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.
Kenneth Lewis, a Catholic priest, is facing child sexual abuse charges stemming from an allegation that he sexually assaulted a thirteen-year-old boy while on trip. Lewis has been accused numerous times over the years of sexual abuse, but due to the statute of limitations, he was never prosecuted. Astoundingly, in 1995, after yet another round of sexual abuse allegations, Lewis was allowed to continue in the ministry once he received “treatment.” According to Chicago Sun Times, Catholic officials ordered Lewis not to be alone with children. This is akin to a sugar addict working in a candy store being told not eat the merchandise. The crimes Lewis is now accused of were allegedly committed in 2001. It seems, then, that whatever “treatment” Lewis received did not cure him of his predilection towards sexually abusing children.
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, Philip Wilson, the Archbishop of Adelaide, was found guilty of covering up child sexual abuse. He will be sentenced on June 19, 2018. Wilson pleaded not guilty, but the judge found the evidence against him compelling. After his conviction, Wilson stated, “I am obviously disappointed at the decision published today. I will now have to consider the reasons and consult closely with my lawyers to determine the next steps.”
The charges against Wilson hail from his days as a young priest. Several children came to Wilson will allegations of sexual abuse by Catholic priest James Fletcher. Wilson did nothing. Fletcher would continue to abuse children for decades until he was arrested and convicted of nine counts of child sexual abuse in December 2004. Fletcher died in prison in 2006.
Frank Brennan, an Australian Jesuit priest, human rights lawyer and academic, stated:
I would think that the mind of Pope Francis at this stage would be that if there be a conviction of a bishop in relation to a failure to disclose abuse in circumstances where the state thought that was criminal activity, then I would think the mind of the pope would be that that doesn’t measure up in church terms either and that therefore it would be impossible for someone to remain in the job as a bishop.
There’s no doubt that Archbishop Wilson in recent years … has been one of the good guys. He has been one of the bishops in the Catholic Church who have been trying to clean things up
But this relates to when he was a young priest. Even someone like him who later got it back in those years was so confined by our culture that it would seem there was no disclosure.
Brennan seems to be saying that people shouldn’t be too hard on Wilson. His nondisclosure of the allegations was typical of the times; and that Wilson in recent years has been one of the good guys, someone who tried to hold priests accountable for their criminal behavior. Really? Where’s the evidence for this claim? How many pedophile priests were reported, arrested, and prosecuted for their crimes under his watch? How many other children found deaf ears when they reported being sexually abused?
…. Wilson came under scrutiny regarding two incidents relating to sexual abuse in the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle.
The first of these cases related to the alleged sexual assault of two girls in 1985 by Father Dennis McAlinden, a priest in the diocese. Wilson, the diocese’s vicar general at the time, was sent to speak to parents at the school where the assault was alleged to have taken place. The principal told the media that Wilson’s response was to remove McAlindon from his position and to provide help for him. In fact, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), “McAlinden was … transferred to a remote parish in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Over the next decade he sexually assaulted five more girls under the age of 10”. In 1995, Wilson was again asked by Bishop Leo Clarke to deal with the case, requesting that he take statements from the alleged victims. Wilson took the statements and returned them to the bishop. The ABC reported that the statements were never provided to police and, instead, Clarke defrocked McAlinden, with the promise “that his ‘good name’ would be protected”. In a statement to ABC in 2010, Wilson said he told Clarke that McAlinden should have been confronted in 1985 and, that as far as he was aware, this had occurred. He denied involvement in McAlinden’s transfer to Western Australia or his defrocking.
Robert Stone, the magistrate who found Wilson guilty, had this to say about the Bishop’s crimes:
The likelihood of two young boys individually telling the accused [Wilson] of acts of sexual misconduct by another priest who the accused knows … are matters I am very confident would be remembered for a very long time. You have to ask why the accused did not do what he himself says he would do now [go to the police] in the same situation. The answer I believe relates to the accused having a sense of knowing what he was hearing was a creditable allegation. In addition, the accused wanted to protect the church and its image.
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.
John Blaylock, a youth volunteer at a Methodist church in Universal City, Texas, stands accused of sexually molesting a thirteen-year-old girl. Fox-29 reports that Blaylock told the girl’s mother he planned to give her daughter tennis lessons. Instead, Blaylock allegedly took the girl to Crescent Bend Nature Park and sexually assaulted her. The girl provided investigators a description of a mole near Blaylock’s genitalia.
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.
Christopher Stutts was the youth pastor at Westwood Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama when he allegedly sexually molested several minor children. According to the Tuscaloosa News, Stutts is being held in the Tuscaloosa County Jail with bond set at $120,000. This is Stutts’ second arrest on sexual abuse charges.
The people you think would never do something like that — may be responsible for things that may be shocking…He [Stutts] was just a very pleasant person, Very friendly. Not over the top. Seemed to have a heart to care for the kids…We saw no hint of this.
Up to this point, we have no indication of any accusations connected with his ministry here at the church. But, we want people to know if they know of anything, to immediately report it to law enforcement and to the church and we stand ready to help with anything.
His wife, from what she told me, was totally caught off guard by this. And they have two small children
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.
Law enforcement has broadened its investigation of Evangelical evangelist Acton Bowen, saying that it is likely that there are other victims in multiple jurisdictions. AL.com reports:
Evangelist Acton Bowen, currently facing sex abuse charges in connection with five teenage boys in two counties, is being investigated in three other jurisdictions.
That’s according to an Etowah County prosecutor, who said in court today that additional charges could come against Bowen as early as this week. Deputy District Attorney Carol Griffith, arguing why Bowen’s $500,000 bail should not be reduced or changed, said Bowen is being investigated by the FBI and in Orange Beach, as well as in Florida and Colorado.
“The true extent of these crimes is not yet known,” Griffith said. “Under the guise of leading children to the Lord, he was abusing them and leaving them more lost than ever before.”
District Attorney Jody Willoughby was even more forceful in arguing before Presiding District Judge David Kimberley.
“Acton Bowen is a danger to every child in this community,” he said. “The only place he remains not a danger is in the Etowah County Detention Center.”
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.
(You can read my previous post about Douglas Rivera here.)
Yesterday, Douglas Rivera, pastor of God’s Gypsy Christian Church in Glendale, California, pleaded not guilty to committing a lewd act against an eleven-year-old Chinese girl. Rivera insists he is innocent, saying “I did not do nothing wrong. I was at the wrong place at the wrong time.” An NBC-4 report states that Rivera exposed himself to two minor girls and inappropriately touched one of them. Video evidence puts Rivera at the scene of the alleged crimes. NBC-4 reports:
Prosecutors say Rivera drove to the Vanllee Hotel and Suites, at 1211 E. Garvey St., and parked his truck in front of a room where two young girls were staying on Feb. 7. Prosecutors allege he exposed himself to the girls before entering the hotel room and inappropriately touching one of them.
The girls had opened the door, believing it was their chaperone, according to police.
Authorities released surveillance video and still shots of the suspect, which they said resulted in numerous calls from people who are part of or associated with God’s Gypsy Christian Church. The callers said they believed the man was Rivera, who subsequently proclaimed his innocence in a video shot before he surrendered on Feb. 11 to Covina police, tearfully asking people to keep him in prayer.
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.
Evangelical Evangelist and youth conference speaker Acton Bowen, an avid supporter of pussy-grabber-in-chief Donald Trump, finds himself, yet again, facing accusations of sex crimes. Bowen is now accused of sexually assaulting four additional minors. ABC reports that Bowen had a three-year sexual relationship with a teen girl. Last week, Bowen’s wife of two years filed for divorce, saying she “fears for her immediate safety from (her husband) and any third parties that may attempt to contact (her husband) as a result of the crimes for which he has been alleged to have committed.” The judge agreed, granting Bowen’s wife a temporary retraining order, giving her sole access to their home.
Bowen’s latest brush with the law finds him accused of sexual abuse, sodomy, and enticing a child. According to ABC-33, Etowah County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Natalie Barton said, when asked if she believed there were more victims, “Absolutely. We do believe that there are more victims out there. Some of them may choose to come forward on their own.”
Bowen and his supporters continue to say that all the allegations are false. What was once a smoldering camp fire is now a blazing wildfire.
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.
Andrew Dickson, the youth pastor for Central Presbyterian Church in Clayton, Missouri, was arrested yesterday and charged with two counts of statutory sodomy. The Saint Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the Dickson admitted fondling and having oral sex with a minor.
Dickson was immediately fired from the church and his name has been scrubbed from the church’s website. According to an archived copy of Central Presbyterian’s website, Dickson’s official title was director, student ministry. The church is an Evangelical congregation affiliated with Evangelical Presbyterian Churches.
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.
I previously posted a story about the arrest of Evangelical evangelist Acton Bowen’s arrest on sex crime charges. You can read that story here. Bowen, of course, denied doing what he is accused of, and his father made a strong he-didn’t-do-it defense of his son. However, two days after Bowen’s arrest, his wife filed for divorce, stating that she “fears for her immediate safety from (her husband) and any third parties that may attempt to contact (her husband) as a result of the crimes for which he has been alleged to have committed.”
Last Friday, two of Bowen’s ministry board members, Trenton Garmon and Josh Dodd, resigned.
Al.com reports that Bowen was required by his board to install the Covenant Eyes porn-blocking software on his computer. Why? That’s a rhetorical question, by the way. A daily report was sent to his accountability partner. No mention is made of how board members ensured Bowen was not accessing pornography on other devices.
What stood out in the AL.com report is the following statement by Garmon:
We requested that he never be alone with any female other than his wife. And we requested that he never be alone with a male minor which I considered to be someone under 16 years old. I was told that these minimums were being followed. Yet, in light of the allegation, it appears that the Guardian Policy was not always honored. This is not to imply criminal guilt by any means, yet our policy was not abided by. As you may be aware he has publicly denied the criminal allegations.
Why did Bowen’s board specifically require him to never be alone with boys under the age of sixteen and never be alone with females regardless of their age, other than his wife?
I suspect I am not alone in my suspicion that Bowen has unseemly behavior in his past. Garmon admits that the evangelist did not abide by the minimums of what the board called the “Guardian Policy,” and that this behavior may not have been criminal. This leads me to believe that perhaps Bowen had an affair or some sort of sexual relationship with someone other than his wife.
Note
The Stranger website details several other interesting tidbits about Evangelist Acton Bowen. The one I found most interesting was the gift Bowen gave his wife for their wedding anniversary:
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.
Acton Bowen, a noted Evangelical evangelist, conference speaker, and friend of Donald Trump, was arrested Tuesday on child sexual abuse charges.
A well-known Alabama evangelist, public speaker and author was arrested in Hoover Tuesday on child sex charges.
Paul Edward Acton Bowen, a 37-year-old Gadsden native who now lives in Etowah County’s Southside community, was taken into custody by Hoover police about 12:35 p.m. The founder of Acton Bowen Outreach Ministries is charged with second-degree sodomy, enticing a child to enter a vehicle or house for immoral purposes, and second-degree sex abuse. The victim was a young male, but police did not release his age except to say he is over 12 and under 16.
Hoover police Capt. Gregg Rector said the department’s Special Victim’s Unit first launched an investigation three weeks ago. The Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office issued the warrants on Monday.
“This is certainly one of the more disturbing cases that we’ve investigated in quite some time,” Rector said. “Mr. Bowen is in a highly-respected position of influence and he is trusted by many. We believe he betrayed that trust in the worst kind of way.”
Bowen was taken into custody in Pelham and transported to the Hoover City Jail. He was moved to the Jefferson County Jail where he was released early Wednesday on $90,300 bond.
Rector said the victim in this case is an underage family acquaintance, “He is currently doing well and has been in a safe environment since police were first notified,” Rector said.
….
Bowen is president and founder of Acton Bowen Outreach. His bio says he served for 12 years in a local church, led a citywide student Bible study in Gadsden and was also the host of xlroads TV, a worldwide broadcast viewed weekly by millions of teens and adults in every city in America and over 170 countries around the world.
The website says Bowen is a cohost of Top3 on the JuceTV Network in New York City.
“Everyone associated with JuceTV was shocked and disheartened to hear of the egregious allegations made against Acton Brown this week. Our prayers go out to those who may have been hurt and victimized,” a JuceTV spokesperson said in a statement to AL.com. “Mr. Brown made four appearances on JuceTV, an affiliate of TBN, the most recent last summer, but there are no on-going ties.”
The outreach website described Bowen as a regular contributor on Fox News as a correspondent on faith and religion. However, network officials say Bowen has never been employed or paid by Fox News.
It goes on to say he speaks up to 20 times a month at churches, disciple-now weekends, citywide crusades, camps, conferences, school assemblies and leadership seminars – giving him a live platform in front of more than 350,000 people.
Today, Bowen responded to his arrest, saying that he is completely innocent of all charges:
I have not done what I am accused of and have not acted inappropriately in any way. My family and I trust the legal system and the people who are entrusted with the duty of protection each of our rights. I believe the truth will stand and I will be vindicated of this false accusation. We ask that each of you keep everyone involved in this process in your prayers.
In his first public statement, Bowen said he wanted to say “thank you” to the countless number of people who have prayed for his family. “My wife, Ashley, and I along with our incredible family are so grateful for your prayers,” he said.
“I’m also thankful for the countless calls of support from those who have walked a lot of life with me and know me best,” he said. “Your steadfast, unshakable support gives me strength. For almost 20 years (since I was 18) my life has been committed to serving Jesus by serving people.”
“When this accusation was made known to me I was hurt, confused, and heartbroken,” he said. “Prior to the arrest only one side of the story was heard.”
New developments have emerged in the case of a youth minister arrested in Hoover for sex crimes involving a child.
Acton Bowen’s wife, Ashley Nabors Bowen, filed for divorce and claimed that she feared for her safety from him.
An Etowah County judge Friday granted her immediate temporary exclusive possession of their home in Southside while restraining him and her from any contact or behavior intended to harass, threaten or intimidate the other.
The 29-year-old filed to end her two-year marriage just after the founder of Acton Bowen Outreach Ministries was taken into custody Wednesday by Hoover police on charges of sexual abuse, sodomy and enticing a child.
