Hi!
With all of the posts about "Christians" getting arrested
on ***ual charges, I thought it would be nice for folks
to see the following, since the atheists automatically
assume guilt (and still will in this case anyway) about
any Christian who is charged. You know, since atheists
are so honest and all. :)
Of course the Prosecutor still says it happened, but read
what it says in the article after that claim. :)
Anyway, here it is...
ST. PETERSBURG, FL — The accusations involving
the Christmas house were stunning.
St. Petersburg police said they had uncovered horrific
allegations about young children being ***ually assaulted
by a member of the Gospel of Truth ministry and forced
to have *** with each other as other members watched
in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Three ministry members were arrested on charges related
to capital ***ual battery in April 2006. Until the arrests,
the ministry had been best known for its enormous Christmas
light display at 2719 Oakdale St. S, one of the largest in
the country.
Last week the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office dropped
all charges against the three ministry members.
The reason: uncooperative witnesses, conflicting testimony
from another witness and an accuser with serious mental
health issues including multiple personalities.
Wesley Earl Ball, 74, had initially been arrested on charges
of capital ***ual battery. Angela Hunnicutt, 44, and
Lytricia Gardner, 42, had been arrested on charges related
to being principals to capital ***ual battery.
Hunnicutt spent about two months in jail and Gardner spent
five months in jail before they posted bail. Ball has spent
most of the last two years in jail, and was released on bail
in February.
All three were longtime members of Ted Kresge's Gospel
of Truth ministry. Kresge was never accused of having
any knowledge of the alleged acts.
Prosecutor Stephanie Bergen said the case fell apart
because of the accuser's serious mental health problems.
In addition, a witness in the case recanted his testimony
and other witnesses were uncooperative
"At the beginning, we had a very strong, good-faith basis
to proceed," Bergen said. "But now you have three
witnesses who won't cooperate, one who recants his
statement and another with extreme mental health issues
that caused us concern regarding her credibility. And
we're not going to proceed on a case where we have
those issues."
Bergen said the accuser had emotional problems when
charges were filed, as do many people who say they
were ***ually abused. But her problems worsened as
the case progressed.
Nothing in the case suggested the accuser concocted
the allegations, Bergen said. "There's no evidence or
facts that to me that suggest it was made up," she said.
St. Petersburg police declined to comment.
Bill Bennett, an attorney court-appointed to represent
Gardner, said problems with the accuser became obvious
at a deposition several weeks ago.
Bennett said the woman, who has as many as 6,000
personalities, initially came forward with the allegations
after one of her personalities told her to do so as she
watched a television show.
Although there were times when the woman could be
lucid, Bennett said that her stories grew wilder and she
kept accusing more people.
"The prosecutor did the right thing," Bennett said.
The woman, who is not being named because of the nature
of the accusations, also had once denied being abused by
ministry members in the mid 1990s when authorities were
conducting a separate investigation, Bennett said.
Bennett said all three ministry members had passed lie
detector tests related to the allegations. Attorneys for
Ball and Hunnicutt could not be reached for comment.
After the allegations, Kresge continued to put up
his Christmas light display. He also insisted the
three defendants were not guilty.
Sometimes, he suffered ridicule from neighbors.
In November 2006, children pedaling by on a
bicycle yelled out "Child molesters! Child molesters!
Child molesters!"
But on Monday, Kresge, 68, said he felt vindicated
and was happy the charges were dropped.
He released a statement, saying: "I have maintained from
the beginning that the three defendants are innocent.
Regarding one of the accusations, we had firsthand
knowledge that it was false."
http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/article515017.ece
--
"Grace isn't a little prayer you chant before receiving
a meal. It's a way to live." - Jackie Windspear
|
