all his charges, saying the alleged victims were either too young to testify or that their testimony was too vague. At least one family will file a civil lawsuit against the North Sharon Baptist Church and Leonard, according to Ann Arbor attorney Mark A. Hopper. "We will sue the church for negligent hiring and negligent retention of those workers." Leonard has been invited back to the church and is directing its music programs. A mother told a reporter she was "stunned" and "numb" by the judge's decision. Shea ruled that a 9-year-old could not testify about being raped in the church nursery, because she couldn't say on which day it happened. Source: _Jackson Citizen Patriot_ 2/5&18/93.
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Baptist Minister Rev. Robert Burton charged after admitting long-term serious sexual abuse of his six and eight year old stepsons. (1991, England)
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Baptist Minister Larry Bernard 45, sentenced to 7 years for molesting a boy of 14. (1991, England)
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1991, England. Baptist Minister Ashby Breneman jailed for molesting 6 boys at his Christian Youth camp.
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JAMES CLIFTON NALLEY, a volunteer at Bible Baptist Church in Fernandina Beach, Fla., was charged with fondling 2 church girls, ages 9 and 11. Church
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Baptist minister HENRY BAZIL WATERS, 49, was convicted of fondling 3 young boys and untold others at the Grace Baptist Temple Church in Statesboro, Ga., and in his home and car. Waters' testimony that he " saved" youth through " sex instruction " matched testimony of the victims. Waters admitted fondling boys in Latin America, saying " I have no idea " how many children he had abused. Waters was given permission to attend church while free on bond. (Atlanta Journal, 2/18/89)
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REV. THOMAS V. COSSAIRT, 72, retired former pastor of First Baptist Church, Carter Lake, received a suspended 1 year jail sentence and 2 years' probation after pleading guilty to indecent contact with a child. A charge involving a 2nd child was dropped. He lives in Commerce, Okla. (Omaha World Herald)
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REV. WILLIAM MURRAY HENDRICKS JR., 50, pastor of Clay Hill Baptist Church, pleaded guilty to 2 counts of lewd & lascivious assault on a minor. The victim: a girl, 7, molested at the church, parish house in 1988 where he pastored for 15 years. As a plea bargain he agreed not to perform pastoral duties until his probation ended. (Florida Times-Union, 9/19/89)
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Baptist minister Henry Waters, convicted of sexually abusing young boys whose souls he claimed would be 'saved' through his 'sex instruction'. (1989, England)
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Six girls who were sexually abused by REV. FRANCIS G. HAIGHT, head of ex-Baptist Christian Academy, Monroe, WI, were awarded a total of $57,440 in court settlements. Haight is serving a 20 year term for molesting children; He is eligible for parole in 4 years. (8/14/89)
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GARY HAMBRIGHT, a Southern Baptist minister accused of molesting dozens of children at the Presidio daycare in San Francisco, died of AIDS Nov. 8. Between 60-102 tots were suspected victims of child sexual abuse by Hambright and others, but 2 investigations led to dismissal of charges. Five children had contracted chlamydia, a sexually transmitted disease. The Army daycare was closed. Parents have filed more than $60 million in claims against the Army alleging negligence led to sexual abuse of kids. The claims haven't been heard. Hambright died maintaining his innocence, leaving an obituary rife with references to " my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ." A Presidio spokesperson said none of the children have shown signs of AIDS. (San Jose Mercury News, 1/5/90; Orange Co. Register, 1/6/90)
