CORRUPT RELIGIOUS LEADERS: PASTORS AND SEX CRIMES

It is obvious what proceeds from the flesh: lewd conduct, impurity, licentiousness (Galatians 5:19).

While comparing evangelicals to Catholics on abuse response, Boz Tchividjian, a Liberty University law professor who investigates abuse said (at the Religion Newswriters Association conference), "I think we are worse." According to him, too many evangelicals had "sacrificed the souls" of young victims (Please read Evangelical Sex Abuse Record 'Worse' Than Catholic, Says Billy Graham's Grandson Boz Tchividijian). So it seems that Protestant pastors are worse than Catholic priests when it comes to sexual abuse. However, very few people are willing to discuss about these corrupt Protestant pastors and their sex crimes. But why point an accusing finger at the Catholic Church for covering up child abuse when sex crimes are more prevalent among Protestant pastors? Is it because they are married  and it is alright for married men to become sexual abusers?

The prevalence of sex crimes amongst Protestant pastors should not be ignored just because they are married as one cannot deny the fact that married men can be much worse when it comes to sexual abuse. After reading Horus Gilgamesh's “25 MORE SHOCKING ARRESTS”: PASTORS CHARGED WITH SEX CRIMES, I decided to google for some sexual abuse cases involving Protestant pastors out of curiosity and it did not take me long before I found 40 such cases. The scandalous behavior of these Protestant pastors has clearly proven that sex scandals have got nothing to do with priestly celibacy but rather it is sexual license that breeds sexual abuse. Below is a list (of 40 cases) of some of the most recent cases on sexual crimes involving pastors (dated from October 2017 to January 2018). Please click on the titles of each case to read more about it.

Case 1: Cops probe Murang'a pastor for sexual abuse at children's home
A pastor cum director of a Murang'a children's home has been accused of sexually exploiting an 18-year-old girl. According to the victim, the pastor took advantage of her poor family background to force her into sexual intercourse with him "numerous times" inside his church and at the children's home. She also said this "man of God" had promised to pay her school fees and transfer her from a day to a boarding secondary school (Source dated 25 January 2018).

Case 2: Mwazha pastor gets 11 years for rape
A Senior pastor at African Apostolic Church (Mwazha) has been jailed for 11 years for raping a nine-year-old congregant. Cain Kandororo, 52, was convicted by Harare magistrate Temba Kuwanda who initially sentenced him to 16 years behind bars (Source dated 20 January 2018).


Case 3 : Ontario youth pastor arrested on suspicion of child sexual abuse

Police are searching for more victims who may have been sexually abused by Gerardo Custodio Jr, a 30-year-old youth pastor in Ontario who was arrested Sunday for alleged lewd acts with two minors. According to the statement from the Ontario Police Department, two women accused the youth pastor of their church, Iglesia La Familia De Dios, for sexually abusing them between 2012 and 2015. One woman said the incidents happened between 2012 and 2014 and she was 14 when the alleged abuse started. The second victim said she was 15 when Custodio allegedly abused her and the incidents happened between 2014 to 2015 (Source dated 16 Jan 2018).

Case 4 :  Tennessee Pastor Accused Of Sexual Assault Placed On Leave Of Absence
A Tennessee pastor, Andy Savage, accused of sexually assaulting a high school student almost 20 years ago has been placed on leave, according to a statement from his Church (Source dated 16 Jan 2018).

Case 5: Former Harrison pastor pleads guilty to sex crimes

A former Harrison pastor, Larry Berkley, was accused of sex crimes and pleaded guilty to being a habitual pedophile in Boone County Arkansas Court. For two years, he has been stealing money from his church to buy drugs and alcohol to molest teenage boys whilst watching porn (Source dated 12 Jan 2018). 

Case 6: Dallas Center pastor pleads guilty to sexual abuse crimes
According to court documents, former Dallas Center pastor, Randy Johnson, accepted a plea deal and will plead guilty to charges of sexual abuse. He was accused of sexually abusing a girl repeatedly whilst she was 12 and 13 years old (Source dated 12 January 2018).

Case 7: Former Alabama pastor gets 20 years for rape of minor
A former Alabama pastor, Camerius Mills, pleaded guilty to raping a 15-year-old girl who was a member of his congregation and has been sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges of rape, sodomy and traveling to meet a child for the purpose of unlawful sexual conduct. According to Henry County Sheriff’s investigator, Keith Cauthen, Mills befriended the victim on the pretense of teaching her piano lessons (Source dated 11 January 2018).

Case 8: Fayetteville pastor facing 142 charges in connection with sexual abuse of four children
A former Fayetteville pastor, Glen Collins, was arrested in connection with multiple sex crimes over the last two decades. Police had received a report that he had sexually abused four children repeatedly from 1996 to 2008. At the time of the offenses, Collins knew the victims as he was a pastor of a church in east Fayettevill (Source dated 9 Jan 2018). 

Case 9:  Former Deerfield pastor pleads guilty, receives probation in sex abuse case
A former Deerfield pastor, Samuel Kee, was charged with criminal sexual abuse of a 16-year-old girl and has been sentenced to two years of sex offender probation in exchange for his guilty plea. Kee was a pastor at North Suburban Free Evangelical Church and his victim was a member of his congregation (Source dated 28 December 2017).

Case 10: Former Belton pastor charged with statutory rape of girl, 14, he met at church
A former associate pastor at the Belton Assembly of God, Wesley Ian Lamb, has been charged with two counts of statutory rape for allegedly having sex with a 14-year-old girl who attended the church. Lamb had two sexual encounters with the victim. In the first encounter, they had sex in a van. A week later,  Lamb picked her up from school, guided her to his bedroom, took off her clothes and had sex with her (Source dated 19 Dec 2017).

Case 11: Pastor guilty of coercing parishioners to have sex for 'spiritual' purposes
A Toronto pastor, Wayne Jones, has been found guilty of sexually assaulting three female parishioners and stealing $20,000, jewelry and a car belonging to one of the victims' boyfriend. He was also convicted of aggravated assault for biting and kicking one of the victims and slicing her breast with a razor blade in an exorcism ritual. The three women testified that Jones extorted sex from them under the pretext that it was required for a “spiritual purpose” (Source dated 14 Dec 2017).


Case 12:  Bond denied for Quincy pastor facing sex abuse charges in Virginia
A Quincy pastor and former Marine colonel, Todd Shane Tomko, was arrested for three counts of aggravated sexual battery, three counts of indecent liberties with a child, and one count of felony cruelty to children. According to prosecutors,Tomko made children learn about sex through porn when they were as young as 4 years old and then carried out sexual acts when they were older (Source dated 14 Dec 2017).

Case 13: What we know about pastor, founder of Christian rock festival accused of sexual assault

Pastor at Come Alive Church in Medford, Harry L. Thomas, is accused of sexually assaulting four minors over a 16-year period. The charges against him include aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child. The Come Alive Church in Medford was founded by Thomas in 1983. He is also the founder of Creation Festival, the largest Christian music Festival in the country (Source dated 13 Dec 2017). 


Case 14:  Another pastor ‘rapes’ teenage congregant
A MARRIED Christ Wonders Ministries Church pastor in Bulawayo, Busani Dube, allegedly raped and impregnated a 17-year-old congregant who went to his house in the belief that she could be delivered from evil spirits. Dube allegedly told the girl that her problems would end if they had sex. He also warned her that she would die if she divulged this information to anyone. When the girl discovered that she was pregnant, Dube promised to give her some money to terminate her pregnancy but did not fulfill his promise until the baby was born (Source dated 7 Dec 2017).


Case 15: Former Boone pastor sentenced to 4 years in prison for sexual relationship with minor
A former Boone youth pastor, Joel Mark Waltz, pleaded guilty to having inappropriate contact with a now 20-year-old woman off-and-on since she was 16 and was sentenced to four years in prison. The woman met Waltz when she was 11 and they met regularly until she was 18. He has been a father figure to her before he confessed his love for her when she was 16. The two then began a sexual relationship (Source dated 6 Dec 2017).

Case 16:  Baptist pastor charged with child abuse, criminal sexual conduct
Pastor of Living Lighthouse Church, Renato Capili Bosi, was arrested and faces multiple criminal sexual conduct and child abuse charges. The alleged victim is a 14-year-old parishioner who lived with the pastor while her mother was away and her father became too sick to look after her. The pastor allegedly touched the girl's butt and genitals several times, kissed her on the lips, sent her sexually suggestive messages, and told her to break up with her boyfriend. The victim got stressed out and became suicidal and reported the incidents to her parents  (Source dated 5 Dec 2017).

Case 17:  Charleston Pastor charged of Sexual Conduct with a Minor
Charleston pastor, Gregory "Kevin" Richardson was arrested and charged with criminal sexual conduct with a minor. The sexual assault occurred on several occasions over a five month period inside his vehicle while he was teaching his victim how to drive. During these driving lessons, Richardson would tell his victim that he needed to touch her private parts and begged her to have sex with him. At that time, Richardson knew that the girl was his girlfriend's daughter and that she was between 11-12 years old (Source dated 2 Dec 2017).


Case 18:  Sex Scandal: Church Worker Threatens To Drag Christ Embassy, Pastor To Court
Mrs. Brenda Nwanguma, a worker with Inner City Mission for Children (ICM4C), a subsidiary of Christ Embassy Church, has threatened to drag her boss, Pastor Kenechukwu Kanu aka Kaycee to court for alleged persistent sexual harassment. According to her, Kenechukwu had pestered her for sex on many occasions but she did not give in to his demands which led to her being victimized (Source dated 1 Dec 2017).


Case 19:  Moravian 'Sex Pastor' pleads guilty
Pastor of the Nazareth Moravian Church in Manchester, Rupert Clarke, pleaded guilty to having had sex with two sisters under the age of consent. He was allegedly seen in a "compromising position" with a 15-year-old girl in his car. Further investigations revealed that he also had a sexual relationship with the child's sister when she was under 16.


Case 20: Pastor in sex scandal; beaten to pulp by angry youth
Head Pastor of the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E) Zion Church, Anyinam district, Reverend Kwasi Awiakye,  was reportedly caught in the room of a married woman virtually naked in his attempt to sleep with her. He was subjected to severe beatings by some youth of the area. The woman had some problems with her husband and was staying alone.  The pastor claimed the problems she was encountering in her relationship were spiritual and the only way to overcome them was for him to give her a bath. After the bath, the pastor proposed love to her and kept pestering her until Wednesday night when he visited her. When she let him in, he  removed all his clothes and tried to pounce on her (Source dated 24 Nov 2017).

Case 21: Ex-Youth Pastor Pleads Guilty to Sexual Abuse Charges

A former youth pastor and school volunteer, Joseph Niemeyer, has admitted to sexually abusing a girl younger than 12 years old. During the four years she was in his custody, he raped her, sodomized her, and sexually abused her. Niemeyer and his wife worked as youth pastors at the church in Walton (Source dated 21 November 2017).

Case 22: Three Pastors Charged With Sex Trafficking of Children in Ohio

Three pastors, Kenneth Butler, Anthony J. Haynes, and Cordell Jenkins were charged with conspiracy for child sex trafficking. Prosecutors say all the three of them worked together to entice underage girls to engage in sex acts in exchange for money (Source dated 16 November 2017).

Case 23: Canby pastor charged with 9 counts sex abuse of minor

Pastor of Canby First Baptist Church, Lee Philip Wiegand, is out of jail on bail after being arrested on charges of sex abuse involving a minor for alleged crimes that happened between October 2011 and October 2012. Prosecutors alleged his victim did not consent to the sexual contact (Source dated 16 November 2017).


Case 24: Founder of Florida's Biggest Megachurch Accused of Molesting a 4-Year-Old
A woman told Coral Springs Police that a South Florida man had molested her 17-year-old daughter for years. It all started when the girl was only 4 years old. According to the victim, the man forced her to perform oral sex, inappropriately touched her and made her touch his penis. The abuse lasted until she was a teenager. The accused was no ordinary suspect. His name was Bob Coy, founder of Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale in Florida. He had been the most famous Evangelical pastor in Florida (Source dated 14 November 2017).


Case 25: Guyana: Pastor allegedly drinks Guinness before having sex with rape victim
A 37-year-old Parfaite Harmony pastor was arrested following an accusation made against him. A female member of his congregation  alleged that he raped her at his Diamond home. According to the victim, the pastor invited her to his house, pushed her onto the bed, stripped her, and then forced her to have sex with him. He drank a Guinness and performed a ritual before raping her (Source dated 10 November 2017).


Case 26: Muscoy United Methodist Church pastor convicted on 32 counts of sexual child abuse
The pastor of the Muscoy United Methodist Church, Stephen James Howard, was charged with multiple counts of child molestation involving boys who attended the church. His conviction involved four boys. He was the pastor, mentor, and father figure to all his victims. Howard was found guilty by a San Bernardino County jury and was convicted of 32 counts of sexual abuse (Source dated 31 October 2017).

Case 27: Thornton church pastor gets prison for sexual assault of 13-year-old girl
Assistant pastor at Agape Bible Church in Thornton, Robert Duane Wyatt, was sentenced to 13 years in prison after he was found guilty for repeatedly sexually assaulting an underage congregant who was home-schooled at his place of residence. The female victim, now 15, told the police that Wyatt began inappropriately touching her when she was 12. In March 2016, when she was 13, he invited her on a field trip but instead took her to a hotel where he sexually assaulted her (Source dated 31 October 2017).

Case 28:  Two Limpopo pastors accused of two minors' rapes
Two Limpopo pastors have been arrested for the alleged rape of two underage girls in separate incidents in the Phalaborwa area. In Lulekani, police arrested a 52-year-old pastor for allegedly raping his 14-year-old half-sister. It is alleged that the pastor started raping her when she was 11 years old. In another incident, a 46-year-old pastor was arrested in Namakgale. It is alleged that he had raped his 14-year-old stepdaughter on several occasions until the victim's mother lodged a police report (Source dated 22 October 2017).

Case 29: Senior pastor, assistant jailed for drugging, raping women in the church
Assistant pastor at the Liberty Pentecostal Church in Keighley, Laurence Peterson, has been jailed for more than 8 years for helping a church minister, Reverend. John Wilson, to sexually assault six female parishioners. On several occasions, Peterson blocked doors and in the church and held victims down while Reverend John Wilson performed “grotesque” exorcisms on them. Reverend Wilson was jailed for 21 years. His wife, Mary Wilson, was also found guilty of aiding and abetting him (Source dated 21 Oct 2017).


Case 30: Pastor claims trial to sexual assault, carnal intercourse on adopted daughter

A 49-year-old self-proclaimed pastor is alleged to have performed carnal intercourse against the order of nature by forcing his 11-year-old adopted daughter to perform oral sex on him. He was also charged with committing physical sexual assault on her. The victim was in his care for eight years until a police report was made. He was accused of committing the offences at a house in Petaling Jaya. According to his lawyer, the pastor is a respected member of his community and a family man. Sources claimed that the suspect was based in a church in Puchong (Source dated 25 Oct 2017).

Case 31: Unholy abuse: Well-known minister guilty in teen sex case
One of Chicago's most well-known churchmen, Reverend George Waddles Sr., former president of the National Baptist Congress and ex-pastor of Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church, pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a 15 year-old-girl. He has known the girl since she was a toddler and started counseling her when she was 13. Prosecutors said that the girl and her mother confronted Waddles and secretly recorded his admissions to the inappropriate touching on the cellphone. Waddles, however, asked them not to go to the police. He was sentenced to 30 months' probation and must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. The prominent pastor is married with children and grandchildren (Source dated 20 October 2017).


Case 32: Indiana pastor accused of molesting young girls
Rushville Police arrested the pastor of the Rushville Baptist Temple Church, Garry Evans, on child molestation charges. The investigation began after a 3-year-old girl alleged that Evans took her to his office to get candy but once she was there, he pulled down his pants and made her touch his penis. One pair of sisters (5 and 7 years old) had similar allegations involving him. The 5-year-old girl alleged Evans put his hands in her pants and touched her when she was alone with him in his office. Her 7-year-old sister alleged that Evans touched her "nearly every time she went to church (Source dated 19 October 2017).


Case 33: Former Omaha youth pastor jailed for sexual assault of a child
A former youth pastor at Omaha's Christ Community Church, Klint Bitter, is accused of having sex with a 15-year old human trafficking victim. The pastor of kids and student ministry allegedly answered an online classified ad posted by a sex trafficking suspect in Bellevue. Church officials said Bitter has been fired from that position after the church learned of the criminal charges against him (Source dated 17 October 2017).


Case 34: Hunter Pentecostal Christian pleads guilty to sexually abusing boys
He was the committed Pentecostal Christian youth pastor who praised Jesus during Assemblies of God church services during the day and a sexual predator at night. Former Assemblies of God Youth Pastor, Christopher Laban Bridge of Yarramalong, has entered guilty pleas to sexually abusing four boys at Assemblies of God churches in Dubbo and the Hunter in the 1970s and 1980s while in a position of trust. There was no record of any child sexual abuse allegations against Bridge until 2014 even though one of the victim's mother said she told a senior church pastor about Bridge's sexual assaults in the early 1980s (Source dated 18 October 2017).

Case 35: East Palestine pastor facing sex charge involving minor
Pastor at the New Life Outreach Church in East Palestine, Rodney McManus, is accused of having sexual contact with an underage girl for nearly three years. According to the criminal complaint filed by East Palestine police, McManus became involved with an underage female member of his congregation when she was 13. The police say that between January 2014 and August 2017, McManus had touched the girl inappropriately on multiple occasions (Source dated 14 October 2017).

Case 36: Lexington pastor accused of sexual abuse
A former pastor at St Luke's United Methodist Church, Reid Buchanan, is accused of sexually abusing two juveniles. The minors accused him of touching them inappropriately on multiple occasions. One of the victims told the police that the abuse started when she was 12. Another victim testified that she had been abused from the time she was in third grade and one of the incidents happened when she and Buchanan were on a mission trip to Nicaragua (Source dated 13 October 2017).

Case 37: Pastor and his wife in Canada face 28 sexual offense charges
A Canadian evangelical pastor and his wife have been charged with a total of 28 counts of sexual offense cases. Samuel Emerson of the Cloverdale Christian Fellowship Church and his wife Madelaine, are both facing several accusations made against them involving sexual assault and molestation (Source dated 5 October 2017).


Case 38: Pastor sentenced to 15 years for sexual abuse of teen girls
A Texarkana pastor, David Wayne Farren, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the sexual abuse of two teenage girls and must register as a sex offender upon release from prison. The girls were members of youth ministry groups he led at several churches. At the time of his arrest, Farren was the lead pastor of Anchor Church in Texarkana (Source dated 3 October 2017).


Case 39: Oregon Court of Appeals upholds pastor's child sex abuse conviction
In 1997, seven girls complained that co-founder of the North Clackamas Bible Community, Mike Sperou, had molested them but no charges were brought. In 2013, the girls brought their complaints to the police again. However, the statute of limitations had expired on all the complainants except those raised by one woman. A Multnomah County jury convicted Sperou in 2015 and he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. The Oregon Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction (Source dated 3 October 2017). 


Case 40: Pastor rapes girl, 10, infects her with HIV
A 50-year-old Pastor is in police custody in Ntcheu for raping a ten year old girl and infecting her with HIV. Ntcheu police publicist, Hastings Chigalu, identified the suspect as Pastor Philip Palibe Ndipo of New Covenant Assemblies of God based at Kalindira village in Ntcheu. According to Chigalu, the victim was alone at home when the pastor, who lived nearby, raped her. When the mother returned home, she found the girl crying uncontrollably. When the girl revealed that the pastor had raped her, her mother reported the matter to Kandewu police. The victim was later referred to the Kandewu Health Centre where tests confirmed that she had been raped. The victim was also treated for sexually transmitted diseases (Source dated 2 October 2017).


If you like this article, you may also like to read Beware of Greedy, Selfish and Money-Hungry Pastors & If You Want to Get Rich Quick, Start a Church. To view the contents of this blog, please click here. For further reading, you can refer to Jeri Massi's Big Book of Bad Baptist Preachers: 100 cases of Sex Abuse of Children and Exploitation of the Innocent.