‘Fight Church’ founding pastor pleads guilty to child sex abuse
3 years after son owned abuse charge
By Leonardo Blair, Christian Post
Friday, July 02, 2021
Joe Burress (R) is the founding pastor of Victory Church in Rochester, N.Y. His son, Paul Burress (L), brought national attention to the church for its mixed martial arts program that helped it become popularly known as the "Fight Church." | Screenshots/WHAM/YouTube
Joe Burress, the 71-year-old founding pastor of Victory Church in Rochester, New York, also known as the “Fight Church,” has pled guilty to one of two second-degree sexual abuse charges against him three years after his son Paul Burress pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual abuse.
Court documents cited in a recent WHAM report say two teenagers accused Joe Burress of sexually abusing them in separate incidents while they were under the age of 14. One of the accusers says she was abused between Sept. 1, 2018, and Aug. 15, 2020, while the other said she was abused between Jan. 1, 2014, and Jan. 31, 2017.
Joe Burress is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 2 in Pittsford Town Court but will remain out of custody on his own recognizance until the hearing, WHAM reports.
In March 2018, Paul Burress, who was previously charged with four counts of forcible touching after allegedly groping three women in his Henrietta, New York, home, pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual abuse, a misdemeanor.
Paul Burress, who also served as pastor of Victory Church, gained national attention in 2014 after being featured in a documentary on mixed martial arts called "Fight Church."
Allegations of sexual abuse and claims that he enjoyed life as a swinger dogged his time at the church's helm.
“In 2009, Paul showed me fully nude photos of his wife, and also showed me a pornographic video of him having sex with his wife. This occurred on several occasions that year,” an unidentified source wrote in a letter sent to the leadership team of Victory Church in 2013. “I was a single, 21 year-old at the time. This weighed on me for years, until I couldn't take it anymore and eventually left Victory because of it. A person should be able to trust his pastor. I could not. 1 Cor 4:2 says it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy."
While the church is currently led by Pastor Alex True and his wife, Sarah, the church has not escaped its abusive past.
Filed on Monday, court documents allege that the church allowed and even encouraged multiple men with histories of sexual abuse in the past to serve on staff and look after girls in unsupervised settings, according to a Democrat & Chronicle report.
The allegations were made in three new lawsuits filed under the Child Victims Act in New York State Supreme Court in Monroe County.
Ashton-Krebs, 56, of Penfield, New York, and two other women alleged the church’s leadership created a haven for sexual predators throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
Ashton-Krebs recounts how she was groomed by her abuser, who she married after getting pregnant at 19. The three women seek judgments against the church with compensatory and punitive damages to be determined at trial.
When asked about the lawsuits at his home, Joe Burress said he had heard about them but told the Democrat & Chronicle he did not think the claims were valid.
"In all honesty, I don’t even understand the story. It’s silly stuff," Joe Burress said. "It just sounds like that three girls got together and decided, ‘Hey, let’s see if we could get some money.’"
Ah! There's nothing like a pastor's heart!
NDP MPs call for investigation of child abuse at residential schools
MPs are calling for an independent prosecutor with power to lay charges
Darren Major ·
CBC News ·
Posted: Jul 08, 2021 11:48 AM ET
NDP MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq speaks as NDP MP Charlie Angus holds a photo of Fr. Arthur Lavoie, who died in 1991 and was named in over 300 reports of physical and sexual abuse. The MPs are calling on Justice Minister Lametti to investigate crimes against Indigenous people at residential schools. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
WARNING: This story contains details some readers may find distressing.
NDP MPs Mumilaaq Qaqqaq and Charlie Angus are calling on Justice Minister David Lametti to launch an investigation into "crimes against humanity" in Canada following preliminary discoveries of unmarked burial sites at former residential school sites.
The MPs said Lametti must appoint an independent prosecutor with the power to bring to court those involved in the abuse of children at residential schools.
"Enough is enough. Indigenous people need truth and justice," Qaqqaq told a press conference this morning.
During the press conference, Qaqqaq and Angus displayed photos of two priests who have been accused of sexual and physical abuse at residential schools: Father Johannes Rivoire and the late Father Arthur Lavoie.
Lavoie was named in more than 300 claims of physical and sexual abuse during an OPP investigation into St. Anne's Indian Residential School in northern Ontario. He died in 1991.
Rivoire, originally from France, is accused of sex-related offences connected to his time in Naujaat and Rankin Inlet in the 1960s.
RCMP issued a warrant for his arrest in 1998, five years after he returned to France. For nearly two decades, people in Nunavut have been pushing for Rivoire's extradition from that country.
"The abuse at his hands has caused generations of trauma," Qaqqaq said.
Father Johannes Rivoire moved to Nunavut in the 1960s and stayed there until returning to France in 1993.
(Submitted by Lieve Halsberghe)
Two years ago, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) said a 2017 assessment of Rivoire's case found "there was no longer a reasonable prospect of conviction regarding the charges."
"Instead of facing justice for his crimes, Rivoire is living a luxurious retirement in a home for priests ... and the federal institution is doing nothing about it," Qaqqaq said.
The MPs want a special prosecutor with the authority to seek advice from the International Criminal Court, to subpoena documents from the federal government and church institutions and to make those documents public.
Qaqqaq said the investigation shouldn't stop with residential schools but should extend to other institutions such as federal day schools, which operated separately from residential schools but were run by many of the same groups.
Qaqqaq called on Lametti directly to act.
"Minister Lametti, don't you dare tell me you can't do this. You have the authority. You just refuse to use it and that needs to end today," she said.
When asked if Lametti would appoint a special prosecutor, the minister's office said he does not have the power to initiate criminal investigations.
""This is an exclusive power of the police," Lametti's press secretary Chantalle Aubertin said in an emailed statement. "We will consider all options that will allow the survivors, their communities and the country to move forward on the path to healing and reconciliation."
The federal government has pledged $27 million to help Indigenous communities identify burial sites. Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said recently that dollar amount will grow.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission did examine and report on the history and legacy of Canada's residential school system. Angus said that was only a first step.
"(The TRC) did not have a mandate to pursue justice and to go after the perpetrators. Canadians and Indigenous communities are calling for justice," he said.
Nunavut, Canada
West Chester, Pa Christian Teacher Charged With Child Sex Abuse
A first-grader was the alleged victim of sexual assault by a former teacher at
West Chester Christian School, Chester County's D.A. said.
Marlene Lang, Patch Staff
Posted Fri, Jul 9, 2021 at 11:17 am ET
WEST CHESTER, PA — A former teacher at West Chester Christian School and a current pastor of a Baptist church is accused of sexually abusing a first-grader during the 2007-08 school year, and has been charged, the Chester County District Attorney's Office said Friday morning.
The D.A.'s report said Boston is currently a pastor at the Bible Baptist Church in Shickshinny, a borough in Luzerne County.
Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan said, "This is the second teacher we have arrested in a week for sexually abusing a child. We are waging a war on child abuse and we will come after every single pedophile in this county. This epidemic must end. The impact of child abuse is catastrophic. My office stands with all survivors and we will do everything in our power to get justice."
The complaint against Boston states that in June 2021, West Goshen Township Police received a report alleging a 21-year old victim had been sexually abused by a teacher when the victim was in first grade at West Chester Christian School on Paoli Pike in West Chester. Boston was a teacher at the school from 1979 to 2008, the report said.
The victim was abused as many as three times by the defendant during the 2007-08 school year, the criminal complaint alleges. The victim recalled one incident in the gym before school started in the morning when the victim stuck his tongue out at another student. Boston, who was monitoring the students, saw the encounter and ordered the victim to follow him to the gym's basement.
The report said Boston took the victim to a room, where he shut the door and told him to remove his belt and pull his pants down. Boston first performed oral sex on the victim before telling the victim to perform oral sex on him, the criminal complaint alleges.
West Goshen detectives arrested the defendant in Shickshinny on July 7. He is being held at Chester County Prison on $50,000 cash bail. The preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 19.
West Goshen Township Police are investigating. Christine Abatemarco is the assigned prosecutor. Anyone with information about this case is urged to call West Goshen Police Detective William Cuddhy at (610) 696-7400.
Ryan said today, "I encourage anyone who may have information about this case to contact the West Goshen Township Police Department at (610) 696-7400 as soon as possible."
If you suspect child abuse, call Childline at 1-800-932-0313.
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