Saturday, April 16, 2011

Ex-Pastor Maffey Gets 1-Year Sentence for Lewd Conduct With Teen

A former San Clemente pastor was sentenced to a year behind bars today for kissing and touching a 14-year-old he called "the most bootylicious girl I know."

Maffey met the girl when she was 8 or 9 years old through his job at San Clemente's Apostolic Christian Church. He began "grooming the victim by spending time alone with her while the victim was volunteering in the church office," prosecutors said.
From May to August 2008, the defendant violated his position of trust by engaging in illegal sexual contact with the girl, prosecutors said.
"On multiple occasions, Maffey kissed [her] on the mouth while the two were alone after prayer service or in the church office," prosecutors said. He also stroked her thigh and patted her butt, the prosecution said.
In addition, Maffey sent numerous emails to the victim to arrange future meetings and disclose his sexual urges. Maffey called the 14-year-old "the most bootylicious girl I know," prosecutors said.
The victim’s mother discovered some of the emails and contacted the church. The church contacted police.
http://sanclemente.patch.com/articles/ex-pastor-maffey-gets-1-year-sentence-for-lewd-conduct

California Christian university coach arrested for luring 'teen' to have sex

30-year-old Kyle James Kvasnicka, from Laguna, California, was arrested on April 8 on suspicion of Internet Luring of a Child, according to the District Attorney's Office in Jefferson County.
Kvasnicka allegedly engaged in sexually graphic communication with someone he believed to be an underage girl in a Colorado online chat room.  He is also accused of asking the person he believed to be a teenager to meet with him to have sex.
http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-california-christian-university-coach-arrested-for-luring-teen-to-have-sex-20110413,0,1456429.story

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Court Threatens to Revoke Tele-Evangelist's Bail

Lagos — An Ikeja High Court judge, Justice Olabisi Akinlade, has threatened to vacate the bail earlier granted a tele-evangelist and head, Genesis Parish of the Celestial Church of Christ, Alagbado, Lagos, Israel Ola-Ogundipe, on technical grounds

The pastor is standing trial over N17 million fraud allegations. He was said to have swindled a London-based architect, Mrs. Oladele Williams-Oni, the said sum when she went to the pastor's church for spiritual help.
In her evidence before Justice Olabisi Akinlade, the plaintiff said that Pastor Ola-Ogundipe wanted to swindle her of her landed property and that she had entrusted the accused person with her money to procure some landed property on her behalf because she thought he was a 'good pastor.'
http://allafrica.com/stories/201104060678.html

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Former Catholic priest to face crown court over child sex charges

Former Catholic priest to face crown court over child sex charges
​A former Roman Catholic priest has been sent to Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court accused of sexually abusing a number of young boys.
Alexander Bede Walsh, aged 57, of Church Lane, Abbots Bromley, faces six charges under the Sexual Offences Act.
The allegations involve three boys under the age of 14 between 1974 and 1984 and are said to have been committed at Coventry and Coleshill, in Warwickshire,
He will appear at the crown court on April 15.
North Staffordshire Magistrates bailed the defendant.
Walsh has already been sent to the court accused of 19 sexual abuse offences involving young boys many of which are alleged to have been committed at Cheadle and Cotton.
http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/news/Catholic-priest-face-crown-court-child-sex-charges/article-3430199-detail/article.html

Priest accused of inappropriate relationship with boy arraigned on charges

BRADFORD -- A suspended priest in the Catholic Diocese of Erie is free on bond and awaits an April 20 court hearing to face charges related to an alleged inappropriate relationship with a 15-year-old boy.

The Rev. Samuel B. Slocum, 59, surrendered to law enforcement on Friday and was arraigned before Bradford District Judge Richard W. Luther Jr. on charges of interference with the custody of children, concealment of the whereabouts of a child, corruption of minors, defiant trespass and loitering and prowling at nighttime.

Police accuse Slocum, who serves two McKean County parishes, of allowing a 15-year-old boy to visit his residence in Lewis Run, south of Bradford, after the boy's mother had forbidden it. He is also accused of lying to the boy's mother when she asked if he had visited Slocum's residence, and of going to the boy's home to drop off an item.

Trooper Daniel Woods, who filed the charges against Slocum, said the boy's mother gave him iPhones, an iPod and an Apple laptop computer that she said Slocum had given to her son to use in communicating with him via Facebook, e-mail and text messages.

Investigators seized other computers, as well as a digital camera and a cellular telephone, when they served search warrants on Slocum's residences in Lewis Run and in Cyclone, southeast of Bradford, on March 29 and 30, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110409/NEWS02/304089909/-1/NEWSSITEMAP

Spring pastor accused of exploitation and manipulation

A Spring-area pastor is being sued over allegations that he abused his position of trust and power to manipulate his followers into giving his church exceedingly generous donations, including a parcel of property in Aldine.

Aldine property owner Jose Trevino and R & R Custom Floors & Designs filed a lawsuit on April 7 in the Harris County District Court against Cadgrey Christian Church, doing business as Centro De Alabanza Del Gran Rey, Rev. Fernando Garza, of Spring, Aldine resident Rosa Diaz, and others citing, among other things, malicious prosecution, trespass to title, conspiracy, fraud, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and defamation.

The plaintiffs say that when the defendants decided to purchase property in order to expand their church, they defrauded Trevino, wrongfully taking his property, located at 847 Hodgkins St. in Aldine. According to the brief, Garza used Bible scriptures to con the plaintiffs into believing that the more they gave to the church, the more Trevino’s business would thrive.

Trevino claims that during the recent economic downturn, Garza misused Bible scriptures to convince him that the root causes of his business woes included his sin, his lack of faith and his failure to continue giving to the church.

http://www.ultimatespringtx.com/stories/240456-spring-pastor-accused-of-exploitation-and-manipulation-in-aldine

Pastor arrested in Highland Village

Owen Deane Davis was behind bars Wednesday night when he was arrested by the Highland Village police on a Young County district court warrant.
Davis, the former vicar at Faith Lutheran Church, was arrested on a warrant alleging he sexually assaulted a woman at his Graham home on Spivey Hill.
Davis posted a $50,000 bond Thursday and was released from custody.
The Rev. Ron Halamka, interim pastor at Faith Lutheran, said Davis left the church in January when he took a leave of absence after being interviewed by the Texas Ranger as part of the investigation into the case.
“He felt it was best he sever his relationship with the church until he settled this,” Halamka said. “He has not had any relationship with us, any function with us, since the second Wednesday in January after he was interrogated by the Texas Ranger.”
http://www.grahamleader.com/index.asp?Story=21912

Friday, April 8, 2011

Priest Admits To Affair With Cousin

(NewsCore) - A California-based Catholic priest who runs a television ministry has taken a leave of absence after admitting to a sexual relationship with his second cousin, the San Bernardino County Sun reported Thursday.
The Rev. Michael Manning said he had stepped down from his position to reflect on the relationship with Nancy Kotowski, a school superintendent in Monterey County, Calif.
Catholic priests take a vow of celibacy which forbids them from all sexual activity, and Manning said he ended the relationship two years ago.
"We've been such good friends and there's a deep love we have for each other," Manning told the Sun.
"The sexuality was secondary. It's very hard when you care for someone, but I love my priesthood more. I admit the fact of my sinfulness. I've done wrong. That's why I've stopped."
Kotowski, 59, told The Monterey Herald the pair had considered getting married before deciding to end the relationship, which began after 30 years of friendship.
She also said she hoped their situation might lead to debate being renewed about clergy members remaining celibate.
Manning, 70, started his television ministry, Wordnet, in 1978. His weekly show titled "The Word in the World" is broadcast nationally on the Trinity Broadcasting Network.
Manning is a member of the Society of the Divine Word, a missionary community that has thousands of members throughout the world.


Read more: http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpps/news/televangelist-priest-michael-manning-confesses-to-affair-with-cousin-dpgonc-20110408-fc_12679331#ixzz1J0CR0JFu

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Police probing embezzlement at local church

Mount Airy police are investigating the alleged embezzlement of more than $13,000 from one of this area’s largest churches.

The crime was reported last week by an official of Central United Methodist Church at 1909 N. Main St., who advised that an employee there had used a credit card for unauthorized purchases and payments.

The crime allegedly was committed by a female employee of Central United Methodist, whom Police Chief Dale Watson said worked in a “fiduciary capacity” that provided access to its finances.

“This person had access to a church purchasing card,” said R.B. Davis of the city police Detective Division, which is investigating the case.

“It did transpire over a period of time,” the detective added of the suspected embezzlement.

The exact sum taken is said to be $13,473, which included both cash and credit card funds, according to police records.

A portion of the missing proceeds has been repaid, according to Watson.

Meanwhile, no charges have been filed in the case pending further review.

“We’ll be contacting the District Attorney’s Office to get their advice” on which way to proceed from here, the police chief explained Monday.

Police records indicate that the alleged wrongdoing was discovered in January, but there was no word Monday on how it came to light. Mount Airy attorney Ed Woltz, whose family has long been associated with Central United Methodist Church, reported the matter to police.

Former priest accused of leading police chase

State police say that on Monday night 71-year-old Francis McCloskey led them on a brief, low speed case in Livingston, in a rental car that was overdue.

They say he faces three charges including reckless driving and fleeing an officer.

He was sent to the Columbia County Jail that night, but sheriffs tell FOX23 News he has since posted bail and has been released.
http://www.fox23news.com/news/local/story/Former-priest-accused-of-leading-police-chase/aoAdY9nEBU-k55S_xPUEBQ.cspx

Priest accused of stealing funds for needy in St. Croix County

A priest working in Hudson who resigned under allegations he stole funds from an account used to help needy families was charged Monday in St. Croix County Court with felony theft.
The Rev. Daniel J. Dahlberg, 68, of Superior is scheduled for an initial court appearance May 12. The charge has a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
St. Patrick Catholic Church officials reported $10,800 was missing from a charity account used to help people in times of hardship. Dahlberg spoke to parishioners March 20 and resigned the next day, according to church officials.
Dahlberg admitted taking the money, in part, because of a gambling addiction. He had sole control of the account.
According to the criminal complaint:
Police met with Sam Cari, a church trustee, on March 21. Cari said the account was used for gasoline, rent, vehicle repairs, utility bills, food and other items.
Reports indicate Dahlberg started in August 2009 writing checks and endorsing them to cash for personal use. Dahlberg told Cari in February that Dahlberg used $3,500 for car problems and gambling.
An internal audit indicated $10,800 was missing, and Dahlberg told police he used it for gambling.
http://www.twincities.com/ci_17782826?nclick_check=1

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Priest charged with sex crimes heads to trial

By DAVID OLSON
The Press-Enterprise
San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Colin Bilash Tuesday ruled there is enough evidence for a felony sex-crimes case against an Inland priest to go to trial.
The Rev. Alejandro " Alex" Jose Castillo is accused of molesting a 12-year-old boy in late 2008, when Castillo was pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Ontario.
Castillo pleaded not guilty in October to seven counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under age 14 and one count of forcible lewd and lascivious acts with a child under age 14.
He will next appear in court on April 28, said Karen Schmauss, the San Bernardino County deputy district attorney handling Castillo's case. An Ontario police detective detailed the accusations against Castillo during Tuesday's preliminary hearing, she said.
http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/PE_News_Local_D_webpriest06.2571cb603.html

Priest Accused Of Embezzling $25K From Church

GARNERVILLE—A Catholic priest has been charged with using his parish’s American Express credit card for personal expenses, including online gambling.
Thomas Kreiser, 45, of Cinder Road has been charged with third degree grand larceny.
Prosecutors say over a three-month period from March to June, 2010, Kreiser, who since 2008 served as pastor of St. Gregory Barbarigo Roman Catholic Church in Garnerville, stole over $25,000.
The defendant’s misappropriation of funds was uncovered during an Archdiocesan review of the administration of the parish, including an audit.
Restitution in full has already been paid to the parish.
Kreiser was arraigned in the Town of Haverstraw Justice Court by Judge Peter Branti and released on his own recognizance. He is due to return to court on May 12.
If convicted, he faces a possible state prison sentence of up to seven years.
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/2011/04/05/priest_accused/

Priest Accused of Sexual Abuse Get Pension

The Catholic Church of Denmark is being criticised for secrecy and inaction in its handling of the cases of several priests accused of sexual abuse against young men.
The complaints follow the announcement by the church on Sunday that it had completed its last and most extensive investigation into the case of a priest who was suspended in April 2010 after being accused by five separate people of indecent exposure and sexual abuse.
In a brief statement the church announced that the official investigation into the complaints had been completed and that the priest would retire with pension as a result.
The church declined to reveal what its investigation into the complaints uncovered or why the priest retired.
“Our conclusion is that the case is closed and the suspension is lifted. The priest then asked if he could retire,” church spokesman Rev Niels Engelbrecht told Berlingske newspaper.
The bishop of the Diocese of Copenhagen, Czeslaw Kozon, however wrote in a letter to the people who filed the complaint against the priest that the church had not been able to determine whether the complaints were founded, and therefore chose to give the priest the benefit of the doubt.
Frederik Roed, one of the men who accused the priest of sexual misconduct, was angered by the church’s conclusion.
http://www.cphpost.dk/news/national/88-national/51371-priest-accused-of-sex-abuse-gets-pension.html

Pastor seeks dismissal of sex charges

BEAVER - The attorney representing a pastor accused of having inappropriate contact with two teenage boys is asking a Beaver County judge to dismiss the charges against his client.
Charges in two separate cases against Laneer Fisher, 38, of 205 Centerdale Road, Moon Township, were held for court after an Oct. 12 preliminary hearing. However, defense attorney Dirk Goodwald filed a motion to have the charges thrown out.

Goodwald presented his arguments Tuesday before President Judge John D. McBride.
In one case, Fisher, who had been the pastor of Miracle of God in Christ church in Aliquippa for five years, was charged by Aliquippa police with unlawful contact with a minor, indecent assault, and corruption of minors.

Goodwald argued that the only evidence was based on the testimony of the alleged victim, and that the contact the boy testified about did not meet the legal standard for unlawful contact. Goodwald said there was no testimony from the boy that the contact was for the purpose of sexual gratification. Without the unlawful contact, there should be no charges of indecent assault or corruption of minors, he said.

Assistant District Attorney Justin Quinn argued that though there was no testimony of contact involving genitalia, the boy testified that Fisher asked the boy to sit in his lap, rubbed his nipples and stomach underneath his shirt and attempted to kiss the boy. Quinn cited case law that he said supports that contact is enough to meet the legal definition of unlawful contact.

In the second case, Fisher was charged by Beaver Falls police with indecent assault, indecent exposure, corruption of minors and unlawful contact with a minor.

In that case, Goodwald argued that the teen, who was 16 at the time of the incidents, was gay and consented to the contact. He said there was no testimony during the preliminary hearing that the boy said "no," attempted to get away or fight, or that he yelled or screamed. He said when asked during the preliminary hearing why he didn't object to the contact, the teen testified that he "felt he had to." Goodwald asserted the teen said that because he was a gay teen who was doing what came naturally.
Quinn argued that the victim went along with the sexual contact because Fisher used his position of power to assault the teen. Quinn said Goodwald neglected to read the next question in the transcript of the preliminary hearing, which was why the teen felt he "had to" go along with it.
http://www.timesonline.com/youth-pastor-seeks-dismissal-of-sex-charges/article_8c2098dc-5fc9-11e0-8429-001a4bcf6878.html

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Fairview minister accused of raping adopted daughters

FAIRVIEW — A Fairview church pastor has been arrested on complaints of rape and lewd acts with a child.


Major County Sheriff Steven Randolph said Monday that Tommy Pitts could face up to 70 counts. Pitts, who is pastor of the Midway Assembly of God Church, hasn't been formally charged.

Authorities said the allegations against Pitts involve relatives. The Associated Press generally doesn't identify possible victims of sexual assault.

Randolph said Pitts' wife told authorities her husband threatened to commit suicide after she confronted him about the alleged molestations. The sheriff said Pitts tried unsuccessfully to shoot himself then crashed his vehicle into a semi in traffic.

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=12&articleid=20110404_12_0_FIVEar346034

Pastor arrested hiring hit men kill wife - recruited them from within his own church

A murder-for-hire plot is unravelling in a small south Texas town after a pastor and one of his parishioners have been arrested for the murder of his wife this weekend.
Pastor Julio Cesar Perez is suspected of recruiting men from within his own community church to gun down his wife.
Sonia Perez was found dead in her van with several gunshot wounds on Thursday night. She had been shot twice - once in the side and once in the head. There were reportedly signs of a struggle in the car.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1373312/Pastor-arrested-hiring-hit-men-kill-wife--recruited-church.html#ixzz1IeYOcWGD

Monday, April 4, 2011

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

Church volunteer charged with stealing $32K

An Elmhurst man stole more than $32,000 from a church where he was a volunteer, according to a criminal indictment announced Wednesday in DuPage County.
Robert Drefs, 53, of the 100 block of East Wilson Street, was charged with one count of theft over $10,000 and three counts of forgery.
According to the indictment, Drefs allegedly forged three checks totaling $32,635 from Messiah Lutheran Church in Elmhurst in 2009 and 2010, according to the indictment. An internal church audit led to the discovery of the alleged missing funds. The church is at 130 W. Butterfield Road.
Drefs was arrested by Elmhurst police on March 15 and posted $3,000 cash bond two days later.
He is to be arraigned on April 4. If convicted he faces a sentence of up to seven years in prison.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chibrknews-church-volunteer-charged-with-stealing-32k-20110330,0,207124.story?track=rss

'Holy man' guilty of remote sex assault

He did not lay a finger on the victim. Nor was he present when two others did. Even so, an unusual legal principle saw Tony Golossian convicted of the woman's sexual assault because he pulled the strings to make it happen.
Golossian, 63, is believed to be the first person in NSW found guilty of sexual assaults committed through a third party, while he was somewhere else.
Addressing the jury at his District Court trial last year, the Crown prosecutor, Sarah Huggett, said, ''You might think, 'Well, how can he be charged? He was not the person who actually had sexual intercourse with her, he wasn't even there.
''This is because of a concept known at law as the doctrine of innocent agency.''
The doctrine allows a person to be held liable for offences they facilitated, procured or encouraged through an unwitting participant, or ''innocent agent'', even if they did not commit the crime themselves.
The circumstances of Golossian's case were distinctive, to say the least.
A reputed ''holy man'', he convinced two Greek Orthodox women they had been cursed by black magic.
Golossian warned they would get cancer, that their families would fall fatally ill or be killed in an accident. But if they paid him to pray over them, and obeyed the instructions he supposedly received from angels, the curse could be lifted.
Both women gave evidence of being sexually assaulted during prayer sessions. One victim, aged 24, was ordered to arrange a threesome with another woman or the curse would take her family one at a time, leaving her to die last.
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/holy-man-guilty-of-remote-sex-assault/2121070.aspx

Hernando Pastor Charged with Child Porn

HERNANDO, Miss. - A Desoto County preacher has been charged with possession of child porn. Eddie Prince of Oak Grove Baptist Church in Hernando was arrested at his home on Friday.
Members of the church were shocked by the arrest of their longtime pastor.
Hernando Police Chief Mike Riley said items were confiscated from the pastor’s possession, but he would not go into detail.
"It's been an ongoing investigation and it's still ongoing. At this point it's only one charge."
But, Riley says other charges could be possible.
Meanwhile, Sunday services at Oak Grove continued with an associate pastor. The church has placed Prince on a leave of absence, and there’s no word yet on if he will continue as pastor.
"Depending on the outcome of the judication of the case, it's just going to depend on what happens."
Prince is being held at the Desoto County Jail on a $60,000 bond and is set to appear in court Wednesday for his initial appearance. Then he may be bound over to a grand jury and indicted for that charge. If convicted, he faces three to five years in prison and will have to register as a sex offender.
http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/dpp/news/crime/hernando-pastor-charged-with-child-porn-rpt-20110403

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Former Pineville youth minister accused of sex crimes with juveniles

A youth minister who worked at Donahue Family Church in Pineville has been arrested on sex-crime charges for alleged incidents involving one or more juveniles who attended the church and its events between 2003 and 2007, the Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office reported Wednesday.
Angelo Deboray "Doogie" Golatt, 28, was arrested Tuesday in Jena by Sheriff's Office detectives and deputy U.S. marshals. Golatt resides in the 1700 block of Military Highway in Pineville, sheriff's officials said in a news release.
Golatt, who no longer works at Donahue, faces one count of aggravated rape, one count of sexual battery and two counts of molestation of a juvenile, authorities said.
More charges against Golatt may be coming because sheriff's officials say Golatt might have assaulted other juveniles at the church.
http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/DK/20110331/NEWS01/103310335/0/LIFESTYLE/Former-Pineville-youth-minister-accused-sex-crimes-juveniles?odyssey=nav%7Chead

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Prosecutors add money-laundering charges to 2 men in N.J. corruption probe

Two figures in the sweeping 2009 federal money laundering and public corruption bust had additional money-laundering charges added today, under a 14-count indictment handed up in Newark.
Rabbi Lavel Schwartz, 59, and David S. Goldhirsh, 29, both of Brooklyn, were arrested on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering tied to their dealings in 2008 and 2009 with the now-infamous FBI informant and real-estate developer Solomon Dwek.

The two men were indicted on a money-laundering conspiracy count and 12 counts of attempted money laundering based on their Dwek dealings. Schwartz is charged in 10 of those 12 counts, Goldhirsh three.
According to federal authorities and the indictment, Schwartz and his brother, Rabbi Mordchai Fish, agreed to launder money for Dwek that they believed he got from illegal activities such as bank fraud, selling of counterfeit merchandise and bankruptcy fraud. After Dwek gave them bank checks ranging from $25,000 to $100,000, they’d give him cash back, minus a 10 percent or so cut for themselves, federal authorities said.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/04/prosecutors_add_money-launderi.html

Utah Pastor Gets Prison For Child Rape

OGDEN, Utah (AP) — A 38-year-old former Utah pastor who also performed as the rapper Pastor Soulja has been sentenced to five years to life in prison after admitting a sexual relationship with a teenage girl in his congregation.
Second District Court Judge Ernest Jones in Ogden also ordered Aaron Witcher to pay $4,150 in restitution and future therapy costs for the girl.
Witcher pleaded guilty in January to two rape charges for having sex with a 15-year-old girl he met while working as the youth ministries leader at the Genesis Project in Ogden. Six counts were dismissed.
KSL-TV reports that a statement from the girl's father read in court Wednesday accused Witcher of mocking and betraying God and victimizing a young and vulnerable girl.


Read more: http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/default/article/Utah-pastor-rapper-gets-prison-in-child-rape-case-1316385.php#ixzz1IMPrsFHz

Pastor awaiting rape trial is placed on electronic home detention

A South Seattle pastor and music teacher accused of raping and molesting a teenage girl was placed on electronic home monitoring Thursday, despite efforts by King County prosecutors to have him held in the King County Jail while he awaits trial in a case that carries a potential life sentence.
The Rev. Royce Shorter, 54, was arrested and charged in February with two counts of third-degree rape and one count of third-degree child molestation, court records show. Members of Shorter's church "pooled their money" to post his $350,000 bail, according to defense attorney Amy Muth. Jail records show he was released less than 24 hours after he was booked.
On Thursday, King County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Julie Kays filed two more charges against Shorter: second-degree rape and first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor. Additionally, Kays added the aggravating factor of abuse of trust to each charge. Those aggravating issues can be used as a basis for an exceptional sentence if Shorter is convicted.
However, Shorter could be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release if he's convicted on the second-degree-rape charge, which was filed based on new evidence that he allegedly forcibly raped a now-20-year-old woman when she was 15, Kays said.
That's because the charge would be Shorter's second strike, the maximum allowed for certain sex crimes. In 1985, he was convicted of second-degree statutory rape for having sex with a 13-year-old.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2014648646_ministersex01m.html

Pastor Terry Jones: a homophobic used furniture salesman

The 59-year-old runs the Dove World Outreach Centre in Gainsville, Florida, whose congregation numbers just a few dozen.
The church is based in a 20-acre compound where Jones lives with his wife, Sylvia, and is said to regularly patrol the grounds with a pistol strapped to his hip.
Dove World Outreach is funded by the pastor's furniture firm, TS & Company, which buys vintage items from Europe and sells them in the US. The employees are members of the church, who are understood to work for no wages and live rent-free in run-down properties owned by the pastor and his wife.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/8422880/Pastor-Terry-Jones-a-homophobic-used-furniture-salesman-with-a-love-of-controversy.html

Pastor appears in court on sex charge

Special to The Star
CHARLOTTE — Dr. Clinton Feemster was accompanied by church deacons and an attorney Friday morning at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse.
Feemster was arrested Feb.18 and charged with soliciting crimes against nature. Police said he solicited a sex act from an undercover vice officer near the airport.
Feemster, a Gardner-Webb University professor and a pastor at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Kings Mountain, was placed on leave from his church in early March. He is also on leave from the university.
His case was continued to May 3.

Former Tulsa Pastor Charged With Seven Counts Of Child Sexual Abuse

Posted: Apr 01, 2011 12:21 PM EDT Updated: Apr 01, 2011 1:40 PM EDT
 
Mug shot of Vincent Brookfield as of March 31, 2011. [Tulsa Co jail]
Mug shot of Vincent Brookfield as of March 31, 2011. [Tulsa Co jail]
NewsOn6.com
TULSA, Oklahoma -- A former pastor at a Tulsa church was booked into the Tulsa County jail Thursday afternoon following his arrest on 7 charges of child sexual abuse.
Court records show Vincent Brookfield is accused of sexually abusing a 7-year-old girl between April 2, 2003 and April 2, 2004 and the same female when she was between the ages of 11 and 14 from April 2, 2007 to November 29, 2010.
Police tell News On 6, they know of no other victims. 
An Internet search shows Vincent Brookfield was the pastor of Evangelism and Outreach at the New Hope Baptist Church in Tulsa.  

Ex-Pastor Charged With Stealing $25,000 In Church Funds

The former pastor of a Rockland County Roman Catholic Church has been charged with stealing $25,000 from the church to pay for personal expenses including online gambling, according to Rockland County District Attorney Thomas P. Zugibe.
The Rev. Thomas Kreiser, 45, of 21 Cinder Road, Garnerville, is charged with one count of third-degree grand larceny in connection with the illicit use of an American Express card for St. Gregory Barbarigo Church in Garnerville from March to June 2010.
Kreiser was been pastor of the church from 2008 until his resignation in June 2010.
“This defendant, a Roman Catholic priest, embezzled thousands of dollars from St. Gregory’s Church and improperly used the money for his personal benefit," Zugibe said. "His conduct represents a betrayal of the trust of his parishioners who looked to him for moral leadership and spiritual guidance.”

http://nyack.patch.com/articles/ex-pastor-charged-with-stealing-25000-in-church-funds

TSA Accused of Firing Agent for Being a Witch

Carole A. Smith does not fly around on a broom, wear a black pointy hat or cast spells. But the misperceptions of what constitutes a witch—someone who practices Wicca—was more than enough to get her fired from her job with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
 
Smith was an airport screener at New York’s Albany International Airport until coworkers and supervisors turned on her once they found out about her religion. Her training officer, Mary Bagnoli, even accused Smith of casting a spell on her car’s heater so it wouldn’t work.

Face of Jesus Christ appears in three-cheese pizza

In a purported "miracle'', the face of Jesus Christ has appeared on a three-cheese pizza made at Posh Pizza in New Farm, Brisbane.
The shop, in the city's Fortitude Valley, has put the slice on eBay, and as of this morning bidding was up to $65.
Jesus in a pizza
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/lifestyle/the-other-side/face-of-jesus-christ-appears-in-three-cheese-pizza/story-e6frfhk6-1226030824138

Newly rich targeted as witches, South African police warn

JOHANNESBURG—Newly rich South Africans are increasingly accused of witchcraft and attacked by their neighbors, police in the northern province of Limpopo said Wednesday.
"Now you are a witch because you are driving a four-by-four. This is the mentality that people have," police spokesman Hangwani Mulaudzi, told the Sapa news agency.
"Once people start amassing wealth, getting bigger houses and sending their children to better schools, it means you are engaging yourself in witchcraft.

Mulaudzi said Limpopo had seen four attacks in the past three months in villages where alleged witches were either assaulted or killed.
In the most recent incident, an 81-year-old grandmother and her 26-year-old granddaughter were stoned to death and then set alight by a mob in a small village Sunday after being accused of witchcraft, Sapa reported.

Mulaudzi said villagers who had left home to earn money in urban areas were becoming afraid to return and build new houses in their communities. He blamed a lack of education in rural areas for misconceptions about the upwardly mobile.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view/20110323-327225/Newly-rich-targeted-as-witches-South-African-police-warn

Lawmaker Calls Bishop ‘Pedophile Pimp’

A top Republican in New Hampshire on Friday called Bishop John B. McCormack of Manchester a “pedophile pimp” on his Facebook page.
The Republican, State Representative D. J. Bettencourt, the House majority leader, was responding to criticism from Bishop McCormack that state budget cuts would hurt the most vulnerable members of society.
“Would the bishop like to discuss his history of protecting the ‘vulnerable?’ ” Mr. Bettencourt, a practicing Roman Catholic, wrote. “This man is a pedophile pimp who should have been led away from the State House in handcuffs with a raincoat over his head in disgrace. He has absolutely no moral credibility to lecture anyone.”
Mr. Bettencourt said in a statement that his criticism stemmed from Bishop McCormack’s time as an administrator for Cardinal Bernard F. Law in Boston, where he was a top aide assigned to investigate complaints that priests had sexually abused minors. He was named bishop of Manchester in 1998.
In 2002, he was part of a settlement with state prosecutors in which the diocese acknowledged it had protected abusive priests and submitted itself to audits. The agreement halted a criminal investigation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/02/us/02bishop.html

Friday, April 1, 2011

UN staff killed by Afghan mob enraged over Florida Quran burning

At least 20 UN staff members were killed in northern Afghanistan when a protest over a Quran burning overseen by pastor Terry Jones turned into a violent mob.

An Afghan mob apparently angry over a Quran burning in Florida set upon a United Nations compound Friday, killing as many as 20 employees and setting fire to several compound buildings.

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The attack, which may be the deadliest assault on the UN in Afghanistan, grew out of a protest in response to news that US pastor Terry Jones oversaw a Quran burning on March 20. Mr. Jones drew worldwide criticism last year for threatening to burn Qurans on the anniversary of 9/11.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2011/0401/UN-staff-killed-by-Afghan-mob-enraged-over-Florida-Quran-burning

Marquette University Pres. Accused Of Covering Up Clergy Abuse

Marquette University's president is accused of protecting one of the nation's most notorious predator priests.
The allegations are part of a pending lawsuit against the Rev. Donald McGuire and his order.The Rev. Robert Wild supervised McGuire in the late 1980s when he headed up the Chicago Province of the Society of Jesus.Long before McGuire was a convicted pedophile, he was arguably the one of the country's most prominent Jesuits."Father McGuire is a saint, walking around among us," McGuire supporter Tony Mockus said at McGuire's sentencing in 2007.McGuire was best known as spiritual adviser to Mother Teresa and often brought children and families to meet her, despite, claims the lawsuit, the growing number of sexual misconduct complaints against him."As Father McGuire is being presented to the world as Mother Teresa's spiritual adviser and the director of his order of nuns, the Jesuits, including Father Wild, never tell her that this man is a pedophile priest," said the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests spokesman Peter Isely.
http://www.wisn.com/r/27375873/detail.html

Madison priest accused of fondling teenage girl maintains his innocence

A Madison priest accused of fondling a teenage girl in 2003 and 2004 and exposing himself to her maintains his innocence, his attorney said Thursday.
Attorney Stephen Eisenberg, who is representing the Rev. Joseph Gibbs Clauder, said Clauder "looks forward to exonerating himself."
Clauder, 64, who was removed from public ministry in 1999, made an initial appearance Thursday in Dane County Circuit Court on a charge of sexual assault of a child under age 16. Commissioner Scott McAndrew ordered Clauder to have no contact with the alleged victim, who was 14 and 15 when the incidents are said to have occurred, or unsupervised contact with minors while free on a signature bond.
A status conference was set for Monday, at which time Eisenberg said a date could be set for a preliminary hearing.
The Diocese of Madison posted a statement on its website Wednesday saying, "There is no place in the priesthood for those who would abuse a child" and renewing its promise for appropriate precaution and reporting of sexual abuse of minors.
Laura Nyberg, who sued Clauder in 1993 after the two had been involved in what she termed an "inappropriate sexual relationship" after Clauder counseled her following her second miscarriage, attended Thursday's court appearance and urged any other victims to come forward. "For me, the most powerful thing is not to be alone," she said.
http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/crime_and_courts/article_5bb432c2-5bb8-11e0-9641-001cc4c03286.html

33 archdiocesan priests accused but not named

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has a list of 33 priests accused of sexual abuse involving minors. But unlike other Roman Catholic archdioceses that have published similar lists in recent years -- Milwaukee, Chicago and Baltimore, among others -- it has refused to do so.
The archdiocese's list has been around for nearly eight years and is the subject of at least one lawsuit filed by a man who says he was sexually abused as a teenager by a former Twin Cities area priest.
The question of whether to reveal the priests on the list came into question again this week when St. John's Abbey in Collegeville released the names of 17 monks who have faced credible allegations of sexual abuse or other misconduct. The disclosure was part of a settlement of lawsuits against the abbey.
St. Paul attorney Jeff Anderson, who has represented thousands of clergy sex abuse victims, and victims' rights advocates have pressed to make such lists public for years. Doing so helps victims heal, leads others to come forward and protects children from possible future abuse, they say.
"Until all the names of the all offenders become known and exposed ... other survivors will suffer in secrecy and silence and shame until they know they're not alone," Anderson said. "Kids remain at risk. Those offenders could be in schools, our neighborhoods; they could be in churches."
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/faith/119035049.html

Former Hardeeville Pastor and Secretary Accused of Stealing Church Money

The congregation of a Lowcountry church is rocked by scandal as a former pastor and the secretary are charged with taking money from the church.

Hardeeville Police said they believe the theft happened over the past couple of years at St. Stephen AME Church on Main Street.

Police said the church's new pastor and a committee reviewed the finances and asked them to look into some irregularities in late February.

Hardeeville Police said $56,000 was in the church account and after two and a half years, just two thousand was left.

After their investigation, police arrested the church's former pastor, Jonathan Roberts, for criminal conspiracy and the secretary, Roberta Simmons, for breach of trust with fraudulent intent of $10,000 or more.

Chief Richard Nagy said they have so far found evidence the two used about $21,000 for their personal use and the investigation isn't over yet.
http://www2.wsav.com/news/2011/mar/31/3/former-hardeeville-pastor-and-secretary-accused-st-ar-1654574/