Pastor facing possible deportation prepares for court, will seek pardon

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (ABP) -- A Hispanic Baptist pastor arrested last summer by immigration authorities won't find out until September whether he will be deported for a crime committed in 1995.
Hector Villanueva, pastor of Bautista la Rocha in Siler City, N.C., accepted Christ while serving 16 months in prison and decided to turn his life around and become a pastor. Now married with children, he started his current congregation with help from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina in August 2010.

Hector Villanueva has lived in the. U.S. 38 of his 41 years. His wife of 12 years, Martha, moved here when she was 2. They have four children and are hoping to adopt two more.

After just three services in the new church, Villanueva was arrested Aug. 19 by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. He was jailed in Raleigh and then Alamance County in North Carolina and then moved to Gainesville, Ga., while his family desperately tried to keep track of his movements over a two-week period.
Released from custody on $15,000 bail that was covered by the North Carolina CBF, Villanueva and his family now await a September hearing to find out if a court will decide to deport him to Mexico. Villanueva is also preparing a request for a pardon from North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue.
Villanueva has permanent-resident status in the U.S. That gives him every right of a citizen except to vote. His arrest came after he applied for citizenship and a background check surfaced a 1995 felony. That placed him under a law that mandates deportation for immigrants convicted of a felony, even though it wasn't passed until three years after Villanueva had committed the crime and had already served his punishment.
http://www.abpnews.com/content/view/6260/53/

Pastor charged with sexual battery

BENSON, NC (WTVD) -- Benson Police Chief Kenneth Edwards said Monday that a church pastor is accused of sex offenses against a nursing home resident with diminished mental capacity.

Benson is about 30 miles south of Raleigh in Johnston County.
Seventy-four-year-old Paul Burke Johnson, the minister of Calvary Baptist Church in Dunn, is charged with four counts of misdemeanor sexual battery.
The alleged incidents took place at Liberty Commons Nursing Center, located at 2315 NC Highway 242 North in Benson.
According to Chief Edwards, Johnson had been visiting with residents of Liberty Commons for about 12 months. Johnson is accused of meeting and having repeated inappropriate sexual contact with a 64-year-old resident who suffers from diminished mental capacity. Edwards said the sexual conduct did not include intercourse, or any other act that would constitute a felony charge.
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=8038370

Birmingham paedophile priest accused by three new victims

THREE new victims claim they were abused by a pervert priest who was allowed to flee to America by the Catholic Church.

And the Sunday Mercury can today reveal how Father James Robinson, 73, was helped to leave the country when allegations were first made against him in the 1980s.
Church officials played down alleged abuse to US counterparts to facilitate his move abroad – describing the first victim’s claim that the priest had repeatedly raped him as “an unfortunate relationship”.

Anna Wheeler, a senior prosecutor with West Midlands Crown Prosecution Service’s Complex Casework Unit, finally extradited Robinson back to Britain to face justice.
The pervert was jailed for 21 years at Birmingham Crown Court last October after being found guilty of multiple sex offences against six boys as young as 10.
http://www.sundaymercury.net/news/midlands-news/2011/03/27/birmingham-paedophile-priest-accused-by-three-new-victims-66331-28409313/

Wisconsin church members are accused of child abuse

Members of a small Wisconsin church took the "spare the rod, spoil the child" philosophy way too far, authorities say. Now they face child-abuse allegations for using actual wooden rods, dowels and spoons on the bare buttocks of children as young as 2 months old.

'Pain is a good way to teach'

Authorities began to investigate the church in November, according to the complaint. Authorities say Philip expressed his belief the Bible dictates the use of a rod to punish children. He stated children only a few months old are "worthy" of the rod and that by 1 1/2 months, a child is old enough to be spanked.
According to church members, Philip would instruct parents on how to use rods to spank children's buttocks. He stated he "likes the immediacy of spanking" and "pain is a good way to teach children." The complaint also states Philip said: "If you spank early and it is done right, then kids will be happy and obedient."
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/faith/118691089.html

Local Pastor Accused Of Paying Prostitute

MIAMISBURG, Ohio -- Police said they followed a man who was suspected of picking up a prostitute, and it turned out that he is pastor in the area.

Officers arrived the pastor, John Naylor, on misdemeanor charges, and the man then told police that he had done this kind of thing before.

Naylor is the pastor of visitation and senior adults at the First Church of God in Miamisburg. He told officers that he had just been with a patient at a local hospital when he decided to go "cruising."

Police said Naylor went out around 7 p.m. Tuesday night. They said officers saw Naylor pick up a woman on East Third Street and then take her to a vacant house on King Street.

Reports said Naylor admitted to giving the woman $20 for oral sex. He also told police that he has done this "three or four times before."
http://www.whiotv.com/news/27293804/detail.html

Con man-turned-pastor Barry Minkow accused of securities fraud

On Thursday, the government filed a securities fraud charge against Minkow, which could send him back to prison for five years.
Minkow has agreed to plead guilty to the charge, filed in Miami, and will “take responsibility for what he did,” said Alvin Entin, his attorney.
Minkow, 44, artificially depressed the stock of a home-building company by spreading false information that it was engaged in fraud, the government said in a court filing.
He induced a law enforcement agency to open a criminal investigation of the company and then traded on his knowledge of it, the government said. The Justice Department described Minkow as a “confidential human source” for the FBI.
“With full knowledge of the rules and his obligations as a litigant in this Court, Mr. Minkow has withheld key documents, destroyed or discarded important evidence, concealed the identity of material witnesses, willfully violated court orders, and engaged in actions to cloud his misconduct,” Florida Judge Gill S. Freeman wrote. Minkow admitted that he had used funds from the San Diego Community Bible Church to pay a business expense, the judge wrote.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/con-man-turned-pastor-barry-minkow-accused-of-securities-fraud/2011/03/24/ABdqqSRB_story.html

Pella Pastor Charged With Sexual Abuse

A 41-year old man serving as a pastor at a Pella church has been arrested and charged with sexual abuse and exploitation.

Patrick Edouard was a pastor at the Covenant Reformed Church in Pella.

According to court papers filed on Thursday, Edouard sexually abused three "emotionally dependent" women, and had sexual contact with a fourth.

Court documents said all four victims went to him for private counseling.

They go on to state that some of the acts took place in the basement of a home on Cedar Street in Pella, a place that Edouard used as a study. The documents say the women told him to stop or resisted, but he "overpowered them" and then threatened them, to keep them quiet. 

http://www.woi-tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=14324014

Former Oceanside pastor arrested in Alabama on sex charges

By Susan Shroder , UNION-TRIBUNE

Friday, March 25, 2011 at 10:31 p.m.

Montgomery, Ala., Police Department

A former Oceanside pastor was arrested in Alabama on suspicion of sexual torture and aggravated child abuse, authorities said.

Barry Cook, 47, was arrested Thursday, said Montgomery police Lt. Mark Drinkard. Cook founded Ambassador Family Church in Oceanside, which went into foreclosure in 2008.
Cook was fired earlier this week from the pastoral staff of Christian Life Church in Montgomery, television station WSFA in Montgomery reported.
Jannah Bailey, a spokeswoman for Montgomery Child Protect, an organization that assisted with the investigation, told the television station that the victim is a 12-year-old boy.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/mar/25/alabama-police-arrest-former-oceanside-pastor-on-s/

Catholic Order Reaches $166 Million Settlement With Sexual Abuse Victims

SEATTLE — A Roman Catholic religious order in the Northwest has agreed to pay $166 million to more than 500 victims of sexual abuse, many of whom are American Indians and Alaska Natives who were abused decades ago at Indian boarding schools and in remote villages, lawyers for the plaintiffs said Friday.

One of the plaintiffs, Dorothea Skalicky, was living on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation in northern Idaho in the 1970s when she said she was abused by a Jesuit priest who ran Sacred Heart Church, in Lapwai. Ms. Skalicky, now 42, said that her family lived across from the church for several years, and that she was abused from age 6 to 8.

“My family looked up to him,” Ms. Skalicky said of the priest, who is deceased. “He was somebody high up that was respected by the community and my parents.” The church, she said, “was supposed to be a safe place.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/26/us/26jesuits.html

Bail Denied For Former Pastor Charged With Sex Crime

UNION, S.C. --
A magistrate has denied bond for the former Union County pastor arrested this week and charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor.
Stephen Douglas Berry, 38, of Jonesville, was associate pastor at New Life Baptist Church, though he was not working there at the time of his arrest.
However, according to an incident report, Berry had sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old girl beginning in May 2010 through November 2010, at which time he was employed with the church.
The report states Berry had intercourse with the girl a number of times and at "various locations."
http://www2.wspa.com/news/2011/mar/22/12/former-upstate-pastor-charged-sex-crime-ar-1612630/

Catholic priest re-arrested: he faces more abuse allegations

A CATHOLIC priest at the centre of abuse allegations has been re-arrested on suspicion of similar offences.

Father Alexander Bede Walsh already faces 17 counts of indecent assault and two of serious sexual offences against four boys.
He was arrested on Wednesday regarding further allegations of sexual assault and has been bailed pending inquiries.
In relation to the 19 counts he is charged with, Walsh is alleged to have abused the boys in the 1980s and 1990s when they were aged between eight and 16.

Staffordshire Police charged Walsh on January 11 following a long investigation and he is due to enter pleas at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court next month.
The 57-year-old, from Abbots Bromley, served the parish of Cheadle for 14 years before moving to a church in Oxfordshire in 1999.
He was a governor and chaplain at Painsley Catholic High School, Cheadle, and a governor at its feeder schools.
Walsh had been working as a chef at Aston Hall, a home for retired and convalescent priests in Aston-by-Stone.
The home is run by the Archdiocese of Birmingham.
Walsh started working there on a voluntary basis in 2009 until he was charged.
Seventeen of the alleged offences, said to have been committed in Cheadle, Cotton and Chapelfields, Coventry, involve indecent assaults on boys between 1982 and 1994.
The other two charges are for serious sexual offences said to have been committed between May 18, 1985, and May 17, 1986, and May 18, 1986, and May 17, 1987, in Cotton.
It is understood the new allegations relate to three other boys.
http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/news/Priest-faces-abuse-allegations/article-3373594-detail/article.html

Police: Pastor arrested for paying for sex

A Miamisburg clergyman was arrested Tuesday evening in Dayton after he allegedly paid a prostitute $20 for oral sex.
John Naylor, 65, is the pastor for visitation and senior adults at the First Church of God, according to the church’s website. He told officers he had picked up the woman in the 3200 block of East Third Street, took her to a home on King, where he paid her for the sex act.
Naylor told police he had visited a person at a hospital then went out “cruising”. Naylor said he had done the same them three or four times before.
Telephone calls went unanswered at the church Wednesday morning, and there is no listing for Naylor in the Dayton area.
Plain clothes vice officers were monitoring East Third, a known prostitution hot spot, when one saw a known prostitute. Before the officer could turn around to contact the woman, a 2009 Chevy pickup stopped and the woman got in the passenger’s seat.
Detectives observed what they believed to be the woman groping the driver, a common ploy to determine whether the prospective customer is an undercover police officer. The detectives were able to follow the truck to King Avenue, where they observed the woman and the driver enter the house. Eight minutes later, the couple came out of the house to be greeted by detectives.
Interviewed separately, the woman said she was just looking for a house to purchase. Naylor told detectives he had picked up the woman and driven her to the house “and that was all,” according to the police report.
When asked what might have transpired inside the house, Naylor said, “We made out.” Detectives suggested the activity went further than making out. Naylor then admitted to sex for money.
Told of Naylor’s statements, the woman changed her story, confirming Naylor’s statements. She said she was a heroin addict and needed the money for her drugs.
Naylor was taken to the county lockup. He faces possible misdemeanor prostitution-related charges when he makes his court appearance.
http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/daytoncrime/entries/2011/03/23/a_miamisburg_clergyman_was_arr.html

Youth pastor arrested for luring a minor

A 24-year-old Albany youth pastor was arrested on March 4 and charged with luring a minor.
Sean Peter Feltman, of Albany, is a youth pastor with the Willamette Community Church in Albany. He was taken into custody without incident at a residence in Linn County following a grand jury indictment.
The investigation began on Jan. 9, when the parents of a 14-year-old member of Feltman’s church youth group reported their daughter received sexually explicit communication via text messages and online messaging from the suspect.
Anyone with information regarding Feltman or other potential victims is asked to contact the Albany Police Department Detective Division at (541) 917-7686.
http://www.lebanon-express.com/news/local/article_1b55cce2-54cc-11e0-b5c8-001cc4c03286.html

Police Look for More Alleged Victims of Former S.C. Youth Pastor

Joe David Nelms, a former youth pastor at Pacific Coast Church, faces eight felony counts of lewd acts on a child under 14.

By Adam Townsend | Email the author | March 23, 2011

The Orange County district attorney's office is attempting to identify any possible alleged victims of a former Orange County youth minister and San Clemente resident Joe David Nelms, 47.
http://sanclemente.patch.com/articles/police-look-for-more-alleged-victims-of-former-sc-youth-pastor

Priest Accused Of Abusing Boy, Turning Home Into 'Erotic Dungeon' Surrenders To Police

AP) SAO PAULO - A Polish priest accused of sexually abusing a former altar boy in Rio de Janeiro and turning his parish home into an "erotic dungeon" has surrendered and is now in police custody, a public safety official said Saturday.
State prosecutors have accused Marcin Michael Strachanowski of handcuffing the 16-year-old former altar boy to a bed three years ago in the parish house where the priest lived and threatening to kill the youth if he spoke of the abuse.
Judge Alexandre Abrahao Dias said that investigators found "erotic material sent to the victim via Internet to seduce him" and that the priest also took other youths to the parish house, "which he converted into a kind of erotic dungeon where he submitted them, often with the use of handcuffs, to orgies."
Also last month, 83-year-old Monsignor Luiz Marques Barbosa was detained in northeastern Brazil for alleged abuse of at least three boys after being caught on videotape having sex with a former altar boy who was an adult when the video was filmed. Barbosa is under house arrest while authorities investigate. Two other priests in the same archdiocese are also accused of abuses.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/24/priest-accused-of-abusing_n_587701.html

Monastery priest accused of sex assault

PALOCHON TWP. - A priest from a Susquehanna County monastery is accused of sexually assaulting a teen boy whose family was staying at the cloistered retreat in Little Meadows.
Phillip Albert Ferrara, 48, of 550 Lake of the Meadows Road, Little Meadows, formerly of LeRaysville, faces three counts of indecent assault of a person under the age of 16 and three corruption of minor charges stemming from incidents that occurred between Nov. 3, 2010, and Jan. 2.`All are misdemeanor counts. Tpr. Mark Keyes filed the charges against the priest.
Ferrara turned himself in at the Gibson State Police barracks Friday at about 9:30 a.m.
He is referred to as Superior Hieromonk Angelus on the monastery's website but no additional background is given as to his religious training.
The juvenile was on retreat with his family at the Our Lady of Solitude monastery, 550 Lake of Meadows Dr., in Apolacon Twp., at the time of the alleged incidents.
According to the affidavit, Ferrara was introduced to the victim's family as the administrator at the Eastern Catholic cloistered monastery.
Police interviewed Ferrara on March 9 with his attorney Charlie Wage present. According to police, the priest admitted having inappropriate contact with the minor on three separate occasions but indicated to police it was for a medical problem.
http://thedailyreview.com/news/monastery-priest-accused-of-sex-assault-1.1120988

Family Sex Scandal Clouds The Cooking Queen Paula Deen

TV cooking queen Paula Deen has a shocking family secret – her brother-in-law, a Catholic priest, was arrested for sexual battery.
A sex predator sting operation in Savannah, Ga., led to the bust of Henry “Hank” Bowers Groover – the 56-year-old brother of Paula’s husband Michael – after he fondled the crotch of an undercover officer, according to police documents.
Groover was picked up on Nov. 17, 2003, at a seedy hangout where people meet and indulge in public sex. The bombshell arrest took place at the President’s Street Boat Ramp on the outskirts of trendy Savannah – less than five miles from the multimillion-dollar waterfront home where Paula and Michael now live.
“While conducting surveillance I was walking behind the restrooms when a subject, later identified as Henry Bowers Groover, walked out of the restroom and waved for me to follow him,” reported former Chatham County detective Yujean Foster.
“Groover walked to a heavily covered area of the walking trail and then stopped and unzipped his pants. he asked me my name and asked if I was from around here. Groover then said, ‘What do you like?’ and reached out and rubbed my crotch.
http://johnjohnsaidit.com/family-sex-scandal-clouds-the-cooking-queen-paula-deen/

Youth pastor arrested for luring a minor

A 24-year-old Albany youth pastor was arrested on March 4 and charged with luring a minor.
Sean Peter Feltman, of Albany, is a youth pastor with the Willamette Community Church in Albany. He was taken into custody without incident at a residence in Linn County following a grand jury indictment.
The investigation began on Jan. 9, when the parents of a 14-year-old member of Feltman’s church youth group reported their daughter received sexually explicit communication via text messages and online messaging from the suspect.
http://www.lebanon-express.com/news/local/article_1b55cce2-54cc-11e0-b5c8-001cc4c03286.html

Pastor Accused of Not Giving Communion without Tax Refunds

A Texas pastor has been accused by some of his parishioners of refusing to give them communion if they don’t donate their tax refunds to his church.
The pastor, John Goodman of the Houston Unity Baptist Church, denied linking the communion to the donations. However, he told the local Fox News station in Houston that he had made an appeal for donations from tax refunds to help build a parking lot for the church, which would enable the church to keep the property. He said only four or five members of the church donate any money, and he called the rest of them “devils” and demons.”
http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/Pastor-Accused-Not-Giving-Communion-without-Tax-Refunds-57717-1.html

Neb. pastor accused of improper conduct in Wis.

OMAHA, Neb.—

A pastor was removed from a Nebraska church after a letter surfaced about improper conduct and a collection of photographs he had decades ago that led to his dismissal from a Jesuit high school in Wisconsin, the Omaha archdiocese announced.

According to a statement from the archdiocese, the letter said Robinson gave the student "an inappropriate back rub" and had nude photos of boys and men. He was dismissed from the school in 1988.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests sent a letter Thursday to the Society of Jesus calling for the release of information about Robinson so he could face criminal prosecution. The letter said Robinson was twice sent to a treatment center for sexual disorders the church runs in Maryland before his initial assignment to St. Gerald's in 1989. 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-ne-clergyabuse,0,7465451.story

Youth pastor accused of abusing boys

VANCOUVER, Wash. – A youth pastor at a Vancouver church is accused of abusing two teenage boys during devotions.
It’s a huge blow for The Wesleyan Church in Northeast Vancouver. Jason Lee Wolk, 25, thought to be spiritually advising teenagers is now accused of sexually abusing two of the boys.
According to court documents, a 14-year-old and a 16-year-old told detectives Wolk mentored them through the church youth group and the alleged abuse happened between June and December.
The youngest said he did devotions with Wolk in order to help with his “Christian life walk.” He told detectives that the two would read on his bed with Wolk’s arm reportedly around the boy’s shoulder. Two weeks in, while discussing temptation, the teenager said that Wolk touched him inappropriately over his clothes. The victim said it happened again, four or five times, and one of those times it was at Wolk’s house in his bedroom.
The teenager said Wolk made him strip to his boxers and lay in bed next to him. While praying, the teenager said Wolk again touched him inappropriately. Then he got up to take a shower in order to “get ready for church.”
http://vancouver.katu.com/news/crime/youth-pastor-accused-abusing-boys/439285

Pastor Says He Had Sex With Teens To Cure Their Homosexuality

A former youth Pastor is out on bond today after he admitted to authorities that he had sex with teenage boys to cure them of their homosexuality.
31-year-old Brent Girouex of Council Bluffs, Iowa was arrested earlier this month on 60 counts of suspicion of sexual exploitation by a counselor or therapist.
In February, Girouex reportedly told police that he had sexual contact with four young men starting in 2007 in order to help them gain “sexual purity in the eyes of God.”
Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilber told local paper The Daily Nonpareil that at least eight men have come forward with complaints that Girouex molested them.
Three young men who were teens at the time of their molestation told authorities that they went to Giourex's home for help with “sexual purity.”
One of them in particular estimates that he had sex with the Pastor 50 to 100 times.
Giourex reportedly gave details to authorities and told them,
“When they would ejaculate, they would be getting rid of the evil thoughts in their mind."
http://hiphopwired.com/2011/03/22/pastor-says-he-had-sex-with-teens-to-cure-their-homosexuality/

Ex-priest finishes jail term for abuse

A former Jesuit priest and teacher at Boston College High School was released from prison Friday after serving time for a 2005 conviction on sexual abuse charges, according to the state correction department.

Suffolk County prosecutors tried Talbot in 2002 on sexual abuse charges. In 2005, he was sentenced after pleading guilty to raping and sexually assaulting two of his students between 1977 and 1979 and was sentenced to five to seven years.

Prosecutors said Talbot, who coached the school’s wrestling team, encouraged male students on the team to wrestle with him in the locker room wearing little or no clothing. He would then molest or rape his victim, charges said.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/03/20/ex_priest_finishes_jail_term_for_abuse/

Explosion at church latest in violent Jos religious feud

An explosion struck near a church this morning in the Nigerian city of Jos where hundreds have been killed in religious violence in the last few months.

It was not clear what caused the explosion in Jos, which has been at the centre of massacres and targeted killings between Christians and Muslims.
Dozens of ethnic groups vie for control of fertile lands in the area.
Politics, jobs and land often spark violence that falls along religious lines and has left thousands dead in recent years.
Human Rights Watch estimates that 200 people have died since December.
http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/content/view/full/102484

Youth Minister Rapes Teen

A youth minister was arrested Friday for having sex with a teenage girl, according to Wilmington Police.

Robert Stoner of Wilmington was taken into custody, accused of carrying on a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl.

Stoner allegedly met his victim last month at the Miracle Temple Holy Church on E. 11th Street in Wilmington where he was a youth minister, police said.

Police got involved when the teen didn't come home Thursday night and her mother reported her missing, according to court records.

Police found the girl walking home and took her to the hospital where she reported that Stoner raped her, authorities said.

Stoner, 38, admitted having sex with the teen six times in his home while his son was sleeping, according to court records.

He is charged with six counts of third-degree rape, police said.

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Youth-Minister-Charged-with-Rape-police-118274039.html

Little Meadows Priest Arrest

A Little Meadows, Pennsylvania priest has been arrested for alleged sexual contact with a teenage boy.

PA State Police say the incident occurred last November at the Our Lady of Solitude Retreat Center in Little Meadows. According to WBRE-TV in Scranton, 48-year old Father Phillip Ferrara turned himself in to state police this morning. The 14 year-old victim reportedly claims he was assaulted multiple times last year while he and his family were staying near the retreat center. Among the allegations, that the priest forced the boy to massage him with oil.

http://www.newschannel34.com/news/local/story/Little-Meadows-Priest-Arrest/MHYfMnOmekeT1VRW7cy6EA.cspx

Priest arrested in sex with boy, 14

Published: March. 18, 2011 at 11:15 AM

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SARASOTA, Fla., March 18 (UPI) -- A priest and former Catholic school official was arrested in Florida on sexual battery charges involving a 14-year-old boy, authorities said.
The Rev. William Wert, 54, was arrested Feb. 1 after the boy told police about a five-month sexual relationship with him, Sarasota County authorities told the Joliet (Ill.) Herald-News, which reported the story Friday.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/03/18/Priest-arrested-in-sex-with-boy-14/UPI-84801300461319/#ixzz1H2Bfwlxc

Texas youth pastor arrested in 1993 molestation case

A youth pastor who has worked with minors in San Clemente and in Texas was in custody Friday on charges that he molested an underage girl 15 years ago, officials said.
Now 47, Joe David Nelms was taken into custody in Lindale, Texas, on suspicion of molesting a girl for three years beginning in 1993. Authorities said Nelms molested the girl in his former home, car and in a church office in Pacific Coast Church in San Clemente, where he worked as a youth pastor.

Joe Nelms.

COURTESY OF THE ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT

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Investigators with the Orange County Sheriff's Department are looking to extradite Nelms to Orange County to face charges, said Jim Amormino, spokesman for the department.
Investigators began to investigate the allegations March 4, when the victim came forward to officials, Amormino said.
"She said ever since the abuse, she wanted to tell somebody, but she never had the strength," Amormino said.
The victim lived in San Clemente when the abuse took place, but she now lives on the East Coast, Amormino said. She was under 14 when it took place.
http://www.ocregister.com/news/amormino-292802-nelms-pastor.html

Diocese of Orlando: St. James Cathedral music director loses job after sex abuse alleged

Robert Schaefer, longtime music director of St. James Catholic Cathedral in Orlando, lost his job Thursday after accusations of sexual abuse surfaced from his past.

His dismissal or resignation — the Catholic Diocese of Orlando was not clear — came after members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a support group for victims of clergy, delivered a letter to St. James Cathedral, asking for Schaefer's removal.

In a statement, Diocese of Orlando spokeswoman Carol Brinati said the music director admitted to the abuse when confronted by diocese officials.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-st-james-music-director-schaefer-o20110317,0,7673591.story

TN Priest accused of ‘raping’ 3-year-old girl

KANCHEEPURAM: In an incident that would jolt the consciousness of the faithful, a Hindu priest has been accused of “raping” a three-year-old girl within the premises of the Theenpanji Amman Koil on Lingeshwarar Street at the temple town here on Friday evening.Kancheepuram town was outraged when it woken up on Saturday to the unconfirmed news of the young gurukkal, Devarajan (28) who was accused of sexually fondling the tiny tot, who lives next to the small temple. 
http://expressbuzz.com/states/tamilnadu/tn-priest-accused-of-%E2%80%98raping%E2%80%99-3-year-old-girl/253783.html

Accused priest suspended from duties

A priest who once served in Lacey and Tacoma was removed from public ministry after an unidentified South Sound man made accusations last week of what his lawyer called improper sexual touching on more than one occasion at least 25 years ago.

Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/03/16/1586331/accused-priest-suspended-from.html#ixzz1GrW65V2V

Former priest target of suits files for bankruptcy

MERRILLVILLE, Ind. (AP) - A former Roman Catholic priest accused in lawsuits of molesting boys has filed for bankruptcy.
The Post-Tribune reports that Richard Emerson filed for bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Georgia on Feb. 24. The Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing lists five pending civil lawsuits to which Emerson is a party. They stem from accusations from his time as a priest in northwest Indiana and Orlando, Fla.
http://www.dailymail.com/ap/ApWorld/201103160491

Hindu priest accused of abducting kids in India

NEW DELHI -- The priest's dream, police say, was a chain of Hindu worship centers across India, where boys in saffron robes would attract throngs of devotees.
They were also supposed to attract donations. Lots of donations.
So the priest, Prem Dass, kidnapped boys as young as 10 years old, most of them from impoverished families living in Hindu pilgrimage towns, and brought them to New Delhi where he was training them to be preachers, according to police.
"He went after the vulnerable," said Deputy Commissioner of Police H.G.S. Dhaliwal. "He thought that if he had child 'godmen,' then followers would flock to him and he'd be rich." The 50-year-old priest, who insists he is innocent, was arrested earlier this month after one of the boys managed to telephone for help. Five boys were freed.
http://www.seattlepi.com/national/1104ap_as_india_kidnapper_priest.html

Guilty pleas entered for $1.5 million theft from church

He represents 69 year old Barbara Whitt, who was a secretary at First Baptist Church of Morristown.
She and her son, 43 year old Michael Whitt, admitted in court Friday that they schemed to steal money from the church's checking account; a total of $1,514,593 during two and a half years.
"We're hopeful that the religious community that has suffered in this case will be able to recoup at least some perhaps if not all of the funds, "Hindman said.
"This is not our money, but it was God's money. And so we feel like we have a responsibility to try to retrieve it," Pastor Dean Haun said back in May. He was out of town Friday.
http://www.wbir.com/news/article/157640/2/Guilty-pleas-entered-for-15-million-theft-from-church

Avenging Altar Boy

Even with a global scandal that never seems to stop disgorging disgusting stories, the Philadelphia grand jury report is especially sordid.
It tells the story of a fifth-grade altar boy at St. Jerome School given the pseudonym Billy. Father Engelhardt plied him with sacramental wine and pulled pornographic magazines out of a bag in the sacristy and told the child it was time “to become a man,” the report says.
A week later, after Billy served an early Mass, the report states that Engelhardt instructed him to take off his clothes and perform oral sex on him. Then the priest told the boy he was “dismissed.”
“After that, Billy was in effect passed around to Engelhardt’s colleagues,” the report says. “Father Edward Avery undressed with the boy, told him that God loved him,” and then had him perform sex. “Next was the turn of Bernard Shero, a teacher in the school. Shero offered Billy a ride home but instead stopped at a park, told Billy they were ‘going to have some fun,’ took off the boy’s clothes, orally and anally raped him and then made him walk the rest of the way home.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/16/opinion/16dowd.html

Lake Orion pastor to plead guilty to seeking to be sex coach for minors

A Lutheran pastor who allegedly offered to be a sex coach for minor girls over the Internet is scheduled to plead guilty March 24 to his role in an online sex scheme, according to a filing today in U.S. District Court.
William Bendert, 51, the head pastor of King of Kings Lutheran Church in Lake Orion, is charged with using the Internet to entice an 11-year-old girl for sex. If convicted, he faces 10 years in prison.
According to court documents, Bendert used the screen name “Billthebear99” to contact who he thought were mothers of young daughters online, and asked them if they were interested in having him sexually train the girls. The mothers were really undercover FBI agents, records show.
In one chat room, Bendert typed: "I have taught girls before … always together with their moms … you would have to be present with us, " according to an FBI affidavit.
Federal agents arrested Bendert in September as he walked to a room at a Red Roof Inn near I-75 and Rochester Road, where he had arranged to meet who he thought was an 11-year-old girl, according to court records.
Federal agents seized two condoms and sex toys from the trunk of his car, including handcuffs and a rope, and sex-related books, including the Kama Sutra, from his church, court records show. After his arrest, records show, Bendert admitted to being Billthebear; to paying for the hotel room and that “what he was doing was wrong.”
http://www.freep.com/article/20110311/NEWS03/110311028/1001/NEWS/Lake-Orion-pastor-plead-guilty-seeking-sex-coach-minors

North Charleston minister arrested

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) -- A minister has been arrested on charges of forgery and bank fraud. He is also accused of practicing law without a license.

David L. Mitchell, 63, was arrested on Tuesday night. He is listed online as the chief apostle and founder of Refreshing Springs Christian Fellowship in North Charleston.

Allegations against Mitchell date back to June 2010 when he was accused of forging three checks and bank fraud.

On March 11, detectives were put in contact with the public defender's office.

According to an incident report, a suspect in a recent case said Mitchell provided him legal advice -- $300 worth.

http://www.abcnews4.com/Global/story.asp?S=14263570

Church treasurer charged with embezzling from congregation

ST. JOSEPH, Mich. -- A St. Joseph man is accused of abusing the trust of his church. Jon Michael Rupple was charged with embezzling more than $100.000 from Saint Peter's Church in Saint Joe. The long-time member will be arraigned later this month. For almost a decade, Ruppel allegedly took money from the Sunday offering for his own use.
http://articles.wsbt.com/2011-03-15/church-treasurer_28693289

Catholic priest arrested on sex abuse allegations in Florida

A Roman Catholic priest who formerly worked at Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino has been arrested in Florida on 11 counts of sexual abuse involving a 14-year-old boy.
Father William Wert had previously been arrested on sex-related charges in Washington, D.C., in 2007.
According to a Sarasota County Sheriff’s Department affidavit, Wert, 54, was arrested in Venice, Fla., on Feb. 1 after the alleged victim and his father told authorities that Wert had been having a sexual relationship with the boy since September.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/03/catholic-priest-former-crespi-high-employee-arrested-on-sex-abuse-allegations-in-florida.html

Pastor Maffey Convicted of Kissing Minor

A jury Monday convicted a Protestant pastor of the Apostolic Christian Church in San Clemente of molesting a 14-year-old female parishioner he met through his job.
Ricardo Avalos Maffey, 44, of Santa Ana, was convicted of five felony counts of lewd acts upon a child and one felony count of contacting a minor with the intent to engage in child molestation, according to a release from the Orange County District Attorney's Office.
http://sanclemente.patch.com/articles/pastor-maffey-convicted-of-kissing-minor

Parents sue archdiocese over sex abuse claims

A Broward County couple who say a former music teacher at a Catholic school molested their son is suing the Archdiocese of Miami.

In a complaint filed Wednesday in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, the parents, identified only as Mother Doe No. 72 and Father Doe No. 72, say their son, John Doe No. 72, was molested several times last summer during private music lessons in his home by Miguel Cala, who taught music at St. Andrew’s Catholic School and parish in Coral Springs. The boy was 11.
“Cala used his position as a teacher and music minister to identify potential victims, and he used these positions to gain trust of the victims and their families,” states the lawsuit, filed by Aventura attorney Jeffrey Herman.
Herman has filed dozens of sex-abuse lawsuits against the archdiocese, including two similar lawsuits in November and October that claim Cala sexually abused two other boys from the school.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/09/2107317/parents-sue-archidiocese-over.html#ixzz1GEHcaUWD

Mesa minister, wife arrested for alleged $5.5 million fraud

by Alicia E. Barrón

azfamily.com

Posted on March 9, 2011 at 8:50 PM

Updated today at 8:08 AM

MESA, Ariz. – A Mesa minister and his wife have been arrested for an alleged $5.5 million mortgage fraud scheme.

Clint and Angela Rogers were indicted this month by a federal grand jury.

They are accused of trying to inflate the value of homes, get loans at an exorbitant price and then pocket the difference.

Clint Rogers heads the Mesa-based Clint Rogers Ministries, which works in the United States, Africa, Asia and Europe.   

The indictment indicates the ministry was a front to launder money. The couple pleaded not guilty to the charges.


http://www.azfamily.com/news/local/Mesa-minister-wife-arrested-for-alleged-55-million-fraud-117709978.html

Albany Youth Pastor Arrested for Sexual Messages to Minor

ThePortlander has learned that on Friday March 4th, Albany Police Investigators arrested a 24-year-old Albany resident  for Luring a Minor. Sean Feltman, a youth pastor with the Willamette Community Church in Albany, was taken into custody without incident at a residence in Linn County following a grand jury indictment.
The investigation began on January 9th when the parents of a 14-year-old youth group member at Feltman’s church reported that their daughter received inappropriate contact from the 24-year-old youth group leader. Investigators learned that Feltman had been sending the underage victim sexually explicit messages by text message and computer based instant messaging.
http://theportlander.com/2011/03/10/albany-youth-pastor-arrested-for-sexual-messages-minor/

Fort Myers minister gets 10 years for sex with teen

Paul Lisowski was a married father of a young son who served as a Fort Myers youth minister at Christ Community Church.But prosecutors say the now-28-year-old used his position as a religious leader to manipulate a 15-year-old girl into a sexual relationship. But records showed he didn't stop contacting the girl - not after suspension from the church, not after being fired, not after being arrested in 2009. He arranged plans to have the girl run away with him.
http://www.news-press.com/article/20110307/CRIME/103080348/Fort-Myers-minister-gets-10-years-sex-teen?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home

Fruitland Pastor Arrested on Child Sex Charges

FRUITLAND, Md.- Detectives with the Wicomico County Child Advocacy Center have arrested the pastor of a Fruitland church accused of sexually abusing a teenage girl on two separate occasions.
Forty-eight-year-old Tonto Sylvester Corbin Sr. of Salisbury was arrested March 5 on two counts of sex abuse of a minor, two counts each of third- and fourth-degree sex offenses, as well as second-degree assault. He is being held without bond in the Wicomico County Detention Center.
Court records show that Corbin is the pastor of Jesus Saves House of Prayer and Refuge located at 308 E. Main St. in Fruitland. According to investigators, on Sept. 1 and Nov. 25 of last year, Corbin allegedly had sex with a 15-year-old girl who attended Corbin's church. The victim stated that the first incident occurred at Corbin's home while the second incident allegedly occurred inside the church itself, detectives stated in court documents.
http://www.wboc.com/Global/story.asp?S=14210767

Pastor arrested in $1M fraud case

An evangelical pastor whose ex-followers say he fleeced them of hundreds of thousands of dollars was arrested yesterday in connection with a nearly $1-million fraud case at a zoo.

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Pastor+arrested+fraud+case/4407428/story.html#ixzz1G7jKxDJR

21 Pa. priests named in sex report are suspended

Last Modified: Wednesday, March 9, 2011 at 12:58 a.m.

( page of 4 )

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia archdiocese on Tuesday suspended 21 Roman Catholic priests who were named as child molestation suspects in a scathing grand jury report last month, a move that comes more than eight years after U.S. bishops pledged swift action to keep potential abusers away from young people.
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20110308/WIRE/110309510/1118?Title=21-Pa-priests-named-in-sex-report-are-suspended-

Police: Local Priest Offered Sex to Officers After Arrest

It started just after 11:45 p.m. Sunday when officers received a report of a car off the side of the road at the intersection of Meloy and Sandylake roads.

Father Ignatius Kury was laying down in the back seat of the vehicle.

"He was extremely intoxicated," said Chief Blough.

Kury tested three times the legal limit and was taken to the police station for processing. Officers say that's when things really got interesting.

Police rolled a video tape of the incident to protect themselves and use it as evidence in court.

"Because of the fact that one of my officers walked by the holding cell and he was exposing himself," said Chief Blough.

Kury is heard on the tape saying, "I'll give you a sermon on the mount."
http://www.fox8.com/news/wjw-brimfield-township-priest-ovi-arrest-sex-offer-txt,0,3155389.story

Paterson pastor accused in stabbing attack on fellow minister

Both are ministers – he, a popular preacher, respected by his peers but bearing a violent past; she, a former schoolteacher with a taste for poetry.

The Rev. Edward Fairley, right, is accused of stabbing The Rev. Simone Shields

They worked at the same church at some point and, according to police, were in a relationship.
It took a brutal turn Tuesday morning when, authorities and a witness say, the Rev. Edward Fairley stormed into an Eastside home and, without a word, stabbed the Rev. Simone Shields several times in the face and torso, leaving her to lie in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/117298948_Pastor_charged_in_stabbing.html

Sprayed with 25 bullets: Pakistan's only Christian minister executed by Taliban gunman

• Shahbaz Bhatti was an opponent of blasphemy laws that impose death penalty for insulting Islam
• A branch of the Taliban claimed responsibility for the ambushing
• Politician had defied death threats and was without protection - despite having bodyguard

Assassinated: Pakistan minister Shahbaz Bhatti was shot dead by suspected Taliban gunmen who sprayed his car with bullets as he drove to work

Assassins sent by Al Qaeda and the Taliban gunned down Pakistan's only Christian minister in broad daylight in the heart of the capital Islamabad today.
Shahbaz Bhatti, a 42-year-old Roman Catholic, died after his car was sprayed with bullets in a carefully planned ambush as he drove from his mother's home.
It was the second assassination in two months of a high-profile opponent of Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws that impose the death penalty for insulting Islam.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1362087/Shahbaz-Bhatti-Pakistans-Christian-minister-killed-Taliban-gunman.html#ixzz1FTiaqSpC

Hamilton ex-priest faces second sex charge

Guelph police arrested and charged James (Jim) Boudreau, 67, Monday following investigation into an allegation dating back to 1983. He was granted bail in a Guelph courtroom Tuesday.
Boudreau now faces two counts of assault. He was charged Jan. 12 with sexual assault in connection with an alleged incident in 1984
Guelph police say they have complainants on each charge. The second complainant came forward recently
The former priest wore blue jeans, a green casual shirt and a black leather jacket Tuesday as he stood before a justice of the peace.
Boudreau was granted bail on a $5,000 surety.
He was released on his own recognizance with the requirement he live in his Hamilton apartment and have no contact with the complainants. He also must refrain from being in the company of youths under the age of 18, except in the presence of another adult.
http://www.thespec.com/news/crime/article/495140--hamilton-ex-priest-faces-second-sex-charge

Gunman Shouting 'Allah Akbar' Kills 2 US Airmen in Germany

More killing in the name of God!

An ethnic Albanian from Kosovo was taken into custody and the FBI was heading an investigation because U.S. citizens were killed and to determine whether the shooting was an act of terrorism.
President Obama made an unscheduled appearance to say, "I am saddened and I am outraged by this attack" and U.S. investigators would work with German authorities and "spare no effort" to ensure that "all of the perpetrators are brought to justice."
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/gunman-shouting-allah-akbar-kills-us-airmen-germany/story?id=13037467

Wilmington pastor charged with embezzlement

WILMINGTON -- A Roman Catholic pastor of two city parishes -- including one that counted Vice President Joe Biden as a past congregant -- is being accused of embezzling more than $350,000 from the parishes.
The Rev. Cornelius J. Breslin, 59, who had been pastor of the parishes of St. Patrick and St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception until Wednesday, turned himself in at the New Castle County Courthouse and entered pleas of not guilty to the charges.
When he was a U.S. senator, Joe Biden regularly attended Mass at St. Patrick's and was close with a previous pastor, the Rev. James Trainor, who died in 2004.
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110203/NEWS01/102030351/Wilmington-pastor-charged-embezzlement

Shout Glory!

Local pastor charged with masturbating in park

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office confirms that deputies arrested 53-year-old Grant Storms on a charge of obscenity, after two witnesses told cops they saw Storms masturbating in a van at Lafreniere Park.

JPSO officials confirm that Storms is the same pastor who frequents the French Quarter to publicly rail against what he perceives as sinful behavior.
http://www.wwl.com/pages/9298567.php