Iowa Youth Pastor Rapes Boys To ‘Cure’ Them Of Homosexuality, Won’t Spend One Day In Prison

I hate it when our system lets people like this off. Sadly - I wouldn't be surprised if he really believed that the actions he was taking was in the best interest of the children involved and that's part of what swayed the judge's decision. Just another reason why "Yay Jeebus!!" is dumb.

reply to post by James1982

The Christian Churches in this country (and likely all over the world) have become nothing but bastions of sexually abusive and deviant people, and those who support and hide them.

You bigotry blinds you. That is blatantly false and libelous.

Spirituality is not synonymous with "Christian," but your diatribe centers upon Christianity. It is a sad sign of the times when people foster false beliefs about people of faith or who care for others' needs before their own selfishness.

Perhaps if people showed more concern for others (as most religions promote) there would be LESS abuse and more protection of the vulnerable.

... it seems people place far more faith and trust into church officials than they do school officials.

Since when? In an increasingly secular world, there are far fewer people in churches than public schools.
And, children spend far less time in religious activities than school-related functions!

People seem more likely to ignore suspicious behavior if it's being perpetrated by a fellow church member or authority in the church. Additionally in schools, there are large numbers of children, and many different adults. In church related settings, parents seem to allow more leeway with what they allow their child to do. Church authorities getting kids alone, taking them away for weekend camp trips or whatever, that sort of thing.

Plus it seems the people in these groups and settings are less willing to accept that the person from the church is doing bad things, where as they would more quickly accept that a teacher has been involved with nefarious activities. And when teachers and school authorities get found out, they are usually fired and the police get involved. When people figure out that a priest is a pedo, the church simply hides the pervert in another area and they don't involve the police.

I'm not sure where you've spent the last 25 years, but school administrators have been proven time and again to move predatory employees, and hide the mess. Are you unaware of the protection the teachers' unions provide unqualified and dangerous employees? Do you not see the power and budgets of the politically-protected school boards? These are enclaves where the status quo is imperative and promotion/power preservation the overreaching goals.

As for close settings, this ignores school outings, gym classes, sports and P.E. and other "extra-curricular" activities in schools. Contrary to your assertion, "when teachers and school authorities get found out," they are often shuffled elsewhere, instead of prosecuted. School authorities rarely report abuse to law enforcement; it is the parents and children who do so.

Same for church-related misconduct; "when people find out a priest is a pedo" they report it, too! And why "priest?" You prejudice betrays you; this story is about a non-priest.

Why have the media not pushed or hyped stories about local politicians and union members, but vilify religious who cross the lines? If you do not know the answer, you're not trying or you don't want to.

reply to post by jdub297

Thanks for hunting this down. It's part of what ATS is supposed to be about. It actually makes a tad more sense now. Though I think the courts were still derelict in their duty in this case. Something tells me this won't be the last time this man will face charges for sexual assault.

...and Jesus said:

“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

This man will get his. Nothing... NOTHING in the BIble, or in Christianity, condones, allows for or makes room for this behaviour. Whatever blatantly cardboard excuse has been employed to allow this man to walk free, you won't find it in the pages of a Bible.

...and he certainly won't find mercy (much less CREDIT) at the hand of God.
We'll all face judgement one day... and this man will get what's coming to him then, even if some broken, flawed and clearly corrupt system allows him to walk free now.

jdub297
reply to post by James1982

 

The Christian Churches in this country (and likely all over the world) have become nothing but bastions of sexually abusive and deviant people, and those who support and hide them.

You bigotry blinds you. That is blatantly false and libelous.

Spirituality is not synonymous with "Christian," but your diatribe centers upon Christianity. It is a sad sign of the times when people foster false beliefs about people of faith or who care for others' needs before their own selfishness.

Perhaps if people showed more concern for others (as most religions promote) there would be LESS abuse and more protection of the vulnerable.

... it seems people place far more faith and trust into church officials than they do school officials.

Since when? In an increasingly secular world, there are far fewer people in churches than public schools.
And, children spend far less time in religious activities than school-related functions!

People seem more likely to ignore suspicious behavior if it's being perpetrated by a fellow church member or authority in the church. Additionally in schools, there are large numbers of children, and many different adults. In church related settings, parents seem to allow more leeway with what they allow their child to do. Church authorities getting kids alone, taking them away for weekend camp trips or whatever, that sort of thing.

Plus it seems the people in these groups and settings are less willing to accept that the person from the church is doing bad things, where as they would more quickly accept that a teacher has been involved with nefarious activities. And when teachers and school authorities get found out, they are usually fired and the police get involved. When people figure out that a priest is a pedo, the church simply hides the pervert in another area and they don't involve the police.

I'm not sure where you've spent the last 25 years, but school administrators have been proven time and again to move predatory employees, and hide the mess. Are you unaware of the protection the teachers' unions provide unqualified and dangerous employees? Do you not see the power and budgets of the politically-protected school boards? These are enclaves where the status quo is imperative and promotion/power preservation the overreaching goals.

As for close settings, this ignores school outings, gym classes, sports and P.E. and other "extra-curricular" activities in schools. Contrary to your assertion, "when teachers and school authorities get found out," they are often shuffled elsewhere, instead of prosecuted. School authorities rarely report abuse to law enforcement; it is the parents and children who do so.

Same for church-related misconduct; "when people find out a priest is a pedo" they report it, too! And why "priest?" You prejudice betrays you; this story is about a non-priest.

Why have the media not pushed or hyped stories about local politicians and union members, but vilify religious who cross the lines? If you do not know the answer, you're not trying or you don't want to.

edit on 13-9-2013 by jdub297 because: (no reason given)

I think you misunderstand.

I live in the US, most people on ATS are either in the US or in western countries, and Christianity is the dominant religion for this area. It only makes sense to focus on the largest group that is perpetrating the vast majority of these acts. More to the point, this thread is about what a Christian youth pastor did. Hopefully that explains my focus on Christianity.

Not once did I broadly mention people of faith in a negative way. And I already clarified to another member that I'm talking about "the christian establishment" meaning the people IN the church, not the people that GO to the church, although their silence is also noted so they deserve a mention.

I would agree with you people need to show more concern for others, that's the basis of the outrage against the church, because we are concerned about the victims. Showing more concern is something the church officials really need to work on. You cannot honestly deny that the church has been involved in wide scale sexual abuse, and equally as concerning wide scale coverups. That is the subject of this thread, that was the focus of my post.

You say there are far fewer people in church than public schools, agreed, I literally said exactly that in one of my previous posts, while addressing a member who feels that schools are a larger threat. If anything that shows how bad the church is, that with so few children actually there, there are still such large numbers getting sexually abused.

Why did I mention a priest? Not because my prejudice betrays me, because that is the broader subject I was discussing; sexual misconduct in the christian churches. The subject of this thread is specifically a certain youth pastor, my post expanded to cover the broader issue, what other term would you prefer I use?

I do not have prejudice against the christian church, prejudice is defined as:

"preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience."

My feelings for the church are not preconceived, they are formed over years and years of experience. They are based wholly on reason and actual experience.

I have disdain for the christian church, not prejudice. I am not obscuring this fact, I am proclaiming it openly, so I'm not sure why you think you are "catching me" with my negative feelings for the church. I'm not trying to hide them.

Why have the media not hyped stories about politicians and union members? That wholly depends on what media you pay attention to. I've seen heaps of coverage for both. Look at the Anthony Wiener debacle, he was involved sexually with another consenting adult, texting pictures of a sexual nature. Not very classy, but not illegal, and absolutely nothing compared to what the church is guilty of, yet Anthony Wiener was plastered all over newspapers, tv, and the internet. Does that constitute a hyped story about a politician? You are being very dishonest if you deny that they all get the same treatment, just from different sides of the media.

I'm not even sure how politicians and union members are relevant to this discussion. It seems to be an attempt at deflection. The subject I was addressing was sexual misconduct within the Christian church, if you would like to discuss the shortcomings of politicians we can talk about it in any one of the millions of threads here on ATS under that subject, although there would likely be little discussion as it seems neither of us hold them in high regard.

If you felt personally attacked, I'm sorry. Although I find it odd you seem to show more outrage at my post than about the youth pastor raping young boys. It might be more effective, instead of attacking people who don't like the church, to attack those within the church who are doing these things. That would remove the reason for disliking the church, and you wouldn't have to spend time trying to rebut posts from people that do.

reply to post by winofiend


I hear you there brother, what kind of world do we live in now. Hear about similar rubbish here in the UK, definitely seems like a trend is developing

tadaman
why oh why is this man AND the judge not going to jail?

That there is the million dollar question.

Are they mates, or is it something more sinister than that?

Thorneblood
I don't normally buy in to some of the theories thrown around but cases like this, the recent story about the teacher who got 30 days and so on are starting to make me think demons are real and possessing many authority figures.

And that is my favourite post for the day!

Might sound bizzare, but if it's true, it would explain a lot.

reply to post by Aloysius the Gaul


This is an absolute bloody disgrace.

Normally speaking, in cases involving ministers, priests, preachers, any molestation of the young by church leaders, the main problem is in identifying when a crime has been committed, because these things are hushed up by either the organisation which oversees the regional structure of a given church, or because the offender has been effective at terrifying or grooming their victims.

In this case however, it is clear that crimes have been committed, and the guilty party has been positively identified. Therefore it would be reasonable to assume that, without the veil of lies which have protected other figures in religious organisations from being prosecuted, this offender ought to be in jail for a very long time. A suspended sentence for some SIXTY counts of such a vile nature, is in my opinion, a total travesty of justice. We cannot even say that this is truly a failure of law, as these crimes would have, in a courtroom run by a judge who had not taken leave of his or her senses, attracted quite a lengthy sentence!

It is VITAL, that in cases where sexual assault and abuse, whether against minors or adults, is concerned, that offenders receive the sternest possible sentences. It is vital because the victims should be protected from their abusers, it is vital because people capable of such offenses cannot be free to participate in the society they have acted so despicably towards, and it is vital because without consequences, the rule of law has no meaning what so ever.

The judge in this case has failed the victims, failed society, and failed the law. There is no justice in this what so ever! I would be very surprised if there are not some deeply troubling precedents being set here as well. You see, the law, no matter which side of the pond you happen to be on, is based on some core values, but the way it is administered and delivered is based on precedent. If a case is tried where a legal representative successfully uses one or another paragraph or subsection to produce an outcome, then if another person in the future uses that same argument, they can reference that precedent.

Therefore, we may now see other serious offenders being let off with frankly pointless sentences like this again in future, at least in Iowa, using this very case as the basis for future collapses of law and justice.

For those members living in the region involved, I would recommend getting in the faces of your local governors and representatives, and the oversight organisations within the judiciary, to attempt to see this great wrong put right. Left as it is, this case will fester like a corpse in the sun.

But if you violate a computer, you get years. Its a fun, fun world

reply to post by Aloysius the Gaul

That sounds similar to a story a Muslim acquaintance told me about a Christian he knew who wanted convert to Islam. The guy regretted it in the end, and is now pretty much agnostic or atheist, for the same reason I am. I never had to personally experience the physical aspects of some twisted weirdo to realize those oddly calm people in positions of religious authority are the weirdest of the weird.

The story he told me was nearly as sick and perverted as this OP seems, but seemed to be perfectly acceptable because of this religious BS by those in positions of authority.

One must be very cautious of those who are convinced they will be forgiven no matter what they do, they are capable of heinous acts without conscience, and sometimes without consequence, just look at the world.

I have several oddly calm relatives and former friends. The oddly calm ones are frequently what are referred to as "bull fag", which is just homosexual rapist, like the dudes who harassed Andy in the movie "The Shawshank Redemption".

You have to watch your children closely.

It can be widely assumed, not generally or in all cases, that anyone in a position of authority, enjoys that position because of the exploitation and / of/ or ignorance of the vulnerable one's.

Persons in positions of authority frequently believe they can do no wrong because of their position, which makes them very dangerous people. I am not saying everyone who occupies a position of authority is taking advantage and abusing the trust of the vulnerable, but the closer I look, the longer I watch, the less I trust any authority figures.

Just look at the world around you, read some of this stuff that is everywhere online, the internet is a fairly new thing that can be used for both good and not-so-good things, the same way anything else can be. A lot of those religious types I know personally believe the internet to be something evil and it is frequently because it exposes their leaders as the peculiar, weirdly calm people with a lot to hide that they truly are.

Can anyone blame anyone for having little faith really?. I always thought religion was a way too easy way to be forgiven for one's misdeeds, and that is the biggest reason I stepped away from it long ago. Guaranteed forgiveness for misdeeds simply removes any need to give any real thought to "Morals" or consider whether one is harming another.

I prefer to do things I don't have to call on another to forgive me for, and stay within the realm of being able to forgive myself, and that is really regarding those small critters and bugs I kill by accident on my daily travels. The people I killed in the military were not my fault, I was misguided, young and ignorant, and strangely, those who put me in that position were considered "Authority Figures".

Damn I hate this place, I love being alive on this beautiful planet, the air, the wind, sun, color, but people just turn it all gray and ugly and smelling of death and decay.

I know, that was somewhat of a rant....

Anyway....

I have no doubt this sicko will strike again.
He got away with it this time ... that will embolden him.
The sentence is 'suspended'.
So if he gets in trouble again, does that mean the sentence will be reinstated?

I have no doubt .. he'll end up in prison and become someones toy ....
He won't be able to stop himself from attacking again.

The empire strikes back lol

reply to post by James1982


Wrong, Christians do not support this. Sick and stupid people who happen to call themselves Christians do. Please do not blanket policy an entire culture (of which many are good people) because some monsters hide behind it.

Pepophiles often choose jobs or positions that allow them to gain trust amongst there community so they can then exploit that trust to fullfill there own sick desires.

Im really tired of people blaming or condemning all christians based on the misdeeds of a few. There are far more decent Christians than there are bad.

I suggest you find a story or two where someone or a group of people came together in the name of faith and did some good for the world. We don't hear about those stories as often because feel good news doesn't shock/sell.

reply to post by MyHappyDogShiner


Forgiveness doesn't really work by simply asking for it. There has to be sincere remorse and regret behind your plea for compassion. The Lord knows who is sincere and who is not. Saying something but not really abiding by it is called lip service or hypocrisy, which Christ does codemn.

Having read the entire thread it seems most posters are in agreement about the travesty of justice when it comes to punishment for this serial molestation/rape/child abuse.

It begs the question:
"What is the penalty for chopping the perpetrator's wang off with an axe? (leaving him otherwise unharmed)?"


ganjoa

Doesn't make sense at all. I'm forwarding this to some state senators or something here. This judge has to be a part of some sort of ring

reply to post by warriorscholar81

I see a lot of devoutly religious people who chant the "lip-service" mantra.

Is it so hard for people to just not do anything they may need forgiveness for?, according to the scriptures we are guilty from the day we are born.

I forgive those who wrote the scriptures from laying a guilt trip on me from the very beginning of my existence, and the people who ignorantly tried to feed me to their religion without consulting me and asking what I thought before they tried to mold me into it.

Life isn't a game, and not so much a team sport as it is made out to be.

reply to post by Awen24


What about the millions of children god murdered?

Strange that the bible constantly contradicts itself.