沙文

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.

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/052607/met_172900943.shtml

[ 本帖最後由 沙文 於 2007-5-27 05:18 編輯 ]

沙文

5/25/2007, 1:07 p.m. EDT
The 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.

http://www.pennlive.com/newsflas ... &storylist=penn

沙文

May 19, 2007

A 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.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07139/787460-56.stm

沙文

Woman: Blame devil for infant in microwave
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.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/05/20/baby.in.microwave.ap/index.html

沙文

Assistant pastor pleaded guilty to raping teen, other charges
By 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 protected].

http://www.newarkadvocate.com/ap ... WS01/704270350/1002

沙文

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.

http://www.fox11az.com/news/topstori....2983c143.html

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."

http://www.pensacolanewsjournal. ... WS01/704290318/1006

Step.King

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:
http://fungchiwood.com/20050402apple-priest.htm

沙文

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.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2 ... s-Priest-Arrest.php

沙文

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？」
http://www.ettoday.com/2007/03/13/334-2066331.htm

沙文

03/28/2007 10:51:27 AM PDT

THOUSAND 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.
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_5539612?nclick_check=1

沙文

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。

http://www5.chinesenewsnet.com/M ... 18_11_8_33_788.html

沙文

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."

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/19/news/brazil.php

Sonia Hernandes, right, leaving federal court in Miami last month after she was charged with smuggling cash into the United States. (David Adame/AP)

沙文

該撒的物當歸給該撒，不過遲啲都唔拘（之二）

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.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070 ... mpeter_tax_sentence

沙文

Pastor, church have been delinquent in paying tax bills
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.

抽刀斷水

TV anchor: I was sexually abused by Catholic priestPOSTED: 12:55 p.m. EDT, March 12, 2007
More on CNN TV: 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.

ATLANTA, Georgia (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. (Watch Roberts' mom say the priest will 'burn in hell' )

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.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/09/roberts.btsc/index.html

沙文

3/11/2007 4:51:03 PM
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.

http://www.news10.net/display_story.aspx?storyid=25333&provider=top

[ 本帖最後由 沙文 於 2007-3-12 14:23 編輯 ]

沙文

By Allison Hoffman, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, 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.
http://www.theworldlink.com/arti ... ws/news13022807.txt

沙文

By JEFF BRUMLEY, The Times-Union

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.

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/030207/met_8325913.shtml

沙文

February 28, 2007

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.

http://www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=6156123&nav=5kZQ