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Tag: Rape

If God is so Powerful, Why Can’t He Stop Christians From Committing Heinous Crimes?

Evangelicals believe that their God is all-seeing, all-knowing, and all-powerful. He is the sovereign of the universe, and nothing happens apart from his purpose, decree, and plan. God sets up kingdoms and takes them down; thus Donald Trump is the president of the United States because God wanted him to be. It’s God, not humans, who ultimately elects people to office. He is the divine ballot box stuffer. This same God is the giver and taker of life. No one dies before the time God has appointed for his or her death. Wherever man roams, the Christian God is found. According to Evangelicals, humans cannot escape God. He is e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e.

If these things are true, I’d love for a Christian to explain to me why it is that God can’t stop his followers from committing heinous crimes? Appealing to free will or sin won’t work. Why? God is in control of everything. If he is in control of everything, then that includes sin. If he is the sovereign over the universe, and nothing happens apart from his purpose, decree, and plan, what does that say about the notion of free will?  If humans truly have free will and can choose as they please, this means that God is not in control; that God’s plans can be frustrated by human volition. (Let the theological wrangling and justifications begin.) Well Bruce, you have to understand ____________. Actually, I don’t. All I am doing here is taking what Christians say at face value. If God is whom Evangelicals say he is, and has the power they say he does, this means that God is culpable for what happens day after day on this dying planet of ours.

Let me ask again, why can’t God stop his followers from committing heinous crimes? If, as Evangelicals assert, God, the Holy Spirit, lives in all believers and is their teacher and guide, why do Christians commit vile, horrendous crimes? Take Matthew Phelps, who stabbed his Christian wife over a hundred times. Explain how a Bible college-trained preacher could commit such a crime. Explain how it is that the news daily reports stories about Evangelical “men of God” committing adultery, stealing church funds, raping teenagers, and sexually molesting children. Why doesn’t Jehovah stop these God-called, Spirit-filled, Bible-reading, praying servants of his from committing these crimes (and others that aren’t reported). Is it that God can’t; that he is powerless to do so? Is it that humans do what humans do, and there is nothing God can do to keep them from doing so? It seems to me, based on an ever-increasing mountain of evidence, that if there is a God who created everything, he is an idle bystander, unwilling or unable to lift a finger to keep his followers from sodomizing boys, sexually assaulting little girls, and preying on adult women.

There was a time when Evangelicals could argue that criminals such as David Hyles or Bob Gray (Jacksonville, Florida) were outliers; that pastors, evangelists, missionaries, Sunday school teachers, deacons, and bus workers who commit crimes are as rare as a dodo bird sighting. Thanks to the internet and the willingness of victims to publicly share their stories, we now know the Evangelicals have just as big of a crime problem as the Catholic church does. And even before the internet, there was gossip about this or that preacher being arrested or run out of his church. Solomon was right when said there is nothing new under the sun.

Evangelical church leaders love to rail against the world and its “sins,” yet these same behaviors are found among the fraternity. Does anyone really believe that Ted Haggard and Jack Hyles are the exceptions to the rule; that yes, preachers can and do commit crimes, but such behavior is rarely found in Evangelical houses of God? I remember a day when Evangelicals thundered against the sins of the world — fornication, adultery, homosexuality, and divorce. Look at our strong, lifelong marriages, pastors would say. Look at our moral purity. We owe it all to JESUS!  Now we know better. Evangelical pastors and their congregants sin just as much as the unwashed, uncircumcised Philistines of the world. We know that pastors are not the pillars of virtue they claim to be: that they have sex with women to whom they are not married, and surf porn sites just like their counterparts in the world. (Please read Is Clergy Sexual Infidelity Rare?)

It seems, then, that Evangelicals aren’t any different from the rest of us; that all their talk about being new creations in Christ Jesus is just that, talk. Now, this doesn’t mean that Christianity is worthless. People find purpose, meaning, and community through religion. That said, I do wonder if pastors stood before their congregations and said, God is not who and what we claim he is and we are just as fucked up as the rest of the world, what would happen? If the notion of a personal, caring God is destroyed, what’s left for Christians besides Grandma Mary’s cherry pie? If there is no difference morally between the saved and the lost, where does that leave Christianity?

Of course — thanks to cognitive dissonance — my words will be loudly and roundly rejected. There is machinery to maintain and gears to grease. There are offerings to collect and souls to save. Evangelicals dare not let reality get in the way of perpetuating the myth — that Jesus loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.

About Bruce Gerencser

Bruce Gerencser, 60, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 39 years. He and his wife have six grown children and eleven grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist. For more information about Bruce, please read the About page.

Bruce is a local photography business owner, operating Defiance County Photo out of his home. If you live in Northwest Ohio and would like to hire Bruce, please email him.

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Christians Say the Darnedest Things: Rape is the Same as Consensual Gay Sex, Says Mormon Quentin Cook

quentin cook

It is commendable that nonconsensual immorality [rape, sexual assault] has been exposed and denounced. Such nonconsensual immorality is against the laws of God and of society. Those who understand God’s plan should also oppose consensual immorality [gay sex, fornication, adultery], which is also a sin.

Mormon Apostle Quentin Cook at the 2018 Mormon General Conference

Black Collar Crime: Methodist Pastor Troy Piccaluga Charged with Statutory Rape

troy piccaluga

The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.

Troy Anthony Piccaluga, pastor of Eagle Lake and Redwood United Methodist churches in Vicksburg, Mississippi, was arrested yesterday and charged with statutory rape and sexual battery.

The Clarion Ledger reports:

A Warren County minister has been charged with statutory rape and sexual battery, Sheriff Martin Pace said.

The Vicksburg Post reported that The Rev. Troy Anthony Piccaluga, 48, pastor of the Eagle Lake and Redwood United Methodist churches, was arrested Thursday at his home in the Redwood community.

Piccaluga is accused of having sexual contact with two girls between the ages of 14 and 16. The investigation began after the sheriff’s department received information that a juvenile had a sexual relationship with an older male. During the course of the investigation a second victim was identified. The alleged incidents occurred at several locations in Warren County, but Sheriff Pace would not say where.

Piccaluga is charged with two counts of statutory rape and one count of sexual battery. He is being held without bond.

….

 

Black Collar Crime: Former Mormon Missionary Training Center President Joseph Bishop Accused of Rape

joseph l bishop

The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.

Joseph Bishop, a former president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Missionary Training School stands accused of attempted rape. Bishop cannot be prosecuted due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. A 1980 interview of the former dean of women at Weber State College — where Bishop was president — suggests that Bishop was lacking in moral character.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports:

A former president of the LDS Missionary Training Center has admitted that he took a young woman into a small room at the Provo campus in 1984 and asked to see her breasts, according to a report released Wednesday by Brigham Young University police.

The release comes three days after MormonLeaks published an explosive, taped conversation between the woman and Joseph L. Bishop, whom she accuses of attempting to rape her.

Bishop, now 85, said during their December conversation that he didn’t remember taking her into the room, let alone sexually assaulting her. But he repeatedly apologized, describing himself as a predator and saying he had confessed to other sexual misconduct — disclosures that have ignited outrage online and questions about whether the Mormon church failed to protect women.

Bishop was the president of Weber State College (now University) in the 1970s, a Mormon mission president in Argentina from 1979 to 1982 and president of the missionary compound until 1986, supervising thousands of young male and female missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In November, the woman told BYU police she wanted to report being sexually assaulted at the center in 1984. Before she spoke in detail with officers, however, she visited Bishop in Arizona, posing as a writer who was interviewing former mission presidents.

During their nearly three-hour conversation on Dec. 2, which she secretly recorded, the Colorado woman urged him to admit what he did to her and others. The woman reminded him that during their time at the MTC, Bishop flattered her, took her out of class and told her she was special. He shared intimate aspects of his own marriage, including his sex life, she said, describing specific details.

….

He claimed not to remember the assault she alleged, but three days later, he told BYU officers that he recalled going into his small preparation room with her. “Then while talking to her he asked her to show him her breasts,” the report said, “which she did.”

The woman told officers that Bishop attempted to kiss her in the room and she resisted. She said he ripped her blouse and skirt, pulled down other clothing and raped her, according to the report. She said she then pushed him off and left the room.

….

Deputy Utah County Attorney David Sturgill said he could not pursue charges against Bishop because the statute of limitations had expired. In 1984, he said, the legal deadline for filing a rape charge was four years.“ I have no reason to doubt the victim’s disclosure, and would have likely prosecuted Mr. Bishop,” Sturgill wrote in the report, “but for the expiration of the statute of limitations.”

The woman leveling this allegation against Bishop released the following statement:

I’m the woman in the recording with Joseph L. Bishop. My identity will be revealed when I file the lawsuit.

First, although MormonLeaks did release my recording prior to my consent, Mr. McKnight and Mr. Dodge support my cause. It is my belief that they were concerned about ALL of the victims that may become forgotten if my story was silenced by a settlement and non-disclosure agreement. I cannot fault them for that. Having this story leaked has actually helped me. I was struggling with the settlement. Part of me wanted to take it and part of me didn’t. They made it easy for me. I didn’t have to choose. Some have stated that I am heroic and brave. I am neither of those things. I interviewed my rapist because I was pissed off. The church told me I wasn’t entitled to know what action, if any, had been taken in my reporting his raping me to several church leaders for 30 years. I was fed up. It was neither brave nor heroic.

Part of me wanted this to go away quietly and a bigger part of me wanted to scream from the top of the mountain what he did to me. Now I get to scream!

Even if the leak of the recording was prior to my consent, I do not agree that these men are re-victimizing me. I don’t think they would have released the recording without giving it serious thought and weighing the consequences heavily.

I look forward to sharing more of the story in the coming weeks.

You can listen to the woman’s audio recording of her interview of Bishop here.

Black Collar Crime: Three Salvation Army Members Convicted of Sexually Abusing Young Girls

salvation army

The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.

Trevor Worthington, his son Philip, and William Tomkinson — all members (soldiers) of the Salvation Army — have been found guilty of sexually abusing young girls.

The Global Beacon reports:

“Three men who were members of the Salvation Army – including a father and son – have been found guilty of sexually abusing young girls.

Trevor Worthington, 88, his son Philip Worthington, 64, and William Tomkinson, 70, were convicted of charges including indecent assault and attempted rape.

The assaults against two victims took place in the 1970s and 1980s, Preston Crown Court heard on Thursday.

Another man, Derek Smith, 68, admitted indecent assault at an earlier hearing.

The abuse took place in a number of locations around Blackpool, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

William Tomkinson first abused one of the girls in the 1970s when she was 11 years old.

He was treasurer for the Salvation Army at the time.

Philip Worthington began to abuse the same girl when she was 13 years old and Derek Smith abused her when she was 14.

When the victim told Trevor Worthington about the abuse, including that his son had been one of the perpetrators, Worthington himself began abusing her, the CPS said.

During a police investigation into the first victim’s allegations, a second victim came forward to report that Tomkinson and Philip Worthington had sexually abused her in the 1980s, from when she was 15 years old.

Sophie Rozdolskyj, from the CPS, said: “These men abused their positions of high standing in the community to take advantage of two young and trusting girls.”

The men will be sentenced at a future date.

Dean Juster, director of the Salvation Army’s Safeguarding, apologised to the victims and said the organisation was “deeply concerned” that the assaults took place.

“As soon as we were made aware of the charges the action we took was to suspend the three individuals from our organisation. We worked closely with the police and provided access to our internal investigation records.

“We have listened carefully to this case and whilst we followed internal processes we had in place at the time we will ensure that we learn from any lessons in this case.”

….

The Black Pool Gazette adds:

Dean Juster, Director of The Salvation Army’s Safeguarding Department, said: “We unreservedly apologise for the pain the victims have suffered and our thoughts are firmly with them and their families. We are deeply concerned that these assaults took place and we hope that today’s guilty verdict will be a small step on a journey of healing for them.” “As soon as we were made aware of the charges the action we took was to suspend the three individuals from our organisation. We worked closely with the police and provided access to our internal investigation records. We have listened carefully to this case and whilst we followed internal processes we had in place at the time we will ensure that we learn from any lessons in this case. “We fully understand that it takes a lot of courage to come forward and we would like to reassure the public that any concerns they have around safeguarding will be investigated thoroughly and we will actively encourage victims to share their experiences with the police at the earliest possible stage, to ensure they have every opportunity to be heard.”

Trevor Worthington, 88, of Mayfield Avenue, Thornton, was found guilty of indecent assault by a majority jury after 21 hours of deliberations at Preston Crown Court. His son Philip Worthington, 64, of Warwick Place, Blackpool, was found guilty of seven indecent assaults. William Tompkinson, 70, of Raleigh Drive, South Shore – a married man who had been the treasurer of the Citadel – was convicted of 10 offences of indecent assault in the early 1970s. A fourth man – Derek Jeffrey Smith, 67, of Hall Park Drive, Lytham – previously admitted indecent assault.

The men were all members – known as ‘soldiers’ – of the Salvation Army. Sophie Rozdolskyj, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “These men abused their positions of high standing in the community to take advantage of two young and trusting girls. “Three of the men consistently denied the allegations throughout the investigation and prosecution. However the CPS presented a strong case to the jury which included compelling evidence from the two women who were abused by these men. “I would like to pay tribute to them for coming forward and giving their evidence to the court.” Earlier in the case Richard Haworth, prosecuting, said the first victim, now in her 50s, was abused from the age of 11 by the defendants.

Tompkinson was accused of fondling the girl during a van journey, with the seriousness of his acts progressing over time. When the girl turned 13 it was alleged Philip Worthington, who was also married, started abusing her, giving her lifts in his sports car. It was claimed when the girl turned to Trevor Worthington to confide in him about the abuse by the other two men he perpetrated abuse on her in his car. Another complainant came forward when the matters were being investigated by Lancashire Police. Mr Haworth said: “Philip Worthington would approach her from behind, grab her and molest her. This carried on for a number of years, culminating in an incident on a car park when he sexually assaulted her.”

….

An April 23, 2018 report in The Gazette states:

William Russell Tomkinson, of Raleigh Avenue, Blackpool, was sentenced to four years in prison for 10 counts of indecent assault. Philip Worthington, of Warwick Place, Blackpool, was convicted of four counts of indecent assault, indecency with a child and two attempted rape of the first woman, and five counts of indecent assault of the second woman. He was sentenced to eight years and three months in prison. Trevor Worthington, of Mayfield Avenue, Thornton, was sentenced to 12 months in prison for one count of indecent assault. Smith, of Hall Park Drive, Lytham, was given a 15 months sentence, suspended for two years with supervision, and must do 100 hours of unpaid work. Tomkinson, Smith and Trevor Worthington were placed on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years. Philip Worthington was placed on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely. All four men were given restraining orders banning them from contacting their victims.

Investigating officer Simon Morris, of Lancashire Constabulary’s public protection unit, said:

These men completely abused the trust that was placed in them, as members of the Salvation Army. To the outside world they appeared to be upstanding members of the church – when in fact they were anything but. Tomkinson, Smith and Philip Worthington sexually exploited their victim for their own satisfaction. When she eventually confided in Trevor Worthington – a man she ought to have been able to trust – he did not help her, instead using the opportunity to abuse her himself. The victims in this case have shown great courage in coming forward and reporting what happened to them more than 40 years ago and there is no doubt the abuse they suffered has had a lasting effect on them. I hope today’s sentence brings some comfort and allows them to move on with their lives.

Black Collar Crime: IFB Preacher Richard Mick has Rape Conviction Overturned

richard mick

The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.

Last week, an Ohio appeals court overturned the child rape conviction of IFB preacher Richard Mick. Mick was, at the time of his conviction, the pastor of Lighthouse Baptist Church in Sandusky, Ohio.

The Sandusky Register reports:

An Ohio appeals court said a Sandusky pastor previously sentenced to life in prison for child rape must receive a new trial.

Richard Mick, 56, who was sentenced in Erie County Common Pleas Court in 2016, had his conviction overturned Friday by the Sixth District Court of Appeals. A jury originally found Mick guilty of four felony charges of rape and gross sexual imposition.

Mick, formerly a pastor at Lighthouse Baptist Church, appealed his conviction after his trial was notably marked by his then-attorney K. Ronald Bailey refusing to participate in the trial.

Bailey, in 2016, argued the trial should have been delayed, and Judge Roger Binette held him in contempt of court after Bailey told Binette he was “not participating” in the trial. Bailey eventually served a 30-day sentence in the Erie County jail for the contempt charge.

Bailey did not respond to requests for comment Friday afternoon.

Mick’s appeal, filed by his new Cleveland-based attorney, Russell Bensing, alleged Bailey’s refusal to participate in the trial violated his right to effective counsel, according to the appeal.

The appeals court agreed with Mick, according to a court opinion written by Judge Thomas Osowik.

“Although Mick could have waived his constitutional right to counsel, the record shows he did not,” Osowik said.

There are not any court dates set following the overturned conviction Friday.

Mick has another pending court case in Erie County Common Pleas Court, where he faces more counts of gross sexual imposition, according to court records. He has a pretrial in that case set for May 16.

An October 5, 2016, Sandusky Register report stated:

The long-delayed trial of a Sandusky pastor accused of sexually abusing children got off to a rocky start Tuesday when his attorney refused to participate altogether, and then defied the presiding judge.

The trial for Richard Mick, 55, of Lighthouse Baptist Church, is slated to resume Wednesday morning before Erie County Common Pleas Judge Roger Binette, but it remains to be seen just how the proceedings will unfold.

Soon after jury selection began on Tuesday, defense attorney K. Ron Bailey refused to participate and said he does not intend to do so for the duration of the trial.

“I’ve been practicing for over 33 years and I’ve never done this before, but, Your Honor, defense counsel cannot and will not be able nor willing to proceed today,” Bailey told Binette.

Despite Bailey’s actions, Erie County Assistant Prosecutor Aaron Lindsey said he will continue prosecuting the case as normal.

“We’re moving forward with the case,” Lindsey told the Register.

The trial could take up to two weeks, but will be decidedly one-sided if Bailey continues on this course. If he does, witnesses may not be cross-examined, evidence may not be presented in Mick’s defense, and defense witnesses may not be called at all.

In the meantime, prosecutors will continue seeking a conviction against the pastor, who’s facing a potential sentence of life imprisonment. Mick is accused of raping an approximately 8-year-old girl — and fondling an approximately 8-year-old boy — over a decade ago.

Bailey’s refusal to participate at trial seems to revolve around a few specific issues.

Last week, he filed two motions with the court — one asking that the trial be delayed, and one asking Binette to recuse himself.

According to court documents, Bailey asked for a delay for essentially three reasons:

•He had to travel out-of-state for his son’s wedding over the weekend.

•Mick had been ill recently.

•He hadn’t been able to fully investigate new accusations that Mick sexually assaulted another child. (Allegations that led to eight new indictments being leveled by a grand jury in August).

Bailey’s request came after more than two years worth of delays in the case. On previous occasions, he asked for the trial to be pushed back for a myriad of reasons, including Mick being ill, parking issues near the courthouse due to Ohio Bike Week, and not having enough time to prepare, according to court documents.

Binette ultimately denied Bailey’s new request for another delay, and ordered the trial move forward as planned on Tuesday.

Binette also denied Bailey’s request to recuse himself, which was, in part, predicated on Binette’s refusal to delay the case yet again.

Bailey also told the Register that the primary reason he wasn’t participating in Mick’s current jury trial is because no ruling had been made regarding an expert witness’s testimony.

“The biggest thing is…the motion…that was filed back in August hasn’t been ruled on yet,” he said Tuesday afternoon.

Binette, however, ruled on that motion Tuesday morning following a heated exchange with Bailey in the courtroom, court records state.

After Bailey declared his intentions not to participate during jury selection, Binette told Bailey and Lindsey to return to their seats and step away from his bench.

“You may step back, you are excused,” Binette told the men.

Lindsey retreated, but Bailey stayed put and cut the judge off.

“I was talking about—” he said.

“You may step back,” Binette said, firmly.

The exchange repeated itself, and Bailey again interrupted.

“I know I may but I won’t…” Bailey responded.

At that point, Binette ordered the jurors out of the room and warned Bailey for contempt of court.

“Counsel, this court said ‘Step back’ (and) you said ‘you may but you weren’t’. Further activity like that will be held in direct contempt of court and the court will sanction appropriately,” Binette said before resuming proceedings.

The jury selection process then continued where it left off — but Bailey refused to chime in each time he was given the opportunity.

“We’re not participating,” he said multiple times. “I previously told you that I won’t participate in this trial and I’m sticking to that.”

Bailey argued that continuing with the trial “would violate Reverend Mick’s rights to guaranteed due process.”

….

An August 31, 2016 Sandusky Register report stated:

Just weeks ahead of his trial for other alleged child sex crimes, a local pastor was indicted yet again — this time for allegedly touching a five-year-old boy.

Pastor Richard Mick, 55, of the Lighthouse Baptist Church, was indicted this month on eight felony counts of gross sexual imposition.

It marks the fourth time since 2012 Mick has been accused of child sexual abuse.

The alleged victim in this case, like the previous cases, was a member of Mick’s Cleveland Road church, police say.

The boy, now 15, told investigators Mick inappropriately touched him on multiple occasions about a decade ago.

“He said he used to get in trouble at the church and Mr. Mick would talk to him alone in his office,” Sandusky police Detective Ken Nixon said.

It was during those meetings Mick allegedly touched the boy.

“He recently had to talk to some counselors and disclosed this to them. The counselor passed it on to police and Children Services,” Nixon said.

The boy’s story is similar to the accounts of two other children (now teenagers), who each alleged Mick abused them at the church when they were about eight years old.

One of the alleged victims in that case said she was raped by Mick, and the other alleged victim said he was fondled by the pastor.

Mick was indicted for both of those incidents in 2014, and his jury trial is now scheduled for October 6.

The pastor was accused of raping another girl back in 2012, but Erie County prosecutors dropped that case, saying they could not prove it beyond a reasonable doubt, according to court records.

When the Register contacted Mick’s defense attorney, K. Ronald Bailey, for comment, he did not address Mick’s eight new indictments directly. He did, however, point to a lie detector test Mick underwent for the 2014 case.

“He has passed polygraph examinations showing that the allegations are false,” Bailey stated.

Bailey asked for those results to be included in Mick’s upcoming trial, but polygraph exams are generally inadmissible, and a judge denied his motion.

The most recent allegations against Mick surfaced in early July, after the boy’s counselor reached out to local authorities.

The boy was then interviewed on July 22, and the case was presented to an Erie County grand jury, which opted to level eight new indictments against the pastor.

….

An October 7, 2016 Sandusky Register report stated:

A Sandusky pastor was convicted of child rape and sentenced to life in prison Friday at the conclusion of a tumultuous trial.

A jury found Richard Mick, 55, of Lighthouse Baptist Church, guilty on four felony counts, two of which carried a mandatory life sentence.

Mick raped a young girl on two occasions, and fondled a young boy multiple times. Both were members of his church.

“A pastor is (supposed) to take care of his flock,” Erie County Common Pleas Court Judge Roger Binette told Mick. “You didn’t do that.”

He called Mick a “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” before handing down the sentence.

“They thought you were protecting them and you weren’t. You were harming them,” Binette said.

Mick received a life sentence for raping the girl and an additional five years for victimizing the boy.

Two other alleged victims testified at trial this week, detailing other alleged abuse they said they sustained at Mick’s hands.

The pastor is facing eight additional counts of gross sexual imposition for one of those cases, which is still pending. Over the coming months, Mick will likely be shuttled back to Erie County to answer for those alleged crimes.

“This trial has been about courage, the courage of four young adults to come forward and share their inner demons,” said assistant Erie County prosecutor Aaron Lindsey during his closing arguments Friday morning.

The jury ultimately agreed with prosecutors. They returned with guilty verdicts after less than two hours of deliberation.

The defense strategy of Mick’s attorney, K. Ronald Bailey, was highly unusual. He refused to participate in the trial, and essentially argued no case on his client’s behalf. Local officials said they’d never witnessed anything like it.

….

 

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastors Ken Engelking and Scott Nelson Accused Of Criminal Behavior

pastor scott nelson
Pastor Scott Nelson

The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.

Several women have come forward, alleging that Ken Engelking, executive pastor of Morningstar Community Church in Salem, Oregon, senior pastor Scott Nelson, and several other men committed crimes by either sexually assaulting them or not reporting alleged criminal behavior by church staff and members to legal authorities, choosing instead to cover-up the crimes. The following story is  sordid tale of sexual misconduct by so-called men of God and a church’s systematic cover-up of their crimes.

Lauren Hernandez and Capi Lynn, reporters for Statesman Journal, write:

“Sexual immorality” was the reason cited when longtime Pastor Ken Engelking resigned in January from Morning Star Community Church in Salem.

Four women had come forward the previous spring with allegations against Engelking, two other former church staff members and a member of an affiliated church.

In a 23-page annotated letter to the Morning Star board of directors, the women chronicled accusations of an abusive, adulterous relationship involving Engelking, and sexual assault and rape by three other men over more than 20 years, including as recently as 2010.

The church sought legal counsel, then hired a private investigator to look into the allegations. Nine months later, the board asked Engelking to resign.

Morning Star leaders declined to be interviewed for this story. In response to questions from the Statesman Journal, the board of directors provided a written statement detailing the allegations.

The statement offered an apology: “We are deeply sorry that anyone has ever experienced hurt, abuse, or felt unheard while under our care.”

….

The women’s letter describes a pattern of cover-up and patriarchal pressure inside the church started in 1982 and still led by Senior Pastor Scott Nelson.

In each case, the women said they were silenced by Nelson and other church leaders, pressured to not report what happened to them or do anything that could tarnish Morning Star’s image.

The church’s attorney said that “despite the view of some, these events are not part of a systemic culture or cover-up.”

One woman, in her 30s at the time, said she was told by a church leader that it was her fault she was raped because she had been flirting and wearing a tank top. A 15-year-old girl, when she confided to Engelking that she hadn’t told her parents about her assault, said he encouraged her to keep it secret.

The women say none were offered outside counseling or support after bringing forth the allegations.

Members of the clergy are mandatory child abuse reporters in Oregon. Any person younger than 18 is unable to give consent under Oregon law, so any sexual activity is considered abuse and must be reported.

But neither Engelking nor Nelson reported the incident involving the 15-year-old, not at the time it allegedly happened in 1994 or when it was detailed in the letter last year. There is no statute of limitations on reporting laws.

The women sent their letter in April 2017 to the five members of the all-male church board, including Keizer Police Sgt. Bob Trump and Marion County Commissioner Kevin Cameron.

Trump, as a police officer, is a mandatory reporter, but he did not report the abuse alleged in the letter. While Trump continues to serve on the board, Cameron told the Statesman Journal he resigned in May after the letter was received and the investigation launched.

The Statesman Journal found no reports of abuse filed by members of Morning Star or its board members with Salem Police or in Marion County court records.

Nelson, Engelking and Trump declined to comment.

The criminal statute of limitations has passed for all but one of the alleged assaults.

….

Engelking had been a pastor at Morning Star for 31 years when asked to resign.

Two other alleged perpetrators, including one accused of rape, were allowed to quietly leave the church without repercussions. One, a youth pastor, was later ousted from a second Salem church, which determined he was involved in an inappropriate relationship.

The fourth alleged perpetrator was a member of Mike Silva International, which sponsored a 2010 mission trip to Columbia that included Morning Star members. The alleged rape was referred by Morning Star to the Silva ministry because it headed the mission, according to the board’s statement.

Silva is a director on Morning Star’s board.

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When Nelson announced Engelking’s resignation, he said church leadership took what it considered “appropriate action” in the mid-1990s when the first allegations were made.

But it was clear after the 2017 independent investigation and “after much prayer, fasting, tears and meetings with deep sorrow” that Engelking had to resign, Nelson told his congregation Jan. 14.

He also told them he took “full responsibility for the fact that situations were not properly addressed all those years ago.”

After releasing a formal statement to the Statesman Journal, Nelson followed up with the congregation on Feb. 25, saying: “We did fail in many ways in our follow up and in our care.

“We don’t control what people think about us, we simply put our eyes on Jesus and we continue doing ministry,” he said. “Yeah, we’ve blown it, we’ve missed it, we failed.”

Each of the four women told the Statesman Journal their lives were forever changed by the alleged assaults. They said their subsequent relationships have suffered and they continue to require therapy.

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The youngest alleged victim said she was 15 years old when an adult pastor intern first touched her by rubbing her thigh while on a bus ride back from a 1994 church camping trip.

He pressured her to lie to her parents and meet privately with him on at least two occasions. During one outing, he pressed his body against hers while teaching her how to play miniature golf.

One night, he snuck into her home while her parents were out of town, slipping through a sliding glass door entrance to her room, she told the board.

She said he tried to convince her multiple times to lay in bed naked with him, side by side. He told her he wouldn’t do anything to her, and that she was safe with him.

He allegedly got on top of her while she laid in bed, still clothed, and mimicked intercourse without penetrating her.

After he climaxed and left the home, she said she “felt sick.” She remembers getting out of bed, washing her sheets and blankets, and taking a shower.

“I hate that night,” she told the Statesman Journal.

She didn’t immediately tell her parents. But after confiding in a church friend, the friend told her that Nelson handed over the “problem” to Engelking.

Soon after, she received a call from Engelking. She said he told her the pastor intern was moving to California. When Engelking asked if she planned to tell her parents of the assault, she replied “no.”

“He said that was ‘fine,’ that he had dealt with it and we could leave it all behind us now,” she said.

The youth pastor was “immediately dismissed” when the assault was disclosed to church officials, according to the board’s statement to the Statesman Journal. The church described the alleged assault as “criminal sexual contact with a minor.”

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pastor ken engelking
Pastor Ken Engelking

Please take the time to read the entire article here. Be prepared to weep over the injustice done to the victims. And then get angry, very angry over the fact none of these sexual predators or cover-up artists will be criminally prosecuted. I hope the victims will sue the church, forcing the congregation and its leaders to give an accounting of crimes and immoral behavior committed on their watch.

Black Collar Crime: IFB Bus Director Larry Winn Accused of Sexual Assault

larry winn

The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.

Last week, I posted a story about Steven Winn, a youth worker at Open Door Baptist Church in Mesquite, Texas, being arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a church girl. This week, Larry Winn, Steven’s father, has been arrested on sexual assault charges. The elder Winn was the bus director at Open Door, an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) congregation.

Domingo Ramirez, Jr, a reporter for the Star-Telegram, writes:

A Mesquite church staff member accused of an inappropriate sexual relationship with an underage congregant may have additional victims, police say.

Larry Winn, 65, of Dallas, who coordinated a bus ministry for members of Open Door Baptist Church who needed a ride to and from worship, is accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl. He was arrested Thursday.

“Due to Winn’s level of access to children, investigators believe there may be additional victims,” police Lt. Brian Parrish said in a news release.

Days before Larry Winn was arrested, his son Steven Aaron Winn, 33, also a church volunteer, was arrested on a charge of sexually assaulting a different teenage girl at the church.

Larry Winn was arrested Thursday after police received a tip. He was free Tuesday after posting $25,000 bail.

While being interviewed by police, the girl made an outcry of sexual assault that authorities say occurred three years ago when she was 16.

Larry Winn has been on the church staff for several years, police said.

Steven Aaron Winn, of Crandall, worked with church youths, and he became the subject of an investigation Feb. 18, also based on a tip.

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In 2011, Open Door’s then-pastor Matt Jarrell was arrested and accused of raping a woman near Charleston, W.Va. Jarrell was later found hanging in his jail cell and could not be revived

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Black Collar Crime: Pastor Othonier Altruz’s Claim of Unjust Punishment Rejected by Appeals Court

othonier altruz

Convicted rapist Pastor Othonier Altruz says his sentence is unjust and based on lies by the thirteen-year-old victim. The appeals courts rejected Altruz’s appeal.

Penn Live reports:

Pennsylvania pastor convicted of raping a teenage parishioner when she skipped school will stay in prison after an appeals court rejected his claim that his punishment is “harsh and excessive.”

Othonier Altruz’s argument that his 7 3/4 – to 16-yeat jail term is unjust is based on nothing more than “bald allegations,” Judge John L. Musmanno found in the Superior Court panel’s opinion.

Investigators said the 56-year-old Altruz encountered the 13-year-old Delaware County girl when she walked by his car after deciding to cut class. She recognized Altruz as her pastor and accepted his offer of a ride. She later told police that Altruz took her to a motel, ripped off her clothes, pushed her onto a bed and raped her.

The girl provided several versions of how she was assaulted. Musmanno cited a filing by County Judge Gregory M. Mallon, noted the girl initially said nothing to her parents about being raped. The girl later claimed she was abducted by a stranger, then said Altruz raped her in his car, and finally told investigators the attack occurred at a motel, Mallon wrote.

Police said Altruz agreed to come with officers to their station for questioning when they arrived at his home, but then he fled out the back door. An employee testified that she saw about  Altruz leave the motel with a young woman on the day of the rape, investigators said.

Musmanno also rejected Altruz’s contention that Mannon should have declared a mistrial when the girl testified she had tried to commit suicide by cutting her wrists with scissors right before Altruz’s trial.

The prosecution told Altruz’s lawyer about the incident immediately. Musmanno agreed with Mannon’s opinion that the information about the suicide attempt didn’t alter the outcome of Altruz’s trial.

In 2016, Alex Rose, a writer for the Delaware County Daily Times reported:

A 54-year-old Chester pastor was convicted Friday on rape and related charges for the sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl in an Essington hotel room last summer.

The jury deliberated for about four hours before finding Othonier Altruz guilty of rape, statutory sexual assault, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault, indecent exposure, simple assault, corruption of minors and unlawful contact with a minor.

Altruz, a pastor at a church on the 600 block of East Sixth Street, was arrested June 6 after the victim, now 14, gave police three different versions of events regarding the assault.

The girl first told her parents she skipped school June 1 and was abducted at the SEPTA bus terminal in Chester by an unknown assailant who raped her in a car.

The girl later told Chester Police Officer Robert Jones that she got into a car with Altruz, her pastor of two years, after her mother dropped her off at Chester Community Charter School. That story ended with Altruz driving to the church parking lot and raping the girl in his car.

Jones said he went to speak with Altruz at his home on the 300 block of East 20th Street June 5, but the defendant fled and was not taken into custody until the following day in Media.

The victim told Jones the third and final version of her story after Altruz was arrested, claiming he raped her at a hotel about 10 minutes from her school. Jones said he retrieved credit card receipts from staff at the Red Roof Inn on Route 291 in Essington that same day showing Altruz had rented a room there from June 1 to June 2.

A woman working the front desk at the hotel June 1 testified that she remembered checking Altruz in, but said he was not with anyone. The clerk said she saw him leaving the hotel sometime in the afternoon accompanied by a short young woman with dark hair, but said she did not see the woman’s face.

Dr. June Elcock-Messam, of Media Pediatrics, also testified that she performed a rape kit on the victim June 3, but the girl’s genitals were so swollen and sore that she was unable to perform an interior vaginal swab. There was no significant DNA evidence collected in the investigation, according to a stipulation read to the jury Thursday, but Elcock-Messam said the swelling was consistent with a recent genital trauma.

Defense attorney Kevin Wray pointed to inconsistencies in the victim’s testimony and a lack of DNA evidence in the case during closing arguments, while Assistant District Attorney Christopher Boggs focused on the genital trauma, credit card receipts and Altruz fleeing police.

Boggs added that the girl likely did not want to relive the experience and concocted the two false stories so that she would not have to discuss the assault in detail.

Judge Gregory Mallon revoked bail and set sentencing for April 15 pending a presentence investigation, psychosexual evaluation and state Sexual Offenders Assessment Board evaluation to determine whether Altruz meets the criteria for a sexually violent predator.

Wray indicated he would be filing a motion seeking a mistrial due to the victim’s testimony that she attempted suicide after the rape. He said he would also seek acquittal on four charges based on the age difference between Altruz and the victim, which Wray asserted Boggs failed to properly establish in the course of the trial.

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Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor David Cooper Accused of Sexual Battery

pastor david cooper

The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.

David Cooper, pastor of Mountain Moves Ministries in Eloise, Florida, was arrested Thursday on accusations that he sexually assaulted and raped a minor girl. As of the publication of this post, Cooper is still listed as the pastor of Mountain Moves Ministries on its website.

The New York Post reports:

A pastor in Florida exposed himself to a young girl several times in the past year – and raped another girl at least five times when she was a preteen decades ago, authorities said.

David Cooper, the 43-year-old pastor of Mountain Moves Ministries in Eloise, was arrested Thursday for the sexual battery of a girl under the age of twelve and lewd exhibition with another girl under twelve after a months-long probe was launched when deputies responded to a possible instance of sexual abuse last September, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

The victim told investigators that Cooper had exposed his “private spot” to her four times since last year, when she was 7 years old, deputies said.

Weeks later, investigators learned of a second possible victim, an adult woman who said Cooper sexually abused her several times when she was a child, including raping her at least five times between the ages of 10 and 12.

Deputies, according to Miami Herald, tracked the woman down in January. Now 32, she told investigators that Cooper would enter her room as her mother slept sometime in 1995 or 1996 after Cooper started dating her mother and moved in with the family.

What started as comments about her body eventually moved to “oral sex and cuddling” and ultimately sex, she told Polk County investigators, who later listened in on a phone call between her and Cooper.

“What did you do then?” the woman asked Cooper, according to an arrest report obtained by the Miami Herald.

“You know what we did,” Cooper replied. “I can’t really discuss it openly, I’m not standing here alone.”

“Doing all that sexual stuff, it messes with a kid’s head, you know what I mean?” the woman replied. “And growing up and all that and trusting people, I was 10, I was a kid, you know what I mean, it messes with your head and it —– you up. But you are sorry?”

“I am,” replied Cooper, who denied taking the woman’s virginity but did apologize “for everything.” He was later arrested on Feb. 1, the Miami Herald reports.

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