沙文

WINFIELD - Putnam County's sheriff says a local pastor accused of sexually abusing female relatives might have used his position to gain church members trust.
Paul D. Smeltzer, 40, formerly of Scott Depot, has been arrested twice in the past year on charges that he sexually abused female relatives: first in May 2007, and again last Thursday.
Smeltzer "was involved with" church activities in Kanawha and Putnam counties, Putnam Sheriff Mark Smith said Tuesday. He worked as a pastor at one of the churches.
"Many times, people who have this kind of inclination, they get in a position like that to perpetrate their crime," Smith said.
Smith would not name the churches where Smeltzer worked, saying that would "make the churches a victim, too."
But according to published reports, Smeltzer became a part-time pastor in December 2006 at First Christian Church of St. Albans Disciples of Christ.
A man who answered at the church Tuesday afternoon quickly hung up the phone after Smeltzer's name was mentioned.
Smeltzer also "had some kind of computer business," Smith said.
In his most recent arrest, Smeltzer is accused of taping himself sexually abusing three relatives who were staying at his house on McCloud Road in Scott Depot. The girls are now between the ages of 7 and 9.
When he was arrested last week, Smeltzer was living on Washington Street East in Charleston, according to court papers. He is charged with three counts each of first-degree sexual assault and sexual abuse by a parent or guardian.
Last May, Smeltzer was arrested in Putnam County after a different female relative told police he sexually assaulted her when she was between the ages of 6 and 7, and again when she was between the ages of 12 and 13.
Last week, a Putnam grand jury indicted him on charges related to those allegations. But prosecutors dismissed the indictment after police discovered new evidence that more girls were victimized, Smith said.
The prosecutors hope to reindict Smeltzer on all the charges combined, Smith said.
According to a criminal complaint, a Putnam sheriff's deputy seized computer equipment from Smeltzer's home in Scott Depot. A team from the FBI analyzed the computer.
"Found on the computer was homemade video showing three young girls sleeping in a bed," the complaint stated. "The video also shows a man's hand and arm pulling away the covers, pulling the girls' underwear to the side, and [sexually abusing them]."
Smeltzer's wife identified Smeltzer's hand, arm and jewelry in the video, the complaint stated. The tape depicted a bedroom in their home and was made some time between November 2003 and April 2007.
Smeltzer will likely face more charges because federal agents are investigating him for child pornography, Smith said.
Smith asked parents whose children might have been in contact with Smeltzer to speak with their children. Anyone with information can call the department at 586-0256.
"These last three victims did not come forward. We discovered them," Smith said. "As in other cases like this, there are other victims out there. We'd like them to come forward."
Smeltzer had worked at churches in California before moving to West Virginia with his family in 2003, according to an article published in the Gazette when Smeltzer became pastor at the church in St. Albans.
In California, Smeltzer served as a leader for the student ministry at Community Bible Church in Mira Mesa. In 2002, he graduated from the Southern California Bible College and Seminary in El Cajon. He then was a director of children's ministry at Calvary Chapel Mira Mesa.
After moving to West Virginia, Smeltzer played guitar for two years at Foundations Community Church, according to the article.
Smeltzer is being held on a $300,000 bond at Western Regional Jail.
http://www.dailymail.com/News/200803120157

沙文

March 13, 2008
ALPHARETTA – A Forsyth County pastor has been arrested on charges he allegedly molested two young teenage girls.

Derek Gillett, 38, of Alpharetta was arrested at his home in Cherokee County near the Forsyth County line March 7 on two counts of aggravated child molestation and two counts of sodomy.
Gillett is the pastor of the Cornerstone Community Church in Forsyth County.
He is being held in the Cherokee Adult Detention Center without bond.
Sgt. Jay Baker, a spokesman for the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office, said one of the young girls involved in the case "confided to a friend, and that [friend's] family reported the incident."
To protect the identity of the teenagers, the Sheriff's Office is not releasing their relationship to Gillett. However, he did say they were not members of his congregation.
There are no reports of additional victims, and Baker said the Sheriff's Office is not aware of any other arrests for similar charges involving Gillett.
Cherokee County District Attorney Garry T. Moss would not speculate on when Gillett could be expected to request a bond hearing or what the specific charges will be at this time.
"The crimes against him are very serious, and a lot of them require mandatory minimum service time," he said.
A start-up organization, Gillett's church held its services at Midway Elementary School.
Jennifer Caracciolo, director of public information and communications for Forsyth County Schools, said Cornerstone Community Church had used Midway for two weeks, but it was not uncommon for community groups to use schools on weekends.
"School facilities are available for community use for local non-profits, business partners and government agencies," she said. "Numerous churches meet in our schools because they are centrally located. This also allows start-up churches to keep expenses low before constructing a building."
She said representatives from the church contacted the school administration March 13 and notified them they would no longer be meeting at Midway.
Before leaving to start Cornerstone a little more than a year ago, Gillett worked as a youth director with Midway United Methodist Church in Forsyth County.
Ed Tomlinson is the Atlanta/Roswell district superintendent for the United Methodist Church. He said Gillett was never credentialed in the church officially, though he did express interest in becoming ordained.
"He asked a few questions, but never submitted the documentation," said Tomlinson.
In the Methodist Church, it is common for non-credentialed volunteers to work in the organization. Tomlinson said the church ran a full criminal history and background check on Gillett before allowing him to work with children. It came up clean.
"There was never anything like this that came forward [during his tenure]," said Tomlinson.
Calls to Gillett's attorney, Marc N. Curat, were not immediately returned.
http://www.northfulton.com/Artic ... tation_charges.html

沙文

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. - The pastor of a Roman Catholic parish who was placed on administrative leave last year was arrested Wednesday on misdemeanor sex abuse and forcible-touching charges, prosecutors said.
The Rev. Gerald S. Twomey, of Our Lady of Fatima Church in Manorhaven, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in First District Court in Central Islip and was released on his own recognizance. He is due back in court May 1.
Twomey is accused of accosting a man in a private home in Islip in March 2006, said Robert Clifford, a spokesman for Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota.
Twomey, 53, was suspended as pastor of the Manorhaven parish last June amid allegations he had abused a 10-year-old boy more than a decade earlier. Since being placed on administrative leave, Twomey "has not presented himself as a priest in public" and his been in a "supervised setting," Diocese of Rockville Centre spokesman Sean Dolan said.
"We're saddened by the news any time a priest is arrested," said Dolan, who added the diocese is cooperating with law enforcement.
Twomey's defense attorney did not return a telephone call seeking comment Wednesday.
In a May 31, 2007, letter to prosecutors, the diocese's Office for the Protection of Children and Young People said the allegations against Twomey regarding the boy stemmed from an incident "in the period of 1994-95" while he served as co-pastor of St. Anne Church in Brentwood.
Clifford said he had no information on the results of that investigation, other than to note the statute of limitations for sex abuse was five years at the time, so prosecutors were not likely to file criminal charges.
A Suffolk County grand jury report in early 2003 cited abuse cases involving 23 priests in the Rockville Centre diocese over several decades. The allegations included altar boys being groped and sodomized during church trips and overnight stays at priests' homes and many other instances when children were left alone with their abusers. None of those cases was prosecuted _ also because statutes of limitations had expired.
http://www.amny.com/news/local/w ... hurchabuse0312mar12,0,7126349.story

沙文

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Cornerstone preacher held on molestation charges

By MARCUS K. GARNER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/12/08

An Alpharetta minister has been arrested for allegedly molesting two girls.
Gillett, a 38-year-old resident of Cherokee County, is being held without bond on charges that carry a potential life sentence.
An acquaintance of the victims reported the alleged abuse to a Cherokee County deputy Thursday afternoon, according to police reports.
The woman told the deputy that Gillett had been molesting at least one of the victims "for some time," police reports said.
The victim had confided in the woman, who, in turn, informed police.
Gillett was arrested Friday at his Alpharetta home, just inside Cherokee County.
Before starting Cornerstone on Atlanta Highway last year, Gillett had been a youth director at Midway United Methodist Church in Alpharetta.
Cherokee sheriff's department won't say how Gillett knew the two victims. Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Jay Baker said both Cornerstone and Midway have been notified of the arrest.
"They are not members of (either) congregation, nor have we had any reports of other possible victims," Baker said.
Gillett was ordained last April at his father's church in Palmetto, Fla. He had worked for a year at Midway prior to his ordination.
He resigned last May under duress, before starting Cornerstone, said Midway's senior minister, the Rev. Calvin Haney.
"I'm not surprised that he may have been involved in something," Haney said. "But never would I have imagined that it would have been of this magnitude."
He declined to elaborate.
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/northfulton/stories/2008/03/12/pastor_0312.html

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沙文

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沙文

A jury found Macon pastor Onslow D. Ross guilty Monday on 54 of 56 counts, including bank fraud and money laundering.
In two other counts related to money that the government confiscated from Ross' grandmother, Rosa Mae Ross, the jury decided against the government, and a sum of $59,400.38 will be returned to her.
About 40 members of Ross' family, friends and members of his Reaching Souls Cathedral of Praise Apostolic Church were on hand throughout the trial, which began March 3 in U.S. District Court. Many of them wept or prayed silently while the verdict was being read.
Once the jury left the courtroom, their emotions were more pronounced.
Ross appeared stunned as the verdicts were read. Later, he wept and had to be comforted by his attorney, Debra Gomez, while waiting for the jury to return for its verdict on whether the government could keep the confiscated money.
"I lost my dad four months ago, and now I've lost my life," Ross said to supporters outside the courtroom while waiting for the jury. Ross declined to talk to reporters after the court session concluded.
Each guilty verdict carries a heavy penalty. For the bank fraud, Ross faces a maximum of 30 years in prison, plus a $1 million fine. For the 44 counts of money laundering, Ross could face 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine on each count. For the eight counts of engaging in monetary transactions derived from unlawful activity, he could face 10 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine on each count. Federal guidelines don't allow for parole.
Assistant U.S. Attorney George Christian asked U.S. District Judge Ashley Royal that Ross be held in custody during the approximately 60 days before sentencing, citing Ross as a possible flight risk. Royal said he would allow Ross to remain free until then, but he issued Ross a stern warning.
"Very few things make me mad," Royal told Ross. "Doing someone a favor, so to speak, and having them skip out of town," would be one of them.
"The U.S. Marshals are extremely efficient in bringing people back to court," the judge said.
The jury began deliberations Thursday afternoon. Monday, one juror had to be replaced because of illness, but the verdict came in a few hours later at 1:40 p.m.
"We were confident with the evidence we had," Christian said. "They presented a good-faith defense. But our witnesses and the cross-examination of their witnesses penetrated their defense. We were able to document so many inconsistencies in his statements that I believe it came down to the jury not believing" Ross.
Gomez said she thought there might be a different outcome because the jury took such a long time reaching its decisions.
"I'm very surprised by the verdict," she said. "With them out so long, I was anticipating a better verdict. But as I told (Ross), it's really hard to read human nature."
Gomez said Ross wants to appeal the case, but she has advised him to wait a few days before deciding.
"He said it was hard to go to prison for something he didn't do," she said.
Ross was accused of misappropriating $389,000 obtained from Alfa Insurance Co. and CB&T Bank to repair a collapsed roof on church property. The indictment against him said he forged a CB&T Banksignatureand deposited the check into a new account at Security Bank.
From that account, Ross made payments via cashier's checks to businesses and individuals, including members of his own family, the prosecution said.
At one point, some members of the jury sent a message to Royal, saying that they were concerned for their safety. Royal said he would speak with the U.S. Marshals Service about any safety issues.
http://www.macon.com/543/story/291253.html

沙文

Monday,  March 10, 2008 8:14 PM
By Dana Wilson
The Columbus Dispatch
DELAWARE, Ohio — A Delaware County minister has been charged with raping a 15-year-old girl who arranged to meet with him last week to talk about her grades, authorities said today.
Brian L. Williams, 45, the head pastor of Sunbury Grace Brethren Church, was arrested Friday by Sunbury police and charged with one count of rape in Delaware Municipal Court. Williams lives at 3159 Berlin Station Rd. in Delaware.
The teen said the rape took place Thursday afternoon at the church, on Perfect Drive in Sunbury, court records show. The victim had an appointment with Williams that day, and a family member dropped her off at the church, Delaware County Prosecutor Dave Yost said yesterday.
Williams is accused of forcing her to perform oral sex before removing her clothes and assaulting her.
The girl and her family contacted police the next day and filed a report.
Sunbury Police Officer Rob Howard described the suspect-victim relationship as “acquaintance” on his report.
Investigators are unsure whether the girl is a member of Williams' church, but the two were familiar with each other, Sunbury Police Chief Pat Bennett said. He declined to elaborate. “We're still investigating. We're right in the middle of it.”
At this point, the investigation has not led to other victims, Yost said.
Sunbury Grace Brethren Church's congregation had merged with Grace Baptist. In 2006, the Sunbury Planning and Zoning Commission approved a request for a sign variance made by Williams. At the time, Williams said the merger was a good thing for both groups and that Grace Baptist was “ dwindling and struggling.”
Williams, who was being held in the Delaware County jail after his arrest, posted bond yesterday and was released. He was under house arrest and temporarily living with a church member on Berlin Station Road, Yost said.
A man who answered the phone at that house declined to comment.
A message left at Williams' residence was not returned yesterday.
Williams' attorney, Ross Long, did not return a phone message seeking comment.
The case could be presented to a Delaware County grand jury as soon as next week.
If convicted of rape, Williams could face up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/ ... 03/10/williams.html

沙文

Accuser says minister must leave church

By Azam Ahmed | Tribune staff reporter
March 5, 2008
A woman is calling for the removal of a Presbyterian minister from an Elmwood Park church, saying he sexually abused her when she was a teenager.
The alleged incidents occurred from 1984 to 1988, when Julie Lemley Hokanson, who is now 37, said she was abused by Rev. Ronald Campbell, who at the time was director of the youth program at First Presbyterian Church of River Forest. Lemley Hokanson, who said she was 14 when the assaults first occurred, came forward with the accusations in March 2006.
Lemley Hokanson said she is upset that Campbell has been allowed by the Chicago Presbytery -- which oversees Presbyterian churches in Lake, Cook and DuPage Counties -- to remain active as a pastor at Elmwood Park Presbyterian Church. Campbell stayed at the job after an investigating committee convened by the church found in the summer of 2007 that there was "probable cause to believe an offense was committed" by Campbell.
Since 2005, Campbell also has been the financial aid director at Trinity International University in Deerfield, school officials said. In 2007, he was given the responsibilities of admissions director for Trinity's divinity and graduate schools because of his exemplary performance, officials said.
"I understand the justice system has to take its time. But my thing is that if you believe him to most likely have done this, you should remove him immediately [from his job]. I don't want another kid to be abused," she said. The Tribune does not normally identify victims of sexual abuse, but Lemley Hokanson agreed to have her name published.
Church officials said that they are acting under the guidelines of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and that Campbell is innocent until proven guilty. Campbell, 52, who could not be reached for comment Tuesday, has maintained his innocence since the accusations surfaced, church officials said.
"In order to be removed from the position of ordained minister, a pastor must plead guilty, resign or be found guilty after a trial," Rev. Robert Reynolds, head of the Chicago Presbytery, said in a statement.
Reynolds said Tuesday that church charges are expected to be filed this month against Campbell, following the recent completion of the investigation. Lemley Hokanson said that a six-figure settlement the church made with her last summer is a sign of Campbell's guilt. On July 30, she was paid about $100,000 to prevent any civil suits against the church or Campbell, she said.
A pastor accused of sexual misconduct will often be put on administrative leave, though discretion ultimately rests with the local presbytery, said Jerry Van Marter, director of the Presbyterian News Service, part of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
But Reynolds said that a committee formed by the Chicago Presbytery decided that an administrative leave from the Elmwood Park church would not be necessary because "Rev. Campbell served in a church with [an] older congregation that did not have a youth group or a Sunday school."
In his duties at Trinity International University, Campbell works primarily with families and rarely has contact with students when parents are not around, said Gary Cantwell, vice president of communication at Trinity.
"To the best of our knowledge, no criminal charges were ever filed. We are not aware of any civil suit, and we respect the claim of Dr. Campbell and plan to take no further actions without further substantial evidence of proof," Cantwell said.
Campbell will be tried within the court system of the Presbyterian Church, not in a criminal court. Lemley Hokanson said that she had tried to pursue criminal charges, but that the statute of limitations had run out.
Campbell's trial is likely to start about three months after the formal charges are filed, Reynolds said.
"We feel that we've followed our process along the way," he said. "The investigation was just recently completed."
Lemley Hokanson, who lives in Minnesota, said she waited so long partly because she always blamed herself for the abuse.
But as her daughter became a teenager, Lemley Hokanson said she felt a responsibility to speak out, partly because it made her realize how innocent she was at the time of the abuse.
"My daughter is the same age as I was, and I thought 'She's a little kid,'" she said.
She also wanted to speak out to help make sure that no other children would be abused, Lemley Hokanson said.
On Tuesday, Lemley Hokanson's family, who live in the Chicago area, gathered outside the Chicago Presbytery offices downtown to protest Campbell's continued position as a pastor.
Her brother, David Lemley of Naperville, said he did not want vengeance and punishment for what happened to his sister. He simply wants Campbell to be removed from his position at Elmwood Park Presbyterian Church and for his congregation to be warned.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/ne ... nister-protestmar05,1,5914845.story

沙文

Pastor accused of online lewd acts
By Matt Snyder
Herald Staff Writer

CONNEAUTVILLE —

Four days after a Pine Township man was arrested on similar charges, a Conneautville pastor was accused of masturbating in front of an undercover officer posing as a 13-year-old girl on the Internet.

Tuesday, the state Attorney General’s Child Predator Unit charged the Rev. Steven Richard McGuigan, 39, with unlawful contact with a minor and criminal use of a computer.

Rev. McGuigan chatted with the officer at least once from his church, said Attorney General spokesman Nils Frederiksen. From his home, the pastor allegedly masturbated in front of his Web camera.

“This is the Internet version of the rain coat flasher,” Frederiksen said. “They’re using the safety and security of their own homes and the anonymity of the Internet to expose themselves to anyone who happens to be walking along electronically.”

Frederiksen said that besides corrupting minors, lewd Internet transmissions to children escalate into worse behavior and have been increasing in frequency over the years. The office has been cracking down.

On Friday, Dale L. McLaughlin, 44, of 22 Oak Hill Drive Ext., was accused of exposing himself to an agent through cartoon-themed underpants.

McLaughlin was arrested Friday at his workplace, Frederiksen said.

“If you keep your pants on when you’re chatting with 13-year-olds, this will never, ever happen to you,” he said.

Agents gave this account of Rev. McGuigan:

Starting Dec. 10, he logged onto a Yahoo! chatroom and asked the undercover officer personal questions.

He said he was involved in book sales and at first told her, “too bad you’re not older ...”

He didn’t contact the agent between Dec. 13 and Jan. 1.

Then, starting in early January, he asked for nude pictures of the girl and masturbated in a video he sent to her. He later masturbated a second time in front of his Web camera.

With a court order, agents tracked down Rev. McGuigan based on information provided by Yahoo! Inc. They said they charged him because of the graphic and escalating nature of his conversations and Web camera showings.

Escalation is one reason agents go after Web camera predators, Frederiksen said. “The performances often get more elaborate and more extensive, and the sexual discussion often gets more graphic.”
http://www.sharonherald.com/local/local_story_067215840.html

沙文

Pastor charged with soliciting sex

11:35 AM EST on Thursday, March 6, 2008
By MICHELLE BOUDIN / WCNC
E-mail Michelle: [email protected]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Police arrested the senior pastor at St. Luke's Lutheran church in Dilworth after a sting at Park Road Park where they say Robert Graff tried to solicit an undercover male police officer for sex.
"He's a great man, he's a wonderful man. I'm shocked,” said one church member.
The 58-year-old Graff is married and has been the pastor at St. Luke’s for the past four years.  The business administrator at the church told us there would be no comment except that members were, “sorting it all out.”
Graff is charged with crimes against nature, but was released with a promise to appear in court, and came to his church for a Wednesday night supper, where members closed ranks, and supported their senior pastor.
"Can you tell us what he's like as a pastor?," WCNC asked another church member arriving at St. Luke's Wednesday night.
“Great,” she answered.


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http://www.wcnc.com/news/topstories/stories/wcnc-030508-al-pastor_arrested.26986c54.html

沙文

ROME — A prominent Italian priest accused of sexually abusing young men at the drug rehabilitation centre he founded has been defrocked, a spokesman said Monday.

The Rev. Pierino Gelmini, 83, had requested that he be relieved of his priestly status and the Pope agreed, said Gelmini's spokesman, Alessandro Meluzzi. The move reduces Gelmini to a lay status, meaning he can no longer celebrate mass or other sacraments.

Last year, nine young men accused Gelmini of sexually abusing them while they were residents at his "Comunita Incontro" rehabilitation centre, which is based in the Umbrian town of Amelia.

Gelmini has vigorously denied the accusations and his lawyer has said they were made by disgruntled teens who had an ax to grind because they had been kicked out of the centre.

Prosecutors have completed their investigation and a decision is expected in the coming weeks on whether Gelmini will be indicted and ordered to stand trial.

Gelmini founded the "Comunita Incontro" in 1963. The organization now runs more than 200 rehabilitation centres in Italy and abroad, including Brazil, Thailand and New York.
http://canadianpress.google.com/ ... wa3QyDPJC10TRlo1C4g

沙文

By Michelle Sherwood
Story Created: Mar 2, 2008
A former church pastor is accused of having sex with two teenage boys. Joseph Edmund Conger was pastor at New Life Baptist Church in Cole Camp and at Faith Baptist Church in Climax Springs.
The 44-year-old faces five counts of statutory sodomy from incidents that allegedly happened in 2003.
Conger was a pastor in Cole camp for about two years and in Climax Springs for about six years.
http://www.kspr.com/news/local/16171177.html

沙文

教會對此有何政策改善？

Former pastor sentenced for sex abuse
Updated: 02/29/2008 01:50 PM
By: Web Staff

ONEIDA COUNTY, N.Y. -- A former Oneida County pastor found guilty of sexually abusing a child is sentenced Friday. William Procanick will spend three years in prison followed by five years post-release supervision for sexual abuse. He was also sentenced to one year in Oneida County Jail for endangering the welfare of a child.
Procanick is the former pastor of Resurrection Assembly of God church in Clinton.
Sentencing for former pastor
A former Oneida County pastor found guilty of sexually abusing a child is sentenced Friday. William Procanick will spend three years in prison followed by five years post-release supervision for sexual abuse.
Back in January he was found guilty of touching a seven-year-old girl who slept over his house regularly with he and his wife.
In addition to time served Prochanick will also have a permanent order of protection against him.

沙文

A pastor described by police as charismatic and controlling pleaded guilty Wednesday to numerous counts of child rape and molestation involving five young girls in Kitsap County.
Robbin Leeroy Harper, 60, leader of a fringe religious group called The Church, faces more than 26 years in prison, though prosecutors and his own lawyer have agreed to recommend a 23-year term when Harper is sentenced April 9.
"We're happy with this," said Brenda, the mother of one victim, who asked that her last name not be published in order to shield her daughter's identity. "Everybody is relieved. My daughter is happy about it, too."
The young woman, now 20, called police last fall to report that Harper had been molesting her since she was 12. He told the pre-teen -- as well as 7- and 8-year-old victims -- that he was showing them pornographic material and teaching them to perform oral sex on him as preparation for marriage, according to court documents.
"I'm not really about revenge," said Brenda, thinking about her daughter. "He's going to have to stand before God for what he's done. It's just been really hard."
According to interviews with police and former members of The Church, Harper dictated everything -- from where congregants could work to the people they married to the type of cars they drove.
Brenda agreed, saying that she and her husband had left the group, which worshipped in a compound in South Colby guarded by a fence and unidentifiable from the road, because Harper was "controlling our lives."
However, their daughter and son remained, becoming ever more entwined, to the point at which the pastor and his wife became the teen's "spiritual mom and dad, and we kind of lost our authority over them," Brenda said.
At least 10 women and young girls have come forward with sexual abuse accusations since Harper was charged in November.
Deputy Prosecutor Kelly Montgomery was stunned at the hold Harper had over his congregation.
"It is amazing to me how much power someone can wield and use to take advantage of someone else," she said. "Whether they're pastors or police officers or priests, it just cautions all of us to be on alert with our kids. It can happen under your nose."
Harper's attorney, Thomas Weaver, said his client had never planned to stand trial.
"He had every intention, from the beginning, of taking responsibility for his actions," Weaver said.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/352947_pastor28.html

沙文

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 02/24/08

A Decatur pastor faces at least 25 years in prison after being convicted of aggravated sexual battery and child molestation of his 15-year-old foster child, authorities said.
DeKalb County prosecutors contend Bishop Frederick Kelley, who headed Greater New Macedonia Church of God in Christ, had a history of child molestation and rape involving family members going back 35 years.
Kelley has vehemently proclaimed his innocence.
He was in the DeKalb jail Sunday awaiting a sentencing date after a jury found him guilty Friday of two counts of sexual battery and four counts of child molestation.
The minimum sentence is 25 years. The jury acquitted him of rape.
Kelley was arrested in January 2007 on charges of rape and molestation involving a 15-year-old foster girl in his house.
The pastor proclaimed his innocence in a TV news broadcast.
The newscast prompted three of his relatives to tell police that he molested or raped them years before, said Peter Boehm, the DeKalb prosecutor who handled the case.
"They had thought he stopped — or 'hoped,' I guess, is the better way to say it," Boehm said.
Attempts to reach the Kelley family for comment were unsuccessful Sunday.
Boehm introduced four other child molestation cases, involving Kelley's family members and another foster child, during the eight-day trial in Superior Court that ended Friday.
The first case involved a family member who was 12 years old when the incident allegedly occurred in 1972, Boehm said.
The woman testified at the trial that she awoke one night and found Kelley on top of her. She shoved him off, and Kelley "pretended to be sleepwalking," Boehm said.
Another family member testified that the pastor impregnated her in 1979, when she was 15.
DeKalb prosecutor Boehm alleges that in 1993, Kelley molested the daughter of the first victim.
Kelley eventually targeted foster children he and his wife supported, Boehm said.
Besides the 15-year-old who filed the charges for which Kelley was prosecuted, another foster daughter, age 14, testified the defendant inappropriately touched her when he came into her bedroom one night in 2006 but claimed to be "praying over her."
Kelley's wife testified that her husband was guilty only of an adulterous affair with the girl who became pregnant in 1979.
The Kelleys raised the baby he fathered as their own child, Boehm said.
That affair was the only sexual misconduct Kelley and his wife acknowledged, Boehm said.
"They denied all the others," he said.

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content ... omepage_tab_newstab

沙文

Posted by Birmingham News February 15, 2008 4:53 PM

The Rev. Gregory Clarke, pastor of New Hope Baptist Church, checked in to a federal penitentiary in Atlanta around 8 a.m. this morning to begin serving a 21-month sentence for tax fraud.
Clarke walked into prison wearing a Crimson Tide jacket and baseball cap. He made the journey on a chartered bus, accompanied by about 50 church members. Other church members and supporters followed in vehicles.
A federal jury convicted Clarke in July 2007 on charges he filed false income tax returns for 2000, 2001 and 2002. At trial prosecutors said Clarke underreported $110,000 in earned income and schemes to deceive the government about the money.
Clarke has said he was singled out because of his friendship with former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, who is serving a prison sentence after he was convicted on seven corruption-related counts by a federal jury in Montgomery in 2006.

Greg Garrison
Here is a video taken before the bus departed for Atlanta. Clarke tells reporters and supporters that he is ready to report and has the items he needs for a "camping trip."
http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2008 ... o_rev_gegory_c.html