Picked from Usenet Newsgroups VI: Republican Pervs Permeate Politics

And so on... business as usual.

Lake Wales, FL. The pastor at the Church of the Nazarene has been charged with sexually assaulting a male 17-year-old youth leader three times in 2001.  The Rev. Gene Francis, 52, of Lake Wales, was arrested Tuesday and charged  with unlawful sexual activity with a minor. (Sarasota Herald-Tribune, June 4, 2003) Lake Wales minister arrested in sexual assault case

Tuscon, AZ. The Rev. David Valencia, 47, assistant pastor of a Pentecostal church is expected in court Wednesday on rape charges issued by  Pennsylvania authorities. In Pennsylvania, Valencia was an assistant pastor at Christ Church at Grove Farm, an interdenominational church that uses Anglican liturgy.  The pastor of Christ Church, the Rev. John Guest, told the Pittsburgh Post- Gazette that Valencia was dismissed in late 2001 because he was found to have pornography on an office computer after he was warned about a similar incident months earlier. (Tucson Citizen, May 31, 2003) Rev. David Valencia allegedly had sex with a 17-year-old girl he was counseling

An associate pastor of a San Fernando Valley chapel was sentenced to 32 months in prison on Tuesday for failing to register as a sex offender. Ilger, a former second-grade teacher, was convicted in 1988 of molesting four students in  his San Luis Obispo classroom. After being released from jail, Ilger and his family moved to Los Angeles, where he took a position with Hope Chapel of the  Valley in Canoga Park. "We've lived and learned a painful lesson," the Rev. Jeff Fischer of Hope Chapel said outside court. Fischer has said he and about 30 church elders knew that Ilger had molested young girls before he was hired. Sentencing (Associated Press, April 3, 2003)

Marty A. Hynes, 33, is charged with eight counts of criminal sexual  contact of a minor, three counts of criminal sexual penetration of a minor and one  count of attempted criminal sexual contact of a minor. Hynes was a youth pastor at  the First Assembly of God church when the alleged incidents occurred, between July and December 2001. (Las Cruces Sun-News, March 24, 2003) Trial of former youth pastor begins

Dayton, OH. A Trotwood minister, whose lawyer said he has been a "sex  addict" since age 10, sought treatment rather than face trial in a Brookville  police- run Internet sting that presented a virtual 14-year-old boy in a chat room.  But a Montgomery County judge denied his plea for treatment Tuesday. Turner's attorney, Dwight Brannon, wrote "He had his first sexual experience with another male at the age of 19 while in college. Shortly after he began surfing the Web . . . his addiction slowly began to grow." Turner had been pastor of Anchor Community Church, 38 S. Fairgreen Drive, for seven years when he was  arrested last summer. (Dayton Daily News, 01.29.2003) Minister arrested in police-run Internet sting

Riviera Beach, FL. A prominent minister, his church and deacon have  reached a $600,000 settlement with a mentally disabled man who accused the minister  of rape. The Rev. Thomas Masters, pastor of the New Macedonia Church of  Riviera Beach, and Church Mutual, insurer for the church, negotiated the  settlement with the man, according to his attorneys and court papers filed Monday. The  man, who has the mental capacity of a 7-year-old, attended New Macedonia and  accused Masters of coercing him to smoke crack cocaine and then raping him twice  on church property over Thanksgiving weekend in 1991. (The Palm Beach Post, January 14, 2003) West Palm Beach minister, church pay $600,000

Anaheim, CA. Anaheim pastor admitted Monday he fondled two teen-age girls  18 years ago while working as a part-time counselor at a Colorado church a decade before he was assigned to an Orange County church. "I was acting like an irresponsible teen-ager. There's no excuse for what I did," the Rev. Greg Tucker of Anaheim First Church of the Nazarene told The Orange County Register.  The church settled lawsuits by two women, who said Tucker, then 22, molested  them when they were 16. A Colorado jury sided with the women in a civil trial, ordering Tucker to pay the two $70,000. Tucker said he never told church leaders about the indiscretions before his ordination in Southern California seven years ago. In Colorado, sexual relations with a teen-ager were not considered criminal then, which led the women to sue for civil damages. The former youth  pastor is now a senior pastor in a Nazarene Church in Anaheim, CA. The Nazarene  General Superintendent's remarks about the case were very telling, i.e. "This happened a long time ago. . .the man has 'grown' since then. . . isn't the Christian faith all about forgiveness. . ."(North County Times, April 17, 2002)

A Christian pastor in Indonesia was sentenced to four years imprisonment  for sexually abusing seven refugee children under his care, officials said Tuesday. Saderah Sudiro, a Protestant clergyman with the Foundation For the Village Bible Society, was found guilty Monday of molesting refugee children ages 14 and  15 in his house in Solo in Central Java, said prosecutor Ika Ria Wati. "For more than a year he abused the minors who sought refuge in his foundation," said  Wati. (Associated Press, April 30, 2002) pastor gets four years for molesting refugee children

Chelsea, VT. Pastor faces trial or stiffer sentence for child molestation.  A judge on Tuesday denied a plea agreement for a former Newbury pastor  accused of child molestation. The decision means Rev. Joseph A. Rinaldi may go to  trial or receive a stiffer sentence on charges of molesting children while he was pastor of the Newbury Bible Church and principal of the Newbury Christian School between 1993 and 1998. ``The crimes you committed are heinous crimes,''  said Vermont District Court Judge Amy Davenport. ``They are crimes that have  left long lasting scars on their victims. And it is because of that, in the court's view, the court cannot accept the plea agreement.'' Rinaldi had pleaded guilty to five counts of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child in exchange for  a prison sentence of two years. He admitted fondling three boys in his care. (The Associated Press, December 03, 2002) Newbury Pastor Pleads Innocent To Molestation

South Kingstown, New Zealand. 53-year-old Bruce C. DiMaria,the pastor of  the Church of the Nazarene in Wakefield who also served as a teaching  assistant in the South Kingstown School District's Farm School for learning-disabled students was arrested Friday by North Kingstown police and charged with three  counts of second-degree sexual assault for alleged incidents involving a 17-year-old female student who has autism and cerebral palsy. (NKStandard Times, Nov.  17, 2002) Youth Paster charged

Denver, CO. Denver police arrested a 26-year-old youth minister with St. John's Church of God in Christ after a 15-year-old member accused him of sexual assault. (November 15, 2002, Rocky Moutain News) Youth Paster arrested News Report

Tulsa, OK. Son Minh Rockstroh, 48, was arrested Saturday on three counts  of rape by instrumentation and one count of lewd molestation of a child. He was jailed about 2 a.m. Saturday and is being held in lieu of $200,000 bail. The allegations have no apparent link to his work as a schoolteacher but to  his leadership of a small religious group called Church Life, Tulsa police  said. The victim and her mother met Rockstroh through Church Life, whose members  meet in each others' homes, Detective Chuck Haywood said. "There is not a pastor  of the church, but everyone considered him to be the guy in charge," Haywood said  of Rockstroh. During an interview with police, Rockstroh admitted that he had molested the girl on three occasions, jail records show. (Tulsa World, 11/12/2002) Church Leader Arrested

Tishomingo, OK. Kentucky pastor accused of raping a 12-year-old Oklahoma  girl has surrendered to Johnston County officials. The Rev. Chadwick L.  Keathley, associate pastor of Ark of Mercy Church of God in Winchester, Ky.,  responded Tuesday to an arrest warrant issued Aug. 26. Prosecutors charged Keathley, 27, with lewd molestation, first-degree rape and rape by instrumentation. He  was released after posting a $25,000 cash bond and an Oct. 22 preliminary  hearing was scheduled. The alleged incident occurred during summer 2000 at a  Church of God gathering at Camp Bond Youth Camp near Tishomingo. (The Winchester  Sun, Sept. 2002) Pastor surrenders to Oklahoma officials

Concord, NH. Charles Gravenhorst, the self-described pastor who once  preached his fringe Christian ministry on Concord Community TV, was arrested again yesterday, this time by federal agents for allegedly sending obscene  material over the Internet and for using the Internet to induce teenage girls to engage in sex acts. Gravenhorst, 45, was charged earlier this year with sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in her Windham, Maine, home. The police said that he had met the girl over the Internet. (August 13, 2002, Concord Monitor) Pastor arrested again on sex charges