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Tinley Park, IL. For the second time in two weeks, a Baptist pastor from New Lenox has been charged with molesting a child — and prosecutors said they are looking for more victims. Dennis Larry Shaw, 53, of the 2100 block of Sanford Drive, New Lenox, was charged Monday with aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a 16-year-old girl, according to the Will County state's attorney's office. On Jan. 31, Shaw was arrested on similar charges after a parishioner's 12-year-old daughter alleged she was fondled by the pastor inside the church between October and December, prosecutors said. (Daily Southtown, February 11, 2003)
Minister again charged with molestation

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Fort Pierce, FL. Pastor Kenneth Johnson, recently convicted of having sex with a minor, and Friendship Missionary Baptist Church -- where he reportedly continues to minister -- were named in a sex-abuse lawsuit filed Tuesday. Johnson, 39, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday on one count of unlawful sexual activity with a minor. He faces up to 15 years on the second-degree felony. (The Tribune, January 22, 2003) .
Johnson to be sentenced Friday on 1 count of unlawful sexual activity with minor

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TEMECULA, CA. Six years ago, Becky J.'s life revolved around Temecula Valley Baptist Church. She worshipped there, went to school there, and even worked after hours two days a week at the school to earn pocket money. That's where she met 40-year-old Pastor Kerry Clyde Martin. But at 14, Becky didn't understand the concept of street smarts, she said. She didn't know when the man befriended her what the future held. "He listened to my problems and would tell me how right I was if I had a fight with my parents," she said. "I always thought he meant it in a pastor way, or like a father." Little did Becky know that as a cleric at two previous churches -- one in Maryland and one in Orange County -- Martin had already been accused of sexually molesting at least three other girls, all 14. Little did she know the friendly, charismatic minister was taking the first steps that would culminate in his repeatedly raping the girl over the next two years. (The Californian, Dec. 8, 2002) ECHILD SEX ABUSE REACHES FAR BEYOND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, EXPERTS SAY.


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First Baptist is a congregation that reveres its pastor. And so a dozen church elders decided unanimously that pastor Rev. Lawrence French, who says he is innocent, should remain as pastor. Convinced that the 72-year-old pastor could not have committed the alleged offenses, they also concluded that it would be unfair to French to notify other members of the church about the allegations. (The Boston Globe, November 1, 2002)
Paster Convicted by Synod, but Congregation doesn't believe Pastor is guilty
Congration wants Paster to Remain


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OLNEY, Ill. If things had gone as planned, 35-year-old Leslie Mason would have preached the keynote sermon at this year's annual meeting of the Illinois Baptist State Association Nov. 7. Instead the former pastor of Olney Southern Baptist Church faces 10 counts of criminal sexual assault involving two teenage girls who attended his southeastern Illinois congregation. (October 24, 2002, ABP)
Baptist Pastor charged with criminal sexual assault of two teenagers
http://www.baptiststoday.org/btns11_8b.html


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Lawrenceville, GA. A Brookwood High School junior says her youth minister touched her sexually two years ago when she was 14. He insists he didn't. Now a Gwinnett County jury must decide whether Shannon Rhodes, 33, is guilty of child molestation while he worked as youth minister at Sunrise Baptist Church in Lawrenceville. The girl detailed her relationship with Rhodes during more than two hours on the witness stand Tuesday. She said there were three separate incidents during which he exposed himself to her, tried to French kiss her and placed her hand to fondle him. (The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 10-23-2002)
Grand jury hears molestation case against ex-youth minister

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Austin, TX. A former youth minister faces up to 20 years in prison after he was convicted of nine counts of child sexual abuse. Charles Richard Willits, Jr., 44, a former youth minister at Great Hills Baptist Church, was convicted Saturday. Sentencing was scheduled for Monday. (October 18, 2002; Abilene Reporter-News)
Youth Paster Convicted in Criminal Court


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Fresno, CA. A southwest Fresno pastor has been arrested on suspicion he had a four-year sexual relationship with a teenage boy nearly 20 years ago, Fresno police confirmed Monday. Calvin Eugene Moore, 45, a pastor at King Solomon Baptist Church, was arrested for an alleged sexual relationship he had with the boy, police said. Moore remains in the Fresno County Jail in lieu of $550,000 bail. (The Fresno Bee; October 16, 2002)
Paster Arrested


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HENRYETTA, OK. -- A former Dewar First Baptist Church music director worked briefly at another Baptist church before his arrest on sexual battery complaints last week. Aaron M. McDonald, 23, was hired in June at the Calvary Baptist Church in Sulphur, said the Rev. Brent Parsons. Asked if the hiring came after June 11, Parsons said, "Yes." McDonald is accused of touching the genitals of a 15-year-old boy who, with another friend, was staying the night at McDonald's mobile home in Henryetta on June 11, according to an affidavit for McDonald's arrest. (Tulsa World, 08/03/2002)
Accused Dewar minister had been hired in Sulphur

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COLUMBUS, GA. An associate pastor in Columbus has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of child molestation and one count of aggravated child molestation. Michael Krug, an associate pastor at Calvary Baptist, pleaded guilty to the charges at the Muscogee Superior Court. (The Augusta Chronicle, July 28, 2002).
Minister gets 10 years for child molestation

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Butler County, PA. A pastor faces charges for allegedly aiding and abetting a parishioner accused of sexually assaulting a 5-year-old Allegheny Township girl. Jeffery F. Cox, pastor of the Fellowship Baptist Church in Allegheny Township, obtained airline tickets for accused molester Jeremy James Whitmire, and helped Whitmire enroll in a home for troubled young men in Texas, court documents said. (Butler Eagle, 07/16/02)
Pastor charged with aiding abuser

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RALEIGH, N.C. A Southern Baptist missionary who was fired for abusing children in Indonesia is working at a Raleigh church where the minister knew of his past. (June 28, 2002; AP)
Molester Paster Knowingly Hired by another Church


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Gastonia, SC. A local youth minister has been charged with three counts of taking indecent liberties with a minor, police said Thursday. Marty Eugene Meadows, 34, worked as a minister at the Sunset Lane Baptist Church in Bessemer City, police said. Meadows appeared before a magistrate and a judge Wednesday, and was released after posting a $3,000 bond. "There are multiple victims," said Capt. Tony Robinson, a spokesman with the Gaston County Police. "He was touching them in an inappropriate manner." (June, 14, 2002, The Charlotte Observer)
Youth minister faces sex charges
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/states/north_carolina/counties/gaston/3466742.htm

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Gastonia, SC. On Wednesday, Lincoln County pastor Dewey "Eddie" White was found guilty in district court of propositioning a 15-year-old girl, prosecutors said. The charge was soliciting to commit a crime against nature, said Kay Killian, a Lincoln County prosecutor.(June, 14, 2002, The Charlotte Observer)
Pastor of Heavenly View Full Gospel Baptist Church
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/states/north_carolina/counties/gaston/3466742.htm

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JACKSONVILLE, FL. A businessman and deacon of First Baptist Church already accused of molesting a minor was arrested Thursday on charges he molested two other youths. Stephen Lee Edmonds, 44, was charged with five counts of lewd and lascivious assault, said David Sembach, Jacksonville police assistant chief of detectives. The victims were 14 and 15 years old, authorities said. He had been free on $50,000 bond following an arrest April 15, when he was charged with molesting a 16-year-old and sending him Internet messages discussing sexual practices. The 16-year-old alleged that Edmonds improperly touched him twice in 2000. (Naples Daily News, April 26, 2002)
Former Jacksonville deacon facing multiple molestation charges

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A former Burlington pastor charged with sex crimes has left his Danville, Va., church after reportedly admitting to deacons there that he acted inappropriately with a child. Many members of the Danville church pastored by the Rev. James Preston Tyndall were shocked Sunday to learn that he had been charged with six felony sex crimes Thursday and had resigned Friday evening. “I would say our people were shocked. But some of them had heard about his arrest on TV prior to the Sunday service,” Bruce Hutcheson, chairman of the deacon board at Stokesland Baptist Church, said Monday of Tyndall’s departure. Hutcheson and other deacons who met with Tyndall after his release from the Alamance County Jail have said that he admitted to them that he engaged in inappropriate conduct with the child. Burlington authorities said the girl, now 14, was 8 and 9 years old when the alleged offenses occurred in Burlington. (4/10/2002, Alamance County Times-News) http://www.thetimesnews.com/2000/00-04/00-04-11/news-1.html

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WEBSTER COUNTY, IL. Investigators with the Sheriff’s Department are searching for a Baptist minister charged with five counts of statutory rape. Officials say the Rev. Steven Rear, 40, pastor of Westport Baptist Church in Springfield, has been on the run since the charges were filed against him on Monday. Rear is charged with raping a girl under 14 years old. According to court documents, the abuse allegedly occurred throughout the 1990s. The victim, now 20, said Rear had sexual intercourse with her “about every other day” when she was between the ages of 13 and 16. Members of Westport Baptist, where Rear has preached for the past 10 years, refuse to believe the charges. “The church is behind our pastor all the way,” said deacon Billy Elliott of the 75-member congregation. (The Springfield News-Leader, March 21, 2002)
Pastor of Springfield’s Westport Baptist Church accused of sex with girl under age 14.

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Syracuse, NY. David Gardiner, the Pastor of Liverpool Baptist Church, was arraigned on sexual abuse charges on Wednesday. Gardiner, 43, eluded a police swat team and dozens of sheriff’s deputies for more than eight hours from around 5:00 pm Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. Sheriff Kevin Walsh says Gardiner is accused of having sexual contact with a girl who is under age 11. Court documents show the allegations do not involve anyone outside the Gardiner home. According to Sheriff Walsh, the investigation began when Gardiner’s wife Deborah contacted his department. Gardiner also taught Bible study and economics classes at the Baldwinsville Christian Academy; he has been fired from the job in the wake of the sex abuse allegations. (March 8, 2002, WTVH news)
Minister flees law after sex abuse charges
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/news/0501story115953_news.shtml

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A survey of SBC pastors published in the Winter, 1993 edition of The Journal of Pastoral Care, done by Jeff Seats, an SBC pastoral counselor, revealed that 14.1% of ministers surveyed admitted to "engagement in sexual behavior which was judged by the individual pastors to be inappropriate for a minister."


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RIDDLE Gary John, 50 Geelong Baptist churchgoer, youth leader and primary school teacher. Receives maximum 5 year jail sentence in VIC Appeals Court after pleading guilty to 14 sex offences, including indecent assaults, gross indecency and sexual penetration, against 9 girls, aged 10 to 16, between 1971 and 1989 at Geelong, Hawthorn and Port Campbell. Court hears Riddle, of Bell Post Hill, Geelong, continued offending despite church pastor confronting him about behaviour in 1983. Originally charged with 52 offences against 11 victims. (Victoria, Australia, 2002).

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Oakland, CA. A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Reverend Charles Thomas of the Foothill Missionary Baptist Church. Thomas is accused of having sex with a 15-year-old girl from his congregation during a month-long period in the fall. Thomas reportedly called a special meeting with church members last week and admitted that the charges were true. If convicted, he could face up to eight years in prison. (12-11-2001; KPIX TV)
Reverend sought in crime
KPIX report

 

Okay....so what's the point? There is a point right? I mean someone wouldn't post this without a point?

 

The point is :

That church with a supposed awesome authority to display and promote the teachings
of Christ................AIN'T .

 

Wouldn't that be a question better asked of the prosecuter?

Why is he making public statements about how many supposed victims there are but not bringing the cases to trial?

Could it have something to do with a lack of evidence?

Or do you think that the prosecuter is in the pocket of the Church?

I know that you don't think that innocent until proven guilty applies to Catholic priests, Curtis, but that is our system of justice.

BTW, I hear occasionally about an acquital of an accused priest, but rarely see mainstream media coverage of it. Why do you suppose that is?

 

Yeah right. This is suppose to be proof? About as much proof as condemning one of our local Baptist churches as a lie because the pastor committed adultery.

 

Adam,

You didn't ask for proof, you asked for a point.

The point stands.
The proof is evitable.

Singer

 

Isolated incidents? Hardly. There is as much a sex scandal in the Baptist Community, along with the coverups. This does not disprove the validity of any denomination or Church. What it does prove is that there are humans in the Church.

 

The difference is that any FUNDAMENTALIST
church would have the "adulterous" pastor removed
and HE would never hold a position of pastor
as a Christian pastor.

The Roman Catholic chruch hid the known offences
and moved the offenders around. This is a mockery of Christianity, GOD, and GOD's Word.

The sins of the Roman Catholic clergy is being
found out... GOD will not be mocked.

 

Really? Ever heard of Jack Hyles? The famous pastor of First Baptist Church of Hammond, IN? He covered up his son's scandal for a long time. After it was discovered, he helped his son get a pastorate at another church where the same thing happened. I know of multiple examples. I spent many years as an IFB. I know of Fundamentalist Pastors right now who have committed adultery who are still in the pulpit.

 

One difference is that when an independent fundamentalist gets caught doing something like this, he disappears into the the night, leaves town, and can offer his services as a pastor where he is not known. He can even change his name. Anyone anywhere can open up a church and call themselves a Pastor. The local church would most likely not pursue the man, and the local police would most likely not find him. There are no big lawsuits because there is no big money involved.

 

Sorry, that would not happen in the church I
attend. I also believe that you will find that
the attendence DROPS DAMATICALLY and that giving
also drops.

Fundamentalist churches are INDEPENDENT from
each other. They do not pretend to be THE
CHURCH nor THE AUTHORITY IN COMMAND of an ENTIRE
ORGANIZATION. With that SO-CALLED AUTHORITY
should come RESPONSIBILITY---one would suppose...

GOD IS NOT MOCKED. (Jack Hyles gets none of my
tithe nor does his church).

 

Bingo!!!

Just like tobbaco law suits, the lawyers and the media focus on the Catholic Church because there is money to be made.

 

I thought there was a SEPARATION of CHURCH &
STATE. I guess it only depends on which side
is doing the separating and for what reason.


PS: The RC church doesn't have any money. It
belongs to GOD.

 

What is that supposed to mean?

Try telling that to the lawyers.

 

It would not happen in the church I attend either. But it does happen in Baptist and fundamentalists churches. I know of two churches in my area that have a pastor who came on board after being caught in adultery elsewhere. It may not be rampant, but it happens enough to where it should be a oncern. This is a good example of making sure the log has been removed from our own eyes prior to removing the speck from our neighbor's.

 

The music director resigned before he was asked
to at the church I attend. Does this sort of
thing happen? ALL TOFTEN! Should it be
covered up? NO!

Does it happen in some churches more than others?
I would have to believe that it depends on their
stand on the WORD.

 

Speaking of wealth and who has what? I have a question for independent fundamentalists. Who owns the church building and property generally? Does the congegation? Does the Pastor? Is it a corporation owned by who? If someone was to sue for being raped who would be liable?...the church, the congregation, the pastor? What if he just disappeared into the night?

God Bless