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Wednesday, May 31, 2006                                                                                       View Comments

New Neo-Nazi Xtian Hate Game

by Onanite

Just before the Xmas season a group called "Left Behind Games" will release a new video game called "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" It is based on the series of xtian fantasy books surrounding the rapture.

Now get this ... The object of the game is to kill non-Christians, including gays and lesbians. This is not a joke folks, this is a real game coming out. If you want to read more about this neo-fascist hate game check out this site: Talk to Action.

Here is an excerpt:

"Imagine: you are a foot soldier in a paramilitary group whose purpose is to remake America as a Christian theocracy, and establish its worldly vision of the dominion of Christ over all aspects of life. You are issued high-tech military weaponry, and instructed to engage the infidel on the streets of New York City. You are on a mission - both a religious mission and a military mission -- to convert or kill Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, gays, and anyone who advocates the separation of church and state - especially moderate, mainstream Christians. Your mission is "to conduct physical and spiritual warfare"; all who resist must be taken out with extreme prejudice. You have never felt so powerful, so driven by a purpose: you are 13 years old. You are playing a real-time strategy video game whose creators are linked to the empire of mega-church pastor Rick Warren, best selling author of The Purpose Driven Life."

These neo-Nazi's are becoming very brazen these days.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006                                                                                       View Comments

Ex-minister sentenced to 10 years

Admits to sex crimes against 15-year-old church member

PASCAGOULA MS — Paul Valentine, former youth minister at St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Ocean Springs, pleaded guilty Monday to sex crimes against a 15-year-old church member in 2005.

Senior Circuit Judge Kathy King Jackson ordered Valentine to spend the next 10 years behind bars and even more should he violate any conditions of his sentencing on three different felony offenses.

"I have two children who just graduated from high school and I know how hard it is to keep your children safe," Jackson told Valentine on Monday. "I can't think of anything worse that you could've done. I sit up here sometimes and sometimes I feel bad about sending people to prison - sometimes but not that often."

Jackson had no qualms about sentencing Valentine shortly after his victim and her father addressed the court Monday. The judge told Valentine that she'd make sure that he'd never again have any contact with any children or the victim and the victim's family.

Ocean Springs police arrested Valentine, now 37, in September 2004 and charged him with two counts of sexual battery and one count of touching a child for lustful purposes.

Valentine admitted engaging in sex acts with the victim, now 17, on three occasions, two of which occurred on Sept. 16, 2004, while he was seeking shelter from Hurricane Ivan at the home of the victim's parents. The third incident occurred on Labor Day 2004.

Jackson sentenced Valentine to 20 years, each with 10 years suspended and five years' probation, on each count of sexual battery. In addition, she sentenced him to a 15-year prison term with five years suspended and five years' probation on the charge of touching a child for lustful purposes. He's also required to register as a sex offender after his release.

"You're going to serve every day of 10 years," Jackson said.

The victim's father spoke at Monday's sentencing. He said his family had met Valentine at an out-of-town religious conference.

"We did everything we could to bring him to our church," the father said. "We loved him. We took him into our home. We fed him. We allowed him access to our children."

The victim said in a prepared statement that she refused to allow what had happened to affect the rest of her life. She said it hadn't been easy but she'd learned that she wasn't to blame for anything.

Valentine asked her to forgive him.

"When you were your most vulnerable, I was not the pastor you needed me to be," Valentine said. "I am so sorry for what happened between us, and I pray that one day you'll be able to forgive me."

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Former paster charged for child pornography

A former Lawrence County PA pastor has been charged with 192 counts of possession of child pornography.

The Rev. Robert D. Schmidtberger, 50, of New Castle PA, faces a preliminary hearing Thursday after a yearlong investigation by state police. He resigned April 22 as pastor of Rose Point Reformed Presbyterian Church in New Castle.

Authorities said they seized computers, CD-ROMs and other hardware from his home and found 161 images of child pornography and bestiality on the CD-ROMs and 31 images of child pornography on ZIP drives. Investigators found six e-mails on the CDs that contained attachments of child pornography.

The e-mails were sent from the AmericaOnline screen name "RobthePastor," police said.

Schmidtberger also is charged with three counts of distributing child pornography and three counts of criminal use of a communications facility.

Officials at AmericaOnline discovered the photos in the e-mails and alerted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Investigators there alerted state police in Butler, and police began investigating Schmidtberger in May 2005.

He had been pastor at Rose Point since November 1994. The church belongs to the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America -- a small, conservative denomination known for its belief in the Bible as infallible and its adherence to the orthodox theology of church reformers John Calvin and John Knox.


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Monday, May 22, 2006                                                                                       View Comments

Jesus has revealed the next Florida governor

MIAMI --A reverend who introduced Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist during a breakfast with other pastors Monday said the Lord came to him in a dream two years ago and told him Crist would be the state's next governor.

The Rev. O'Neal Dozier said that before the dream he did not know Crist, nor had Crist made known his plans to run for governor.

"The Lord Jesus spoke to me and he said 'There's something I want you to know,'" said Dozier, pastor of the Worldwide Christian Center in Pompano Beach. "'Charlie Crist will be the next governor of the state of Florida.'"

Since then, Dozier has spent time with Crist and talked with him at length about policy. He told the group that Crist would be uncompromising in his Christian faith.

"I introduce to you, as the Lord Jesus has said, the next governor of the state of Florida, Charlie Crist," Dozier said.

Crist's first words were, "Well, as they say, the praise doesn't get any higher."

Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher, who is opposing Crist in the primary, wouldn't comment on the remarks after the event.

Afterward, Dozier said he met Crist two months after the dream at a conference of Republican leaders from around the South. He told Crist about the dream, and Crist replied that he would run.

"It's the most amazing thing anyone's every told me," Crist said. "It's beyond overwhelming, but the reverend has a very strong faith in his heart and he's a good man. I'm very grateful for his help and his support and his belief."

Gov. Jeb Bush, who appointed Dozier to a group that nominates judges in South Florida, didn't directly respond to the remark, but praised Dozier.

"Far be it from me to judge about people's faiths and what occurs because of it," Bush said. "He is very sincere. Rev. Dozier's a good man."

All four gubernatorial candidates were invited to the pastor appreciation breakfast organized by the Christian Family Coalition. Crist and Gallagher spoke to the group, both giving an anti-abortion message and discussing their proposals to increase adoptions.

Democrats running for the seat Bush is leaving due to term limits -- state Sen. Rod Smith and U.S. Rep. Jim Davis -- did not attend, though Smith's son-in-law, the Rev. Graham Glover, spoke on his behalf.

Crist spoke at length about a bill he has pushed for the last two years that would force judges to lock up sex offenders who violate probation. It has not passed. Crist said if there were already such a law, young murder victims like Jessica Lunsford, Carlie Brucia and Sarah Lunde might still be alive.

Gallagher told the group that there is a place for values and beliefs in government, saying he would work toward increasing faith-based partners.

"There are people who don't think that we ought to say 'under God' in our pledge. They think that's some kind of radical thing," he said. "These are values that are Florida values that the people in this state want as a whole and they don't want fringe groups trying to take those things away. The same thing goes for silent prayer."

Smith's son-in-law acknowledged that Democrats haven't always been seen as strong advocates of faith, but said Smith is unquestionably a religious man.

"It is sad when we're told that our faith can't be brought to the table, that our values can't be front and center," said Glover, a Lutheran. "(Smith) is a man who loves his lord, he is a man who loves his family. As a Southern Baptist, he can probably quote scripture a whole lot better than I can."

Anthony Verdugo, executive director of the coalition, told the group he was disappointed Davis didn't attend the event, adding that he didn't even respond to the invitation.

"We tried and tried and tried to get Congressman Jim Davis to speak here," he said. "We believe we have a voice in both parties because our values are transcended values that don't belong to one party or another."

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Molestation charges leveled at Trinity Christian Academy founder

A former Jacksonville FLA pastor has been charged with molesting his young parishioners several decades ago. Now, police believe more victims could be out there.

Dr. Robert Gray, founder of Trinity Christian Academy, remains in jail without bond after investigators say he spent decades keeping a dirty little secret.

"Right now, he is being charged with two counts of capital sexual battery and there are two different victims," says Lt. Annie Smith with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office sex crimes unit.

So far, investigators say 15 women who attended his church or school have come forward claiming Dr. Gray molested them when they were children. Sources close to the case say the alleged victims broke their silence after learning that Gray was returning to Jacksonville after serving as a missionary in Germany.

Because the allegations date back to 1969, there's no physical evidence against Gray and authorities are building their case based solely on the statements of more than a dozen women."

“This is a hurdle for us, but we are investigating it as if it happened 20 minutes ago," says Lt. Smith.

Gray, now 80, faces two counts of capital sexual battery, a more serious charge for alleged victims under the age of 12.

Police say the other cases involved children who were over 12 at the time. Their cases can never be prosecuted because of the statute of limitations, but could still be helpful in other cases.

“Any information that we get only bolsters the cases we have,” says Smith. “We can use their statements in future prosecution of these types of crimes."

An attorney for Trinity Baptist Church issued a statement, saying:

"Trinity's mission is to serve Christ. Any abuse of a minor hinders the church from accomplishing that mission is immoral, is sinful and a violation of what Trinity stands for.”

Investigators say there could be more victims out there, and have advised anyone with information to contact the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office at 630-0500. Callers can remain anonymous.

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Wednesday, May 17, 2006                                                                                       View Comments

The Church of Tom Jones

LONDON, /PRNewswire/ — Tom Jones recently appeared on British TV (Channel 4's "Popworld") where he discussed his feelings about the Sacramento, California-based Church of Tom Jones. "It's weird, but a positive thing," said Jones. "I inspired Pastor Jack. He saw the light through me, so it works."

Watch video: http://www.pastorjackradio.com/media/tomjones.asx.

Pastor Jack J. Stahl, founder of The Church of Tom Jones, says Jones' voice is "supernatural." Stahl performs sermons and even exorcisms with the help of the superstar's music. "His angelic voice enables me to get in touch with the Holy Spirit and cast out devils." Pastor Jack also dresses up and dances like the Welsh sex bomb during church services.

If you would like to check out Stahl's unconventional brand of exorcism, you can hear him casting out evil on his podcast at http://www.CHURCHofTOMJONES.com.

Contact:

Pastor Jack J. Stahl, 206/309-0463
Email: CHURCHofTOMJONES@aol.com
http://www.CHURCHofTOMJONES.com

Saturday, May 13, 2006                                                                                       View Comments

Pastor, disability aid, scam

An Indianapolis pastor charged this week with ripping off money intended for Indiana's poor is under investigation for receiving disability payments for which he may not have been eligible.

Rochell Johnson reportedly received more than $20,000 a year in benefits while holding two jobs -- as pastor of Greater Faith Missionary Baptist Church and bus driver for Lawrence Township Schools.

According to court records, he received the money based on conditions including sickle cell anemia and congestive heart failure.

Roger Rayl, a spokesman for the Marion County prosecutor's office, confirmed that Prosecutor Carl Brizzi has been told the Social Security Administration is investigating Johnson's eligibility. Rayl said no results of the inquiry have been received.

A phone message to the Social Security Administration was not returned. John Schwartz, attorney for Johnson, declined to comment.

Johnson's wife, Denise, also faces charges of theft and welfare fraud over allegations the couple wrongfully obtained food stamp benefits between June 2003 and July 2005. They allegedly committed the fraud despite a combined annual income of more than $100,000.

The Johnsons and the church's associate pastor, the Rev. Shedrick Footman, are accused of working with two former employees of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration to illegally obtain the assistance money. Eight other people were charged in connection with the alleged scheme.

The two ex-employees, who were criminally charged in June, allegedly provided church members with electronic cards that could be used to receive cash or food stamps.
Footman has been in trouble before.

Court records show there have been four small-claims judgments against him, and he has yet to pay about $10,000 he was found to owe.

Footman was criminally charged twice before the recent charges, accused in 1997 of check deception and in 2003 of check fraud.

On the first charge, he entered into a diversion agreement through which he avoided having a conviction on his record. The 2003 charge was dismissed after a witness failed to show up at his trial.

A woman who says she was victimized by Footman says he won her over with a good sales pitch.

Cheryl Newsom wanted to have her house renovated, and Footman, who operated a construction business, offered to do it. He drove her around to homes that he said he had rehabilitated. Newsom was impressed and hired Footman.

She took him to be a man of his word because he was a man of God.

"You put your trust in them because they're supposed to be doing it right," Newsom says. "They're supposed to be an honest person."

But Newsom said Footman fell far short of finishing the job, costing her and her husband thousands of dollars.

"He probably did about 10, 15 percent of what he was supposed to do," she said, adding that she complained to the Better Business Bureau and Indiana attorney general's office.

Melvin Earl Allen was in a hurry to get renovation work done on his rental property and said he found Footman persuasive. "He came here with a smile and talked to me. Talked like he knew what he was doing."

Allen's wife, Joan, remembers that Footman came off as a quality person.

"The way he talked to you, it was like a disciple of Jesus or something," she said.
When the work lagged behind schedule, Melvin Allen tried in vain to contact Footman.
Allen went to small-claims court and received a judgment against Footman, but he says Footman never refunded his money.

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"I didn't get no service. I didn't get my money back. Nothing."

Friday, May 12, 2006                                                                                       View Comments

Miracle fish of Allah!

A pair of fish which appear to bear the words Allah and Mohammed were hailed as a "message from God."

The Oscar fish were spotted in a pet shop in Speke, Liverpool, by 23-year-old Ali Al-Waqedi.

He noticed that the markings on one fish appeared to spell Allah, the Islamic term for God, in Arabic.

He then saw that another fish in the same tank appeared to bear the word Mohammed, the name of the last Islamic prophet, also in Arabic.

Mr Al-Waqedi said: "We only went into the shop because my kids wanted to have a look at the animals. We weren't planning to buy anything.

"We started to have a look at the Oscar fish because they had such an unusual colour.

"Then I saw that one of them had the word Allah. It was so clear, and it made me very happy.

"Then we saw that another one had the word Mohammed, and that was even better. To see the Allah fish was exciting, but to have the Allah and Mohammed fish in the same tank was unbelievable.

"I believe it is a message from Allah to me, a reminder, and it makes my faith even stronger."

Mr Al-Waqedi bought the fish and leant them to a friend, as it is not advisable to place Oscar fish in a brand new tank.

He added: "My friend's house is closer to the mosque than mine, so people hear about the fish at the mosque and go to see them at his house.

"I would say at least one hundred people have been there since I bought the fish last week."

Sheikh Sadek Kassem, imam of Liverpool's Al-Rahma mosque, said: "This is a proof and a sign not just to Muslims, but for everyone."

He quoted a passage from the Koran which suggested Allah will send signs. It reads: "Soon we will show them our signs in the regions, and in their own souls, until it becomes manifest to them that this is the truth."

Last month, a pet shop near Bury, Greater Manchester, discovered an Oscar fish which appeared to have the word Allah on one side and Mohammed on the other.

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Pastor charged with beating girl

The pastor of an Elgin IL church has been charged with battery after it was alleged that he repeatedly used a piece of wood to discipline a 12-year-old girl.

Police said the girl's mother took her to the pastor because she doubted the girl's claim that she was being sexually abused by another man.

Elgin police said Thursday they believe the girl's original allegations are true. On Wednesday they charged Daryl Bujak, 30, pastor of First Missionary Baptist Church, with misdemeanor battery. He was released after posting $500 bail. He has a June 16 court appearance in the Elgin branch of Kane County Circuit Court, said police Lt. Mike Turner.

"It's unbelievable," he said. "It's a sad case for this girl."

Matthew E. Resh, 33, of Ingleside, was charged this week by police in far north suburban Richmond with five counts of predatory criminal sexual assault. The girl was sexually abused between September 2003 and March 2005, according to a complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court.

Allegations that the child was disciplined by the pastor after trying to tell her mother about abuse shocked child-welfare advocates.

"The girl probably thinks that if she is being harmed there is no one she can go to and tell safely," said Cook County Public Guardian Robert Harris, whose office deals with child-abuse victims.

"When a kid gets up the courage after being sexually abused to tell a parent, that means that it is a cry for help," Harris said. "They won't say help anymore if they are taught that when you say help you might get punished, you might get beaten for it."

Ronald Davidson, a faculty member at the University of Illinois at Chicago's department of psychiatry, said if the charges are true, the girl was "betrayed three times"—by the adult who abused her, her mother and then the pastor.

"My sense is it will be hard for this child to easily trust another adult for some time," Davidson said.

Bujak's church, at 385 Silver St. in Elgin, describes itself as a fundamentalist and independent Baptist congregation.

Elgin police said the girl's parents took her to the church after she alleged she was being sexually abused.

Bujak told the parents that she was lying and privately disciplined the girl on Wednesday evenings between March and May of 2005. The girl, now 13, was struck with a 3-foot strip of wood molding, causing welts and bruises on her legs and buttocks, according to police and the girl's mother.

"He took her in the ladies room, across from his office," the mother said in an interview Thursday. "I was downstairs in the Fellowship Hall." Afterward, the mother said, "Her face was red, and I could see that she'd been crying."

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services opened an investigation into the sexual abuse allegations on Oct. 25, according to spokesman Jimmie Whitelow. The mother said that was the day after she went to Richmond police.

By January DCFS had concluded that there was credible evidence against Resh.

A caseworker is supervising the mother, daughter and the girl's three younger brothers, according to Whitelow.

Now DCFS has begun investigating Bujak, Whitelow said.

Neither Bujak nor Resh could be reached for comment. A church staff member declined to comment.

Resh posted $20,000 bail Wednesday and has been released from the McHenry County Jail.

"There is DNA evidence," said Nichole Owens, who heads the criminal division of the McHenry County state's attorney's office.

The mother said she is upset that she didn't believe her daughter to begin with.

"I feel terrible," the mother said. "I feel like a heel. I didn't know."

When the daughter raised the allegations in March 2005, the mother was uncertain what to do. She turned for guidance to Bujak, who by then had been the family's pastor for about a year.

Bujak talked to the girl alone for two hours, according to the mother. "He said she recanted," the mother said. "He said, 'I know these types of girls. She has a rebellious streak.'"

The mother said she would arrive at the Elgin church more than an hour before 7 p.m. services on Wednesday evenings and discuss the girl's behavior with Bujak.

He'd bring out the stick if he decided discipline was necessary, the mother said.

"It was a long stick," she said. "He had it up on his bookshelf. I never watched."

The mother said she was unaware of Bujak disciplining other youths that way. She estimated about 30 people regularly attend services.

It wasn't until a heart-to-heart talk in October that she realized the girl was telling the truth about sexual abuse, she said.

The mother, who home-schools the girl, said her daughter is in private counseling and no longer attends the Elgin church. "We're just working on trying to rebuild our relationship," the mother said. "Because our relationship was built on lies and deception."

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Thursday, May 11, 2006                                                                                       View Comments

Pastor and wife sex offenders jailed, given probation

As part of a plea deal reached by the State of Alabama and the victims of convicted sex offenders, Ralph Randall Melton and his wife, Cathy G. Melton, were sentenced to spend slightly more than three months is prison followed by 36 months probation.

Circuit Judge Sibley Reynolds delivered the sentence yesterday morning after making sure the victims fully understood that what was about to be delivered was light considering the charges.

"Are you sure you want to do this," he asked family members gathered at the bench. "As far as the (plea) deal, I'd like nothing more than to put them away for the rest of their lives."

The couple plead guilty last month to raping and sodomizing their two children over a period of 18 years. The pair's daughter, Catherine Smith, said she and her brother, Andy Melton, agreed to the deal to expedite the legal process and put the whole situation behind them.

"Our justice will come after this lifetime," she said. "This has been dragging on for three years. We just wanted to put it behind us."

She added the fact that her parents now must register as convicted sex offenders was a consolation.

"Now, everyone will know what they've done," she said. "That will follow them for the rest of their lives like the memories of what they have done will follow us for the rest of ours."

Smith, who claimed she was repeatedly raped between 1975 and 1987, filed charges against the couple in April 2004.

Charges by the couple's son, Andy, soon followed.

Melton was the pastor at Prospect Baptist Church in Wilsonville at the time of his arrest, but has also been the pastor of New Salem Baptist Church and Big Springs Baptist Church in Chilton County.

Before the sentence was handed down, Jimmy Smith, Catherine's husband, read a statement from the victims detailing the abuse suffered at the hands of their parents.

"Catherine was robbed of the joy of growing up in a safe and happy family environment," the letter read. "Instead, she grew up in fear of what was to happen next."

"Andy has had his childhood robbed from him also," the letter continued. "He never enjoyed the games that normal seven-year-old boys played like baseball, football and basketball - instead Mr. and Mrs. Melton would include him in their sick, perverted games that lead to his rape by Mrs. Melton."

Before he was escorted from before the bench by deputies, Melton offered a muttered apology to his victims.

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Pastor arrested in sexual battery

SPRINGFIELD — The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office reported Wednesday that a Baptist minister was arrested April 21 and booked with a sexual battery count involving a 16-year-old juvenile.

Brian Bravo, 46, former pastor of Soverent Grace Baptist Church near Springfield, Louisiana, was released April 24 after posting $75,000 bail.

“I’m not guilty of the charge. I was falsely accused,” Bravo said Wednesday.

Laura Covington, the Sheriff’s Office public information officer who issued a news release Wednesday about Bravo’s arrest, said she didn’t learn about the case until Tuesday because of a paperwork oversight.

The Sheriff’s Office said Bravo admitted to sexual misconduct with the juvenile. The juvenile, the Sheriff’s Office said, is a member of the church where Bravo formerly conducted services.

Covington said Bravo reportedly told investigators that the incident was consensual but the juvenile said it wasn’t.

Bravo’s arrest followed an April 19 complaint to the Sheriff’s Office.

The Shriff’s Office said the complaint stems from an incident that allegedly happened shortly after Hurricane Katrina last year when the juvenile went to Bravo’s residence at 41425 Brown Road in the Ponchatoula area to use the telephone.

Bravo stepped down as pastor of the church in early April before the complaint was filed, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The small church with a congregation made up of about four families is in a back yard building off Brickyard Road in southwestern Tangipahoa Parish, just east of Springfield and the Livingston Parish line.

District Attorney Scott Perrilloux of the 21st Judicial District Court said Wednesday that Bravo’s case hasn’t been forwarded to his office.

“When we receive the charges from the Sheriff’s Office, we will evaluate them for prosecution,” Perrilloux said.

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Thursday, May 04, 2006                                                                                       View Comments

Minister Admits To Statutory Rape Charges

Hixson TN—The pastor of Middle Valley Methodist Church has been charged with three counts of statutory rape and three counts of sexual battery by an authority figure.

Authorities said Rev. Gregory Stanley Dempsey was interviewed at the County Jail and admitted to the allegations.

Bond was set at $75,000 by General Sessions Court Judge Bob Moon for Dempsey, 42. He made the bond.

County Det. Jimmy Clift said the alleged incidents involve a Soddy-Daisy male, who is now 19.

The youth said the incidents started when Rev. Dempsey was minister of music at the Oak Street Baptist Church. He had taken that position in early 2002.

The youth said he was in the minister's office at the Oak Street Baptist Church on July 12, 2003. He said the minister "confided he had a homosexual relationship when he was 16 years old."

He said the minister began to discuss sexual matters with him and showed him a book on sexual positions.

He said the minister placed a blindfold on him, removed his shorts and performed a sex act.

The youth said the same week he went to the minister's house on West Wind Drive. He said in the computer room of the house, the minister again performed a sex act on him.

He said the incidents continued at the minister's house between September 2003 and Thanksgiving 2003.

Rev. Dempsey is set to appear in General Sessions Court on May 26 at 8:30 a.m.

He has been suspended with pay from his minister position.

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Former clergyman's jail term extended

Former clergyman Lin Jing-you, charged for molesting an underage girl during his ministry in 2002, was sentenced to an additional year of imprisonment on Wednesday when the Taiwan High Court ruled that he has not demonstrated any remorse for his conduct.

In a preliminary trial, Lin was sentenced to four years in prison,

The court's spokesperson Wen Yao-yuan said as a man of God and also as a director of a Christian based halfway home, Lin abused his position when he engaged in repeated sexual acts with three female patrons. One of the victims was a 14-year-old girl.

"Not only did Lin fail to perform his duties, he took advantage of an ignorant teenager by molesting her on numerous occasions," said Wen, adding that the defendant was also accused of shoving a glue stick into the girl's genitalia.

Wen went on to say the perpetrator had shown no remorse but had tried to justify his behavior by arguing he was seduced by the girl.

"We believe his original sentence of four years was too light," Wen said. Lin will be imprisoned for five years with a chance to appeal.

When the sentence was pronounced, Lin apparently burst into tears and said he was wrongly accused.

Lin made national headlines in the late 90s when he adopted the son of a notorious kidnapper, rapist, and serial killer Chen Jing-hsin. He and his wife were known as a "God fearing" couple for their services in the community.

When his lewd conduct with the teenager was exposed in 2002, Lin was tearfully contrite as he apologized to the public during a press conference.

According to a Chinese-language newspaper report, Lin knelt down and pleaded for forgiveness from the public, the girls, and God. He even took off the cross he wore on chain around his neck and said he was not worthy of being a servant of God.

Lin's attorney argued that although his client admitted to the charges against him, his acts were "within reasonable bounds" because the girls had "thrown themselves at him."

"How many men can withstand the temptations of three solicitous teenage girls who liked to play sex games?" his attorney contended, adding that Lin was a perfect example of a Freudian theory that "men think with their bottom half."

The news article also said many of Lin's fellow Christian clergymen have forgiven him, but suggested that Lin should not return to his post as a counselor for teenage delinquents unless he promises never to work with young girls again under the guise of a clergyman.

Lin is presently serving a 10-month sentence for violation of personal liberty when he and other counselors tried to "correct" a teenage boy by putting a chain around the youth's ankles.

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Monday, May 01, 2006                                                                                       View Comments

Pastor charged with loan fraud and tax evasion

The lead pastor at a Charlotte N.C. church was indicted Friday on nine federal charges that accuse him of tax evasion and making false statements to banks and federal officials.

John Henry Walker, senior pastor at Macedonia Baptist Church, is accused of underreporting his income between 1999 and 2003 by almost $550,000 and evading federal income taxes of more than $125,000 for those years, according to U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert.

Walker, 47, is charged with five counts of tax evasion, three counts of making false statements in connection with a bank loan and a single count of making false statements to federal agents.

An indictment handed up in U.S. District Court in Charlotte says that between rent-free housing in a church-owned residence, a base salary, a housing allowance, various bonuses and honorariums, paid vacations and other payments, Walker collected more than $900,000 from the church from 1998 through 2003. According to Shappert, when funds in the church's general account were not enough to pay Walker, he arranged to take money from the church's building fund account and from an account set up for the church's summer youth program.

Between 1999 and 2003, when Walker received some $600,000 in taxable income, he reported less than $55,000 to the Internal Revenue Service, Shappert said.

A message seeking comment that was left at the offices of Macedonia Baptist on Friday afternoon was not returned.

According to the church's Web site, Walker came to the church in 1992 and in the late 1990s led a campaign to build a new church sanctuary. That structure was opened in 2004.

The loan fraud charges alleged by the government are related to statements Walker made to banks in relation to applications for a credit card, a residential loan and a home equity line of credit.

The false statements to federal agents charge stems from things Walker said during an interview with the IRS on Dec. 15, 2004, according to the indictment.

Maximum penalties associated with the charges Walker faces total 120 years in prison and $4.5 million in fines.

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