Never pass up a chance to sit down or relieve yourself. -old Apache saying

Friday, November 2, 2018

black collar crime

Each month, the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) publishes a newsletter called Freethought Today. One of the most interesting sections is the monthly compilation called "Black Collar Crime." It details all the "holy" people who have committed various crimes. If you thought that only religious people can have morals, well, you are an idiot.

BLACK COLLAR CRIME
compiled by Bill Dunn

Arrested / Charged 
David English Jr., 33, Joanna, SC: 2nd-degree domestic violence and unlawful conduct toward a child. English, pastor of New Hope Baptist Church in Clinton, is accused of assaulting his wife, Jennifer Bunting English, and of being aware of her drug addiction and of taking her to buy illegal drugs. 

Bunting English, 31, is charged with kidnapping and unlawful conduct toward a child for taking a 2-month-old child she was babysitting to her home and refusing to communicate with the mother. The child was recovered 3 hours later. Source: WYFf, 9-24-18 

Franco Mulakkal, 54, Jalandhar, India: Rape. Mulakkal, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Jalandhar, is accused of raping a Missionaries of Jesus nun in her 40s at least 13 times in 2014-16. The Vatican relieved him of his duties at his request. 

The alleged victim filed a 114-page police complaint in June and also accused Mulakkal of sending her inappropriate text messages and obscene photos. He denied the allegations and said he’ll accept the death penalty if they’re proven. India has about 27 million Christians, about 2.3% of the population. Source: BBC/ Washington Post, 9-21-18 

Gary Miller, 41, Springfield, IL: Forcible rape and forcible sodomy. Miller was pastor in 2012 at Sycamore Baptist Church when his accuser said she got a letter from an anonymous sender that threatened harm against her loved ones if she didn’t video herself having sex with Miller. After she told Miller, they met and he allegedly told her he didn’t want to have sex but felt like he had no choice. 

The woman eventually gave in and Miller recorded the encounter, an affidavit said, and he then tucked her into bed and prayed with her. Police only recently became aware of the alleged scheme while they were investigating other abuse allegations against Miller. Source: News-Leader, 9-19-18 

James C. Landes, 28, Bryan, TX: Online solicitation of a minor. Landes, junior high youth minister at First United Methodist Church, is charged with arranging to have sex with an undercover officer he thought was a 14-year-old girl. He allegedly agreed to meet at a public park during a work break but later messaged the officer that he couldn’t because of time constraints, adding he would “make it up to you.” Source: Bryan Eagle, 9-16-18 

Shin Ok-ju, pastor of Grace Road Church, and 3 senior church leaders were arrested in S. Korea and charged with beating church members in Korea and others who had relocated with them in 2014 to Fiji to escape a predicted famine. It’s also alleged she confiscated passports, forced people to work without pay and perform ritual beatings on each other on so-called “threshing floors.” The church has branches around the world, including in the U.S. 

Videos show Shin calling members forward during her sermons, hitting them on the face and pulling and cutting their hair. In one she tells a girl to slap a woman, believed to be her mother, while saying “you’re hitting the cheeks of the enemy.” The girl hits the woman 25 times. Later the woman is shown repeatedly hitting the girl and pulling her hair. Source: The Guardian, 9-16-18

José U. Rendon, 52, Nacogdoches, TX: Continuous sexual abuse of a child. Rendon, pastor at Iglesia Templo De Fe, is accused of more than 50 assaults on a child in 2004-05. Rendon had agreed to meet with investigators but never showed up and is considered a fugitive from justice. Source: Morning Telegraph, 9-13-18 

Manuel La Rosa-Lopez, 60, Richmond, TX: 4 counts of indecency with a child. He’s accused of offenses when he was pastor at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Conroe. A girl who attended the parish school where he taught alleged in 2001 to the Archdiocese of Houston-Galveston that La Rosa-Lopez kissed her and touched her breasts in April 2000 in the church kitchen after a rehearsal for “The Passion of the Christ” play. He allegedly told her they couldn’t have sex until she turned 16. 

In August 2018, a 36-year-old man alleged to the archdiocese that the priest molested him when he was a high school student between 1998 and October 1999. 

Daniel DiNardo, archbishop since 2006 and now a cardinal, has come under fire recently. The woman alleged DiNardo promised her several years after she reported the abuse that La Rosa-Lopez would be removed from any contact with children but later found out he remained in active ministry at St. John Fisher Parish, about 70 miles away. 

The man said he was told that reports were filed with civil authorities but, according to court documents, a police investigator searched for those records and didn’t find any. Source: KTRK, 8-12-18

Dmitri J. Daniels, 18, Miami Gardens, FL: Sexual battery. Daniels, a parishioner and youth volunteer at Mt. Pisgah Seventh-day Adventist Church, allegedly assaulted a 5-year-old girl. “He had shown the victim in this case pornographic materials and in essence demonstrated or showed her what he wanted her to do,” said police Capt. Al Xiques, adding that Daniels “had the opportunity to be around children on a regular basis.” Source: CBS Miami, 9-11-18 

Christian Ohazulume, 50, Dorchester, MA: 3 counts of aggravated indecent assault and battery of a child under 14. Ohazulume, a Catholic priest and chaplain at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, is accused of assaulting a girl when she was 7 or 8 in 2007 when he lived with her family after coming from Nigeria. Source: KTRK, 9-11-18 

Kristina L. Casey, 48, Vermilion, OH: 3 counts of theft. Casey, treasurer at Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Church in Lorain, is charged with writing about $80,000 worth of unauthorized checks to herself. Source: Morning Journal, 9-10-18 

Sean E. Gaines, 43, Hampton, VA: 3 counts of indecent liberties with child by custodian and 7 counts of carnal knowledge of a child 13 to 15 years old. Gaines, pastor at Empowerment Temple and former pastor at Rising St. James Pentecostal Holiness Church, allegedly took a girl who was living with his family to a hotel to have sex. He’s married with 2 children. The girl told police their relationship started in May 2017 and ended in February. Source: WAVY, 9-7-18

This is only about 10% of the total listings in the November 2018 issue of Freethought Today.

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