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Pastor Convicted of Money Laundering, Fraud, Prostitution

James Clark, former pastor of Mount Vernon United Methodist Church in Lubbock Texas was convicted of a variety of criminal charges.

The Lubbock pastor who forced a Kenyan exchange student into prostitution has also been found guilty of money laundering and fraud.

Christian Ministers Lead Training School Fraud

Charles Koen and Alex Brooks, ministers for Christian Hope Church in Chicago, Illinois ran a fictitious carpentry school scam that stole more than $2 million from banks and tax payers.

Charles Koen, a convicted felon and purported civil rights leader who runs United Front Inc. in the St. Louis area, and Alex Brooks are accused of running the sham training program to provide job skills in carpentry. Koen and Brooks identified themselves as ministers with Christian Hope Church, 7543 S. Aberdeen.

Presbyterian Pastor Pleads Guilty to Kiddy Porn

Robert D. Schmidtberger, former pastor of the Rose Point Reformed Presbyterian Church in Slippery Rock Township, Pennsylvania pleaded guilty this week to two counts of possession of child pornography.

State police filed the charges based on information provided by the America Online Internet service, which periodically reviews subscribers' e-mails. A review on March 12, 2005, detected three e-mails that included images that depicted child pornography.

Thanks to ExChristian.net for alerting us to the article.

Baptist Youth Minister Admits to Six Bank Heists

James G. Madison, youth minister at Christian Love Baptist Church in Irvington, New Jersey pleaded guilty to 6 bank robberies and acknowledged others.

Madison, who served time in prison for the murder of his girlfriend in the 80s - started committing the bank robberies soon after his release. At the same time, he volunteered as a youth minister in church and even contributed money.

"I, too, remain a college-educated man who still envisions the American Dream -- raising a family in my own home in the suburbs," Madison wrote to U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares. "I pray that this Court, Your Honor, does not preclude me from ever making that dream come true."

Usher Caught Stealing from Collection Basket, Not Unusual

Richard D. Sonia. long time usher at Corpus Christi Church in Newton Massachusetts, was caught stealing money from the churches collection baskets.

"They had him on film stuffing money in his pockets and in his socks," Newton police spokesman James O'Loughlin said. "It was kind of funny."

According to a survey of 177 Catholic dioceses conducted by the Villanova School of Business in 2006, such thefts are not unusual. Eighty-five percent of the dioceses surveyed had experienced a theft in the previous five years.

Pastor Admits to Sexual Assault

James Hatfield, former pastor of The Center of Life Church in Paw Paw Michigan, admitted to sexual assault of a girl at The Center of Life Church.

It was while he was a pastor there that authorities say he started abusing a girl that was in his care, abuse that began when the girl was in middle school, and continued through high school.

Baptist Minister Sentenced for Sexual Assault

Jerry Carver, formerly a minister at Great Hills Baptist Church in Austin Texas was sentenced today to 90 days in Prison followed by additional jail time.

Carver was accused of offering a ride to a teenager at a bus stop, taking him to a park and sexually assaulting him back in 2006. Investigators say he confessed to the sexual encounter.

Epsicopal Minister Sentenced for Sexual Assault

Jim Carlton Wooldridge, former minister of St. George's Episcopal Church, in Gatesville Texas and St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Lampasas Texas was sentenced today to three years in prison for sexual assault of a young boy.

Parents Convicted of Cruelty

The parents of two boys in the United Kingdom were found guilty on several counts of cruelty toward their two sons. The father would put pins through their tongues and lips and cut their mouths with razor blades. The mother watched and did nothing to protect the boys.

It was alleged the father told the boys he inflicted the injuries because God had his tongue cut off in the Bible.

The jury is still considering verdicts on three further counts of cruelty and will continue its deliberations on Wednesday.

Christian Priests Exchange Knuckle Sandwiches

I don't know how it is that I only came across this story today, but.... nearly a month ago on December 27th, priests from two different Christian sects who share responsibility for the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem got into a little dispute. Apparently, a ladder being used by one of the sects to clean the church crossed over a line that separates who cleans what. Any good Christian certainly knows what must come of such a horrific offense...

For a quarter of an hour bearded and robed priests laid into each other with fists, brooms and iron rods while the photographers who had come to take pictures of the annual cleaning ceremony recorded the whole event.

A dozen unarmed Palestinian policemen were sent to try to separate the priests, but two of them were also injured in the unholy melee.

Yup, that's right, they beat the holy crap out of each other, and Palestinian police had to break it up. I'm sure at some point one of the priests exclaimed something like, "WWJD? Shove this broom stick up your ass, that's what!"

Keep in mind, these weren't wannabe pseudo-Christians in a remote third world country that aren't all that familiar yet with Christ's teachings. No, these are THE priests responsible for maintaining THE church that sits atop THE birthplace of their supposed Lord and Savior. If anybody knows Christianity inside and out, these guys do. This is strong evidence to support the suspicion that the secret 11th Commandment truly is something like "Thou Shalt Physically Pummel Whomever Dost Offend Thee."

"But wait," you declare. "This is just a rare, unfortunate and isolated incident, right?" Wrong!

"As usual the cleaning of the church after Christmas is a cause of problems," Bethlehem Mayor Victor Batarseh told AFP, adding that he has offered to help ease tensions.

As usual! I guess that explains why the priests needed to be separated to different parts of the church in the first place.

Baptist Pastor Charged with Setting Fire to Church

Dr. Joseph Howard, pastor of the Metropolitan Baptist Church in Albany, New York, was arrested on Friday and charged with first degree arson, and is being held without bail. Investigators believe that Howard tried to burn down his church to collect on the insurance.

The Church and Reverend Howard were using federal grants to build low cost housing in a very controversial project in that neighborhood. Investigators say they continue to look into allegations that some of that money was misappropriated.

Thanks to ExChristian.net for bringing this story to our attention.

Christian Steals $5 Million from Employer

Jeffrey Grous, vice president and controller Conning Company in Hartford, Connecticut, was found guilty of embezzling more than $5,000,000 from his employer.

Grous was raised in a Christian fundamentalist family, where he learned that homosexuality was a sin, according to his therapist, Dr. Elliott Strick.

Yup, that family had their priorities straight. Drill into an impressionable child that being born gay is certainly far, far worse of an offense than stealing. No worries about permanent psychological trauma with that philosophy.

Ex-Pastor/Teacher Convicted of Sexual Assault

Paul Tuck, former pastor and teacher at the Mississauga Christian Academy in Ontario, Canada was convicted today of sexual assault of a 13-year-old student.

But Blacklock pointed to one particular revealing excerpt of a chat conversation in which Tuck asked the young girl to rate on a scale of one to 10 how "horny" she had been during an earlier encounter in school when he touched her bare thigh.

Catholic Deacon Faces Multiple Sexual Abuse Charges

Dan Paul Stallings, a former Catholic deacon, was charged on Tuesday with child sexual abuse and released on $20,000 bond. He was already facing charges of sexually abusing an underage female relative in the 1960's and 70's.

Police say Dan Paul Stallings was charged Tuesday with child sexual abuse after a second victim came forward alleging that she was abused in 1998 after an event at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Silver Spring. Police say the victim was 15 or 16 years old.

Christian School Principal Fails to Report Inappropriate Relationship

George Gay, former principal of Mission Viejo Christian School, and founder of the Heritage Christian School in Mission Viejo, California knew of an ongoing sexual relationship between school staff member and son-in-law Armando Lucero and a 15 year old student, but did not report it to authorities.

"It's a privilege working with children," said Darrin Smith, executive pastor of Mission Viejo Christian Church. "Once you allow exploitation of one child, you don't get that right anymore."

Christian Pastor Brutally Murders Thief

Sicelo Dludlu, Pastor of the Church of God Ministries in Swaziland beat a 21 year old boy who admitted to stealing money from the pastor's house with sticks ultimately resulting in the boys death.

When he repented and converted to Christianity Pastor Dludlu confessed to numerous members of the community that he was guilty of adultery as he had slept with their wives and had thus begged for their forgiveness.

"I still cannot comprehend how he lost his cool towards my son, soon forgetting how I had forgiven him when he confessed that he had also committed adultery with my wife," said Maseko. He added: "I would have expected him to discipline my son and not kill because I thought the nature of our relationship was based on forgiveness."

The story makes no suggestions about the pastor being charged with any crimes, but does state that "some members of the local community police" where apparently bystanders during the act.

Youth Pastor Arrested, Charged with 9 Felonies

Christopher Decaire, Youth Pastor at the East Tucson Baptist Church in Arizona was arrested Friday and charged with nine felonies.

Decaire is charged with two counts molestation of a child, four counts sexual conduct of a minor, two counts sexual abuse and one count sexual abuse of a child because police say the abuse may have gone on for a year.

Thanks to ExChristian.net for bringing this story to our attention.

Arrest Warrant Issued for Megachurch Archbishop

Archbishop Earl Paulk, of the suburban Atlanta Megachurch "Cathedral of the Holy Spirit at Chapel Hill Harvester Church" has until Wednesday to turn himself in to authorities.

The charge stems from a civil lawsuit filed against him by a former church employee who said Paulk forced her into a sexual affair, by telling her it was her path to salvation.

Baptist Pastor Surrenders to Police

Rev. Darrell Gilyard, pastor of the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida surrendered to police on Monday and was charged with sending sexually explicit text messages to a teenage girl.

Pastor George Harvey has been an outspoken critic of Gilyard since he came to Jacksonville 14 years ago after another church-related sex scandal in Texas. Harvey said he is appalled by the allegations.

After the mother of the 14-year-old went to the Sheriff's Office, she was asked why she waited a month to lodge her complaint with police. She said she'd been told the church was going to handle the matter, the report said.

Texas Christian Accused of Murder

Brian White of Humble, Texas pleaded innocent on Monday for beating a stranger to death with a rock in New Jersey.

White is accused of murdering a stranger, Michail Makarenko, 75, of Virginia by pummeling him with a rock after the victim refused to buy a religious CD from him. The incident took place at the James Fenimore Cooper Service Area on the New Jersey Turnpike in Mount Laurel in March.

State police have said White, a disc jockey, appears to have mental health issues. The CD was a Christian recording.

Christian apologists will be quick to point out the mental health issues as the reason for the attack and that Brian's Christian beliefs have nothing to do with it. I ask however, where was god's moral guidance that Christians claim to own when this Christian was picking up the rock?

Presbyterian Students Admit Lying about Assault

Trista Sturdivant and Rachel Beaumont, students at Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina made up a story about being assaulted in December to get out of taking exams.

Police said eventually, Sturdivant admitted she lied about the attack. Her roommate, Rachel Beaumont, also confessed to hitting Sturdivant with a lacrosse stick to make it appear that she had been assaulted.

Sturdivant is charged with filing a false police report. Beaumont is charge with giving false information. Both have been suspended from the lacrosse team.

Picture Poping Pervert Pastor Pleads Guilty

Baptist Pastor Peter Torrence of Ramsgate, Kent, UK pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four months in jail for taking pictures up womens skirts. He was caught by one of his victims after she saw his camera flash go off and chased him.

Texas Minister Admits to Fondling 10 Year Old

Charles Thomas Hogland, pastor at Greggton Church of Christ in Longview, Texas admitted to fondling a 10 year old on six different occasions in the church parsonage, according to police records.

Christian Pastor Convicted of Fraud

Doug Scott, former pastor of the now defunct River of Life Church in Colorado Springs was found guilty buy a jury on Friday for his part in directing church members to an illegal hedge fund, led by businessman and fellow Christian Alan Bird.

Bird's Christian connections gave investors faith. Investors said Scott and Bird's father- in-law, the former president of the Christian nonprofit Bethesda Ministries, eased any concerns they may have had.

See my comments in a previous post regarding Seventh-Day Adventists in London falling for an investment scheme due to their "faith" in the honesty of fellow believers.

Baptist Pastor Admits Stealing $18,000 from Church

Sidney B. Walker, Pastor at First Baptist Church in Farrell, Pennsylvania admitted on Tuesday to stealing $18,000 of church funds in March of 2006.

When questioned, Rev. Walker told church officials he’d moved the money to another account, but by March 14, 2007, there was no record of any deposit on behalf of the church made at Sky Bank.

Catholic Prep School Teacher Admits to Sexual Assault of Students

Richard Ali, a biology teacher at Cathedral High School, a Catholic prep school in Queens, New York admitted on Thursday to sexually assaulting five students.

Ali, who also was a soccer coach at the school, raped and molested the students, sometimes repeatedly, between April 2005 and January 2007 after school hours in his car near a Queens high school and at a movie theater, Brown's office said.

Baptist Convicted for Money Laundering

Nathaniel Alexander of Portsmouth Virginia was one of several people caught up in a check-kiting scheme. Olympic Medalists Steve Riddick and Marion Jones were also involved and are facing jail time.

Alexander, a Portsmouth businessman who was sharing office space with Riddick during the conspiracy, was found guilty of laundering two counterfeit checks for $1 million. He argued at trial that he thought the check was for the purchase of a business he had owned at the time. The jury didn’t believe him.

“The charges against Mr. Alexander are so out of character from his upbringing and involvement in the community,” Bishop James M. Whitaker, pastor of the New Bethel Baptist Church in Portsmouth where Alexander attends services, wrote in a letter to the judge.

Catholic Charged with Possession of Child Pornography

Matthew S. Persichetti, graduate of Merrimack College who volunteered at a Mexican orphanage as part of a program organized by the college's Campus Ministry was charged on Wednesday of possession of child pornography. Merrimack College is a Catholic college in North Andover, Massachusetts,

During analysis of the computer, investigators also allegedly discovered a text document that is part of an ongoing investigation by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement New England Field Office.

"The story describes in detail a sexual encounter that 'the author' experienced with an eight year-old orphan while volunteering at an orphanage in Mexico," ICE agent Eric LaForte said in court papers filed Wednesday.

Baptist Teacher Charged with 295 Counts of Sexual Assault

Jason W. Stalnaker, former teacher at Capitol Baptist School in Dover, Deleware has been arrested and charged with 295 counts of sexual assault of a 15-year old student over a 15 month period from 2002 to 2003.

The sexual abuse allegedly happened at the school or during other school or church activities. Stalnaker has not been affliated with the school or the church for around five years.

Atheist Discovers Secret that "gives his life meaning"

An article in the Tri-City Herald last last month described Fernando Aguilar, an open atheist in Walla Walla, Washington who has been to Iraq twice and Afghanistan once since 2003 building water systems, hospitals and schools.

Using the skills he has to benefit others is part of the code Aguilar lives by.

He believes that when you die, your mind and consciousness die too. That urgency gives his life meaning.

Thanks to the Tri-City Herald for publishing a fair and factual article reminding readers there are alternatives to superstitious woo, to Atheist Revolution for bringing this story to our attention, and most importantly to Fernando Aguilar for helping to make the world a better place while he's here.

Seventh-Day Adventists Conned by Fellow Believers

Lindani Mangena led a scam with several co-conspirators to con fellow Seventh-Day Adventists in London out of £3.2 million.

“You may think, as you hear the evidence, that the victims were much more ready to believe what they were told because it came from members of the same tight-knit religious community.

“They naively accepted the absurd claims of the returns that they could make on the money they gave to the defendants, and their suspicions were not aroused by the absence of things like receipts that you might expect when you invested money."

Huh, imagine that. People who believe that having "faith" is good and that expecting "proof" or "evidence" for absurd claims is bad fall for a scam wherein fellow christians tell them to "just believe" and "have faith" that they'll get 25 times their investment back. Absolutely Shocking!

Christian Youth Worker Convicted of 28 Charges

James Downs of Phoenix Arizona was convicted Tuesday of 28 counts of sexual conduct with a minor. Downs was a youth worker at New Destiny Christian Church in Phoenix and all of the victims attended the church.

Thomas said all of the convictions for counts of sexual conduct with a minor under the age of 15 must be consecutive to each other. That means the minimum sentence on those counts alone would be more than 500 years.

Jewish Pedophile Extradited from Isreal

Stefan Colmer, suspected of sodomizing two 13-year-old boys from the haredi Jewish community in Brooklyn, New York was extradited on Tuesday from Israel where he'd been hiding under an assumed name (David Cohen).

A revamped extradition treaty between the United States and Israel, which went into effect January 10, 2007, allowed Colmer to be returned to Brooklyn. Prior to the newly amended treaty, Israel and the US had agreed to extradite suspected sex criminals only if they had been charged with rape. Since last January, at least two other sex offenders have been extradited, including Michael Leon Zeve and Kenneth Frank.

Catholic Basketball Coach Registers as Sex Offender

William "Buck" Lanham, former basketball coach for Orlando Christian Prep and Bishop Moore Catholic High School in Orlando, Florida was found guilty on Tuesday of having sexual activity with a child and ordered to register as a sex offender.

Lanham, 48, also must wear an electronic monitor for two years as part of sex offender community control. That follows 15 years of supervised probation. He has to hold a full-time job but cannot be around children under the age of 18 without supervision, according to court records.

Former Vatican Official to Plead Guilty on Sexual Assault Charges

Bernard Prince, retired priest and former Vatican official, is expected to plead guilty on at least 2 charges of inappropriate behavior with teenage boys in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Msgr. Prince intends to plead guilty in at least two cases involving men who on Tuesday provided the court with similar-fact evidence that the now 72-year-old former priest fondled or engaged in other inappropriate sexual behaviour with them when they were teens.

Baptist Youth Pastor in Court for Child Molestation

Stephen Douglas Livingston of Odem Texas and youth pastor of First Baptist Church in Stinton is in court on charges of molestation.

Sinton Police Detective Eric Blanchard said authorities discovered child pornography on at least one of Livingston's computers along with journals that detailed encounters with several children.

Methodist Minister Indicted for Theft of $300,000

Ray Robinson, former minister of the Lane Metropolitan Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in Cleveland, Ohio was indicted today for theft of about $300,000 from the church.

Robinson, 56, secretly mortgaged the church's parsonage, used the building as collateral to obtain illegal loans and laundered the money through many bank accounts, Gutierrez said.

The minister also drained the church's Benevolent Fund earmarked for the poor, stole the identities of church members to obtain illegal credit cards, and pocketed a $5,000 grant from the Cleveland Foundation for a computer training program, Gutierrez said.

Robinson just got out of federal prison in December after serving 10 months for a real estate scam in Mississippi.

Baptist Teacher Sentenced for Child Porn

Justin Michael Gillen, formerly a teacher at a private high school for Grand View Baptist Church in Beaver Creek, Oregon was sentenced today to 27 months in federal prison. James admitted in October to having hundreds of images on his computer depicting young boys engaging in sexual acts with adult men.

Mormon Missionary Sentenced to Prison

John Misseldine, a former Mormon Missionary was sentenced to two to six years in prison for violating the terms of a plea agreement in a prior case in which he was accused if fondling two girls, aged 4 and 7, while baby-sitting them during services at a Las Vegas, Nevada church.

Baptist Youth Pastor Sentenced for Sex with Teen

Michael Peters, former youth Pastor at Second Baptist Church in Boulder, Colorado was sentenced for having a sexual relationship with a 17 year old girl at his church.

Methodist Sunday School Teacher Arrested for Sexual Assault

Police reports released Monday say that Terry Greenwood, Sunday School Teacher at Chandler United Methodist Church in Chandler Arizona was arrested for sexual asault on a 5 year old girl.

Terry Greenwood, 62, of Chandler is accused of forcing a 5-year-old girl to perform oral sex on him last month, according to a police report released Monday.

Under questioning by detectives, Greenwood admitted he sexually assaulted the girl twice at Chandler United Methodist Church, 251 W. Chandler Blvd., police said.

Baptist Pastor Convicted of Tax Evasion

Gregory Clarke, Pastor at New Hope Baptist Church in Birmingham Alabama, was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for filing false income tax returns and under reporting his earned income.

Catholic Priest Arrested, Charged with Perjury

Rev. Joseph F. Sica of Scranton Pennsylvania was arrested today and charged with lying to a grand jury about his relationship with organized crime figures.

"Very Conservative" Christian Stalked and Threatend to Rape Two Young Girls

Joshua R. Stetar of Granville New York allegedly drove 40 hours non-stop across the country to Spokane Washington to stalk and threaten to rape a 15 year old girl he met online and her 6 year old sister. Stetar is a self described "very conservative" Christian who's myspace page is filled with Bible verses.