N-1
聲明：由於擁護本網之中立，故必須聲明，本Thread之目的，並非在於揭露教會內某些人仕之某些行為。而是在說明，設世上所有教徒、教牧之總和為N，則此thread每次報道一位教內人仕做了某種行為，就表示N-1位的教內人士可能尚未做出該等行為。 Pastor's sex case continuedProsecutors say Ronald Hernandez Tovar had sex with 16-year-old girl.
By DENISSE SALAZAR AND CINDY CARCAMO
The Orange County Register
STANTON– A pastor of a Stanton church accused of having sex with a 16-year-old female parishioner appeared in court today during his arraignment, which was continued until Feb. 23.
Ronald Hernandez Tovar, 56, of Placentia was charged on suspicion of three counts of having unlawful sexual intercourse and one count of oral copulation of a minor, prosecutors said.
Bail was set at $100,000. If convicted, Tovar faces up to five years in state prison.
Tovar, who is married, reportedly had sex with the teen from Aug. 1 to Dec. 31, prosecutors said.
Tovar, a pastor at the Shadow of the Almighty Church in Stanton, is accused of having unlawful sex with the girl on multiple occasions and locations, including his church office in Anaheim Hills, prosecutors said.
Anyone with additional information can call Supervising District Attorney Investigator Craig Kelsey at 714-347-8794.
[url]http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1575048.php[/url]
回復 #2 沙文 的帖子
Mill Creek church youth leader charged with molesting girl, 13Herald staff
A youth group coordinator for a Mill Creek church was charged Tuesday with having repeated sexual contact with a 13-year-old girl on church grounds.
A judge Tuesday signed a $100,000 arrest warrant for Joshua Tanner Beals, 22. He's charged with two counts of second-degree child molestation in Snohomish County Superior Court.
Deputy prosecutor Mark Roe said in court papers that he sought the arrest warrant because "it appears that a number of adults connected with either the church or the defendant do indeed blame" the girl for the sexual activity.
He also said church authorities have been "evasive" with Snohomish County sheriff's detectives.
Roe declined to identify the church.
The girl told authorities the two had sexual intercourse at least three times, all at Beals' residence on the church property.
"They even memorialized some of the sexual contact by taking pictures" of the couple kissing, Roe said. He wrote that Beals told the girl not to disclose the photos to anyone "because he could get in trouble."
The girl told investigators that she told the pastor what was happening and the pastor said it would be a "horrible mess" if she told anyone else, charging papers said.
The pastor also said that the girl could keep the illicit contact quiet and Beals could move away quietly, documents said.
At one point, the defendant's mother heard about the situation and asked the girl to destroy the photos, Roe wrote.
The case remains under investigation, Roe said.
[url]http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/07/02/14/100loc_b6molestation001.cfm[/url]
回復 #3 沙文 的帖子
[size=4][b]Associate Pastor Has A Secret[size=2][img]http://media.amw.com/multimedia/fileRepository/db/458/398/Clark_Jack-SM1.jpg[/img]
[/size][/b][/size]
To the faithful of the Herndon, Va. Pentecostal Church, Jack Clark was a charismatic associate pastor. His father had opened the church, and Clark often led services and offered guidance and support to the tight-knit congregation. But cops say Clark was not the kind of person who should be giving others guidance.
Police say Clark married a woman from the church and the two of them moved to a house nearby. Soon after, cops believe the couple befriended a 12-year-old girl from the congregation -- and often invited her over to their home to do various chores in exchange for money.
On the surface, it appeared Clark was simply trying to help out a young girl by giving her the opportunity to earn some extra money. But according to police, his true intentions were not so pure.
Investigators say Jack began earning the girl's trust by allowing her to watch movies -- something strictly forbidden by the church -- after his wife went to sleep. Gradually, cops believe Clark began touching the young girl inappropriately, and his actions eventually escalated.
His father sold the church he owned and used the proceeds to bond his son out on a $125,000 cash bond.
[b]Clark Runs From Rape Charges[/b]
Cops say on December 8, 1995, the girl was at Clark's house for one of her regular visits when he took things one step further and sexually assaulted the girl. According to police, Clark had successfully caught his victim in a classic trap -- she wanted the abuse to stop but was frightened to tell anyone what was happening.
Cops say he continued pushing the limits of his abuse and sodomized the girl in April 1996. Although she was scared, the girl could not ignore what was happening any longer and told her friend about the incident. Realizing what Clark did was wrong, the friend told an adult -- and they called the police.
On April 16, 1996, Herndon police charged Clark with sodomy by force and statutory rape. Clark was convicted on both charges, and sentenced to 16 years in jail. But in June 1997, Clark appealed the convictions -- and that's when things started to get ugly.
The same day Clark appealed, his father sold the church he owned and used the proceeds to bond his son out on a $125,000 cash bond.
In Sept. 2001, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled they would not re-hear the case and the original sentence would stand. But Clark was nowhere to be found. Cops say he fled after his father bailed him out. The court issued a bench warrant for Jack Jr.'s arrest.
[b]Clark Resurfaces, Cops Close Behind[/b]
Police were frustrated by Clark's disappearance, and seemed to have few leads to follow -- until March 2003, when they were contacted by authorities from Los Angeles, Calif.
LAPD told Fairfax County police that they'd approached a homeless man sleeping in a Chevy Astro van. The van had a handmade sign where the license plate should have been that said the original plate had been stolen. Since they had no reason to hold him, the cops let him go. But as he drove off, police got a hit on the ID the homeless man had provided -- it was Jack Clark.
What followed was a high speed chase that lasted over two hours. Cops say they tore through neighborhoods, yards, and fences until Clark crashed into a brick building in Santa Monica, Calif. Unfortunately, Clark was able to escape yet again -- and he hasn't been seen since.
http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=39777
[[i] 本帖最後由 沙文 於 2007-2-17 22:46 編輯 [/i]]
回復 #4 沙文 的帖子
[size=4][b]Las Vegas Priest Arrested On Attempted Murder Charges[/b][/size][img]http://www.digitaljournal.com/images/photo/6020586_BG3.jpg[/img]
A Roman Catholic priest whose parish is in Las Vegas, was arrested today in Arizona on charges of attempted murder. The Rev. George Chaanine, 52, is accused of beating, groping and choking a female employee in the parish office of Our Lady of Las Vegas church.
The alleged assault occurred on January 26, 2007, and the priest has been on the run since then. A judge issued a warrant for his arrest on attempted murder charges on Tuesday.
Father Chaanine was arrested by FBI agents in Apache Junction, located about 30 miles east of Phoenix, Phoenix FBI spokeswoman Deb McCarley said.
The woman at the center of the latest crises for the Catholic church, claims that Father Chaanine broke a full bottle of wine over her head while she was sitting at her desk, grabbed her by the hair and dragged her down a hallway toward his office.
She lost consciousness during a struggle and woke up only to find that Rev. Chaanine was groping her. Father Chaanine then grabbed her throat. After that, theattack suddenly stopped. The Rev. muttered that he was going to kill himself and left the church after saying he was going to call police.
Bishop Joseph Pepe Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Vegas said in a statement: "We are relieved that Father Chaanine has been found and now justice can be served through the legal process. We have worked closely with the authorities and are hopeful that the information we provided proved helpful."
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/105408/Las_Vegas_Priest_Arrested_On_Attempted_Murder_Charges
[size=4][b]Fort Myers youth pastor arrested on sex charges[/b][/size]
[img]http://media.naplesnews.com/img/photos/2007/02/13/pastor_t180.jpg[/img]
A Fort Myers Youth Pastor was arrested Monday and charged with sexual battery on a child.
Elantonio T.O. Gomez, 50, of 4790 South Cleveland Avenue, No. 1303, is accused of molesting and raping two boys who were under 15 at the time of the assault, according to sheriff's reports.
One of the boys, who was under 15 years old, reported the abuse occurred a few times a week over the course of 11 months. The second boy, who was under 13 at the time, reported the abuse lasted over the course of a few years.
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2007/feb/13/cape_coral_youth_pastor_arrested_sexual_battery/?latest [b][size=4]Pastor's online porn arrest 'a total shock'[/size][/b]
[i][size=2]Friends stand by Camden minister who Georgia police say thought he was sending photos, notes to 14-year-old girl
By MARJORIE RIDDLE
mriddle@thestate.com[/size][/i]
Neighbors and friends of Camden pastor Kevin Ogle, who is charged with sending pornographic messages and pictures via the Internet to a police officer posing as a teenage girl, said they were shocked by the arrest of a “very loving, kind, caring individual.”
“You could’ve taken a gun and shot me in the heart, and it would’ve had the same effect,” said Mike Clifton, chairman of the deacon committee at Northgate Colonial Baptist Church.
“He is just like a brother. He loves his church, and he loves his family.”
The 42-year-old pastor waived his rights Wednesday to stay in Kershaw County and will be transferred to Walton County, Ga. Sheriff Steve McCaskill said Ogle will be sent either today or Friday to Loganville, Ga., where he will have a bail hearing.
Ogle was arrested Tuesday and charged with 11 counts of sexual exploitation of children. Authorities say he chatted with and transmitted pornographic depictions of himself online to a person he thought was a 14-year-old girl.
According to authorities, Ogle was actually communicating with an undercover officer from the Loganville Police Department’s On-Line Predator Unit, which has been investigating Ogle for three months.
Ogle is being held at the county’s detention center.
The pastor grew up in Lugoff, graduated from Lugoff-Elgin High School and attended Fruitland Baptist Bible Institute in Hendersonville, N.C., Clifton said.
Ogle, who is married with two sons, adores his wife, Clifton said.
And he is a good father, said neighbor Pam Barker, tears in her eyes.
“He’s very involved with his children — he’s always playing football outside with his boys,” she said. “He’s a great neighbor and is always willing to help.”
Barker said if Ogle is found guilty, she will not condone his actions, but will forgive him.
“He loves his family,” she said. “He and his family are hurting bad, and we need to support them.”
After an emergency meeting Tuesday night, Ogle’s church resolved to unify its members and not let the situation destroy the 106-member congregation, Clifton said.
“This congregation has an opportunity to become a stronger congregation and come together and really seek God’s help for healing if they can forgive the pastor if he is guilty,” said Otis Scott Jr., pastor at Camden First United Methodist Church. “This can split the congregation.”
Ogle’s situation is a personal, human tragedy, said Bill Drees, director of missions for the Kershaw Baptist Association.
Drees had lunch with Ogle last week and visited him at the detention center Wednesday.
“This is why this is such a total shock to everyone — he grew up around this community, and it’s something no one expected,” Drees said.
“Northgate is a good church, and those are good folks in that church.
“We’re a small town, and this is just not the norm.”
Reach Riddle at (803) 771-8435.
[url=http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/16752120.htm]http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/16752120.htm[/url]
Former Herndon pastor is one of 'America's Most Wanted'
Post#4 跟進報道[i]By: Gregg MacDonald[/i]
[i]02/20/2007[/i]
A former Herndon pastor convicted of sodomy and statutory rape has made the list of the "America's Most Wanted" television show.
Jack E. Clark, former assistant pastor of a Pentecostal Church that once owned property at the intersection of Park and Monroe streets in Herndon, was listed as a "Fugitive From Justice" on the Feb. 17 airing of the TV program, according to the show's Web site.
On April 16, 1996, Herndon Police charged Clark with forcible sodomy and statutory rape of a 12-year-old girl whom he knew from his congregation.
Lt. Jerry Keys of the Herndon Police Department remembers the case, and Clark himself, well. Keys said that Clark grew up in Herndon and that Keys came in contact with him occasionally.
"He seemed very gung-ho, very religious," Keys said. Keys was working as part of the Criminal Investigative Section when Clark was originally arrested.
Sgt. Dennis Royal of the Herndon Police headed that investigation. Royal said the victim originally contacted an aunt who contacted police.
"It was an ongoing investigation," Royal said. "It wasn't a one-time event."
Clark was later convicted on both charges. But, according to court records, Clark's attorney filed for an appeal in June 1997 based on the fact that Clark had been formally denied a motion calling for an independent medical examination of the victim.
In a 1999 opinion by the Court of Appeals of Virginia, the convictions were reversed and Clark was granted a rehearing.
According to court records, during the rehearing, "the judgment of the trial court was affirmed without opinion by an evenly divided court, and the opinion previously rendered by the panel was withdrawn."
The case eventually made its way to the Virginia Supreme Court, where, in 2001, it was ruled that Clark's original convictions would stand.
But, by that time, Clark's whereabouts were unknown. His father, also a pastor, owned the church property and sold it to post his son's bond of $125,000, according to "America's Most Wanted."
"Clark's conviction pretty much killed that congregation," Royal said.
A bench warrant was issued for Clark, who was believed to have fled Virginia. He was not seen again for nearly two years when, in 2003, according to "America's Most Wanted," Clark was spotted "sleeping in a Chevy Astro van in Los Angeles, Calif."
While authorities were attempting to identify him, Clark escaped and led police on a high-speed chase that resulted in his escape. Royal said there have been sporadic reports that Clark is now back in Virginia.
Clark is described as a white male with blue eyes and brown hair, 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing about 240 pounds.
John Walsh, founder and host of "America's Most Wanted," spoke to children at McNair Elementary School in Herndon last spring to warn them of the dangers of predators like Clark.
[img=200,251]http://images.zwire.com/local/Z/Zwire2553/zwire/images/2007/02/story/H-Clarkc-0221_story.jpg[/img]
[url=http://www.timescommunity.com/site/tab5.cfm?newsid=17876781&BRD=2553&PAG=461&dept_id=511691&rfi=6]link[/url]
[[i] 本帖最後由 沙文 於 2007-2-24 10:11 編輯 [/i]]
PASTOR CHARGED WITH LEWD CONDUCT
[i]Reporter: Bryan Latham[/i][i]Friday Feb 23, 2007
[img]http://www.kpvi.com/images/topstory/RobinsonJosh.jpg[/img]
[/i][table=460] [tr] [/tr][/table]Shocking news out of Chubbuck, as a pillar of the community is arrested. Bryan Latham reports.
Chubbuck Police arrested Pastor Josh Robinson of Gate City Christian Church. The 28-year-old Robinson is charged with lewd conduct with a minor. Robinson served as a youth minister for the church.
Officers say the arrest came after the parents of a 17-year-old female, a member of his youth organization, approached law enforcement with allegations of inappropriate contact. Police say the alleged conduct occurred over a two-year period.
Det. Cpl. Mike Ballard, Chubbuck Police: "Right now, he has been charged with one charge of lewd conduct with a minor, and that may change in the course of the investigation - whether or not we believe there is enough evidence to support more charges. But in reference to other victims, we have one victim we are dealing with. We've got to make sure there aren't any more."
We left a message at the church, but have not heard back.
[url=http://www.kpvi.com/index.cfm?page=nbcstories.cfm&ID=3279]http://www.kpvi.com/index.cfm?page=nbcstories.cfm&ID=3279[/url]
[[i] 本帖最後由 沙文 於 2007-2-24 19:05 編輯 [/i]] [table=97%][tr][td=2,1]神父有妻有女侵捐款 十四年無人知[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,72%][color=#666565]中時電子報╱劉屏／華盛頓 2007-02-04 12:20[/color] [/td][td=1,1,28%][align=right][color=#666565]調整字級：[/color] [img]http://news.yam.com/i/wsize01_2.gif[/img] [img]http://news.yam.com/i/wsize02.gif[/img] [img]http://news.yam.com/i/wsize03.gif[/img] [img]http://news.yam.com/i/wsize04.gif[/img] [/align][/td][/tr][/table][table=97%][tr][td]這兩年，美國天主教會的日子不好過，主要是連連曝光的性侵害案。但是最新一起醜聞更是令人瞠目結舌，因為主角身為神父，而且是口碑極佳的神職人員，卻在退休後被人發現有妻有女（神父不可以結婚），還被查出至少竊占美金六十餘萬元。更離譜的是，他的鄰居竟然一直以為他是個生意人。
妻女皆不知情 鄰居當他商人
十四年來，他究竟怎麼偽裝過來的？竟然他的三個孩子都被矇在鼓裡？
這件事發生在民風純樸的維吉尼亞州露易莎縣，距離華府約一個多小時車程。主角羅德尼．羅迪斯原籍菲律賓，一九九二年以卅六歲之齡奉派到當地，牧養一個百年歷史卻搖搖欲墜的教會。他在去年退休時，教會成員已成長至將近三百六十個家庭，聚會人數超過一千人，且財務結構極佳，令人稱道。
羅迪斯謙和有禮，又富於愛心，例如發動教友賑濟南亞海嘯災民。一位會友說，教會內外，從未看過這麼好的使徒。偏偏他根本是個騙子，而且騙術之高，令人難以想像。由於他的犯罪過程太過離奇，華府的媒體頗為重視，華盛頓郵報甚至把這則訊息刊登在頭版，並附了彩色照片。
根據報導，十多年來，教友一直以為他住在教會宿舍。事實上，他住在距離教會約一小時車程的小鎮，家裡有妻子（有法院的結婚登記），有三個女兒，最小的約五、六歲。家裡有三輛車，包括一輛四輪傳動的越野車。草坪定時修剪，花木扶疏。不時在後院宴請親友，菜餚豐富。總是笑臉迎人，非常親切，家庭也和樂融融。
他總告訴別人說，他服務於進出口業，妻子是護士。鄰居壓根兒沒想到他說謊，也從未想到他會是神職人員。穿著打扮、談吐話題、家中擺設等等，無法讓人聯想到神父一職。案發之後，很多人都問，他如何在「世俗」與「神職」之間迅速轉換？到底哪個是真的羅迪斯？
侵吞教友捐款 進了秘密帳戶
他從一九八六年開始擔任神職人員，去年五月，因為中風、車禍，他以健康理由退休。六月間，有位會友向教會索取奉獻收據，教會遍查無著。到了十月間，這位會友發現這張一千美元的支票進了羅迪斯的秘密帳戶，於是教會委請警方全面追查，真相才曝光。警方說，到現在為止，已有美金六十萬至七十萬元進了此一秘密帳戶。真正數字還待追查。
羅迪斯在元月八日被捕，隨即以美金一萬元交保。他在十七日以電子郵件向會眾致歉，並表示接受一切後果，同時「請大家為我祈禱」。
有一則報導稱，七十七歲的退役空軍史考金說，當初海嘯賑災，羅迪斯極其懇切，感動之餘，史考金從太太的皮包拿出支票簿，奉獻了美金五百元。今天才知道，這筆錢沒有到災民手裡，而是進了羅迪斯的秘密帳戶。十四年來，這種情形不知發生了多少，可是就沒有一件失風。
鄰居驚嘆演技 教會加強稽查
這幾天適逢奧斯卡入圍名單揭曉，鄰居說，他的演技之佳，如果從影，入圍不成問題。被愚弄了這麼多年，信徒感受可想而知。不過也有人為他辯護，例如有人說，他這麼疼愛兒童，不免想要有自己的子女，所以即使背著梵蒂岡結婚，也不應苛責。
然而，侵占奉獻一事又該如何解釋？羅迪斯的神職身分是否遭到撤銷，要看教廷如何決定。不過對天主教界而言，最重要的是如何修補、重建信徒的信心。羅迪斯原先牧養的教會，講壇信息著重於「信心的脆弱」，勉勵會眾定睛於神；對其他教會而言，則是加強稽查，避免重演不幸。
[/td][/tr][/table]
Pastor embezzles over $96,000 in tribal funds
[i]Codie Sanchez[/i][i]The Arizona Republic[/i]
[i]Feb. 23, 2007 06:57 PM
[/i]A pastor pleaded guilty today to embezzling over $96,000 from the Gila River Indian Tribe, officials said.
Sheila Isabell 53, was charged with one count of embezzlement in federal district court in Phoenix.
Isabell of Chillicothe, Ohio, was accused of stealing $96,253 from the Gila Tribe and the Siloam Indian Baptist Church in Komatke, Arizona, officials said.
Isabell, the church pastor, applied for a grant from the tribe to build a community building, according to the district attorneys office. The tribe gave the church a check for $122,946. Timothy Isabell, 53, the pastor's husband, withdrew the money from the church's bank account for personal use, officials said.
He was also indicted for embezzlement and pleaded guilty on September 25, 2006. The sentencing for Sheila Isabell is set for April 16.
l[url=http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0223abrk-pastor0223-ON.html]http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0223abrk-pastor0223-ON.html[/url]
Clergyman arrested on sex charge
February 28, 2007[img]http://walb.images.worldnow.com/images/6156123_BG2.jpg[/img]
Shellman -- A well-respected preacher has been arrested by U.S. Postal Service authorities on charges of receiving and possessing child pornography. Harold Clinton Lasseter, pastor of the Shellman Methodist Church was taken into custody today.
The Shellman Methodist Church near the town square in Shellman, is over 100 years old, and has about 60 members. Wednesday afternoon, Pastor Hal Lasseter's name was still on the marquee, but he has been fired by the church where he was pastor for 12 years.
The congregation was taken completely by surprise when Lasseter was arrested on child porn charges after his office was raided Friday. His computer showed evidence of child porn, investigators said.
"Of course it was a shock," said one church member. "But we stand behind him 100%. Until we know some more facts, that's all I have to say," said Beryl Rigsby, Church Board Chair.
Lasseter was well thought of by the town and the congregation. He is 53-years-old, married, the father of two, and a grandfather. He is now under arrest for receiving child pornography.
"He's a fine man, you couldn't ask for a better pastor," said Rigsby.
"It's just a shock, and with him being a clergyman, you're really shocked, " said Shellman Mayor Paul Langford.
Sunday a member of the Methodist organization held services, while the congregation did not know of the pastor's troubles. The congregation is still considering the future of their church. Lasseter was arraigned Monday in Federal Court.
This statement was issued late this afternoon by Bishop B. Michael Watson, of the South Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church:
"Protecting the children in our churches and our communities is a main priority for us. We take these allegations very seriously. These kinds of actions are unacceptable behavior for any United Methodist clergy."
"The former pastor in question has surrendered his credentials from the ministerial office and is no longer a United Methodist Clergy."
The Shellman church is in the Columbus District of the United Methodist Church. Lasseter is being represented by a lawyer from Columbus.
[url]http://www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=6156123&nav=5kZQ[/url]
Trinity Baptist faces new abuse lawsuit
[i]By JEFF BRUMLEY, The Times-Union[/i]The second negligence lawsuit in just more than a week was filed Thursday against Trinity Baptist Church, also saying the Jacksonville church hid knowledge of alleged sexual abuse of children by former Pastor Robert Gray in the 1970s.
The Independent Baptist church referred questions about the suit to its attorney, Ed Trent, who said he had seen the suit but could not comment on pending litigation.
The lawsuit alleges that Gray, now 80, molested the unidentified plaintiff on three occasions from 1976 to 1979, when she was approximately 6 to 9 years old.
In one instance, the woman, now in her late 30s and living in Georgia, claims Gray prefaced the 1976 abuse by explaining "that the Bible says that people should love each other and show affection," according to the lawsuit.
In another, the alleged abuse occurred while Gray baptized her at Trinity in 1979.
Adam Horowitz, the Miami attorney representing the plaintiff, filed a similar lawsuit Feb. 21. As with that action, the new suit says the church failed to provide a safe environment for the girl, that it concealed its knowledge of other abuse claims against Gray and that it did not report what it knew to authorities.
Separately, Gray faces a Nov. 12 criminal trial on four counts of capital sexual battery.
Gray was arrested in May and again in July as at least 20 adults leveled claims of sexual abuse against him. He is under house arrest.
[url=http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/030207/met_8325913.shtml]http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/030207/met_8325913.shtml[/url]
Bankruptcy filing halts San Diego priest abuse trial
By Allison Hoffman, Associated Press WriterWednesday, February 28, 2007 12:25 PM PST
SAN DIEGO - The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection a few hours before it was to go to trial Wednesday in the first of more than 140 lawsuits accusing priests of sexual abuse.
The bankruptcy filing, put in at five minutes to midnight, automatically halted the court proceedings.
In a letter posted on the diocese's Web site, Bishop Robert H. Brom said the diocese made its decision because any damage awards in the earlier trials could deplete “diocesan and insurance resources” and leave nothing for other victims.
The diocese claimed in the filing late Tuesday $95.7 million in property holdings and another $60.4 million in liquid assets, including stocks, bonds and operating accounts.
San Diego is the fifth diocese in the nation to file for bankruptcy protection.
Diocese officials and lawyers for the plaintiffs failed to reach a settlement during two days of negotiations that ended Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court.
The diocese had called plaintiffs' lawyers on Tuesday morning to make a “final and best” settlement offer, Micheal Webb, a lawyer for the diocese said. He declined to specify how much the church had offered but said it was higher than total settlements reached in other dioceses in the United States.
“When they rejected it, we were left with no choice,” Webb said.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs said the amount the church offered was insufficient because the diocese had more plaintiffs than other jurisdictions.
They also accused the church of using the bankruptcy filing as a way to keep potentially embarrassing information under wraps.
“For three years they've told people they want to settle, they want to be transparent,” said John Manly, a lawyer for a plaintiff whose lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial in April, “but the moment it became clear the truth will come out through a jury trial, they sought to shut down victims' ability to get compensated and get out the truth.”
In its filing, the diocese did not list the names of litigants who have filed sex-abuse claims, indicating that it has petitioned to enter those details under seal.
The trial that had been scheduled to begin Wednesday arose from a woman's accusations that a priest forced her to have sex in his parish office in 1972, when she was 17. Three other trials were scheduled to follow, involving multiple victims and allegations that the diocese protected abusive priests by moving them from parish to parish.
Plaintiffs with cases already released for trial may appeal for permission to let those trials move ahead.
The diocese which covers San Diego and Imperial counties, has 98 churches, runs 50 schools.
The other dioceses that have filed for bankruptcy protection are Davenport, Iowa; Portland, Ore.; Spokane, Wash.; and Tucson. Tucson has emerged from bankruptcy protection, while proposed settlements are awaiting final approval in Portland and Spokane.
[url]http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2007/02/28/news/news13022807.txt[/url]
Congregation Supports Embattled Pastor
[i]3/11/2007 4:51:03 PM[/i]Members of a south Sacramento church are defending their pastor who was arrested Friday on charges of child molestation.
Frederick Dew was booked into the Sacramento County Jail on suspicion of lewd acts with a child.
To many members of Praise Tabernacle church on 44th Street, pastor Frederick Dew remains a man of God, despite his brush with the law.
Police charged Dew, 34, with the sexual assault of a 13-year-old boy. The alleged attack happened last week in the restroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. Library on 24th Street.
Authorities said the victim escaped and provided authorities with a description of his alleged attacker.
But parishioners believe charges against Dew will be dropped.
"He's a man of God. The devil has tricks. We believe God's report, not that of the news media," said one church member, who did not want to be identified.
Others, including members of other congregations in the same office park, did not have praise for the pastor.
"It's horrible, a black eye for the church community," said Leon Gibson with nearby New Directions Church.
Dew remained behind bars on $500,000 bond.
[url=http://www.news10.net/display_story.aspx?storyid=25333&provider=top]http://www.news10.net/display_story.aspx?storyid=25333&provider=top[/url]
[[i] 本帖最後由 沙文 於 2007-3-12 14:23 編輯 [/i]] TV anchor: I was sexually abused by Catholic priestPOSTED: 12:55 p.m. EDT, March 12, 2007
[b]More on CNN TV:[/b] Thomas Roberts discusses his abuse by a Catholic priest in a special edition of "Anderson Cooper 360°" tonight at 10 ET.
By Thomas Roberts
CNN
Editor's note: Thomas Roberts has been a Headline News anchor since 2001. In this story, he discusses being sexually abused by a Catholic priest as a teenager.
[b]ATLANTA, Georgia[/b] (CNN) -- I became a victim of sexual abuse at the age of 14; the abuse lasted three years. It took me nearly 20 years to gather the strength to help put my abuser behind bars. Now, a year after "justice" was done, I am ready to tell my story publicly in ways I never have before.
My abuser was Father Jeff Toohey, a trusted man of God. He was the equivalent of a religious celebrity in my private all-boys Catholic school in Baltimore, Maryland. Father Jeff was every boy's friend and mentor. I considered him my mentor as well.
When my parents divorced, I was sent to Father Jeff to help me cope with all the changes. Divorce in the mid-1980s still seemed so foreign. Plus, I was just a kid, and I didn't know much about divorce. I just knew it sucked.
All I had at that time in my life was my family and school. Those were my constants. But as my family fell apart, so did my life at school. After the abuse began, high school became a prison of shame and lies.
I felt trapped. My parents would be horrified to know their failure at marriage put their son at risk to be sexually abused and that the man abusing me was the high school chaplain and beloved priest. ([color=#000099]Watch Roberts' mom say the priest will 'burn in hell'[/color] [img=19,12]http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/1.5/main/icon_video.gif[/img])
The school would never believe me, I thought, and I feared I would be expelled if I revealed the abuse. I was 14, with no voice, except the one in my head saying, "You can never tell the truth about what is happening."
Roughly a month after the abuse started, I attempted to commit suicide. I took a bottle of my mother's pills. I lined them up one-by-one on my maple dresser. I took them all and lay on my bed hoping to just fade away and die.
My sister, Patsy, came home and found me. It was the day before her 18th birthday. She saved my life that day just by merely coming to my room to say, "Hi." She saw the pill bottle and went to get ipecac, which made me throw up.
My parents were terribly upset by my actions. Father Jeff was told I tried to kill myself. All agreed I just needed more counseling. Father Jeff's exact words were, "You have so much to live for." I felt so cornered, and I had nowhere to go and no one to run to. I just became numb to the abuse.
"This too shall pass" is one of my favorite religious sayings. The abuse did pass, but it left me so insecure about who I was.
When I was in college, another boy, Michael Goles, came forward and reported his abuse at the hands of Father Jeff. I knew I could help Michael if I, too, revealed Father Jeff's abuse, but out of a feeling of self-preservation, I remained quiet. Michael wasn't believed, and his case was thrown out of court.
Nearly 20 years after the abuse started, I became strong enough to go back and confront what had happened to me. I was strong enough to tell my family the truth. I was strong enough to report it to the archdiocese. And I was strong enough to call Michael Goles and tell him, "I am sorry," and that I believe him because it happened to me, too.
Together, we were strong enough to see our abuser finally admit his crimes. Father Jeff was charged with 10 criminal counts of child sexual abuse in relation to my case. He asked for a plea and admitted his guilt in court. He was sentenced to five years in jail but only served 10 months. He was released early to serve eight months in home detention.
This story is so layered. For a long time, I couldn't talk about it without crying. But a year ago, CNN Anchor Anderson Cooper and CNN Senior Producer Charlie Moore approached me about telling and following my story. I was scared. I was scared of being so honest and televising this journey.
What would people think? Would I ruin my career? But I came to the conclusion that I will not be scared anymore. I will not be scared of telling the truth because it might be uncomfortable for people to hear.
If this story compels even one person to seek help for being sexually abused, then it is all worth it. All it takes is telling one person. From there, strength grows and you can tell a second person and so on. Then you can finally have control of your life back.
[url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/09/roberts.btsc/index.html]http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/09/roberts.btsc/index.html[/url]
該撒的物當歸給該撒，不過遲啲都唔拘
[b]Pastor, church have been delinquent in paying tax bills[/b]In addition, thousands in building contractors’ fees haven’t been paid, according to liens against church.
By JUDY L. THOMAS
The Kansas City Star
The Rev. Jerry Johnston and his ministries have a history of being slow to pay their taxes.
Records show that in 2002 and again in 2004, the Kansas Department of Revenue went to court to force Johnston to pay his state income taxes. Department officials said tax liens were filed only after numerous attempts were made to collect.
•A tax warrant filed in September 2002 charged that Johnston owed $5,732 on his 2000 state income tax. That judgment was satisfied in March 2003.
•A tax warrant filed in September 2004 charged that Johnston owed $5,422 on his 2002 state income tax. Johnston paid that off in February 2005.
•The Johnson County treasurer’s office reported last summer that First Family Church was delinquent in paying $8,000 in special assessment taxes to the county.
Johnston responded to the tax questions through a spokesman, Lawrence Swicegood.
“Pastor Johnston and his wife have never failed to pay income taxes,” he said. “On two occasions in the past, their personal property taxes were inadvertently overlooked and went unpaid. For the past several years they have been escrowed by the Johnstons’ lender and are included in his monthly mortgage payment.”
As for the church’s delinquent county taxes last year, Swicegood said, “the taxes to which you refer were ‘special assessment’ taxes. When it was determined that the Church was subject to these special assessments and that they were due and owing, the Church paid them in full.”
Tax troubles, however, go back many years. Records show that in 1988 the Internal Revenue Service filed a federal tax lien against Jerry Johnston Ministries for $19,700. When asked about the lien, Swicegood said, “Your question relates back 20 years. The Church has no record of it and Pastor Johnston has no recollection of it.”
Former church members and contractors also complain that despite the money flowing in, the church also is slow to pay its bills.
Earlier this month, McKnight Development Corp., an Ohio company that built the children’s building, filed a mechanic’s lien against the church for $533,341.
And a local contractor, Don Lewellen, filed a mechanic’s lien in January for nearly $90,000 for work on the children’s building that he said he finished Nov. 7.
“I have a bill in for October and November, and none of them were paid,” said Lewellen, whose company did metal stud framing, drywall and acoustical ceiling work on the building.
Jerry Simmons, a developer who served on First Family’s building committee but left the church about seven years ago, said vendors used to contact him to complain about late payments.
Attorney Eddie James said First Family was working to resolve the lien problems “in a financially responsible manner.”
“It’s not unusual on a project of this size to have some liens filed as the project is being closed out and issues are resolved and worked through,” James said.
Trumpeter Driscoll reports to prison
[b]該撒的物當歸給該撒，不過遲啲都唔拘（之二）[/b]Wed Mar 14, 6:00 PM ET
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Grammy-winning trumpeter Phil Driscoll reported to federal prison this week to begin a one-year tax evasion sentence after a judge denied his request to remain free while he appeals the conviction.
Driscoll, 59, reported Monday to the federal penitentiary in Atlanta, U.S. Bureau of Prisons records show. His projected release date, with credit for good conduct, is Jan. 24.
A jury last June convicted Driscoll on charges of conspiracy and tax evasion involving his gospel music ministry.
Driscoll recorded with several pop acts in the 1970s, includingJoe Cocker,Stephen Stills,Leon Russell and Blood, Sweat & Tears. He received a Grammy in 1984.
He recorded more than 30 of his own albums of gospel and patriotic music, which he distributes through his ministry based in Eatonton, Ga., and its Web site.
An indictment accused Driscoll and his wife, Lynne, of scheming with her mother, bookkeeper Chris Blankenship, to avoid reporting personal income totaling more than $1 million between 1996 and 1999.
An IRS agent testified at the trial that Driscoll and his wife improperly used his Mighty Horn Ministries to shield the money and evade $128,627 in taxes.
The jury acquitted Lynne Driscoll on the conspiracy count and deadlocked on a tax evasion charge that was later dismissed. Blankenship died before the trial.
At the end of the sentencing, Phil Driscoll's unpaid tax total was reduced to a range of more than $30,000 but less than $80,000. The white-haired trumpeter said at the sentencing that he never intended to take any money from the government of "the country that I love."
U.S. District Judge Curtis L. Collier at the Jan. 25 sentencing allowed Driscoll 45 days to report to prison while considering the bond motion.
Collier's order denying bond said Driscoll's arguments to remain free failed to "raise a substantial question of law or fact" likely to result in reversal, a new trial, a sentence that does not include imprisonment or a reduced sentence.
[url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070314/ap_on_en_mu/trumpeter_tax_sentence]http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070 ... mpeter_tax_sentence[/url]
Brazilian Pentecostal leaders caught in a scandal
SÃO PAULO: Only a few months ago, Estevam and Sônia Hernandes were on television preaching a gospel of material success and living a life to match.But that was before they were arrested in Miami in January and charged with illegally smuggling cash into the United States, including $9,000 concealed in a Bible.
All told, the U.S. authorities seized $56,467 that the couple and other family members had hidden on their bodies and in luggage, according to the U.S. indictment. The Brazilian authorities, who have charged the couple with money laundering and fraud, are seeking their extradition.
Because the Hernandeses are prominent and controversial in Brazil, their travails have focused new attention, not just on their own church, but also on the growing wealth and power of the religious movement they are part of, the fastest-growing in Brazil: Pentecostalism, many of whose fundamentalist Protestant denominations stress speaking in tongues or other visible manifestations of the Holy Spirit.
Hernandes, originally a marketing executive, and his wife, formerly a boutique manager, founded the Rebirth in Christ Church in the mid-1980s. They now preside over a religious and business structure that includes more than 1,000 churches, a television and radio network, a recording company, real estate in Brazil and the United States and, according to Brazilian news reports, a horse-breeding ranch and a trademark on the word "gospel" in Brazil.
On television and at their home church in São Paulo — which has been defaced with graffiti saying "You don't carry money in the Bible, thief!" and other insulting slogans — Hernandes, 52, and his wife, 48, preached a "theology of prosperity," often accompanied by her singing and sometimes by his saxophone playing.
Each year, the Rebirth in Christ Church sponsored a March for Jesus down the main avenue of São Paulo, the largest city in South America, mobilizing as many as three million people.
One of the couple's three children, Fernanda, is also a pastor and has asserted that the charges against her parents are part of a campaign of religious persecution against Pentecostals and the larger group they count themselves members of, evangelicals. She has complained that prosecutors in Brazil, the country with the largest Roman Catholic population in the world, are conducting "a new Inquisition."
"Brazil is still Catholic, but evangelicals are already 30 percent of the population," she said in a recent televised sermon. "That's why they want to destroy us and refer to us in a pejorative manner."
Coverage of the Hernandeses and the charges against them has been uniformly negative in the Brazilian news media, with many newspapers and magazines belittling their denomination as a "sect."
One newspaper regularly puts "bishop" in quotation marks when it refers to the couple and other church leaders.
"This is not just a religious issue, but one that involves media, political and commercial interests," said Luiz Flávio Borges D'Urso, a lawyer for the Hernandeses who is president of the bar association in São Paulo. "The truth is that television is very competitive and, since the church has a network of its own, the growth of their Gospel Network has generated antagonisms and confrontations with other media organizations whose interests are affected."
According to the nondenominational World Christian Database, Brazil has overtaken the United States as the country with the largest Pentecostal population. The survey, based on figures that churches provide, calculated that 24 million Brazilians belong to Pentecostal denominations and 138 million are Roman Catholics.
As the wealth and influence of Pentecostal and allied denominations in Brazil have grown, so have their involvement in politics. More than 10 percent of the members of Brazil's Congress belong to an evangelical caucus, and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva chose his vice president from a party dominated by Pentecostal groups.
The Hernandeses' troubles became public late last year when prosecutors, who had been investigating complaints from former church members, froze several bank accounts. When the Hernandeses failed to appear at a hearing — because of medical problems, their lawyer says — an order to detain them was granted.
In early January, after a judge set aside the detention decree, they left for the United States.
They have several churches in southern Florida and a home in Boca Raton, but they were stopped at customs because the Brazilian authorities had issued an alert in their names for "suspicion of money laundering and fraud related to Brazilian organized crime," according to an affidavit filed by an agent of the U.S. Bulk Currency Smuggling Task Force.
"It was a misunderstanding, an inadvertently erroneous declaration," said D'Urso. "They go to the United States every January to preach and evangelize and weren't planning to stay. They want to come back, to show that the accusations here have no foundation."
While they await trial in the United States, the Hernandeses, free on bail, continue to preach to their followers, who include the soccer star Kaká, through Webcam and satellite broadcasts.
They practice long-distance faith healing, urge their supporters to keep tithing and proclaim their innocence.
The Hernandeses' trial on the cash- smuggling charges is scheduled for early May, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney in Miami said. D'Urso said negotiations for a plea bargain were "quite advanced," but the lawyers representing the couple in the United States declined requests for an interview.
In the meantime, the Hernandeses' problems at home continue to mount.
The Brazilian government is seeking their extradition and is moving to strip their church of some media properties.
In addition, two of their children and a son-in-law are being investigated on suspicion that a state legislator, who is also a Rebirth in Christ minister, gave them no-show jobs.
Hernandes has condemned all of the accusations as "the handiwork of the devil."
[url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/19/news/brazil.php]http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/19/news/brazil.php[/url]
[img]http://img.iht.com/images/2007/03/19/web.0319-brazil393.jpg[/img]
Sonia Hernandes, right, leaving federal court in Miami last month after she was charged with smuggling cash into the United States. (David Adame/AP)
揚言殺掉「二奶」 華裔隨軍牧師被囚
DWNEWS.COM-- 2007年3月18日23:8:33(京港臺時間) --多維新聞網明報據紐約郵報十七日訊/紐約官員16日稱﹐華裔隨軍牧師約翰‧劉(音﹐John Lau)因揚言殺掉「二奶」被剝奪所有軍銜及判入獄5個月。
50歲的上尉約翰‧劉在軍事法庭上供認﹐他在尼亞拉瓜瀑布市服役時與34歲的泰勒「結婚」﹐並把她帶回佛州德拉姆堡的家。該女子與約翰的妻子和家人共同生活﹐儼然成為他的「二房」。
但泰勒卻將這位牧師描述成一個控制並恐嚇她的性虐待狂。泰勒說﹕「反抗的後果很嚴重﹐因為他是『主人』﹐我一定會付出反抗的代價。」泰勒控訴﹐約翰甚至希望她像一名妓女那樣為他服務。16日被收押的約翰承認﹐在2004年隨軍前往英國時結識泰勒﹐並把她帶回美國。約翰在法庭上說﹕「妻子和我的生活過於平淡﹐需要尋找催化劑來增進我們的性關系。」
從此﹐泰勒像「二房」一樣﹐住在約翰的家＿堙M還與全家人共同前往塞浦路斯﹑加勒比海和佛羅裡達珊瑚島度假。約翰經常帶＿???k人辦理公事﹐還介紹說﹐泰勒是妻子的朋友。
去年9月﹐約翰奉命隨陸軍第10山地師派往伊拉克。其間﹐泰勒告訴約翰的家人﹐她打算離開這裡。
約翰供認﹐他給泰勒回復了3封電子郵件﹐威脅殺了她。泰勒說﹐約翰向她承諾穩定的感情和在美國的生活﹐而騙取她的好感。泰勒說﹕「事實並非我愛上了約翰﹐然後決定成為他的二奶。」
約翰被控犯有通奸罪和威脅他人生命安全罪﹐被判在軍事監獄服刑5個月﹐其所有軍銜﹑工資和津貼全被取消。
[url]http://www5.chinesenewsnet.com/MainNews/SinoNews/Oversea/2007_3_18_11_8_33_788.html[/url]
Ex-Thousand Oaks Baptist pastor sentenced for molesting girl
03/28/2007 10:51:27 AM PDTTHOUSAND OAKS, Calif.- A former pastor who pleaded guilty to molesting a student at a church-run school in the 1980s has been sentenced to six years and four months in prison.
Shortly after being sentenced Tuesday, William Alan Malgren, 52, collapsed in a holding cell and had to be revived.
Malgren was arrested in March for sexually abusing the girl at church events and on church school grounds in 1988 and 1989.
At the time, Malgren was a pastor at the Thousand Oaks Baptist Church school and the girl was a student there. She is now a woman in her 30s.
The ex-pastor admitted to sexually abusing the girl when she was 7 or 8, but statutes kept prosecutors from charging Malgren with crimes that occurred before she was 14 years old.
Earlier this year, Malgren tried unsuccessfully to withdraw his guilty plea, but Superior Court Judge Bruce Clark ruled that Malgren pleaded guilty "freely and voluntarily" to multiple counts of lewd acts on a child.
[url]http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_5539612?nclick_check=1[/url]
CNN帥哥主播幼年遭神父性侵自家人專訪數度哽咽
美國有線電視新聞網（CNN）日前驚爆，台內男主播湯瑪斯‧羅柏茲少年時曾被神父性侵多年，CNN最近專訪這名主播，談及往事數度哽咽，還表示高中時曾因此試圖自殺。現年33歲的湯瑪斯羅柏茲是CNN台內備受矚目的年輕主播，但是他有一段傷痛的過去，令他過去20年來都活在黑暗中。12日他親自在CNN現身說法，道出這段遭教會神職人員性侵害的悲慘經歷。
在巴迪摩爾郊區長大的羅柏茲，從小篤信天主教，也因此常到神父傑夫‧圖海的家，1980年代中期爸媽離婚後，他更被視為需要神父心靈輔導，沒想到神父是披著羊皮的狼，向他伸出鹹豬手。
羅柏茲回憶某日晚上遭性侵害過程：「他把我拉向他肚子邊，親吻我的耳朵，舔我的耳朵」，「在神父那，他先舔我的耳朵，然後舔他自己的手掌，接著就用手摸我，用他的手幫我手淫，然後開始親我，這真的真的很痛苦。」
他說，第一次遭神父性侵害後，從此高中生活變成「羞辱與謊言的牢籠」，「我覺得被困住了」。之後，羅柏茲被神父性侵的次數越來越頻繁，他不敢告訴家人，甚至曾因此企圖自殺，幸好他姊姊及時闖入救了他。
上了大學，羅柏茲迫不及待到外地求學，希望能遠離神父。此時，他的故鄉有另一名年輕人出面指控被神父性侵，卻沒人願相信他，羅柏茲說，「我不想回去陷入烈焰中，告訴大家說：那就是我，我和那男孩有同樣的故事，我也被性侵。」
直到三年前，羅柏茲在心理醫生輔導下，決定掀開神父的假面具，與另一名被神父性侵的人見面，兩人同時出面具狀控告神父。該名神父被判五年徒刑，但是最後只服了10個月徒刑，就因表現良好出獄。
對此，羅柏茲無奈的說，「我實在不知如何定義正義，什麼叫正義？我有過提早被釋放的機會嗎？」
[url]http://www.ettoday.com/2007/03/13/334-2066331.htm[/url]
Honduran police arrest priest wanted on child abuse charges
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras: Honduran police arrested a Costa Rican priest who has been convicted of child abuse in his homeland, officials said.Enrique Vasquez, 48, was arrested Wednesday during a routine stop in the Honduran capital, police spokesman Anibal Baca said Thursday.
Vasquez failed to present a passport and claimed to be a Venezuelan called Strauss, Baca said. However, after an "intense interrogation" he confessed to his true identity and it was found he was wanted by Interpol, he said.
Vasquez was accused of committing child abuse in a Costa Rican church in 1994 and has been a fugitive since 1998.
In 2005, a Costa Rican court convicted him in his absence and sentenced him to 12 years in prison.
[url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/04/20/america/LA-GEN-Honduras-Priest-Arrest.php]http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2 ... s-Priest-Arrest.php[/url] 蘋果日報
2005-04-02
迫口交不果 虐打勒令脫衣彈跳 牧師非禮智障女囚21月
基督教香港信義會一名已婚牧師淫辱智障女教友一案，牧師庭上辯稱女教友與時下年輕人表現自我同出一轍，兩年來的婚外情僅互相愛撫身體，亦從未向她傳道，不察覺她智障，裁判官最後不接受牧師解釋，認為牧師非禮心智不成熟的女教友，嚴重違反誠信，更用武力虐待，形容為裁判法院一宗最差劣案件之一，可看盡人性陰暗的一面，重判牧師入獄二十一個月。
裁判官郭啟安判案時表示，被告身為受人尊敬的牧師非禮心智不成熟的受害人，除嚴重違反誠信，更用武力虐打方式迫受害人就範，對受害人極盡侮辱，強迫她光着上半身上下跳動，可知受害人當時承受的震撼及傷害是如此大。
官：案情令公眾厭惡
郭啟安續指，被告早前認罪，受害人原毋須出庭作證，免除憶述案發經過時出現尷尬的情況，被告卻聲稱從未察覺受害人的智商有問題，她最終需要上庭，受害人表現緊張，可見她承受壓力之大。
儘管控方早前已索取律政司指示，認為此案適合在裁判法院處理，裁判法院單一控罪最高可判囚兩年，惟郭啟安認為此案適合在區域法院答辯，區院的司法管轄權最高可判監七年。而本案揭露的案情令公眾厭惡，為平息案件為事主及其家人帶來的怨憤，法庭須判處阻嚇性刑罰，即使被告沒有案底，仍須判監二十一個月。
信義會：已革除職務
基督教香港信義會回應指，張偉忠已於去年二月被革除在教會一切職務，並接受輔導，待案件審結後會按章褫奪其牧師職銜，聲明並對張無法勝過自己的軟弱，作出羞辱主名的事而感到難過。
四十一歲被告張偉忠，現時無業，他早前在粉嶺裁判法院承認一項非禮罪，律師求情表示，對受害人和法庭致歉，明白案情嚴重性，希望從輕法落。近十名教友昨日到庭支持被告，其間被告神態自若，與教友有講有笑，被告進入犯人檻時，仍不忘向教友及妻子豎起拇指。
法庭就被告爭議的部份案情進行聆訊，傳召受害人在屏風後作供，最後裁定被告表面證供成立，被告選擇自辯作供。
他憶述受害人起初委託他，推薦她加入另一間教會，惟遭該教會拒絕，受害人於是參加被告主持的周日祟拜及讀經班。
被告強調，他從來不察覺受害人的智商異於常人，他承認受害人有時表現不投入，在小組時自顧講手提電話，但被告亦認為這與時下年輕人表現自我同出一轍。
無向受害人講聖經
被告承認○一年三、四月結識受害人，兩人在同年九、十月起有親密關係，每隔一至兩個月便光着身子，互相撫摸身體，每次歷時一個多小時。
被告表示因兩人有感情關係，故沒有向受害人講及聖經問題。
裁判官不禁質問：「除咗佢嘅肉體，乜你唔會同鍾意嘅人分享你嘅信仰？」被告自知犯錯：「我好唔想同佢講信仰，如果我講就真係自打嘴巴。」
案情指前年十一月，被告與低智商受害人相約到天水圍教友聚會的單位會面，被告得悉女方沒有買避孕套後大怒，要求替他口交不果，肆意凌辱，揮舞腰帶鞭打及咬她，更要她脫衣彈跳，乘機撫弄胸部。
參考資料:
[url]http://fungchiwood.com/20050402apple-priest.htm[/url]
Hugh King charged with cocaine possession
The Rev. Hugh King, a prominent Pensacola pastor and civic leader, has been charged with possession of cocaine.King posted a $1,000 bond early Saturday morning on the third-degree felony charge after he was booked into Escambia County Jail.
Elvin McCorvey, president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said that King's arrest was a tragedy for the local community.
"I'm very disappointed that this has happened, because Rev. King was a man that I held in high esteem," McCorvey said. "He always seemed to be a fine person."
King could not be reached for comment.
King, 53, is pastor of the Greater Union Baptist Church, one of the largest black churches in Pensacola, and also serves on the board of trustees for Community Maritime Park Associates Inc.
The former Pensacola City Council member was arrested late Friday evening at A and Blount streets by Pensacola police, who reported finding a plastic bag with cocaine in King's back pocket.
However, longtime church member Zoya Webster-Phillips, 64, said she does not believe King is guilty as charged.
"Naturally, we are soliciting the prayers of the people of Pensacola, whatever the outcome," Webster-Phillips said.
"Whatever the outcome is, his loved ones, which include his church family, will stand with him and for him."
Police arrested King shortly before midnight Friday when responding to a burglary call in the 100 block of North D Street. Police were notified that two black males were seen leaving the scene of the burglary in a gray Chevrolet Blazer. Several blocks away, they spotted a light-green Ford Explorer driven by Mark Anthony Cotton, 51, a police report states. King was a passenger in the car.
After stopping King and Cotton, an officer noticed a knife in the center drink holder of the car and observed a white-powder residue on it.
King and Cotton later were searched, and a plastic bag with white powder was found in King's back pocket, arresting officer Charles Joseph Decker reported.
White-powder residue also was found on the driver's seat.
All of the white powder tested positive as cocaine, Decker stated in the report.
Jail officials estimated the value of the cocaine at $25.
Escambia County jail had no record of Cotton's arrest. Cotton could not be reached for comment.
King is a well-known fixture in the community. He served on the Pensacola City Council from 1999 to until 2004, declining to run for re-election following the death of his father, the Rev. A.J. King Sr., on Oct. 9, 2003.
A.J. King led the church for more than 45 years.
Hugh King took over as pastor full time following his father's death and attributed his decision not to seek re-election to his expanded role at the church.
As president of the local chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Council, King helped push to rename a portion of Alcaniz Street in honor of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr.
It was unclear Saturday whether Hugh King still is president of the SCLC chapter.
Vocal on issues affecting minorities in the community, King questioned the University of West Florida's lack of minority contractors in 1998 and the state's "stand your ground" law passed by the Legislature in 2005. That law provides immunity to those who use deadly force in defense of life and limb.
Recently, King was appointed to the board of trustees for the Community Maritime Park Associates, which is entrusted with spearheading a $70 million waterfront project in downtown Pensacola that is expected to become the city's signature tourist attraction.
King was selected to oversee a subcommittee tasked with creating a contractor's academy to train local minority business owners in the complexities of seeking and securing bids on the project that will include a multiuse stadium, University of West Florida classrooms, a maritime museum and restaurant and retail space.
Pensacola Mayor John Fogg, who also sits on the Community Maritime Park Associates board of trustees, said he was not aware of any provisions in the group's charter that would allow for the removal of a board member if convicted of a felony.
Fogg said he did not want to speculate on a case that has not been decided.
"The due process has to unfold," Fogg said.
Some area pastors and City Council members contacted for the story Saturday night were reluctant to talk.
Quint Studer, a local businessman, owner of the Pensacola Pelicans and principal contributor to the maritime park called King's arrest "a tragedy" but declined further comment.
King is no stranger to controversy. A council member of the Governor's Front Porch Revitalization Council of Pensacola, he has been a staunch supporter of the organization's community liaison, Thelma Manley.
The Inspector General's Office of the Florida Department of Community Affairs and the Florida Office of Financial Integrity are investigating allegations by some council members that Manley took agency grand funds for her own use.
King called a news conference at his church to defend Manley after the allegations surfaced.
Pensacola businessman John Wyche has known King for decades. King recently served as campaign manager of Wyche's recent unsuccessful run for the state House District 3 seat.
"We're just going to pray for him and his family with the hope that everything turns out just fine," Wyche said of King. "The Christian thing to do is for people to not cast stones at Rev. King. Now is the time for folks to show him all the love and support at this time of need."
Webster-Phillips agreed.
"The church is 100 percent behind him," she said. "A person is innocent until proven guilty."
[url]http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070429/NEWS01/704290318/1006[/url]
Pastor: "Double life" included drugs, prostitutes
[img]http://www.fox11az.com/news/topstories/stories/M_IMAGE.11220589918.93.88.fa.d0.2453f769.jpg[/img]UPDATE, 3pm Tuesday: 49-year-old Rev. Herman Lewis appeared in Spokane Co. Superior Court this afternoon on charges of assault and attempted kidnapping. According to court documents, Lewis told detectives he went to the Shari's Restaurant near Indiana and Monroe to meet a woman to have sex with.
Lewis also told police he had been living "a double life" since turning 19 by having sex with prostitutes and regularly using crack cocaine and PCP.
UPDATE, 9:30pm Spokane County Jail officials say Herman Lewis is still at the jail, but in lockdown because he was considered combative and a threat to himself and officers when he was booked this afternoon.
According to his resume, Rev. Herman Lewis Sr. began his career as pastor near his hometown of Winnie, Texas. Between 1980 and 2003 Lewis lived in Austin and Galveston. He was a chaplain for a county jail, a local hospital, and helped build a new baptist church for 400 members. In 2003, he joined the People's Institutional Baptist Church in Seattle. Nothing on his resume has been verified.
Lewis recently reported that he left an $80,000 managerial job at a Seattle Holiday Inn to become the pastor of Spokane's Morning Star Baptist Church last year. The congregation recently moved to a building on West Rowan.
Lewis is charged with Unlawful Imprisonment and Assault.
UPDATE, 3:30pm Monday: Members of the Morning Star Baptist Church confirm 49-year-old Herman Lewis, arrested this morning after leading Spokane Police on a chase this morning, is their senior pastor. Lewis is charged with unlawful imprisonment and two counts of assault. He's now in the Spokane County Jail.
SPOKANE -- One man has been arrested after a short pursuit that ended at Division and Indiana.Officers are investigating a possible kidnapping at Shari's at Indiana an Monroe. According to police, someone tried to stop the kidnapper, and that person was assaulted by the suspect.
The suspect then fled to a nearby McDonalds. Police found his silver corvette in the parking lot. The suspect put his car in reverse striking two officers, then hit a police car.
Police say the suspect also rammed a patrol car several times. A short pursuit followed.
The man was arrested at a stop light at Indiana and Division. Police used a taser to subdue him.
He was taken to the hospital for treatment and for a mental evaluation.
[url=http://www.fox11az.com/news/topstori....2983c143.html]http://www.fox11az.com/news/topstori....2983c143.html[/url]
Victims, family file lawsuit against pastors, Hebron church
Assistant pastor pleaded guilty to raping teen, other chargesBy JIM SABIN
Advocate City Editor
HEBRON -- A family has sued two pastors, their church and others a year and a half after one of the pastors pleaded guilty to sex charges against juvenile sisters.
The girls, now 17 and 19, and family members have filed a lawsuit in Licking County Common Pleas Court against Lonnie J. Aleshire Jr., Lonnie J. Aleshire Sr. and Licking Baptist Church. Aleshire Jr. pleaded guilty in November 2005 to a count of rape, six counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor and three counts of sexual imposition.
The problems didn't end there, the family claims.
"There's been an ongoing continuance or occurrence of events between my clients and the church," attorney Ross Gillespie, of Farlow & Associates, in Dublin, said on the family's behalf. "They didn't feel like they got an adequate response or any response from the defendants. They felt they were ostracized in the church community."
Aleshire Jr. was an associate pastor who employed the younger sister as a baby sitter and carried on what prosecutors called a two-year love affair with her. He also raped the older sister in a back hallway at the church in June 2004.
His father, Aleshire Sr., was the senior pastor at the church. The lawsuit also names American Baptist Churches of Ohio, based in Granville, and American Baptist Churches of USA, based in Pennsylvania, as well as the Revs. Lawrence Swain and Robert Cassady, of ABC Ohio.
Cassady declined comment when reached at the Granville office. No listing could be found for Aleshire Sr., and the church's number has been disconnected.
The church's Web site lists "Lonny Aleshire" as its pastor, but in the upcoming sermons section, none are listed after August 2006.
The lawsuit claims the organizations, Aleshire Sr. and the church did not take action against Aleshire Jr. and instead allowed him to conduct a sermon from his jail cell. The plaintiffs also claim the church and Aleshire Sr. made false and defamatory statements about the family between January 2005 and December 2006.
The lawsuit includes proposed damages totaling $3.8 million, but Gillespie said those are general numbers.
"We've requested a jury in this case, and we expect a jury to decide the amount of the award," Gillespie said. "We have tried to resolve my clients' claims informally. We didn't have any success. ... They have indicated that they are not interested or willing to negotiate at this time."
The defendants have 28 days from the time the lawsuit was served to respond, Gillespie said. Though the case was filed April 17, defendants weren't served until Monday and Tuesday.
Cassady said Columbus attorney James Brudney is representing the church. Brudney did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Jim Sabin can be reached at (740) 328-8821 or [email]jsabin@newarkadvocate.com[/email].
[url]http://www.newarkadvocate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070427/NEWS01/704270350/1002[/url]
我做唔到牧師唯有叮熟妳！
[b]Woman: Blame devil for infant in microwave[/b]GALVESTON, Texas (AP) -- A woman blames the devil, and not her husband, for severely burning their infant daughter in a microwave, a Texas television station reported.
Eva Marie Mauldin said Satan compelled her 19-year-old husband, Joshua Royce Mauldin, to microwave their daughter May 10 because the devil disapproved of Joshua's efforts to become a preacher.
"Satan saw my husband as a threat," Eva Mauldin told Houston television station KHOU-TV.
A grand jury indicted Joshua Mauldin last week on child injury charges after hearing evidence that he placed the two-month-old in a motel microwave for 10 to 20 seconds. (Watch cops react to burned baby Video)
The infant, Ana Marie, remains hospitalized. She suffered burns on the left side of her face and to her left hand, police said.
Police said Joshua Mauldin told them he put Ana Marie in the microwave because he was under stress. Eva Maudlin denied it.
"He would never do anything to hurt her. He loves her," she said.
She is hoping to be reunited with her daughter, but Child Protective Services is working to have the parental rights severed.
[url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/05/20/baby.in.microwave.ap/index.html]http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/05/20/baby.in.microwave.ap/index.html[/url]
Former Penn Hills minister charged with sex crimes
May 19, 2007A former youth minister was charged with numerous sex crimes yesterday involving two underage boys who were members of his youth group.
David Baird, 45, of Penn Hills, was charged with statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviant intercourse, sexual assault, two counts of indecent assault, indecent exposure, endangering the welfare of children, corruption of minors and unlawful contact with a minor.
Police said Mr. Baird had a variety of sexual encounters with two boys, aged 10 and 14, at his home while he worked as youth pastor for a Covenant Church of Pittsburgh in Wilkinsburg.
Mr. Baird worked for the church from January 1994 to 2004 as both a youth pastor and evangelical pastor.
During that time, Mr. Baird would invite children to his home on Orchard Drive, where the alleged sexual assaults occurred in 1999 and 2000.
Mr. Baird was released on bond yesterday.
[url]http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07139/787460-56.stm[/url]
Pa. minister charged with forging identity to run up credit cards
5/25/2007, 1:07 p.m. EDTThe Associated Press
MOUNT CARMEL, Pa. (AP) — A Baptist minister was accused of using the identity of his church's secretary-treasurer to charge up to $28,000 on two credit cards.
The Rev. Raymond Lee Clayton Sr., pastor of Grace Fellowship Baptist Church, was charged with falsely acquiring and using a credit card, forgery and related offenses.
Clayton, 43, charged $25,000 to a U.S. Bancorp credit card issued in his name and the name of Patricia Tomedi, the church's secretary-treasurer, and $3,334 to a Staples credit card issued in Tomedi's name — using her Social Security number, police said.
Tomedi, 82, told police she initially confronted Clayton about the Staples credit card and he told her he was responsible for the charges, police said.
Earlier this month, Tomedi said she received a call from a U.S. Bank representative informing her that $25,000 in charges were past due, and that a Discover representative also called to ask her if she had applied for a credit card in her name and Clayton's name, police said.
Clayton was arraigned Tuesday and remained in the Northumberland County Prison on $10,000 bail Friday. Authorities said they did not know whether he had hired an attorney.
[url]http://www.pennlive.com/newsflash/pa/index.ssf?/base/news-50/1180113249141830.xml&storylist=penn[/url]
Youth pastor guilty of having child porn
A jury nearly deadlocks, but then issues a verdict against Richard Sweat.After 10 hours of deliberation, a nearly deadlocked jury found a Jacksonville youth pastor guilty Friday on two counts of possessing child pornography on his computer.
The jury came to its decision around 6 p.m., but just hours earlier, at 3:30 p.m., a jury foreman told U.S. District Judge Henry Adams that the jury was split and unable to come to a decision in the case against Richard Steven Sweat, former youth pastor at Lake Shore Baptist Church on Blanding Boulevard.
Adams urged the jury to come to a consensus and asked those in the minority, regardless of the side, to reconsider.
According to court documents filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald Henry, Sweat's wife found pornographic files on the computer of their Orange Park home in September 2005. Her father, the senior pastor at Lake Shore, brought in a computer expert to extract the materials, and eventually the FBI was contacted.
Sweat's attorney, Mitchell Stone, argued that his client was framed by his wife and father-in-law to aid her position in a potential divorce. Stone said other people had access to the computer.
Sweat, 35, was arrested in November and was free on his own recognizance. He was scheduled to go on trial May 14, but the case was postponed after he went to the hospital with heart problems.
Stone said he's disappointed the jury found Sweat guilty, despite what he called a lack of evidence. He said he thinks some jurors might have been convinced to change their minds because of the long deliberations.
"Whenever you have such long proceedings, it takes a toll on juries. They get tired and often they are swayed by other members to change their decisions. It's unfortunate and we will appeal," Stone said.
The jury deliberated for about three hours Thursday and at least seven hours Friday. If the jury couldn't come to a decision, a hung jury would have led to a retrial.
Adams remanded Sweat into custody of the U.S. marshals while he awaits sentencing because possession of child pornography is considered a violent crime under the law. Sweat will be sentenced Aug. 23. Each guilty count carries a five-year minimum and a 15-year maximum sentence.
The case deeply divided the Westside church with dozens of Lake Shore members sitting on opposite sides of the courtroom during the trial. Heated words were exchanged between members after the verdict.
[url=http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/052607/met_172900943.shtml]http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/052607/met_172900943.shtml[/url]
[[i] 本帖最後由 沙文 於 2007-5-27 05:18 編輯 [/i]]
Former pastor gets 10 years in prison in child porn case
COLUMBUS, Ohio - A former pastor was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison for receiving child pornography videos he bought over the Internet, the U.S. Department of Justice said.David Waser, 58, former pastor of Newark's Second Church of Christ, ordered 11 child pornography videos in 2006 by sending a $130 money order to an address listed on an Internet advertisement, authorities said. The ad had been posted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service as part of an investigation into trafficking of child pornography.
A postal inspector who posed as a letter carrier delivered the videos to Waser's home in Newark, about 30 miles east of Columbus, and obtained a search warrant immediately afterward. The inspector found the package opened and one of the videos inserted into a VCR, the government said.
Church members removed Waser from office after his arrest.
Waser pleaded guilty in March to receiving child pornography. He faced federal charges because the videotapes were sent across state lines.
U.S. District Court Judge George Smith on Wednesday also ordered Waser to register as a sex offender after serving the 10-year prison term and to receive treatment for sexual addiction.
Waser's wife, Judy, 54, is awaiting trial on child pornography charges. Prosecutors allege she knew the videos were coming to the home, something her attorney has denied.
[url]http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/state/17332504.htm[/url]
Pastor convicted of sex charges
Counseling with teenage girl led to a relationshipBy Titan Barksdale JOURNAL REPORTER Saturday, June 9, 2007
The pastor of Emmanuel Apostolic Church was convicted yesterday of several sexual-offense charges involving a teenage girl who was a member of his church. He was sentenced in Forsyth Superior Court to at least 20 years in prison.
What began as counseling sessions between the Rev. Gregory Michael Butler Sr., 46, and a 14-year-old girl devolved into a sexual relationship with the sex acts taking place in his Cadillac, hotel rooms, and even inside his church, a prosecutor said yesterday during the trial.
The names of the girl, who is now 17 and her family members are not being published because the Winston-Salem Journal does not publish the names of victims in cases involving sex crimes.
Butler faced 13 counts of statutory sex offense, two counts of statutory rape and three counts of taking indecent liberties with a child. The jury deliberated for most of the day before returning its verdict. Butler was found guilty of all the charges.
Butler, wearing a tan suit, showed no emotion when he was sentenced. When Judge L. Todd Burke asked him if he wanted to say anything, Butler replied, “No, sir.”
Prosecutor Pansy Glanton said that Butler committed the sexual offenses against the girl between June 2004 and September 2005. The girl was 14 when the relationship started, and had turned 15 by the time it ended.
Butler was arrested in 2006, after the girl reported the relationship to a school counselor.
The 12-member jury heard the graphic details of the relationship during the five-day trial.
The relationship was confusing to the girl, who Glanton said had developed a crush on Butler. She eventually fell in love with him.
The girl had a troubled background. She was molested when she was 7-years-old and wanted a father figure in her life. Butler filled that role, Glanton said. Butler offered to give the girl weekly counseling sessions after she fainted during a panic attack at church. The girl’s mother, who was also involved in a relationship with Butler, agreed to the sessions. The mother demanded that Butler stop the sessions after he announced to church members he would not marry her. Butler told Glanton in court that he wanted to “encourage self-esteem” by taking the girl to get her nails done, buying her gifts, taking her out to eat, and sending her Valentine’s Day cards signed with the pet name she gave him, “Daddy D.”
The girl responded by sending Butler text messages saying that she loved him. She kissed him on the cheek and rubbed his leg during one of at least two trips to Hickory, according to testimony.
The girl “had so many issues when this man came into her life, and he took advantage of those issues,” Glanton said during her closing argument. “He was her first love, and he led her to believe he loved her.”
When Butler was questioned by his attorney, Teresa Stewart, he admitted that he stayed with the girl in a hotel in Hickory but denied having a sex with her. He later told Glanton that he believed that the hotel stays were normal because he “embraced (the girl) as a daughter.”
Forensic experts found no DNA from Butler to link him to a crime. They tested two pairs of panties and a church fan that Winston-Salem police found in his Cadillac. Blood on the panties and the fan matched the girl’s blood, forensic experts said.
Butler said he did not know how the panties got in the trunk of his car. He said because he ended the relationship with the girl’s mother, she pushed her daughter to bring false charges against him.
Stewart said during closing arguments that Butler should have ended the relationship when the girl developed a crush. But as a pastor, she said, he wanted to continue to try to help the girl.
Burke consolidated the charges into two counts of statutory rape and one count of statutory sex offense. He then sentenced Butler to a minimum of 20 years and a maximum of 24 years and 9 months. He must serve 20 years before he is eligible for release.
After the sentencing, about 30 supporters of Butler walked out the courtroom, many away wiping tears. Some supporters were members of Butler’s church, which is on Vargrave Street, and has about 35 members.
The girl is still in therapy, and has missed her high-school exams, Glanton said.
“She now has to learn how to have a normal relationship with males and to have faith in ministers,” Glanton said. “I think she said it best when she said she didn’t know whether to be a woman or a child in that relationship.”
[url]http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ/MGArticle/WSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173351554660[/url]
出獄又犯案 牧師性侵11女教友
[size=122%]曾經在民國八十八年、涉嫌猥褻女性教友的牧師--唐台生、在前年出獄之後、又傳出疑似對十一名教友、進行所謂的性輔導，其中年紀最小的只有十四歲，警方昨天把他帶回偵訊，基督教會今天也緊急跟他劃清界限，強調唐台生在當年案發之後、就已經被撤銷牧師資格，他現在不是牧師、請信徒趕快離開，而基督教會也不可能對教友進行什麼性輔導。被警方押進刑事局的，就是牧師唐台生，今年六十歲，第二度傳出猥褻女信徒，警方漏夜抓人，對於案情唐台生，口風很緊，否認犯案
時間推回民國88年，唐台生就在教會裡頭，以牧師身分，對女教友集體性侵，四年前被判刑入獄，兩年前出獄後，再度傳出猥褻11名女教友，裡頭有多名大學生，甚至被害人中，年紀最小的才十四歲
來到桃園的這處教會，雖然牧師已經被逮捕，不過唐台生的太太還是相信先生的清白
但唐台生的行徑讓基督教會看不下去，再次站出來跟他劃清界限，強調唐台生早在1999年就被撤銷牧師資格。
現代婦女基金會則質疑，明明唐台生出獄前評估有再犯之虞，為什麼出獄之後卻沒有監控機制。
警方除了帶回唐台生，還有教會裡其他八個小組長，在初步偵訊後，懷疑被害民眾，應該不只11個人，警方也呼籲被害人出面作證，而宗教團體及婦女團體則是要求政府，檢討現行的法令缺失，避免類似的事件再度發生。
[img]http://www.photo-host.org/img/1499861692545537.jpg[/img]
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Associate pastor in Slidell booked on sex crime, child porn charges
July 05, 2007 2:33PMAn associate pastor at Immanuel Baptist Church of Slidell was arrested Monday and booked Tuesday on two counts of aggravated sex crimes and 47 counts of possession of child pornography.
Deputies obtained warrants to search the home of James Griffin, 67, after they began an investigation about three weeks ago, St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain said Thursday.
Upon searching Griffin's personal computer, investigators found 50 pictures, downloaded from the Internet, involving child pornography, according to Strain. They are searching computers he used at Immanuel Baptist and Grace Memorial Baptist Church in Slidell, where he formerly did volunteer work.
Griffin remains in jail on a $500,000 bond for each of the two aggravated sex crime charges, Strain said.
[url]http://blog.nola.com/tpnorthshore/2007/07/associate_pastor_in_slidell_bo.html[/url]
[img]http://blog.nola.com/tpnorthshore/2007/07/small_pastor.JPG[/img] 美國•洛杉磯教區性侵案賠償破紀錄 推薦給朋友 列印
updated:2007-07-16 09:23:24 MYT
（洛杉磯訊）原告律師說，美國洛杉磯天主教教區，已和500多名“聖職人員性侵犯”受害人達成賠償協議。
不過這個據稱達6億6000萬美元的賠償協議尚待民事主審法官的核準。如果獲准，這將是2002年爆發性侵犯醜聞以來，金額最龐大的賠償協議。
加上了洛杉磯教區的賠償金額之後，美國天主教教會從1950年以來所賠償的數目將高達20億美元。
不過教會方面尚未正式宣佈或者證實此一賠償協議。
2004年2月，一項調查報告說，過去的50年當中，美國有4000多名神父被控性侵犯。 （星洲日報/國際•2007.07.16 )
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N-1 今次我仲唔拆到老大你崩牙?
呢個topic 以後應改為N-4000 中新網2007年6月15日
電台灣省桃園縣中壢門徒教會牧師唐臺生涉性侵十一名女教友案日前曝光，向檢方舉發唐臺生惡行的女大學生A說，這個所謂教會不是信神，而是信牧師，連結婚也要牧師事先同意
讀大一的A最近在準備期末考試，昨天在電話中接受訪問，提到唐臺生惡行時一度哽咽，隨即語氣恢復平靜，顯得堅強。她表示，去年離開教會時，不只女教友罵她，唐臺生的媳婦也打電話騷擾她。
A說，她被唐臺生性侵後有驗傷，沒有懷孕，但遭黴菌感染，“小組長把黴菌傳給他，他再傳給我。”
她說，唐臺生利用女教友嚮往幸福的心理，常把“性輔導才會幸福”的話挂在嘴邊，還規定不得將性輔導的過程向任何人透露，連教會的男性教友也不能知道。加上唐手下的女性小組長親自示範自慰，所以她信了。不過，除了小組長和牧師外，“我連最要好的朋友都沒說，我爸媽都不知道。”
她回憶，高一時有天逛書店，該門徒教會向她傳福音，一開始沒異狀。去年考上大學後，教會課程轉而將真理和性行為結合，由小組長教她自慰，唐臺生還要求拍錄影帶。
[b]唐臺生仍是一副滿不在乎的神情[/b]
“他說拍給他看過，以後結婚才會幸福，技巧很重要。”A表示，她當時死也不肯拍，但唐臺生後來又以“不拍，不能上第三階段課程”威脅，她很想上完整的課程，才同意。
去年九月二十三日剛考上大學沒多久，A在小組長面前慘遭唐臺生性侵害。當時牧師室的門鎖住，窗簾全都拉上。教會裏只有影印間的門是透明的，牧師室根本是密室。
她說，原本不認為自己遭到性侵害，“我被洗腦了，從高一到大一，以為是教會應有的課程，直到事後去探望一個離開教會的女教友，我才知道受害了。”那名女教友因不滿小組長要求自慰而離開，還對她說，“我比你更深入，我被‘那個’了。”
A的家人說，後來得知A的事，家人都很難過，每當她放假返家，“我們都避談這件事，只希望她能夠平安，恢復快樂。”
據悉，檢察官昨晚已向法院聲請羈押唐臺生。經調查，唐臺生在二00四年至二00六年入獄期間，門徒教會仍由他訓練出來的女性小組長維持運作，幫他吸收女教友和舉辦靈修課程，但未進行性輔導。直到唐臺生兩年多前出獄後，才恢復性教育輔導課程，顯然是經唐臺生授意。
性教育輔導有時在教會三樓密室進行，有時是在小組長家中，通常先由小組長個別輔導，等女教友願意接受性輔導後，才由唐臺生出面輔導。唐臺生利用這個機會，強暴一名女大學生及強制猥褻十名以上女教友。
警方昨天聯繫兩名基督教女牧師與八名小組長懇談，但小組長堅持性愛輔導無關淫亂，不認為有錯，且指唐臺生是被人陷害、誣衊，在接受偵訊過程中還一度唱起“聖歌”。兩名女牧師搖頭直說，她們中毒太深。
檢警還查出，唐臺生的一名晚輩也是教會成員，有人表示看過此人參加“性輔導”課程，檢警懷疑唐臺生連自己的晚輩也不放過，疑涉亂倫。
與此同時，台灣基督教、天主教會界昨天舉行聯合記者會聲明，教會早在八年前便撤銷唐臺生的牧師資格與中臺神學院畢業資格。與會人士強調，教會界絕對不存在像唐臺生那樣的輔導方式，“那完全離經叛道，我們同感痛心！”
[url=http://big5.phoenixtv.com:82/gate/big5/blog.phoenixtv.com/index.php/uid_635532_action_viewspace_itemid_873311]http://big5.phoenixtv.com:82/gate/big5/blog.phoenixtv.com/index.php/uid_635532_action_viewspace_itemid_873311[/url] [quote]原帖由 [i]Step.King[/i] 於 2007-7-15 19:52 發表 [url=http://exchristian.hk/forum/redirect.php?goto=findpost&pid=6398&ptid=40][img]http://exchristian.hk/forum/images/common/back.gif[/img][/url]
N-1 今次我仲唔拆到老大你崩牙?
呢個topic 以後應改為N-4000[/quote]緊係唔得啦，係您post錯地方。本題的確係N-1，如您要報道N-4000應另開新題。駛唔駛我幫您分拆移文呀？
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[size=4][b]政府效率低 牧師坐牢還拿薪水[/b][/size]
2007-07-05 13:54:13 來源：國際線上專稿 編輯：李智超
國際線上專稿：據英國媒體7月5日報道， 一位教區牧師因猥褻、侵犯多名兒童而被判監禁。可笑的是，英國聖公會仍然給在監獄中服刑的他發著每年2萬英鎊的薪水。該牧師入獄2個月後，這件事情才被揭發。
戴維·史密斯，今年52歲，是克利文頓市薩默塞特郡聖約翰大教堂的牧師，曾猥褻了2名男孩。5月，戴維·史密斯因為一系列對兒童的性侵害事件被指控，獲刑5年半。
據英國聖公會的官員說，戴維·史密斯牧師的免職因為法律程式的原因而延遲了。不過手續會在最近幾天辦理完畢。
巴斯主教和韋爾斯主教的教區發言人約翰·安德魯斯牧師說："我們會遵從法律的規定並儘快執行。我們也很著急，相信這件事情會儘快解決的。"(清川)
[url=http://big5.chinabroadcast.cn/gate/big5/gb.cri.cn/14558/2007/07/05/1865@1664193.htm]http://big5.chinabroadcast.cn/gate/big5/gb.cri.cn/14558/2007/07/05/1865@1664193.htm[/url]
民宿藏針孔 牧師偷拍女客出浴
帶領脊髓損傷朋友迎向光明的角石生命發展協會牧師徐建正，卻在「角石生活館」浴室暗角處裝設攝影機，偷拍女子洗澡。花蓮地方法院依妨害秘密罪判刑一年，減刑六月；徐建正獲悉判決後說：「我錯了！」角石生活館是牧師徐建正從民國八十六年起，帶領一群原住民的殘障人士、脊髓損傷朋友，在花蓮市中原路從事石材加工，揮別黯淡的生活，迎接光明的人生。該館一樓從事手工藝加工，二樓經營原住民風味餐，四樓房間提供住宿。
今年二月間，兩位投宿在四樓女子發現浴室內聽到「嗶、嗶」兩聲，懷疑遭人偷拍，要求查看天花板被拒後報警。警方從天花板夾層暗處找到攝影機，查扣兩卷錄影帶。徐某在警訊及檢察官偵訊時均坦承偷拍，並請求與對方和解。兩名被害女子身心嚴重受創，拒絕和解，檢察官簡淑如偵結後起訴。
花蓮地方法院昨日判決指出，牧師徐建正在社會上享有清譽，從事社會服務工作，但不知潔身自愛，利用出租房間給女房客，一再偷拍女子洗澡，有違職業道德，造成被害人精神、名譽損害。
依無故錄影竊錄他人身體隱私部位，處有期徒刑一年，因符合減刑條例，減為有期徒刑六個月，如易科罰金一千元折算一日。
曾任花蓮縣基督教福丁原住民發展中心董事長、角石生命發展協會負責人、現任滑翔教會牧師的徐建正，獲悉判決後說：「我錯了！」、「願意接受法律的判決」、「我不上訴」。
徐建正坦承表示，因為與妻子離婚後壓力大，民國九十五年十二月間，在四樓浴室偷裝攝影機偷拍。他錄影帶只供自己欣賞，並未外流。目前只查獲有兩位被害人。
「徐建正牧師平常很嚴肅，怎麼會去偷拍入浴鏡頭？」徐建正輔導成立的福丁原住民發展中心成員，得知徐建正偷拍女子入浴鏡頭遭判刑，個個難以置信，很難想像會和牧師扯上關係。
地方人士透露，徐建正牧師口才極佳，在社會上非常活躍，除了到東華大學兼課，還是水保局六工所六工坊的主持人，負責輔導、發展各社區水保工作。
[url]http://tw.news.yahoo.com/article/url/d/a/070731/4/i34m.html[/url]
Pastor had sex with daughters
A fundamentalist church pastor had sex with two of his teenage daughters to educate them on how to be good wives, a South Australian court has heard.The 54-year-old man, who cannot be named, was sentenced in the SA District Court to eight and a half years jail after pleading guilty to seven counts each of incest and unlawful sexual intercourse.
The court heard that the man had sex with his daughters for nearly a decade from 1991 when they were aged 13 and 15 at the family property.
The sex took place at various locations including in a shearer's shed, a paddock, on the back of a ute and, on one occasion, at the girls' grandparents house.
[color=Red][b]The man told the court the sex was not about fulfilling his desires but about teaching his daughters how to behave for their husbands when they eventually married, as dictated in scripture.:好心情:[/b][/color]
In sentencing, Judge David Lovell said the misrepresentation of scripture used to justify the abuse of the girls "defied belief", and that he had "hypocritically betrayed" his religion and principles.
"You said the acts were about learning about sex rather than engaging in the acts of sex," Judge Lovell said.
"I do not accept that.
"You treated your daughters as your property ... using them to satisfy and gratify your sexual urges."
Judge Lovell gave full credit for the man's guilty pleas, saying he was genuinely remorseful and had a good chance of rehabilitation as his wife and the church remained supportive.
The man will be eligible for parole in four years.
[url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Pastor-had-sex-with-daughters-court/2007/08/30/1188067267416.html]http://www.smh.com.au/news/Natio ... /1188067267416.html[/url]
[[i] 本帖最後由 沙文 於 2007-9-4 02:53 編輯 [/i]]
Pastor Says He's Victim in Sex Abuse Case
[img]http://media.graytvinc.com/images/wsaz_mug_SandyCook1.jpg[/img][b]A spokesman for the Church of God's international offices in Cleveland, Tennessee, says Cook has been placed on administrative leave.[/b]
A high-profile pastor from Kanawha County says he's one of the sexual assault victims of another pastor -- and he's written a letter to the public.
Pastor Mike Lewis of the New Life Center in Cedar Grove sent a letter to local media outlets Tuesday night. In the letter, he says he was one of the victims of Sandy Martin Cook more than ten years ago when he was a teenager.
Cook was and still is the pastor at the Shrewsbury Church of God.
Cook was arrested by West Virginia State Police on Monday. He's charged with 3 counts of sexual abuse by a person of trust, and 44 counts of sexual assault in the 3rd degree.
During his arraignment in Kanawha County magistrate court, Cook said, "I'm scared to death."
According to the criminal complaint, the alleged crimes happened around 1994 -- and so far, three alleged victims have come forward in the case. All were between 13-16 years old at the time.
One victim stated he developed a close relationship with Cook -- and that Cook told him it was "normal for father figures to perform/receive sexual acts on each other and that the performing of such acts was part of growing up."
Another victim told police Cook performed sexual acts on him during two sleepovers at Cook's house, according to the criminal complaint. That victim told his parents, who reported the matter to the church; but the matter was later withdrawn during a meeting at church in Chesapeake "for conflicting reasons" and was not reported to police at the time.
A trooper verified the victim's statement about the meeting and the fact that the issue was withdrawn.
Investigators say the suspect's actions are similar in each case.
"Each of the 3 victims live separate lives and one lives in another state," as stated in the criminal complaint. "However, each of their allegations provide details of the intricacies of Cook's conduct that are exactly the same."
Police say they first learned of this case when one of the alleged victims came forward on August 3. According to investigators, the first person led them to Mike Lewis, and he led to the third victim in the case.
The criminal complaint states that a majority of the alleged crimes happened either at Cook's home in Belle, or in one of Cook's cars.
Cook is currently out of jail on $150,000 bond. WSAZ has also learned that he works full-time as the head at the the cardiac cath lab at Charleston Area Medical Center (CAMC) Memorial Hospital.
State Police say more victims may be out there. They urge you to come forward if you have any more information in this case. Trooper M.J. Napier is handling the investigation: (304) 558-7778.
[b]PASTOR'S LETTER TO THE COMMUNITY:[/b]
Here is a letter Pastor Mike Lewis wrote to the public after he says he was sexually abused by Sandy Cook more than ten years ago:
[i]From the Office of Pastor Michael A. Lewis[/i]
[i]Senior Pastor of New Life Center[/i]
[i]Cedar Grove, WV 25039[/i]
[i]To Whom It May Concern,[/i]
[i]Four weeks ago my world was rocked when State Police investigators contacted me concerning allegations of sexual abuse by a local Church of God pastor. My name was given to investigators by another victim who had suspicions that I may have suffered the same abuse that he did over a decade ago. For thirteen years I have hidden this secret in the deepest part of my being, never to let it out. Over these past years I have shared this secret with no one. Not my wife, parents, family, or leaders. I assumed that my abuse had been limited to me alone and that no one else was suffering what I suffered. My assumptions were wrong.[/i]
[i]I have since learned that multiple victims have come forward seeking justice for what was taken from them by a person who was suppose to protect and guide. I now know that I was not alone and I have a right & responsibility to speak up. I would have taken this secret to my grave, but when Investigators approached me and asked the question… ‘Are you also a victim’, I could not lie. The fact is, I am a victim of sexual abuse, suffered at the hands of this so called pastor who is in serious need of help.[/i]
[i]My abuse started around the age of thirteen and continued for around four years. I was too afraid to speak up or speak out. I was told by this so called leader that these things must happen to me in order for God to use my life to make a difference. As a young boy with no church background and not many possessions, I was suckered into this web of lies and deceit. As I matured I realized that his excuses for abuses were all trumped up lies and that my relationship with God was between me and God alone, and did not require a third person.[/i]
[i]The realization of the fact that this persons sexual abuses were brought to the attention of other local Church of God pastors, as well as the State Overseer of the Church of God, and that it was swept under a rug and not reported to the authorities is simply appalling. To think that the abuse I suffered and the victims that came after me should not have been, had the Church of God denomination followed the law and reported this first allegation in 1994. They failed to follow the law and I stand here today, with many other victims asking why.[/i]
[i]I give praise to God because unlike many victims, my abuse did not stop me from reaching my goals. God has called me to His work and I am thankful that God brought me through the difficulties I weathered as a young teen. My life is not messed up. I have the greatest wife & family on the planet, the greatest church family and the greatest circle of friends anyone could ask for, and it is all because I stayed focused on Jesus. The abuse that I suffered was simply a trick of enemy to try and stop the plans that God has for my life – and he failed, and failed miserably![/i]
[i]I was not the first victim to come forward in this investigation, and I will not be the last. My sincere prayers are with the other victims and their families today. I know what you are going through and I encourage you to speak up if you haven’t already. The way I view this situation is simple – the hard part is over, meaning that the abuse is behind us. He can never touch us again, and it is our responsibility to make sure that he can never touch anyone else again either.[/i]
[i]Seeking Justice,[/i]
[i]Pastor Mike[/i]
[url=http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/9576087.html]http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/9576087.html[/url]