Baptist Pastor In Ohio Charged With Sex Crime.
Posted by
IB ContributorMarch 10, 2007 12:24 AMAn Ohio pastor has been charged for allegedly having inappropriate sexual contact with a 15-year-old girl, according to a news article posted in the Dayton Journal News in Ohio.
The girl, whose name was not released because she was a minor and the victim of a sex crime, said Enorris Thomas, an assistant pastor at Second Baptist Church on Verity Parkway, fondled her at his Middletown home, according to Detective Fred Shuemake. The girl made the clergy abuse allegation against Thomas during a separate custody hearing, the article said
Thomas was charged with sexual imposition, a third-degree misdemeanor, and was taken to the Middletown City Jail on Feb. 14, Shuemake said. He was released the same day on his own recognizance, according to jail records.
Thomas declined to comment on the issue. The Rev. Nathaniel L. Cooper, pastor of the Second Baptist Church, also could not be reached for comment.
This is a sad story and one that happens all too often in this country. This girl was clearly going through problems at home. She was a young girl going through the travails of her teen years, coupled with her parents likely splitting up, because according to this report, she first talked about the pastor during a custody hearing.
Families look to men of the cloth for spiritual, emotional and familial guidance, not to be preyed upon by sexual predators. I don't know the facts of this case, but at Bisnar|Chase we are seeing more and more cases where priests, pastors, ministers, rabbis and so on, who are trusted by their congregants, abuse that trust in the worst possible manner, sexual abuse or sexual impropriety with children.
But this is a problem that we have to face because it happens almost on a daily basis in some church, temple or synagogue throughout our country. And the victims of such abuse are scared for life. They go through all sorts of psychological problems ranging from identity crisis, guilt, low self-esteem, low self worth, relationship issues, drugs, crime and worst of all, becoming abusers themselves. The perpetrators, abusers, their accomplices and those who have turned a blind eye to the sexual abuse of children and young adults, all need to be held accountable both criminally and financially.
For a totally confidential, free consultation regarding a clergy abuse issue, contact me directly. It wasn't your fault. You did not deserve the to be treated that way. You have rights. See me before your time to take action expires.