Freethought Today, January-February 1996


Black Collar Crimes

ALABAMA

Minister Ran Baldness Cure Scam

Mobile church pastor Arthur Mallard, 63, was found guilty by a federal grand jury of 208 charges including bankruptcy fraud, money laundering, mail fraud, and tax evasion.

Mallard continues to sell "Baby Don't Be Bald" cream treatment that he claims is a cure for baldness.

According to federal prosecutors, Mallard's "blue-goo" is a useless cream with a petroleum base that has added fragrances and various dyes, such as house paint, for coloring.

Mallard earned more than $193,000 from Jan. '94-June '95 by selling his baldness cure cream and other shampoos and ointments in beauty supply stores in Houston, Mobile, Tampa, some cities in the Carolinas and various other locations, according to the prosecutions indictment. His product's were not approved by the Food and Drug Administration, as required by law. Source: The Birmingham News 11/3/95

Pastor Arrested For Firing Gun Into House

Associate minister Lamond Travis Miller, 57, was arrested for firing 5 shots into the house occupied by 4 adults and 3 children.

The pastor of the Cedar Grove Missionary Church was charged with shooting into an occupied dwelling, attempting to elude, reckless driving and reckless endangerment.

Miller was arrested on a drunken driving charge the previous day and released that morning. Source: Birmingham Post-Herald 12/7/95

CALIFORNIA

More Charges After Suit Settled

A $830,000 settlement was reached in a lawsuit filed by 9 men who say they were molested by Rev. Gary Timmons. The suit states Timmons sexually assaulted the males between 1971-78 and that the Diocese of Santa Rosa was negligent.

Timmons was arrested after accusations appeared in a Santa Rosa newspaper from 2 men who say he molested them in the rectory at St. Eugene's and when they were teenagers staying at a Catholic summer camp founded by Timmons. Additional accusations were prompted by the article and the civil suit was filed in May '94.

Timmons was released from pastoral duties at St. Bernard's in Eureka and placed in a church-sponsored treatment program for pedophiles in Jemez Springs, N.M. Last September he was sent to the Institute for Spiritual Leadership in Chicago. The priest waived extradition proceedings after his Oct. 31 arrest and agreed to return to the west coast.

In a handwritten diary Timmons stated, "I am a child molester."

In a civil suit, settled in August, 2 men charged a monsignor, Timmons and another priest with sexual abuse. The victims received a $500,000 settlement, but prosecutors were unable to pursue criminal charges against him until others came forward with more recent allegations.

Timmons still faces 13 criminal counts of oral copulation and lewd and lascivious conduct involving 4 boys. An additional case involving 3 more victims is pending.

Timmons was freed on a $250,000 property bond. Eleven of the 13 felony counts against him may be invalid because the statute of limitation has expired.

A new California law exempts child molestation cases from the 6 year limit. Timmons has filed a demurrer, which essentially says that the charges are unconstitutional because they came too late. Sources: San Francisco Examiner 12/17/95; San Francisco Chronicle 11/2/95, 11/1/95, 8/10/95; Chicago Sun-Times 12/18/95, 11/2/95; San Jose Mercury News Service 12/16/95, 11/10/95, 11/3/95, 11/1/95

Youth Minister Extradited

An El Cajon youth minister was extradited from Kentucky for 15 charges of committing lewd acts on a child in California.

Trevor Scott Hanes, 28, headed youth activities at the First United Methodist Church for 6 years before resigning and accepting a part-time position as youth minister with the Second Presbyterian Church in Lexington.

Allegations surfaced in November when the boy's parents went to authorities. The teenager said the incidents began when he was 12 and occurred in the church and other places, including a street corner in El Cajon and once in Kentucky when he and 2 older boys traveled to visit Hanes.

Hanes was placed on administrative leave from Second Presbyterian until the investigation concludes.

Parishioners said the youth minister was well-organized, communicated effectively and related extremely well young people. Source: Lexington Herald-Leader 12/7/95

Diocese Failed To Take Action

Civil suits against Father Oliver Francis O'Grady and the Diocese of Stockton have been filed by 2 men who said they were sexually molested as boys.

The suits allege that Cardinal Roger M. Mahoney knew, before and during his leadership of the Roman Catholic diocese, that O'Grady had a prior sex offense in 1976. The suits state that Mahoney and the church failed to take reasonable steps to end the abuse.

One plaintiff, now 25, said O'Grady molested him at Sacred Heart Church in Turlock from 1978-81.

The other plaintiff, now 17, said that he was molested between December '84 and July '91 while O'Grady was pastor of St. Andrew's Church in San Andreas.

The suit filed by the younger plaintiff states that Mahoney ordered O'Grady to undergo a psychological evaluation after he admitted fondling the sleeping boy, 9. An investigation was launched as a result of the evaluation.

The priest is serving a 14-year sentence for criminal charges of molestation. In '93 he pleaded guilty to 4 felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts with 2 children. Source: The Los Angeles Times 7/22/95

Priest & Teen Had Sexual Relationship

The Word of Life Assembly of God church of West Sacramento, 2 ministers and the Assemblies of God Northern California and Nevada District Council Inc. are being sued by the parents of a teenage girl who was involved in a sexual relationship with a minister.

Donald Wisdom pleaded no contest to 11 counts of sex with a minor and was sentenced to 1 year in jail. Wisdom reportedly induced the girl, then 15, into a sexual relationship from October '94 until July '95.

The civil suit claims that church officials knew about the relationship, refused to remove the minister, and attempted to silence the family. The suit seeks $10 million in punitive damages plus general and specific damages for battery, sexual battery, sexual harassment, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, slander and invasion of privacy. Source: The Sacramento Bee 12/27/95

Promiscuous Priest Surrendered

Roman Catholic priest Theodore Llanos, 49, surrendered to police 2 weeks after a warrant was issued for his arrest on 38 counts of child molestation.

Llanos, who served at St. Barnabas and St. Lucy's Catholic churches, allegedly molested 5 boys, ages 11-14, between 1973-90. Fourteen additional victims may testify to corroborate the charges. The additional victims' accusations were not included in the case because a new law states the statute of limitation can only be extended to those of "substantial sexual conduct" and who were minors when they were victimized.

Llanos was released on his own recognizance and on the condition that he not be alone with minors. Arraignment has been postponed until Feb. 5 when a judge will decide if the statute of limitation has run out. Most of the reported incidents occurred in '90.

"(He) was aggressive and forced himself on children like me," said Lawrence Loock, now 35, a former altar boy at St. Bernard's church and school in Los Angeles. Loock said he was 13 when Llanos molested him. Sources: The Los Angeles Times 11/30/95; San Jose Mercury News Search 11/29/95, 11/15/95, 11/14/95

Rev./U.S. Rep. Convicted Of Extortion, Tax Evasion

U.S. Rep. Rev. Walter Tucker III, 38, was convicted on 7 counts of extortion and 2 counts of tax evasion for accepting and demanding bribes as mayor of Compton in 1991-92.

Tucker was elected to Congress in '92 in the 37th congressional district. Charges stem from accusations that he sold his vote on a proposed $250 million energy project.

A federal jury found Tucker, an ordained minister and former Los Angeles county prosecutor, guilty on 9 counts but could not reach a verdict on the 3 other counts of extortion. He faces up to 20 years on each count of extortion and 3 years for each count of tax evasion, and expulsion from Congress.

After the jury's conviction Tucker said, while clutching a bible, "Maybe I'll start a prison ministry--there's a lot of people in there who need to be saved." Source: Sentinel (Santa Cruz) 12/9/95; San Jose Mercury News 12/9/95

FLORIDA

Pastor Refused To Let Teen Leave

Jacksonville pastor Charles Riggleman was charged with attempted false imprisonment and battery, and accused of touching a woman, 19, against her will after he tried to stop her from leaving an anti-abortion haunted house display at The Door Christian Fellowship Church on Halloween.

The cleric said the church will have the display again next year. Source: The Times-Union 1/3/96

Allegations Resurface After 25 Years

In 1967 Kevin Sidaway and 4 other boys told parents that Rev. Rocco Charles D'Angelo had sexually assaulted them.

Church leaders met with the altar boys and their parents to assure them the priest would be sent away and would never work in another church with children again.

For the next 25 years Sidaway believed the priest had been banned from pastoral duties, but D'Angelo continued working in parishes throughout Florida, including 2 assignments as head of Tampa-area churches.

Sidaway, now 39, learned that D'Angelo had merely been transferred from St. Mark's Catholic church. He went to lawyers about his ordeal but was told that too much time had passed and although it was a felony to assault girls in 1967, the law did not mention boys.

Sidaway said D'Angelo would invite altar boys to travel with him to New York every summer. He said he was frequently assaulted in 1967 when he and a friend went with D'Angelo.

"I started thinking, 'What if this is something altar boys go through? What if this is an initiation?'" Sidaway recalled. Source: San Jose Mercury News Service 1/10/96

Man Claimed To Be A Pastor

Salesman Harold Ragin was charged with sexual battery on a child in familial or custodial authority.

According to reports, a teacher contacted authorities after a girl told her of a Nov. 24 incident in which Ragin, 47, assaulted her.

Ragin told police he was an associate pastor of Life Tabernacle Ministries and that he and his wife were watching the girl, 13, while her mother was at work.

He blamed the girl for the incident, but admitted penetrating her with his finger.

Rev. Johnnie Manning of Life Tabernacle Ministries said Ragin is a member of the church but not an associate pastor as he claimed to be. Bail was set at $10,000. Source: The Daily Commercial 12/1/95; 11/30/95

Diocese Shield Outrages Citizen

In a letter to the editor of The Orlando Sentinel a woman from Orlando condemned a recent ruling that shields the local Catholic diocese from negligence in molestation suits.

The ruling "gives child rape constitutionally protected status, as long as it is done by a priest."

The woman cited 3 articles in The Sentinel which showed tolerance to terrorism. "Three levels of terrorism are tolerated, all because of fear and cowardice," the woman wrote. "The Unabomber holds a nation hostage; extreme right-to-life fanatics hold the city at bay; and a powerful church intimidates a judge into a looney-tunes decision." Source: The Orlando Sentinel 10/1/95

Day Care Owner Accused Of Fondling

The In His Steps Christian Academy school and day care center in Ocala was closed after owner Gregory Alan Hoenig, 44, was charged with fondling a teenager.

Hoenig pleaded not guilty to 6 counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a teen, 13, for an alleged incident at his home during a church youth group pool party in July. Source: The Star-Banner 12/28/95

Sexuality Counselor/Teacher Charged

Unitarian Universalist church vice president David Reed Whitehead, 32, was charged with lewd and lascivious assault.

According to allegations made to police, the youth counselor engaged in sexual activity at least 3 times with a boy, 15. The last incident was said to have occurred Dec. 3 when the teen stayed overnight at Whitehead's home.

Whitehead taught a sexuality course for teenagers. Source: The Miami Herald; Chicago Sun-Times 12/13/95

ILLINOIS

Priests Banned For Sexual Misconduct

Roman Catholic priest Rev. Louis Peterson resigned as pastor of St. Teresa Church due to accusations that he sexually abused a boy, 12. Peterson was on administrative leave since charges were filed 2 years ago.

State Attorney Bob Haida said there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Peterson. The priest resigned before the Belleville Diocese's Fitness Review Board released its recommendations of action against Peterson and another priest linked to another sexual scandal.

Rev. Raymond Kownacki has been sued by a Michigan woman who claims the priest raped her and attempted to abort her fetus more than 20 years ago.

Eight priests and a deacon have been permanently removed from their parishes in the diocese for sexual misconduct allegations involving minors since March '93. Sources: The Chicago Sun-Times 11/24/95; The News-Sun 11/25-26/95; The Journal Star 11/25/95

Bible Teacher Had Prior Sex Offenses

Round Lake Community Church Sunday and vacation bible school teacher Joseph Escalera, 51, was sentenced to 7 years in prison for sexually molesting a boy, 10.

In return for a guilty plea to aggravated criminal sexual abuse, other charges against Escalera were dismissed.

The boy and Escalera's mentally disabled roommate participated in the church's youth group. In June and July of '94 the boy befriended the roommate and slept over about once a week.

Police say Escalera admitted he fondled the boy and masturbated while the boy undressed.

At the time of his arrest, Escalera was on 4 years probation for a 1988 conviction of 3 counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault for incidents in Mount Prospect. Source: Waukegan News Sun 12/22/95

Charges Dropped After Resignation

Roman Catholic priest Rev. Gerald Hartz, 62, was charged in September with indecent contact with a girl, 13.

Hartz reportedly touched the teen's breast at the St. Lawrence school in Des Moines.

Charges were dropped after Hartz resigned as parish priest.Source: Omaha World-Herald 12/28/95

LOUISIANA

Methodist Pastor Attacked Librarian. Haughton United Methodist Church pastor Brad Yonley, 30, was charged with attempted aggravated rape and attempted murder after attacking a librarian, 47.

Police said Yonley attacked the librarian in the magazine room after closing.

Yonley was suspended from all ministerial duties. The victim was hospitalized shortly with knife wounds to her face, neck and arms.

MARYLAND

1 Priest Acquitted, 2 Sentenced

Circuit Court Judge William B. Spellbring has sentenced 2 of 4 Roman Catholic priests accused of molesting alter boys in the 60s and 70s.

Rev. Edward T. Hartel, Rev. Edward B. Pritchard, Rev. Thomas S. Schaefer and Rev. Alphonsus M. Smith admitted to misconduct when questioned by the chancellor of the Archdiocese of Washington.

Smith, 71, and Schaefer, 69, were both sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Hartel, 59, who was acquitted in November, was charged with 1 count of unnatural and perverted sex. Factors such as the victim providing only a general description, not knowing the priest's name or what he was wearing, and giving a vague time frame of when the incidents allegedly occurred led the judge to rule that there was reasonable doubt if Hartel was the actual person who committed the acts.

Pritchard, 51, is scheduled for sentencing in February. Source: The Washington Post 12/20/95, 11/23/95

Abused All Kids In His Care

Court records show that a Williamsburg church nursery worker, who pleaded guilty in a child molestation case, admitted to sexually abusing many more children.

Richard W. Weaverling, 18, pleaded guilty to molesting a girl, 6, and received a 10-year suspended sentence in a plea bargain to have charges that he molested a boy, 2, dropped.

Weaverling admitted during court-ordered treatment that he molested every child left in his care.

Terms of the plea agreement provide immunity for Weaverling from further criminal prosecution in the original 2 cases, but an investigation is being conducted concerning other children. Source: The Washington Post 11/11/95

Permit Seeking Preacher Was Armed

Police arrested a man near the White House after they found a rifle in his car. Melvin Doyle Glover, 63, followed a bus through a checkpoint unaware that he was entering a restricted security zone.

Glover told court members he intended to seek a permit to preach near the White House because he was "anointed by the Holy Ghost."

"There's a most high God that's talking through me," he said. "You'll feel the wrath of God in the future."

Glover was charged with 1 felony count of carrying a dangerous weapon and ordered held without bond pending psychiatric evaluations. Source: The Willimantic Chronicle 12/2/95

MASSACHUSETTS

Man Shot By Deacon With Crossbow

Deacon Donald Graham was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole for the '94 murder of a man who flashed his high beams at him.

Graham, 56, pulled a crossbow from his trunk and shot Michael Blodgett, 42, as he approached the deacon's car. The arrow hit his shoulder and the expanding tip scissored the insides, causing Blodgett to bleed to death within hours.

The crossbow was condemned by Pope Innocent II in the Middle Ages as "deathly and hateful to god and unfit to be used among Christians," but could still be used against Muslims and other nonbelievers. Source: The Daily Bulletin 11/17/95

MICHIGAN

8 Women Say Pastor Molested Them

Eight women claim they were molested by Gerald E. Ney insuch places as the pastor's home, a bakery in Metamora and in the Liberty Baptist Church. Most of the victims told police of single incidents that dated back to 1978.

Ney, 73, was charged with 1 count of 1st degree criminal sexual conduct, 4 counts of 2nd degree and 1 count each of 3rd and 4th degree criminal sexual conduct, as well as a criminal misdemeanor of allegedly being a sexually delinquent person.

An investigation began after allegations from a girl, 16, were reported to police. Ney reportedly molested the parish member from 1993-94. The teen said she would sleep over at the pastor's home on Sundays and clean his house for money. She said he would sometimes molest her when his wife left on errands. Source: The Flint Journal

Nun Sexually Abused Teenage Student

A Boston-area woman filed a lawsuit against a nun who reportedly molested her for 6 years.

Marya Danter-Rosenthal, 44, said Sister Gael N. Biondo began molesting her when she was 14 and continued to abuse her until Biondo left the order in the 70s. The woman said Biondo kissed, fondled and performed oral sex on her in the high school and once in the school chapel after a praying session.

Danter-Rosenthal filed additional charges of negligence against the Diocese of Detroit, Dominican High School and the Adrian Dominican Sisters. Source: The Boston Globe 6/22/95

Victim Refused Cash Settlement

Despite financial troubles brought on by his illness from AIDS, Philip Saviano refused to contribute to a diocese campaign to hush the abused. Saviano refused a $15,500 settlement from the Diocese of Worchester because it would require that he keep quiet about the unwanted sexual advances of Father David A. Holley.

The diocese denied knowing about sexual abuse during Holley's tenure from 1962-70, although the priest is currently serving 275 years in prison for molesting children in New Mexico. Saviano said Holley forced him to perform oral sex in the church basement.

Prosecutors indicated that 3 other people who joined the lawsuit against Holley have accepted the agreement. Source: The Boston Globe 11/18/95

MINNESOTA

Appeals Court Reinstates Lawsuit

A lawsuit accusing Rev. Albert Magnuson of sexually abusing a young parishioner more than 25 years ago has been reinstated by the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

The 3-judge panel reversed a lower-court decision and stated it is unclear whether the state's "delayed discovery" statute of limitation had expired.

Magnuson is accused of sexually abusing a boy from ages 12-15. The victim said he did not discuss the events until '91 when his brother said he was also abused by Magnuson. He said the abuse led him to prostitution, a mistaken belief that he was homosexual and to prison for various felonies due to his distress.

Magnuson was the pastor of Redeemer Covenant Church in Brooklyn Park for 25 years before resigning in 1989 when several youths reported that he molested them. He served about 10 months in jail after pleading guilty to a molestation case in '91.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals ordered new trials in May for 2 other former church members who said they were molested by Magnuson. Source: Duluth News Tribune 11/20/95

MISSOURI

Diocese Sues For Reimbursement

The Northern Insurance Co. of New York refused to reimburse the Catholic Diocese of Jefferson City for $60,000 in damages it paid to a woman who claimed a priest sexually abused her.

A federal court panel ruled that the company did not have to reimburse the diocese because the policy would not cover anyone molested while in the care of the insured priest. Source: Las Vegas Sun 11/8/95

NEW JERSEY

Priest Named In Hit & Run

A Catholic priest reportedly ran down a barefoot Hispanic hitchhiker and fled. A woman, 32, was struck by Monsignor Theodore A. Opdenaker's car on I-95 just north of Trenton.

A tractor-trailer driver said he was slowing to pick the woman up but lost sight of her after the priest's car struck her. He said he drove over the woman, unaware that her body had landed in the path of his rig wheels. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver copied the priest's license plate number and police were waiting for Opdenaker, 78, when he returned home. He told police he thought he had hit a deer and pulled over briefly to examine his car.

According to a spokesman for the Division of Motor Vehicles, Openaker was cited in '94 for running a stop sign and was involved in an accident earlier this year but was not cited.

The priest was charged in this incident for leaving the scene of an accident and failing to report an accident. Sources: The Times (Trenton) 12/13/95, 12/12/95, 12/10/95, 12/9/95; Sunday Record (California) 12/10/95

NEW YORK

Boy's Death A Mystery

Gilbert Bonneau died 42 years ago while in the care of St. Coleman's home for Boys and Girls in Albany. The Bonneau family was broken up after the mother was institutionalized and the father was unemployed.

Gilbert's siblings believed he died of natural causes, as listed on his medical records. A sloppy autopsy report mentions swelling of the brain, pneumonia, liver degeneration and a bacterial infection possibly caused by meningitis.

Until a woman, identified only as Marian Maynard, phoned one of the brothers in 1978 no one questioned the death of the welfare waif. Maynard said she had seen the boy, 8, beaten to death with a stick by Sister Fidelia. She said she recalled the incident after seeing the nun in Troy, NY.

Records indicate the nun, born Beatrice Dwyer, left the children's home 3 years before the boy's death and a girl with the last name of Maynard was at St. Coleman's at that time.

Most of those who would have known the circumstances of Gilbert's death are dead. Every path the family has pursued in search for the truth has led to a dead end and the presumed facts of the case are riddled with inconsistencies.

The shoddy autopsy report states the autopsy was performed hours before the actual time Gilbert died, according to his death certificate.

Former residents say they have terrible memories of the place, but the home's lawyer, Paul F. Donohue, Sr., praised the "loving" efforts of the nuns because his profoundly retarded son lived at St. Coleman's for 44 years. Source: New York Times 12/26/95

PENNSYLVANIA

Christian School Founder Guilty of Sexual Abuse

Keystone Christian Academy founder Roger B. Smith pleaded guilty to 3 counts of 1st degree misdemeanors including indecent assault and sexual abuse of children.

Assistant District Attorney Robert Kochems contended that Smith touched girls, 7 and 8, under their clothes while videotaping them in his office in '94.

A police affidavit states that Smith made a girl "swear on God's grave" not to tell. Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 11/25/95

Minister Sentenced For Raping Girl

Pastor of the First Church of Christ in Lock Haven attempted suicide at a city park last June and 5 admitted in a written confession to repeatedly raping a girl, 8, between Nov. '94-May '95.

Darran Andrew Chick, 32, pleaded guilty to 3 counts of rape, 1 count each of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and aggravated indecent assault. He was sentenced to 14-62 years in prison.

Chick was originally charged with 56 counts each of rape and statutory rape, and 20 counts each of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and indecent assault. Source: The Patriot-News 11/28/95

Funds Solicited For Phony Shrine

Rev. Francis G. Bolek, 35, solicited funds for more than 6 years to supposedly buy a shrine at Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Roman Catholic priest admitted that he spent $340,000 of the donations on vacations to Hawaii and New Zealand; a home in Florida; entertainment; clothing; and gold jewelry.

Bolek pleaded guilty to 1 count of mail fraud and faces up to 5 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 and an order to make restitution. He is free on $50,000 bond.

Rev. Bernard Kaczmarzyk, 66, pastor of the church since 1970, pleaded guilty to 4 counts of mail fraud. The priest spent $495,000 of the donations on gambling, a home in Florida and a $48,000 automobile.

Kaczmarzyk set up the bogus Mary Mystical Rose Foundation for shrine donations in 1987 along with Michelle Teff and Dr. Joseph Teff of Middleton, WI. Michelle Teff identified herself as a nun in the mailings to solicit money for the shrine. The letters said the donations would be used to buy a shrine from the diocese of Pittsburgh.

The priests were reported to federal authorities by the diocese in March '93 after irregularities showed up at Holy Name during a routine audit in July '92. Sources: West Hills News Record 12/3/95; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 12/5/95, 11/10 /95, 11/11/95; Clearfield Progress 11/11/95

Church Volunteer Charged in Sex Case

A volunteer for the Lancaster Brethen in Christ Church was charged with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and endangering the welfare of a child.

Andrew Lee Tonsager, 18, was arrested in November when allegations surfaced that he performed oral sex on a boy, 4, in the church.

Tonsager defaulted on $10,000 cash bail and has been committed to Lancaster County Prison until a district court hearing is scheduled Source: New Era 11/21/95

Assault Charges Dropped

A man, 20, reported Stephen David Rambler, 32, sexually assaulted him at the minister's home on November 4.

Ramber, pastor of the Church on the Rock in Wrightsville, was arrested 3 weeks after the reported incident and released on $5,000 bail. He was charged with 1 count of sexual assault and 1 count of indecent assault.

Five days after charges were filed, the victim, who had known Rambler for about 5 years, called the Lancaster County District Attorney's office and dropped the charges.

Assistant District Attorney Randy Miller said the man was worried about publicity and felt a lot of pressure. Source: New Era 11/30/95, 11/28/95

RHODE ISLAND

Woman Claims Priest Drugged Her

A Burrillville woman is the second to sue Monsignor Louis Ward Dunn, 74, and the Rhode Island Diocese. Mary Ryan, 34, said Dunn sexually abused her and church officials ignored her complaints.

Phyllis Hutnak, 44, the first to file charges, said Dunn gave her prescription medicine and alcohol and then had intercourse with and performed other "lewd and lascivious acts to and/or with" her several times. The alleged incidents occurred at St. Thomas' church in 1967.

Dunn was placed on administrative leave in March '94. Source: The Providence Journal-Bulletin 12/8/95

Victim Creates Survivors Network

Frank Fitzpatrick helped bring down one of the country's most notorious child molesters, and now he's the helping hand for many victims throughout the world.

In '93 Fitzpatrick publicly named Rev. James Porter as a pedophile who drugged and raped him. His charges led 130 others to make similar accusations ranging from groping and pressing against children from behind to forcing himself on top of them and raping them. Porter, who is currently in a Massachusetts prison, admitted assaulting up to 100 children.

The Fitzpatrick crusade led to the formation of a support network of about 2,500 people throughout the United States and some in Australia and South Africa.

Some victims call Survivor Connections for emotional support, but most seek help prosecuting their abusers.

"Everybody has the same fear, shame, emotions and hurt," said Fitzpatrick. "A lot of people call who haven't told anybody before. They haven't told their spouse or parents yet. They want to know that their feelings are not different from everybody else's." Source: Boston Globe 12/17/95

SOUTH DAKOTA

Church Cleared In Molestation Case

The Rapid City Catholic Diocese was cleared in a civil suit filed by a former altar boy who said he was molested by Rev. William Lambert.

Robert Koenig sued Lambert and the Diocese in '92 for the alleged 17 years of sexual abuse he endured from the priest. He sought $1.4 million in damages for the 13-14 incidents of molestation that continued from the late 50s and ended in 1975. He said the abuse led him to severe alcoholism and emotional problems that hampered a healthy, happy life.

Diocese attorney Jeffrey Viken said church officials did not know the abuse was going on.

A 7th Circuit Court jury awarded Koenig $200,000 in punitive damages and $42,000 in actual damages and cleared the diocese from responsibility. No criminal charges have been filed against Lambert.

Jurors determined that the statute of limitation did not invalidate the victim's accounts of sexual abuse because Lambert concealed facts concerning the victim.

During testimony Lambert, who is no longer active in ministry, used his fingers to carefully count how many other priests he told about the sexual encounters. He remembered telling 5 priests. The priest told prosecutors he was infatuated with Koenig and lusted after the boy. He also graphically detailed an incident in which he tied up Koenig and performed oral sex on and masturbated the boy.

Koenig, now 49, burst into tears when he trecalled an incident in which Lambert raped him at the church rectory in 1958 and then took him home to have dinner with Koenig's parents.

"We went to dinner, and he sat at the head of the table and my father sat at the other--and I could feel the overwhelming shame dripping off me," Koenig said. "I wondered if anyone could tell."

Koenig said he confessed each sex act Lambert performed on him to about 17 other priests. One priest reportedly told him that he should stop sinning and take up stamp collecting. Source: Rapid City Journal 12/12/95, 12/9/95, 12/8/95, 12/7/95, 12/6/95

TEXAS

Conspiracy To Harass Ministers?

Rev. David Brace was arrested along with Shannon Knox, a Houston financial consultant, and Roy Clarkston, a San Antonio deal maker, and charged with 3 counts of laundering money and 1 count of conspiring to launder money.

Although Brace admitted laundering money for people he believed were Colombian drug cartel members--and there are prosecution witnesses' testimony and surveillance videotapes that clearly show his actions--he contends he's a naive man of God who was merely, and desperately, trying to refinance the $10 million debt on his Faith of Metro Church in Wichita.

The church defaulted on more than $7 million in church bonds before Brace paid Mike Clark, owner of First Diversified Financial Services of Houston, $750,000 to prospect new investors. The assignment was given to Knox, 25, who introduced Brace to Clarkston, 59, who said he knew of some foreigners who wanted to invest $40 million in U.S. properties.

The investor's were actually undercover agents who had been tipped that Clarkston was helping drug dealers launder money.

"I prayed. God said He put this together . . . so I feel comfortable because of that," Brace said on video during his first meeting with investors.

Defense attorney Ray Barrera Sr. said he would attempt to prove to jurors that Brace's arrest was an elaborate government conspiracy designed to harass ministers who gain too much power. Source: The Wichita Eagle 12/24/95, 12/17/95

WASHINGTON

Couple Acquitted of Sex Charges

Robert and Connie Roberson were acquitted by jury on charges that they were involved in a church child-sex ring in Wenatchee.

The couple still face charges of perjury and theft in an unrelated welfare fraud case. Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer 12/12/95; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 12/10/95

WEST VIRGINIA

Boy Raped Twice At Knifepoint

North Charleston Baptist Church youth leader Gerald Mollohan, 47, was convicted by a jury on 2 counts of rape and received consecutive sentences of 15-35 years for each assault.,

The teen, 16, testified that Mollohan, a 28-year postal employee, befriended several brothers through a church youth group and bought 1 of them gifts and took him on a trip to Disney World.

The victim said he resisted Mollohan's sexual advances several times before the youth leader raped him at knifepoint on 2 separate nights at the leader's home in December '93. Source: The Charleston Gazette 11/7/95

Hare Krishna Conviction Overturned

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the '91 conviction of a Hare Krishna leader because a trial judge allowed "prejudice" evidence of child molesting, homosexuality and mistreatment of women into the case.

Swami Bhaktipada, who was indicted as Keith Gordon Ham, was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison for mail fraud, 3 counts of racketeering and conspiring to kill a member of his sect. Bhaktipada, founder of the New Vrindaban community 85 miles southwest of Pittsburgh, faces a second trial for the charges. Source: Charleston Daily Mail 11/27/95

Teacher Slapped By Gospel Singer Parent

Gospel singer James Gill was convicted in magistrate court on 1 charge of battery of a school employee and was sentenced to 1 year in jail.

Gill admitted taking a swing at, but not making contact with, an Oak Hill Elementary School teacher when he found out his daughter would not be promoted to 2nd grade.

Billy Maddy testified that Gill slapped her with an open hand on May creating a bruised left cheek and eye.

Gill, lead singer for the Eddie and the One Way Flights Gospel Heirs, appealed to the circuit court, but the decision was upheld. Gill was freed on $2,500 bond and faces a $500 fine for the assault. Source: Register-Herald Reporter 12/24/95

WISCONSIN

Probation For Sexual Exploitation

Catholic priest Edward Witczak, 61, was sentenced to 1 month in jail and ordered to perform 300 hours of community service forr charges of sexually exploited a parishioner.

Brown County Circuit Court Judge Richard Dietz sentenced Witczak to 3 years in prison then stayed the sentence and placed him on 3 years' probation instead.

Witczak admitted to having a 2-year relationship with the woman, now 29, who sought his help as a therapist for marital problems and guilt over sexual abuse she she suffered at age 5. The woman said she called off the relationship with the priest when she realized it was ruining her marriage, which has since ended.

Witczak pleaded no contest to 4 counts of sexual contact without consent on 4 occasions with the victim in '91 and '93. Probation conditions require Witczak to receive counseling and have no contact with the victim. Witczak also agreed to resign as pastor of St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in Green Bay. Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 1/3/95

BRAZIL

Evangelist Investigated For Fraud, Tax Charges

Authorities believe the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God takes in $800 million a year, and they want to know how. It has 300 churches in 33 countries, including the U.S. It also owns the 3rd largest TV network in Brazil, a bank, 35 radio stations, 4 newspapers and other businesses.

Brazil's leading evangelist, Rev. Edir Macedo, is under investigation for suspicion of evading taxes, defrauding followers and receiving money from the Cali cocaine cartel in Columbia. No charges have been filed.

The priest was videotaped dancing on Rio's Copacabana beach while his pastors joked about undressing at a hotel party in Jerusalem for the Holy Land tour. Also caught on video was Macedo and colleagues making faces and grinning as they counted donations and proudly displayed a $100 bill after a church inauguration in New York. Source: Associated Press 12/26/95; San Jose Mercury News Service 12/26/95

CANADA

Mt. Cashel Abuse Settlement

The first cash settlement in the Mount Cashel orphanage scandal has rocked Newfoundland.

The most prominent and vocal victim, Shane Earle, is to receive an undisclosed settlement, reported to be about $400,000, in one lump sum from the Newfoundland government and the Congregation of Christian Brothers, the order who ran the institution.

Earle, who filed the civil suit in 1989, suffered 15 years of beatings and sexual assaults after being taken from a broken home in the 70s and placed in the orphanage.

Nine Christian Brothers have been convicted of sexually and physically abusing boys at the orphanage. At least 30 other lawsuits are pending.

"I look at my daughter and I see how innocent she is and I say I was like that once, but I was abused and I was violated and I was tormented," said Earle. "How can anybody in their right mind violate such a precious thing?" Sources: The Globe & Mail (Toronto) 9/19/95; Vancouver Sun 9/20/95

Archdioceses' Penance: Fund Welfare Study

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John's in Newfoundland has picked up the tab for a study of child welfare issues organized by Kathleen Kufeldt.

The sign of charity comes years after allegations of abuse by the Christian Brothers that occurred at the Mount Cashel orphanage in the 70s. At least 30 lawsuits are slowly making their way through court.

The Archdiocese is paying Kufeldt $1 million to cover her annual salary and expenses. Her study plots to examine child-welfare cases in Newfoundland and attempt to learn if economic hardships affect ab1use rates. Source: The Vancouver Sun 11/27/95

New Sex Trial For Bishop

The Canadian Supreme Court ruled recently that Roman Catholic Bishop Hubert Patrick O'Connor, 67, be retried on sex charges.

In '91 he was charged with raping 2 workers at St. Joseph's school and assaulting 2 students between 1963-67. Charges were stayed in '92 when a judge ruled the prosecution had failed to disclose therapist's notes on the complainants to the defense.

A new trial was ordered by the British Columbia Appeals Court in '93 and was upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada when O'Connor appealed in '95.

The ruling contends that anyone accused of sex crimes has the right to obtain relevant information about their accusers, including a victim's therapy notes.

A Canadian tabloid columnist responded to the court's action by saying, "It's bad enough that women and children are targets of abuse by fathers, husbands, bosses and boyfriends. But for women to be further victimized by the country's top court! It's horrifying." Source: The Province (B.C.) 12/15/95

More Christian Brothers Charges

Additional sexual assault charges against former members of the Roman Catholic lay order have been filed in one of the largest Canadian sexual abuse scandals in history.

Eight men face a total of 48 criminal charges ranging from indecent assault to buggery. According to court records, the men worked as Christian Brothers and civilian staff at St. John's Training School in Uxbridge, Ont., a school where boys who were truant or delinquent were sent.

A 5-year investigation was spurred by allegations of abuse spanning several decades resulting in 99 charges against 2 members, 9 former members of the religious order, Brothers of the Christian Schools, and 2 civilians.

Six former Christian brothers and staff have been convicted and others are awaiting trial. Source: Vancouver Sun 12/8/95

Trial For Female Pastor

Rev. Joanne Thompson-Millar, 37, a youth pastor for the Victory Christian Centre, was charged with sexual exploitation, sexual assault and sexual interference.

A girl, 15, said she was assaulted by Millar at the pastor's home and at a trailer park in north-central Ontario. Source: The Ottawa Citizen 10/7/95

Numerology Cult Sex Scandal

An investigation of Vancouver's Kabalarian community has grown into the largest police sex-assault probe in the city's history. Ivon Shearing, leader of the 500-member numerology cult, was charged in December with 18 counts of sexual assault against 9 victims.

Shearing was released on $25,000 bail and ordered to have no contact with 30 female followers he allegedly fondled and forced into oral sex and intercourse. A preliminary hearing is set for July.

Additional charges for assaults on 2 people are pending and an investigation continues into allegations made by another woman.

"We have information from victims who are naming other victims who are naming other victims," said Constable Anne Drennan. "It has just mushroomed."

The Kabalarian community believes in numerology and many adopt new names to improve numerical values. They are encouraged to avoid meat, alcohol and tobacco. Source: The Province 12/18/95, 12/17/95

COLUMBIA

Priests Swindled $5 Million

Caracol radio network reported in October that Bogota's prestigious St. Thomas Catholic University filed fraud charges against 6 priests who reportedly stole $5 million from a university bank account.

Apparently the priests opened an account in their names instead of the university's. Four priests have reportedly fled the country. Source: The Orlando Sentinel 10/7/95

ENGLAND

Bishop Says Adultery Is In Our Genes

During an Edinburgh seminar Anglican Bishop Rev. Richard Holloway said, "The church should not condemn (sexual) affairs as sinful and wrong."

The head of the Scottish Episcopal Church also reportedly said, "For the human race to survive we must go out and sow our seeds. God knew that when he made us. So, he has given us a built in sex drive to go out and propagate as widely as possible. He has given us promiscuous genes."

Reactions to Holloway's remarks had some church leaders boiling that his comments were an outright rejection of the Seventh Commandment ban on adultery.

He affirmed on BBC radio that adultery was a sin but men and woman have a conflict between natural instincts and their need for a loving relationship. Source: Boston Globe 5/18/95

IRELAND

Still Paying The Price

Dublin Archbishop Desmond Connell admitted to personally sanctioning a loan of £27,500 in '93 to Sutton Curate Fr. Ivan Payne to compensate a former altar boy who had accused the priest of sexual abuse.

Connell told RTE television last May that he had not compensated anyone and accused the media of "ferreting" out stories. The payment came to light after an RTE's "Primetime" investigation in which information that the money loaned to the priest came from a special church fund was aired. Source: Irish Echo 10/4-10/95

Left To The Mercy Of The Press

Almost a year after the Irish government was toppled by the sex scandals of Father Brendan Smyth, cleric abuse accusations have doubled and the Catholic Church is paying the price.

Smyth, who is currently serving 4 years in prison for abusing children of both sexes for decades, recently pleaded guilty to 26 additional charges of indecent assault.

A Detroit News article stated that victims of priests in the Dublin diocese were reported to have received sums of $77,500 and $46,500 in October.

The Guardian reported in an October article that 2 new sexual assault cases brought to court by former altar boys, who allege they were assaulted in the 70s, were also compensated.

Horror stories have unfolded to the media. Alan O'Sullivan told the Irish Times the series of alleged abuses he received from Father Patrick Hughes. The newspaper dedicated nearly a page O'Sullivan's allegations that he was abused so badly that on one occasion the priest sodomized him and proceeded to choke him until he blacked out. He also stated that Hughes forced him at ages 9-11 to pose for pornographic photos.

"The terrifying thing was that I had told everyone and nothing had happened, and here he is again," said O'Sullivan when recalling seeing the priest years later. Hughes paid £50,000 in compensation to O'Sullivan with no assistance from the Dublin diocese.

Between 30-40 priests and monks on both sides of the Irish border have been investigated or have appeared in court over the last 3 years.

Even after psychiatric evaluations some priests are being returned to their ministerial duties. In the United States an estimated $650 million in compensation and legal fees was paid to victims by the Catholic church for clerical abuse since the 80s. Still yet, the faithful flock to see Pope John Paul and donate weekly to churches with known abusers in the pulpit. Sources: Guardian Weekly 10/22/95; The Detroit News 10/16/95

JAPAN

Leader Collected Pubic Hair Souvenir's

The Reuter's News Service reported that members of Japan's Aum Shinri Kyo cult said their leader, Shoko Asahara, collected pubic hair as souvenirs from each of the 30-40 female followers with whom he had intercourse with.

Asahara reportedly put the strands in small plastic bags and placed in bottles labeled with each woman's name.

The cult is accused of the '95 Tokyo subway gas attack. Source: News Of The Weird 12/12/95