DOVER-FOXCROFT - A Roman Catholic priest committed suicide after he was informed that he would be suspended pending an investigation of his alleged sexual abuse of a minor 29 years ago, the Diocese of Portland said Friday. The body of the Rev. James Robichaud, 56, was found Friday morning in the rectory of Our Lady of the Snows in Dover-Foxcroft . He learned of the allegation the day before. Robichaud died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, said Sgt. Gary West of the Dover-Foxcroft police. He said an employee at the rectory found the body in a second-floor bathroom, and it was believed that the shooting took place Thursday evening. No suicide note was found, West said. The abuse allegation came to the diocese from the Oblates, a religious order of men with whom Robichaud was serving in Massachusetts prior to his return to Maine in 2000. The abuse was alleged to have occurred around the time Robichaud, an Augusta native, was ordained in 1979 and assigned to St. Jean-Bapti...

By webmdave. William Vanderbloemen, Senior Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Houston, Texas, is well known for leading churches to experience phenomenal growth through innovative change. His evangelical “ancient future” approach in a mainline denomination has built him a reputation as one who has a deep respect for the past and desires to apply it to the future in a dynamic way. Raised in North Carolina, William received his Bachelor of Arts degrees in Religion and Philosophy from Wake Forest University. It was during this time that William returned to a renewed walk with Christ. Hearing a call to ministry, he attended Princeton Theological Seminary where he received his Masters of Divinity degree in 1995 . That’s a quote from a First Century Voyages brochure published last June inviting the faithful to a 10-day luxury cruise along the Elbe River “from Prague to Potsdam and Berlin.” Prior to landing the pastorate of the Texas mega-church in January, 2002 , VanderBloemen pastor...

He taught creationism and burned crosses into students' arms A Mount Vernon, Ohio , teacher undermined science instruction in the public school district by discrediting evolution in his classroom and focusing on creationism and intelligent design, an investigation has found. Eighth-graders who were taught by John Freshwater frequently had to be re-taught in high school what they were supposed to have learned in Freshwater's class, according to outside investigators hired by the district. For 11 years, other teachers in the school district and people in the community complained about Freshwater preaching his Christian beliefs in class and slamming scientific theories, a school administrator told investigators. "There is a significant amount of evidence that Mr. Freshwater's teachings regarding subjects related to evolution were not consistent with the curriculum of the Mount Vernon City Schools and state standards," the consultants reported . Freshwater was told t...

A former Bibb County minister has been arrested for allegedly raping a child. Timothy Fulgham, 40, is charged with second-degree rape, second-degree sodomy, second-degree sexual abuse and enticing a child for immoral purposes. Investigators say Fulgham used his power as a minister at River Life Church of God to win the young girl’s trust, and take advantage of her. According to court documents, Fulgham assaulted the girl in both Bibb and Tuscaloosa counties . He has currently bonded out of the Tuscaloosa Metro Jail. “Just believing that the truth will be revealed, and we believe in the system; we just don’t talk about it here. It’s not really relevant to us. The former pastor resigned. I just want to let everyone know in our community that our church is a great place to be. It’s a safe place to be,” said Brandon Morrison, current pastor of the River Life Church of God. At the time of the attack, the girl was between 12 and 16 years old. This case will go before a grand jury in the com...

FORT WORTH, Texas — A pastor has been arrested on accusations that he sexually assaulted a teen girl who attends his church. James "Jay" Virtue Robinson IV, pastor of Southwood Baptist Church , surrendered at the Tarrant County Jail on Wednesday evening in response to an arrest warrant accusing him of sexual assault of a child, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. He was released after posting $20,000 bail. Robinson has denied having a relationship with the girl. A phone listing for him was disconnected. His attorney, Cheyenne Minick, didn't immediately return a phone call Thursday from The Associated Press. The girl, now 18, was 16 when she and Robinson, then the youth minister, struck up more than just a friendship, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. The relationship escalated to sexual touching, occurring about 10 times at the church, the affidavit states. By the time she was 17, the relationship progressed to sexual intercourse. Robinson would pick her up f...

Oregon law may protect Followers of Christ members The painful and apparently preventable faith-healing death of a 16-year-old Oregon City boy this week brings the secretive Followers of Christ Church back under legal scrutiny, just four months after the boy's infant niece died in similar circumstances. But unlike the girl's death, which resulted in criminal mistreatment and manslaughter charges against her mother and father, Oregon law may protect the parents of Neil Jeffrey Beagley, who under state statute was old enough to make his own medical decisions. Beagley died Tuesday at his grandmother's home, a week after first complaining of stomach pain and shortness of breath. As Beagley's family and several dozen church members prayed for what church members call spiritual healing, the teenager deteriorated and died, according to police and medical investigators. Dr. Cliff Nelson, Oregon deputy state medical examiner, said Wednesday that an autopsy determined Beagley ...

TARBORO NC – The 13-year-old boy who died while tied to a tree last week sustained multiple injuries while bound, according to arrest warrants released Monday. Tyler Gene McMillan was tied to a tree at his family home in Macclesfield for 18 hours, resulting in his death, according to the warrants. During that time, the boy suffered bruising to the wrist and cuts to the entire body. He also was missing flesh from his buttock. N.C. District Court Judge Joseph Harper Jr. in Edgecombe County read the warrants during the first court appearance of Tyler's father, Brice McMillan, and stepmother, Sandra McMillan. The two have been charged with first-degree murder and felony child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury in the death of their son. If convicted, they could face life in prison or the death penalty. The McMillans appeared in court together Monday but did not acknowledge each other. Brice McMillan tried to fight back tears for most of the eight-minute hearing, while his wife...

Steve Kreuscher is no more. A Lake County judge granted permission to the Zion man Friday to officially change his name to "In God We Trust." That's "In God" as a first name and "We Trust" as a last name. The 57-year-old artist and bus driver was ecstatic about the name change as he exited court Friday. "I feel great. It's just like, yes!" We Trust said. The entire process before Judge David Hall took less than two minutes, but We Trust said he was quite nervous. "I have been praying for this. I didn't want anything to mess this up," he said. We Trust said the new name more closely represents his devotion to God than "Steve Kreuscher" did. The process to change his name took roughly three months. Throughout the course We Trust said he was looking for a sign from God that would let him know it was a good idea. He got it one day while adding up the expenses for the name change, which came out to roughly $600. ...

A former Regent University law school assistant dean has been indicted on 13 felony sexual assault charges involving two girls, according to court records. The allegations against Stephen L. McPherson, 39, of Chesapeake include object sexual penetration, forcible sodomy, and taking indecent liberties with a child by a custodian. The charges, reported to Chesapeake police in July 2007, stem from events between May 2000 and May 2002, according to the indictments handed up Tuesday by a Chesapeake grand jury. The girls' ages weren't available Friday. A conviction on the penetration charge is punishable by up to life in prison. McPherson and his wife worked from August 1996 to August 2000 as house parents supervising a cottage of as many as eight girls at Hope Haven Children's Home on North Landing Road in Virginia Beach, said Linda Jones, a spokeswoman for Union Mission Ministries, which operates the home. Hope Haven, founded in 1965, provides Christian-based care for children...

PLANO – A Prestonwood Baptist Church minister arrested on charges of soliciting a minor online has resigned from the church, Pastor Jack Graham told his congregation Saturday evening. Dr. Graham addressed the crowd at the start of the church's regular worship service. He said the church had accepted Joe Barron 's resignation, which took effect immediately. "You need to know that we are appalled and we are disgraced by this terrible action, an unacceptable action by a minister on our staff," Dr. Graham said. "I'm so sorry for the injury that this kind of behavior has brought to many people in our church and outside of our church." Police arrested Mr. Barron, 52, Thursday morning after he drove from Plano to Bryan to meet with what he thought was a 13-year-old girl he had met online, authorities say. The girl turned out to be a Bryan police officer working in an ongoing Internet sex sting. Bryan police said Mr. Barron had spent about two weeks chatting...

BERTHA, Minn . — Carol Race thinks it's important for her 13-year-old son to be in church on Sundays for Catholic Mass. Leaders of the Church of St. Joseph once felt the same way, but not anymore. They say Race's autistic son Adam is disruptive and his erratic behavior threatens the safety of other parishioners. The northern Minnesota church has obtained a restraining order to keep Adam away, an action that has been deeply hurtful to the Race family and has brought them support from parents of other autistic children. "My son is not dangerous," Carol Race said. The church's action is "about a certain community's fears of him. Fears of danger versus actual danger," she said. In court papers, church leaders say the danger is real. The Rev. Daniel Walz wrote in his petition for the restraining order that Adam — who already is more than 6 feet tall and weighs more than 225 pounds — has hit a child, has nearly knocked over elderly parishioners while bolt...