Wolves Among the Sheep > Sunday School Teacher; CoE Bishop; Penn Pastor; Boise Pastor; NJ Youth Pastor - All Creeps

Alabama Sunday school teacher who raped 7y/o girl in 1972 denied pardon

By Carol Robinson | crobinson@al.com

Oct 20, 2020

A former Sunday school teacher convicted of raping a 7-year-old girl in 1972 was denied a pardon on Tuesday.

Leon Albert Prince, 76, sought a pardon from the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles and was a granted a hearing, which was held today in Montgomery. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, the hearing was closed to the public – including the victim – and was not made available virtually.

Prince served 15 years of a 30-year sentence for the sexual abuse of Allison Black Cornelius, the executive director of the Greater Birmingham Human Society who has long been outspoken about the horrendous crimes committed against her. She has expressed her anger that Prince applied for a pardon without ever asking for her forgiveness. "

"It seems to me the very first person he would want to get a pardon from would be me or one of his other 52 victims,'' Cornelius previously told AL.com. “It makes me angry.”

"Thank you to everyone who contacted the board. I know his victims who want to remain anonymous would tell you the same,'' Cornelius posted on Facebook Tuesday. “We appreciate knowing we’re believed and supported.”

Repeated efforts to reach Prince for comment have been unsuccessful and he did not state a reason in his application for seeking the pardon. Cornelius two weeks ago delivered an emotional “message to my rapist” which she said she knew Prince would be watching.

“I wanted to say to you personally, I am so tired of having to monitor and babysit you,” she said in the Facebook video. “I have heard from 52 of your victims since you were convicted in 1991. I don’t understand, why did you think it was a good idea to ask the state of Alabama for a pardon before you asked me, or my mom, or dad. You were my youth pastor at Tarrant First Baptist Church when you did that. My dad and my mom trusted you. When you did this, you destroyed our lives.”

It was the national attention surrounding Prince’s trial that brought out dozens of victims – both boys and girls – who told of similar abuse by Prince. Cornelius, however, was the only one to take him to court.

Cornelius was 7 years old in 1972 when Prince, her Sunday school teacher, molested and raped her. She has said in previous interviews that he headed the bus ministry at Tarrant First Baptist Church and told her if she did not do what he wanted her to, and if she told anyone what he was doing, he would kill her dog.

It wasn’t until 20 years later, when Cornelius could no long bear the thought that he could be harming other children, that she came forward. It became a landmark case that made national headlines when she testified against Prince in a Jefferson County court. Prince was convicted, sentenced to 30 years and served 15, leaving prison in November 2006.

Just a year after his release, Cornelius discovered that Prince was working as a volunteer with Montgomery’s Frazer Memorial Baptist Church, and volunteering with youth male sex offenders at the state’s Mount Meigs Youth Center. A required background check was never conducted, and Prince had not been required to register as a sex offender under a loophole in the law.

There is much more to this story on al . com

Church of England bishop sexually abused children and adults for 15 years

Church officials mishandled allegations from late 1970s until 2012, report finds

Andy Gregory, Independent

1 day ago

A Church of England bishop used his position to carry out “appalling” acts of sexual abuse against vulnerable children and young people for more than 15 years, an independent investigation has found.

The former Bishop of Chester, Hubert Victor Whitsey, “groomed his victims, and often their families to enable this abuse”, according to the report, frequently targeting orphans or children abandoned by their parents.

At least 18 victims have been identified, but investigators said “we are conscious that there may be more”.

Whitsey’s campaign of abuse ran from 1966 until after he retired in 1981. He died without facing justice in 1987, aged 71.

He faced justice! His sentence is being carried out beneath our feet.

The probe found that victims’ disclosures were mishandled by church officials right up until 2012 – nearly 50 years after the abuse began. The church had missed opportunities for justice since the late 1970s, the report found.

The findings will make “deeply uncomfortable reading for the church”, said the report’s authors – retired judge David Pearl and former Sussex Police detective inspector Kate Wood.

They concluded that victims’ suffering was “clearly made worse by the poor response of church officers at different times when they had the courage to come forward”.

"[Whitsey] used his position in the church to abuse both prospective ordinands, and children and young persons, many of whom were particularly vulnerable as they were experiencing personal family difficulties, such as the death or departure of a parent," they said.

Whitsey abused his first known victim nearly a decade before he was consecrated as Bishop of Chester in 1974, sexually assaulting four people while serving as vicar at Langley All Saints and Martyrs in the years prior.

One victim, who was abused in the late 1970s, said they want “the church to have more accountability”. “We want them to go towards mandatory reporting and a regulation that is independent of the church,” they said in a statement issued through their lawyer Slater and Gordon.

“At the moment it is like the church are marking their own homework.”

The current Bishop of Chester expressed “horror and shame” at the report’s findings, adding: “Our apologies, which are freely and sincerely given, must be backed up by action”.

“I am grateful to all those who have already helped us start to change, to Judge Pearl for this report, and most of all to the incredibly brave survivors who have spoken up and made us listen,” Mark Tanner said.

The Church of England first apologised in 2017, after a police investigation was launched into Whitsey.

Earlier this month, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) found that the church forgave paedophiles after they expressed remorse and allowed them to carry on working instead of protecting children.

The inquiry found that between the 1940s and 2018, nearly 400 clergy members or people in positions of trust were convicted of child sex offences, concluding that “the culture of the Church of England facilitated it, becoming a place where abusers could hide”.

One person abused by Whitsey in their teens said in 2017: “When I met Victor Whitsey I was young, innocent, and naive. I longed for his blessing to achieve my wish of a future as a vicar, serving God and the community.

“He told me he agreed I had a calling from God. He also told me he had the power to give me everything I wanted in life and the power to take it all away. He then proceeded to abuse me sexually and psychologically. I was powerless to stop him.

“Twenty years after my abuse, I suffered a complete mental nervous breakdown which included attempted suicide. Because of the sexual abuse I suffered at the hands of Victor Whitsey I lost my faith, my chosen life as a vicar, my self-belief, my freedom from worry and my dignity,” they added.

“I cannot see my abuser face trial in a court on earth but I hope that by a public acknowledgement of what Whitsey did to us, the church can learn that they need to adopt a new culture of openness.”

Responding to the report, the church’s lead safeguarding bishop, Jonathan Gibbs, said: “Our focus must lie today with the survivors and victims of Whitsey, recognising the impact that this horrendous abuse has had on their lives, and with deep gratitude for their courage in engaging with the independent review.

“We are taking action to ensure that the church is a safer place for all and we will be using these recommendations to help us drive change – and some of these already link up with existing work.”

He added: “We will be taking very seriously criticisms in the report about how and where we failed to respond, and we recognise that an urgent response to the identified failures in safeguarding practice is necessary. We commit ourselves above all to doing all we can to support the victims and survivors of Whitsey’s abuse in the future.”

 A Pennsylvania pastor has been arrested on charges that

he sexually abused a minor

Delaware County district attorney Jack Stollsteimer announced the charges against 70-year-old Edward Lilly of Boothwyn, Pa. on Monday.

Authorities allege that Lilly, a pastor at the Christian Church of Chester, met the victim at a supermarket in 2017 when she was 16 years old.

Over the next year, investigators say Lilly groomed the victim for a sexual relationship, which then began when she was 17.

The age of consent in Pennsylvania is 16. While his actions were grossly immoral, it's not clear to me that they were illegal, even the porn images. 

Some churches wonder why they never see a move of God, or rarely get answered prayers. Meanwhile, wolves like this are scattered throughout the church proper and most congregants and elders don't have any level of discernment. People, we have a lot of purification to go through and little time to do it.

"In Delaware County, we have zero tolerance for anyone who wants to sexually abuse or exploit our children," said Stollsteimer. "We will hunt you down and we will bring you to justice."

According to the criminal complaint, Lilly filmed the child during sexual acts and sent and received sexual videos and photos.

Police said the sexual encounters occurred in the park, hotels and a recreation vehicle that he rented.

"That's shocking," said neighbors Jack and Gail Grosso. "He seemed like a very nice person that you would say hello to all the time. It just goes to show you don't know, but I'm hoping it's not true."

Lilly was a pastor at the Christian Church of Chester, formerly known as the White Rock Christian Church, since 1993. Off-camera, a church member said Lilly suddenly resigned about a month ago.

Neighbors said that's around the same time they saw police at his house, where officers say they discovered pornographic videos and photos with the minor.

"They were there for like two to three hours and then they left," said Gail Grosso. "And we had no idea, we didn't want to dare ask them because we didn't know what was going on - but we were shocked."

Authorities say Lilly gave the victim approximately $2,000 in cash and gifts over the course of their relationship. Those gifts are what ultimately led to the charges.

"The defendant, Lilly, came to believe that his giving of gifts might be seen - if the affair were known - to be paying for sex," Stollsteimer said. "So what he did was, at the advice of his counsel, he came to the Upper Chichester Police Department and made a statement giving details about the sexual encounters he'd had with the juvenile victim."

Lilly was arrested at his home on Monday morning. He is now free on $100,000 bail.

"While we understand that the District Attorney's office and the detectives involved have a duty to investigate such matters, we do not believe that their conclusions are accurate and we look forward to testing the evidence in a courtroom," said Lilly's attorney, Arik T. Benari.

Lilly's church did not return our request for comment. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for November 10.

Chester, Pa

Ex-Boise, Id pastor sentenced for sexual abuse of teen girl,

could be out of prison in a year

BY RUTH BROWN, Idaho Statesman

OCTOBER 27, 2020 01:32 PM

Fourth Judicial District Judge Deborah Bail sentenced a former Boise pastor on Monday to 15 years in prison for sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl.

Bret Welty, 49, pleaded guilty to sexual abuse of a child younger than age 16. His additional charge of lewd conduct with a child was dismissed, pursuant to the plea agreement.

Bail granted Welty a retained jurisdiction, which means that he will serve a yearlong rider treatment program in prison. If he is successful in the program, he could go back before a judge and ask to serve the rest of his sentence out of custody on probation.

Welty’s underlying sentence, which he could be forced to serve, is 15 years in prison, with three years fixed.

According to the prosecution, the victim was staying with Welty’s family for the weekend, as the “family believed that spending time at the pastor’s home would be helpful to her” because of anxiety she was having. While the girl was in the home, Welty sexually abused her.

Welty confessed to having “struggled with such behaviors before” but never with someone as young as the victim, according to court documents.

In prior hearings, defense attorneys said that Welty had worked at Calvary Chapel and the Common Ground Bikers Church. He was also previously listed as the pastor at Hard Rock Revival Church.

BurlCo, NJ Youth Pastor Charged with Online Sexual Exploitation of Young Males

By TAPINTO BORDENTOWN STAFF

October 30, 2020 at 3:00 PM

MOUNT HOLLY, NJ-- Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina announced on Friday that the youth pastor and music leader of a Hainesport church has been charged with coaxing underage boys on social media to send him nude pictures and videos, then using that material to blackmail his victims into performing sexual acts on themselves for his enjoyment.

Sean Higgins, 30, of the 300 block of Temple Boulevard in Palmyra, has been charged with a total of 28 crimes. He holds the position of youth pastor at Harbor Baptist Church, and also serves as a teacher at the Harbor Baptist Academy, a private K-12 school with an enrollment of approximately 75 students that is housed in the same facility.

Higgins is charged with six counts of Manufacturing Child Sexual Abuse Material (First Degree), one count of Aggravated Sexual Assault (First Degree), five counts of Distribution of Child Sex Abuse Material (Second Degree), one count of Sexual Assault (Second Degree), six counts of Possession of Child Sex Abuse Material (Third Degree), six counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Third Degree), and one count each of Criminal Sexual Contact (Fourth Degree), Obstruction (Fourth Degree) and Contempt (Fourth Degree).

His six identified victims thus far range in age from 12 to 15, and reside in Alabama, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and South Dakota. The crimes for which he is presently charged do not involve physical contact with the victims, and do not involve any members of the church congregation or students at the school.

He was taken into custody yesterday at his residence. Investigators forced their way inside after Higgins refused to open the door. Search warrants were executed at his home as well as the church, which is located in the 2100 block of Marne Highway. Multiple electronic devices were seized.

Higgins was lodged in the Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly pending a detention hearing in Superior Court. The investigation is continuing and additional charges are anticipated.

“These charges underscore the importance of parents monitoring their children’s internet activity, and also having those frank and uncomfortable conversations about the dangers of sharing naked photos or other embarrassing images of themselves,” Prosecutor Coffina said. “Cyberspace can be scary, but vigilance and simple common sense are effective defenses against online predators.”

The investigation revealed that Higgins would adopt the persona of a teenage girl and utilize Snapchat and Instagram to begin a conversation with a juvenile male, introducing himself as Julie Miller. After establishing a rapport, he would suggest that they trade photos. Higgins would then send pictures of an unidentified female teenager. If he liked the pictures he received, he would suggest that nude photos be exchanged.

After sending nude photos of an unknown female, Higgins would often receive nude photos that the victims took of themselves in return. Immediately upon receiving those images, Higgins would take a screenshot of the victim’s friends list that was visible on the forward-facing social media account. Higgins would send that screenshot back to the victim and threaten to send the nude photos he had just received to the list of the victim’s friends unless the victim did exactly what Higgins demanded.

“When a boy would send a nude photo of himself, Higgins would instantly transform and warn the child, ‘I’ve got you,’ and threaten to circulate that photo if the child did not engage in additional sexual acts on camera for Higgins’s sick gratification,” Prosecutor Coffina said. “The desperation of these young boys who were put in this position by this predator is truly heartbreaking.”

The investigation began after a youth in Berks County, Pa., contacted Snapchat and reported that he sent nude photos of himself to an unknown female, who then had threatened to expose his nude photographs after they exchanged pictures. An underage male in Alabama also reported his communications with Higgins to law enforcement authorities.

Anyone who believes their child has had inappropriate interaction on Snapchat or Instagram with someone going by the user name of Julie Miller, Julia Miller, or some variation of that name, is asked to call Burlington County Central Communications at 609-265-7113, or send an email to tips@co.burlington.nj.us.