CHRISTIAN SEX CRIMES - REPORTED 1992 (Baptists as bad as Catholic)
E N
(by U.S. states, Canadian states, other countries)
Part III
*** MICHIGAN ***
BAPTIST CONVICTED OF RAPING BOY. A jury convicted Baptist minister
Edward Quakenbush, of New Testament Baptist Church, town of Wyoming,
of raping & molesting a teenage boy in his church over a 4-year
period, starting when he was 12. Members of his church & family sobbed
& shouted at jurors & a police detective who testified that the pastor
had confessed to the molestations. Quakenbush later denied confessing.
Source: AP/_Daily Telegram_, Adrian, Ml 9/12/92.
BRONSON MINISTER ARRAIGNED. First Congregational Church minister David
Covert Moore was charged with 5 counts of criminal sexual conduct of 4
children under the age of 15. In July he checked himself into Pine
Rest Christian Counseling Services in Grand Rapids. Source: Jackson
Citizen Patriot 8/29/92.
CHURCH EVANGELIZERS PREYED ON LOW-INCOME KIDS. Men from a rural
Baptist church known for its aggressive evangelizing of children are
suspected of molesting as many as 22 boys & girls. The associate
pastor, volunteer bus driver & a third church member are believed to
have fondled some & raped others, ranging in age from 3 to 10, on
church buses & property. Charges involving 10 victims were brought
against Associate Pastor Timothy Lee Leonard, 32, of North Sharon
Baptist Church near Grass Lake, & volunteer Sunday school bus driver,
church deacon Mark Foeller. Three other church members are being
investigated. The suspects went to low-income housing projects or
trailer parks in 4 counties, telling parents they would "take the
children to church & teach them about God", according to Det. Robert
Fitzpatrick, Jackson Co. Men would walk up to children in their yards,
coaxing them with treats to come to weekend services or summer Bible
school. Leonard was relieved of church duties involving children in
August, after police started investigating him when a doctor reported
suspected abuse in a child with a sexual disease. He also worked as
instructor & gym teacher in the North Sharon Christian School,
enrolling about 65 students. Church members were not informed, even
after the arrests. In November, Gail Ganger, who lives 5 houses from
the church, organized a Sunday morning picket after learning that the
church secretary knew about the allegations, yet still recommended
Leonard as a babysitter for her children. He & his wife Nadine had
babysat for her 3 children 7 times since Oct. 1. About 2 dozen
protesters carried signs saying "Close It Down." "The church knew
about the allegations of child molesting, but nobody told me about it.
This church should not be able to carry on business as usual," she
said. "What a wonderful thing it is to be part of a church where
adversity happens," said Rev. Bill Wininger, senior pastor. In
January, Leonard was released after 72 days in jail after 10 charges
were dropped over the objections of the DA by Washtenaw Co. Dist.
Judge Thomas Shea, saying victims were either too young to testify or
could not pinpoint the time of their assaults. Leonard still faces 2
2nd degree criminal sexual conduct charges. Although he resigned from
the church, church funds are being used to help support his family &
pay his legal expenses. The pastor said if he is acquitted, "I’m sure
he would be welcomed back with open arms." Sources:
_Ypsilanti
Press_ 11/12/92, Detroit Free Press 11/12/92, Toledo Blade 11/18/92,
Jackson Citizen Patriot 11/16/92, 2/1/93.
*** MINNESOTA ***
LUTHERAN LEADER ADMITS CHARGES. Lutheran pastor David L. Anderson
admitted having sexual relations with a number of boys and young men
while pastor of a leading Lutheran congregation in Moorehead, Minn. He
resigned from the clergy of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
and as vice president for college relations in St. Olaf College in
April, admitting sexual misconduct with minors, college students, and
male parishioners from 1973-1985. He confessed only after a
parishioner approached a staff member at the 4,000 member church with
allegations in March. Source: Star Tribune 4/20/92.
PUNITIVE DAMAGES UPHELD. The Minnesota Court of Appeals on March 24
upheld a court order requiring 2 Catholic dioceses to pay punitive
damages to a victim of sexual abuse. The $187,000 award would not be
covered by insurance, and thus was appealed by the Archdiocese of St.
Paul, Minneapolis and Diocese of Winona as a violation of "religious
freedom". The damages resulted from a civil suit involving Thomas
Adamson, who was moved from parish to parish with no restrictions
despite repeated evidence and allegations of his abuse to children.
Compensatory damages of $855,000 were not challenged. Source:
Christian Century 4/15/92.
RETIRED PRIEST PLEADS GUILTY. The Rev. Henry Caniere, 71, of Roseau,
pleaded guilty to 3 counts of child sexual abuse. Source: _Grand Forks
Herald_ 12/19/91.
STANDING OVATION FOR BISHOP. Bishop Gerald O’Keefe of the Davenport
diocese received a standing ovation at Our Lady of Victory Church the
day after news hit that 2 Minnesota women filed lawsuits accusing him
of sexually abusing them 30 years ago. They say O’Keefe molested them
on the grounds of St. Paul Cathedral in the 1960s when he was
auxiliary bishop of St. Paul- Minneapolis and rector there. One was 9
to 12 years old, the other 7 to 9. They are represented by Jeffrey
Anderson, who has represented victims of clergy in more than 100 cases
in 23 states. Source: Des Moines Register 4/20/92.
WOMAN SUES NUN FOR ABUSE. A Minnesota woman filed suit against a nun
for sexually abusing her for 3 years while she was a teenager. Sister
Georgene Stuppy "regularly and repeatedly engaged in unpermitted,
harmful and offensive sexual contact" from 1978-1981 at a parochial
school, and in the nun’s convent room. The case is being handled by
Jeffrey Anderson of St. Paul. Also named as defendants are the Sisters
of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis of the Congregation of Our
Lady of Lourdes in Rochester, and Queen Of Angels Church in Austin. An
attorney for Queen of Angels said: "We deny any responsibility in the
matter." Anderson said Stuppy acknowledges engaging in sexual conduct
with the girl, but claims a spiritual purpose, not sexual
gratification. Source: Star Tribune 1/29/92.
[See Porter Update under "Massachusetts".]
73-YEAR-OLD PRIEST GUILTY. The parish priest at Holy Family Catholic
Church in Bull Dog Lake pleaded guilty to charges of molesting 2
teenagers, ages 14 & 19, over a 3-year period. Rev. Victor
Chateauvert, 73, accepted a tentative plea agreement to be placed on
probation & complete a sex offender’s treatment program at the
church’s unlicensed treatment center in New Mexico. Source:
Minneapolis Star-Tribune 1/9/93.
ANOTHER BENEDICTINE SUED. Another priest at St. John’s Abbey in
Collegeville was accused of molesting a male student at the prep
school in the 1980s. A suit accuses Rev. Allen Tarlton of molesting
him at least 3 times in his capacity as counselor, teacher &
confidant. It is the 5th suit filed in 2 years against a member of the
Order of St. Benedict who run the school. Three other suits, filed by
attorney Jeff Anderson, accuse priests of abuse at the same school.
The other suit charges a Benedictine brother at a rural parish near
St. Cloud. One suit has been settled. Source: _Star Tribune_ 10/22/92.
LUTHERAN PASTOR RESIGNS. For the third time Rev. Rod Broding has left
a job after being accused of sexual improprieties. The Lutheran pastor
resigned from First Lutheran Church in Pine River following
accusations he admitted to sexual misconduct there, but denies earlier
accusations. Bishop Roger Munson, who oversees the Northeastern
Minnesota synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, said,
"The church will assist in providing counseling to work through this
turmoil & pain so that healing & wholeness can be experienced in their
lives." Source: Star Tribune 10/22/92.
*** MISSOURI ***
AIR FORCE CHAPLAIN RAIDED. Deputies raided the home of Veterans
Administration chaplain Rev. Donald G. Phillips, of Butler County,
seizing 500 video tapes, movie equipment and restraints following a
tip that he produced pornographic movies with young girls. The Baptist
minister recently received the highest recognition awarded a VA
chaplain, "the Award for Excellence in Chaplain Service". Source:
St. Louis Post-Dispatch 2/19/92.
VICTIM SUES JEFFERSON CITY DIOCESE. David Clohessy, 35, filed suit
last year against the Diocese of Jefferson City and his childhood
parish priest, a family friend for whom he performed rectory chores.
The priest began taking him on trips to the Ozarks and out of state,
and first abused him on a camping trip when he was feeling ill. His
suit, argued by attorney Jeff Anderson, alleges abuse from 1967 to
1971, and is being fought by the diocese. Source: Kansas City Star
3/92.
PRIEST GOES TO PRISON. Hillsboro priest Donald Heck, 57, was sentenced
to 4 years in prison for fondling an altar boy, 11, 2 years ago,
following a no-contest plea. Source: Boston Globe 8/2/92.
*** MONTANA ***
CIVIL SUITS NAME PRIEST. A Missoula man filed suit against priest
Wilson F. Smart and the bishop of Helena, for suffering sexual abuse
during the 1960s. "J.R." was a 13-year-old altar boy in Missoula in
1962 and was molested for 9 months, following the death of his father.
He says the bishop and many priests to whom he confessed knew of the
abuse, yet did not remove Smart from contact with children and
teenagers. He is represented by Bozeman attorney Monte Beck. This
joins a suit filed a year ago against Smart by a former Butte man, who
is also suing the Helena diocese and Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen of
Seattle, who formerly served in Helena. The other plaintiff alleges 8
years of sexual abuse starting in 1967, which included molestation,
rape, and pornography. Source:
Missoulian 1/31/92.
RELIGIOUS BROADCASTER MOLESTED GIRLS. Well-known former broadcaster
Tom Speed, 35, for Billings Christian radio pleaded guilty to sexually
molesting 6 girls ranging in age from 4 to 14, who were at his home
for day-care or piano lessons. Source: Missoulian 1/18/92.
*** NEW HAMPSHIRE ***
BAPTIST VOLUNTEER CONVICTED. Granite State Baptist Church volunteer
David Kirsch, 39, of Salem, was convicted of sexually assaulting 6
young girls through the church from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s.
Source: USA Today 9/25/92.
*** NEW JERSEY ***
CLERIC FACES INCEST, RAPE CHARGES. Rev. Eugenio Matos of Spanish
Mennonite Church, Trenton, father of 12, was charged in March with
raping his daughter from the time she was 5 to 15 years. In April he
was charged with endangering welfare of a child and 2 counts of
aggravated sexual assault when a 23-year-old woman told investigators
he repeatedly raped her while she was between the ages of 8 and 10.
Source: Trenton Times 4/28/92.
FUGITIVE PRIEST INDICTED FOR MOLESTING GIRL, 13. Medford priest
Florencio Tumang, 69, was indicted for fondling a girl, 13, at a youth
activity in April at St. Mary of the Lakes R.C. Church, where he has
served 8 years. He went fugitive after confronted by the girl’s mother
and could face 5 years in prison. Source:
Philadelphia Inquirer 4/25/92.
PRIEST BUSTED ON MOLESTATIONS. Pastor of Sacred Heart Jesus Church in
Rockaway, Rev. John G. Pisarcik, 47, was suspended from duties at the
church and a church college, after he was charged with molesting 2
boys, one in 1989 who is now 13, and another last summer who is now
12. Source: Star Ledger 10/5/92.
MINISTER & GIRLFRIEND INDICTED. Trenton pastor Franklin Tucker, 37,
Final Call Ministry, was indicted for molesting his girlfriend’s
daughters, 9 & 15. His girlfriend was indicted for forcing her
daughters to recant the allegations to police. The abuse came to light
when the 9-year-old told a school official, who contacted police.
Source: Trenton Times 9/15/92.
VICTORY FOR MOLESTED. Gov. Jim Florio signed a bill permitting
childhood victims of sexual abuse to sue molesters years, sometimes
even decades, after the abuse occurred. Under former law, victims only
had until their 20th birthdays to file a lawsuit. The new law gives
victims 2 years after they discover their abuse to sue. The old law
had stymied attempts to charge molesting priests. Source:
Newark Star Ledger 9/25/92.
PRIEST STARTS SENTENCE. A Camden priest convicted of sexually
molesting a boy, 13, in 1989, started his 5-year sentence, after an
appeals panel ruled that his confession following instruction of his
rights did not constitute self-incrimination. Rev. John J. McElroy
admitted fondling a boy in the church rectory, but had been free on
$25,000 bail. Source: Courier-Post 11/31/92.
*** NEW MEXICO ***
ATTORNEY: CLOSE CATHOLIC CENTER. "Although New Mexico has only one-
half of 1 percent of America’s population, it has 20% of America’s
priest pedophiles," says attorney Bruce Pasternack, representing 39
clients in sexual abuse lawsuits against former priests. Authorities
are investigating 7 current & former New Mexico priests for molesting
children in the state, while sent there by the church for treatment
for pedophilia. New Mexico authorities confirmed that the Paraclete
center has never been licensed or even inspected as a medical
facility. Nor have state authorities ever been contacted by employees
there, although state law requires that all professionals, including
psychotherapists, report incidents of sexual abuse of children.
Pasternack is calling on authorities to shut down the 45-year-old
retreat, located near Jemez Springs. He called the unlicensed center
"a recipe for disaster". Source: _Arizona Daily Star_ 1/3/93.
ACCUSED PRIEST DISAPPEARS. Rev. Art Perrault of Santa Fe disappeared
in October after being sued for sexual abuse. Source: USA Today
12/31/92.
PORTER GIVEN MANY DUTIES WHILE IN TREATMENT. Lawyers for "survivors"
of James Porter’s reign of terror against children allege that the
Servants of the Paraclete (SOP) treatment center routinely permitted
him & other pedophiliac priests to work at nearby parishes. Victims
have come forward saying Porter molested them in 1969 after being
judged "cured" by the rehabilitation center. Although the Santa Fe
archdiocese denied knowledge of this, a former priest at St. Edwin~s
Parish in Albuquerque, near the Catholic treatment center he was
posted to, told a reporter he often called on priests being treated at
the facility to perform "nonofficial functions" such as counseling, at
the church. A top official in the St. Louis Diocese also acknowledged
that when he was a parish priest in Kirkwood, Missouri, he would often
use priests being treated at another halfway house operated by SOP.
Porter was believed to have been assigned to the New Mexico home
between 1967-69, & also resided at a SOP center in Nevis, Minnesota in
1969 & another halfway house in St. Louis in 1971. In January,
attorney Bruce Pasternack obtained church documents showing that the
Archdiocese of Santa Fe knew about Porter’s predilections & still
assigned him to parishes. The documents show, says Pasternack, that a
church official endorsed Porter’s 1968 application for an assignment,
while acknowledging, "His trouble was boys." Concludes Pasternack,
"What they demonstrate is proof positive that the Archdiocese of Santa
Fe & the Paraclete Center knew their children were going to be raped
by Porter before they were raped." Sources: AP 1/8/93; Boston Globe
7/16/92.
*** NEW YORK ***
NUDE MINISTER CONVICTED. Rev. Bruce Rentz, found guilty of indecent
exposure after a state trooper saw him jogging naked and chased him to
his home, has resigned as minister from Greenbush Presbyterian Church.
He was ordered to perform community service, pay a $50 fine, and get
counseling. Source: Union News 5/14/92.
TOP EPISCOPAL PRIEST RESIGNS AMID SEX SCANDAL. The highest-ranking
U.S. Episcopal priest, who ironically headed a national committee
examining the church’s position on sexuality, resigned in October
following charges he sexually abused young men in his congregation.
Rev. Wallace A. Frey, rector of St. David’s Church in DeWitt, is
married with 2 grown children. A church official said he had been
involved in "sexual misconduct over a lengthy period with some male,
young adults & a teenager under his pastoral care". The official said
the number of victims appears to be "less than 10". Source: NYT News
Service/_Chicago Tribune_ 10/7/92.
BOOK INDICTS RITTER. New York Post reporter Charles Sennott, who first
broke the Father Ritter scandal, has written a new book, Broken
Covenant, calling the priest "the Donald Trump of the Catholic
Church", who set up the Covenant House shelters so he could do
"exactly to the kids what he is publicly professing to be saving them
from". The book details a pattern of sexual abuse by Ritter with
teenagers who came to the shelter for help. At least a dozen social
workers & members of religious organizations had heard allegations
about Ritter, but did not report them. The New York State Attorney
General’s office investigated Ritter’s financial misconduct, but no
charges were filed about that or sexual exploitation. Ritter,
eulogized in Bush’s "Thousand Points of Light", resigned from Covenant
House. Source: Boston Globe 11/1/92.
PRIEST: 90 DAYS FOR SODOMY. After pleading guilty to sodomizing a boy,
16, in the parish rectory after getting him drunk, Rev. Daniel
Calabrese, 31, was sentenced to only 90 days in jail. At the
sentencing, the DA quoted from taped phone conversations in which the
priest told the boy what they had done happens all the time. He was
priest at St. Mary’s Parish, Poughkeepsie. Source: _New York Times_
10/10/92.
$14 MILLION SUIT FILED AGAINST PRIEST. A lawsuit against Rev. Daniel
Casey was filed seeking $14 million by a teenager alleging he was
sexually molested 4 years ago by Casey when he was 11. The priest
stripped & had the boys remove their clothing at a swimming pool,
fondled & kissed the boy & other youths. The boy was a student at St.
Paul’s Elementary School where Casey directed religious education. He
was also associate pastor at St. Paul’s Church. The suit charges that
the Syracuse diocese "failed to investigate signs, symptoms & behavior
ordinarily associated with pedophilia", permitting him unchaperoned
contact with boys. Source: _Syracuse Herald-Journal_ 10/27/92.
*** NORTH CAROLINA ***
CIVIL SUIT: 11-YEAR-OLD MOLESTED. A family in Dare County, North
Carouna is suing Methodist minister Carl M. Eller for abusing their
daughter, 11, as well as the North Carolina Conference of the United
Methodist Church, a bishop and a reverend for knowing of his history
of sexual misconduct but doing nothing about it. The family says she
was molested when her father, a carpenter, was installing cabinets in
the parsonage. Eller pleaded no contest to a charge of criminal
assault on a female. However, the family said that in 1987 Eller had
molested or made lewd comments to 4 women at his church, and forcibly
kissed and touched 2 girls age 13. Three women had lodged formal
complaints with the church, but the only action was to transfer him
from Aurora to Hamlet. Source: News & Observer 1/15/92.
GREEK ORTHODOX GETS 21 DAYS. Father Angelo N. Kasemeotes, 65, pleaded
guilty Dec. 2 to 2 counts of indecent sexual liberties with a boy, 15.
He is serving 21 days in jail for a suspended 4-year sentence. He also
gets 5 years probation, must perform 150 volunteer hours & pay $1,000.
The glib molester told a reporter, "St. Paul teaches us that from
everything bad, some good can come. I see the good here as being my
alcoholism & behavioral problems surfacing & being treated." The
victim said the priest gave him cocaine & marijuana, showed him a
pornographic video & initiated sex. Police recorded a telephone
conversation in which the priest tried to guilt-trip his victim,
threatening that if anyone knew, "I’d probably commit suicide ... It
would just destroy me." He dismissed the victim’s pain by saying,
"Chalk it up to your growing experience." The widowed Kasemeotes,
father of 2, served 15 years as pastor of the Greek Orthodox Church in
Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, & had a New Mexico position. Source: Milwaukee
Sentinel 12/18/92.
BAPTIST PASTOR RESIGNS AMID SCANDAL. Asheville Baptist pastor Michael
R. Stewart, 34, of Oakley, resigned following his arrest in a
prostitution sting. Stewart’s name was among 400 on a full-page ad
that month promoting family & traditional biblical values. Source:
Citizen-Times 6/30/92.
*** NORTH DAKOTA ***
PRIEST RESIGNS FOLLOWING CHARGES. A Minnesota man has filed a $50,000
suit alleging sexual abuse by Rev. David Wild, now priest at Holy
Cross Church in West Fargo, dating from 1966. The man said the priest
fondled him at his living quarters at a Oriska church. The Fargo
Diocese, St. Bernard’s & St. Thomas are also named. Source:
Minot Daily News 9/25/92.
*** OHIO ***
SUPPORTERS GATHER FOR CONVICTED "FRIEND". Pastor Roy McKinley, 45, who
stepped down from Milan Friends Church after being charged with
molesting a teenage girl, pleaded guilty to gross sexual imposition
and related charges. Supporters, including a minister, crowded the
courtroom where McKinley pleaded for mercy. Source: _Toledo Blade_
5/25/92.
SEXUAL HARASSMENT SUIT HITS CHURCH. A female employee at World Harvest
Church in Columbus has filed a lawsuit saying the father of the pastor
sexually harassed her, also naming the church & its pastor as
defendants. Naomi Endicott, 48, said Rev. Rodney L. Parsley knew about
the harassment but did nothing to stop it. James G. Parsley, his
father, was her supervisor & made unwanted sexual advances, even
offering money for sex, she said. Source: _Columbus Dispatch_
10/17/92.
TOLEDO DIOCESE CONTINUES COVER-UP? An unnamed priest in the Toledo
diocese initiated a sexually abusive relationship with parishioner
Barbara Blaine when she was 13. Blaine is now founder of SNAP
(Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests). Although the statute
of limitations for a lawsuit expired, Blaine is seeking removal of the
priest (who works as a hospital chaplain), resumption of payments for
her counseling (the Diocese has paid about $15,000 of her expenses),
an apology from the priest, & acknowledgment from the church of
stonewalling & blaming her The priest’s religious superior, Rev. Paul
Grehl, insists she misconstrued the priest’s hugs. Blaine’s
allegations were corroborated by a woman who ignored her pleas for
help 18 years ago. Sources: U.S. News & World Report 11/16/92, Toledo
Blade 1/3/93.
WOMAN SUES EPISCOPAL PRIEST. A Fostoria woman is suing Rev. Douglas
Hodges, of Trinity Episcopal Church, Bishop James Moodey & the owner
of a counseling center, alleging the priest forced her to have sex as
"treatment". The abuse occurred at a counseling center & the church.
Shelley & Daniel Lebay seek more than $700,000 in damages. Source:
Columbus Dispatch 10/9/ 92.
CONVICTED PRIEST TRANSFERRED TO OHIO. Bishop Joseph L. Howze, Biloxi
diocese, reassigned convicted priest Joseph Romansky to Cleveland,
Ohio, where, in 1985, he pleaded guilty to charges of sexual
misconduct with 2 boys. The bishop announced the transfer after "The
church had them say prayers and rosaries, then released them for
sexual sabbaticals with young boys." The priest went to Cleveland on a
visit. He had pleaded guilty, was placed on probation, & was sent to
St. Luke Institute in Suitland, Maryland. An official with the
Cleveland diocese said the priest will remain on administrative leave,
promising "full disclosure of his background & appropriate
supervision" should he be reassigned. The official said the priest has
done "satisfactory work" & had a "very successful ministry". Bishop
Howze knew of the priest’s criminal past but had not disclosed it to
parishioners when he came to Biloxi 4 years before. Source:
Mississippi Press 7/30/92.
*** OKLAHOMA ***
CHURCH SUED FOR NEGLIGENCE. One of several girls who said Alva
minister Rev. Robert Bruce Brigden molested her is suing the First
Presbyterian Church for failing to check his background before hiring
him. Allegations of sexual crimes were made at his former position in
Kansas. Charges allege that he molested Alva church girls, ages 4 to
14. The church posted his bond. Source: _Tulsa Tribune
PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER GETS 40 YEARS. Rev. Robert Bruce Brigden was
sentenced to 40 years in prison for molesting young girls in his
congregation, convicted on 8 counts of lewd molestation & 1 count of
rape by instrumentation involving a girl, 7. Bridgen, 57, was accused
of molesting 11 girls, aged 4 to 14, during the 4 years he was at the
Alva church. His congregation put the church up as bond, insisting he
was innocent. He was placed in protected custody. Brigden blamed his
arrest on a girl, 4, whose parents were the first to take the
children’s allegations seriously. "Hell hath no fury like a woman
scorned," Brigden wrote his wife about the 4-year-old, whom he
described as "4 going on 400 years old", saying she invited him to
spend the night in her bed, & was mad that he declined. Source: Tulsa
Tribune 8/92, Tulsa World 9/3/92, _Daily Oklahoman_ 6/14/92.
*** OREGON ***
MINISTER MOLESTER OF 400 SENTENCED. Eugene Church for the Deaf
minister Joseph Bernard Ponder, 47, was sentenced to 2 years for
violating probation in 2 felony convictions of 1st degree sexual abuse
of boys. He had received a year in jail for 2nd degree sexual abuse of
a boy, 14, in 1988. Officials believe an estimate that he molested 400
boys may be low. "This may be the most prolific abuser of young boys
who has ever stood in this court," said prosecutor Kent Mortimore.
"His whole life has revolved around this Q his ministry, his choice of
careers Q to put himself in contact with potential victims." Ponder
denies abusing the boy during a swimming incident, and failed to
complete court-ordered sex offender treatment. Source: Register-Guard
3/5/92.
CHURCH VOLUNTEER CHARGED WITH CHILD PORNOGRAPHY. Church volunteer
Seven Jon Long, 41, was arrested for sodomy and taking pornographic
pictures of young girls under 12 from Assembly of God Church in Rogue
River, where he was a youth volunteer. He told detectives his pictures
were art. Source: Daily Courier, Grants Pass, 4/17/92.
CONVICTED PASTOR "RIGHT WITH LORD". Rev. Virgil Carpenter, 48, pastor
of Bible Missionary Church in Ontario, was convicted of sodomy &
sexual abuse of a girl, 9, over a 1-1/2 year period. A jury convicted
Carpenter of 2 felony counts of sodomy & 4 felony counts of sexual
abuse. He faces 5 additional felony charges in 2 upcoming trials. "I’m
really not worried," he told supporters who had gathered in the
courtroom before the verdict. "I’m right with the Lord." Source:
Corvallis Gazette-Times 10/11/92.
LAY PREACHER WITH AIDS TRIED TO INFECT KIDS? Lay preacher Adam Brown,
of Roseburg, Oregon, infected with HIV, was indicted Nov. 13 for
sexually abusing children to infect them with AIDS, including 5 counts
of attempted murder, 9 counts of sodomy, 4 counts of rape, 5 counts of
reckless endangerment, & 3 counts of sexual penetration with a foreign
object. Boys & girls told police he molested them repeatedly,
threatening them with knives, scissors & matches. One boy said Brown
rubbed semen into a scratch on his arm. Another said Brown burned a
Bible, warning that Satan would come unless the child stopped
resisting. Alleged victims include a 3-year-old girl, 7-year-old girl
& 8-year-old boy. AIDS tests so far for the children have been
negative. Source: AP/_Boston Globe_ 11/29/92.
YOUTH PASTOR JAILED FOR ABUSING GIRL. Sentenced to 60 days in jail for
molesting a young girl was Michael Wayne Cross, 32, youth pastor of
Oregon City Evangelical Church. He must undergo a sex offender
treatment & register with the state for life as a convicted sex
offender. The girl, now 17, said he sodomized her numerous times over
a year. An officer said the crimes occurred at the church or at church
functions. Source: Oregonian 10/29/92.
PROMINENT METHODIST PASTOR WITH AIDS EXPLOITED PARISH?
Following the death on July 4 of Rev. William O. Walker, a prominent
Eugene pastor at First United Methodist Church, it was discovered he
not only died of AIDS but had used his ministerial position to make
sexual advances to at least 12 men, including 6 ministers. Walker
infected his wife Carol with AIDS; she died in 1990. In November a
church superintendent told parishioners that Walker had been accused
of making sexual advances to 2 male teenagers at a Methodist church
camp 17 years earlier. Source: Register-Guard 12/6/92.
*** PENNSYLVANIA ***
PRIEST PLEADS GUILTY. Rev. Robert N. Caparelli pleaded guilty from a
Maryland rehab sentence to sexually abusing a boy, 13, in Milford.
Source: Scranton Times 5/16/92.
CHURCH COUNSELING TURNED ABUSIVE. A Fairless Hills couple filed suit
against a church counselor and Calvary Full Gospel Church, alleging
the pastor referred them to abusive Aldo Maselli. The depressed woman
said he told her he "had prayed about it and that God told him that it
was OK for him to express his feelings of love", initiating a 2-year
sexual relationship. The suit by Rebecca and Steven Hicks charges
negligent, reckless practices contrary to accepted counseling
standards, and battery and sexual abuse. Source: _Bucks County Courier
Times_ 5/20/92.
DEACON ACCUSED OF ASSAULTING 8 GIRLS. Victory Baptist Church deacon
Daniel Eaves, 34, was arrested for sexually assaulting 8 girls, ages 3
to 14, at his Springfield home and during youth groups last year.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer 4/25/ 92.
DIOCESE BLOCKS INFORMATION. The Altoona-Johnstown Catholic Diocese is
refusing to open secret archives sought by an attorney for an Ohio man
whose civil suit accuses former Altoona priest Rev. Francis Luddy of
sexually abusing him for 6 years. The state Superior Court ruled 2-1
in late February that the records should be given to the attorney. The
Catholic Register editorialized that the decision "violates the rights
of the church in a democratic and free nation", and only the bishop
should have access to the records. The suit was filed 5 years ago by
the man; a subsequent suit was filed in Somerset County by his
brother. They testified that Luddy, their godfather, repeatedly
molested them as they were growing up. Luddy, 49, is on a leave of
absence living at a Catholic center for pedophiles in Albuquerque,
N.M. Source: Daily American 2/26/92, Altoona Mirror 3/10/92; Scranton
Times 3/10/ 92.
PRESBYTERY REMOVES PASTOR. The Pittsburgh Presbytery removed the
associate pastor of the prominent East Liberty Presbyterian Church on
charges of sexual misconduct. Rev. Howard Eybers, 43, is accused by 3
women of making sexual overtures. Source: _Pittsburgh Post-Gazette_
3/7/92.
MOLESTING PRIEST GETS 2-5 YEARS. Roman Catholic priest Robert N.
Caparelli was sentenced in July to 2-5 years in prison & ordered to
pay $5,000 in fines for sexually abusing a boy, 13, for 9 months. He
pleaded guilty to only 6 of 26 counts against him. He will also serve
5 years of probation, must undergo counseling & may not work with
children. Source: Scranton Tribune 7/3/92.
ROGUE CHURCH ORDERED TO ANSWER. Following 5 years of legal maneuvers
to quash investigation into the church’s culpability over Rev. Francis
Luddy, accused of molesting his godson for 6 years, a judge ruled that
the Altoona-Johnstown Catholic Diocese must answer questions. Source:
Scranton Times 7/25/92.
SEXTON GETS 35 YEARS. A sexton at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in
Whitehall Township was sentenced to 35-70 years in jail for molesting
boys. Adam Tannous, 61, of Allentown, agreed to plead guilty to 7
merged charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, after
originally being charged with more than 4,000 crimes. One victim said
Tannous bragged of having sex with 400 boys over the past 40 years. He
was removed as pastor of St. George’s Episcopal Church in Hellertown
in 1970 because of similar allegations. In 1972, he was arrested on a
morals charge in Emmaus. He was "treated", not jailed, then expelled
from the ministry. Despite this record, St. Stephen’s hired him in
1976 to be custodian, saying he was rehabilitated. Many victims say
Tannous caused them alcohol problems by plying them with liquor.
Source:
Express-Times 12/17/92.
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(ICRA)