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
Saturday, April 2, 2011
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
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
Friday, Apr 1 2011, 6:35 pm
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]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uFWWtKjHVYjIWvFnU-KgxCObml5mTux7XZeH5Qj8i5rTdv5sO96KNI06MnC-5vglv4GWwD9ZB36IYkgIixBoEDP6xYy5oXzLywhyKeIxQvv987kDpxywtirTA=s0-d "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]
![Mug shot of Vincent Brookfield as of March 31, 2011. [Tulsa Co jail]](http://kotv.images.worldnow.com/images/14365841_BG1.jpg "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
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.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/lifestyle/the-other-side/face-of-jesus-christ-appears-in-three-cheese-pizza/story-e6frfhk6-1226030824138
The shop, in the city's Fortitude Valley, has put the slice on eBay, and as of this morning bidding was up to $65.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/lifestyle/the-other-side/face-of-jesus-christ-appears-in-three-cheese-pizza/story-e6frfhk6-1226030824138
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