Traditional Christian Family Values

Msgr. Wallace A. Harris, a prominent Harlem pastor who was suspended from his duties last month after two men accused him of sexually abusing them as children, has since been accused of similar abuse by eight other men, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said on Friday.

All 10 accusers have told the authorities that the abuse occurred in the 1970s and ’80s, the district attorney’s spokeswoman, Alicia Maxey Greene, said in response to a question. She said that the state’s five-year statute of limitations on childhood sexual abuse precluded criminal prosecution in any of their cases.

Joseph Zwilling, a spokesman for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, would not say how many new complaints were made against Monsignor Harris since his suspension, but said, “We have gotten other allegations, and we have continued to follow our policy of sharing information with the district attorney.”

He said that in all but one case, the accuser had contacted the archdiocese first and given a written statement, which was turned over to prosecutors.

A 12-member diocesan advisory board that is charged with reviewing the evidence in sex abuse cases like Monsignor Harris’s and recommending whether a priest should be returned to his duties, has not yet met to consider the accusations against Monsignor Harris, Mr. Zwilling said.

Since Monsignor Harris’s removal, Mr. Zwilling said, he has been “staying at a facility” that he would not describe further. Monsignor Harris has denied all the accusations, Mr. Zwilling said. The monsignor did not respond to messages left on his cellphone on Friday.

Monsignor Harris, 61, was pastor of the Church of St. Charles Borromeo in Harlem for about 20 years. Among his parishioners is Gov. David A. Paterson, who invited him to deliver an invocation at his March 17 inauguration.

During the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to New York in April, the archdiocese gave Monsignor Harris the task of organizing the largest of the pope’s events, the Mass at Yankee Stadium.

Eric C. Crumbley, 42, a former New York City police officer who leads a nondenominational storefront congregation called the Harlem Faith Center, is the only one of the 10 accusers who has come forward publicly. He did so last month, after Monsignor Harris was suspended.

On Friday, Mr. Crumbley said that several men, including some of the new accusers, had contacted him after he made his charges to say that they had been abused in the late 1970s and early ’80s, when Monsignor Harris was pastor of the Church of St. Joseph of the Holy Family in Harlem or vice rector of the now-defunct Cathedral Preparatory High School and College.

Some parishioners at St. Charles Borromeo, many of whom have sent letters to the diocese supporting Monsignor Harris, said they would continue to back him. “I’ve known Monsignor Harris for more than 40 years,” said Ronald Riddick. “He has baptized my children and buried my father, and there has never been an inkling that this man is capable of doing any of these things.

“I can’t help but feel that people are piling on.”

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MESA, Ariz. — A suspended Roman Catholic priest from Mesa accused of sexual misconduct with five teens will have five separate trials on the misdemeanor charges.

A judge ruled this week that Monsignor Dale Fushek is entitled to face each of his now-adult accusers separately. He agreed with defense lawyers’ arguments that a jury that heard all the cases could become prejudiced against him.

Fushek is the former pastor of St. Timothy’s Catholic Community in Mesa and founded the international Catholic youth program known as LifeTeen.

He is charged with five counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor for alleged sexual conversations he had with teen boys in the 1980s and 1990s, assault and indecent exposure.
Fushek could be required to register as a sex offender if convicted.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix has placed Fushek on administrative leave pending the resolution of all legal proceedings. In the meantime, he is prohibited from presenting himself as a priest or engaging in any public ministering.

San Tan Justice of the Peace Samuel Goodman issued his ruling on Tuesday. He scheduled the first trial to begin on Nov. 17 and the rest to follow as soon as possible.

Fushek, 56, won the right to a jury trial in February after an appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court. The justices ruled that being required to register for life as a sex offender is so serious that even misdemeanor defendants who could face relatively little jail time if convicted are entitled to jury trials.

Most of the misdemeanor charges against Fushek don’t carry jail time long enough to trigger the Arizona Constitution’s right to a jury trial.

Fushek served as vicar general in the Phoenix diocese and is one of the highest-ranking American priests to be charged in the sexual abuse scandals that have rocked the church.

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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - An Indianapolis minister has been charged with bigamy and told to register as a sex offender because of an earlier conviction for molesting a child.

Police say 36-year-old Spencer Osborne was arrested yesterday and is being held in jail on $15,000 bond.

A sign at the New Covenant Baptist Church on the east side of Indianapolis indicates Osborne is an assistant pastor there.

Police Lieutenant Dave Young says the investigation began several months ago with an anonymous tip that Osborne was married to two women. Investigators later learned Osborne was convicted in 1993 for molesting a 7-year-old girl. That was before Indiana’s sex offender registry was established.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) — A pastor from Kanawha County accused of sexual abuse has been indicted on those charges.

Sandy Cook was charged last September with sexually abusing several young teenage boys at his home and in his truck back in 1994.

On Friday, the Grand Jury indicted Cook on several charges including sexual abuse by a parent, guardian and custodian, and third degree sexual assault.

Cook was the senior pastor at Shrewsbury Church of God in eastern Kanawha County.

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A Laporte County family says their child was a victim in a church sex scandal and fear his biggest nightmare could become a reality.

24 year-old Mark Comford pleaded guilty to two charges, but may be clear of any punishment regarding his involvement with this now, 14 year-old, John Doe.

As we’ve told you before Comford has been in jail since 2007 on charges he had sexual contact with a 12 year old boy.

Then, three more victims were involved in the case.

Comford pleaded guilty in court September 5th.

On that day, Doe’s family learned about a possible plea bargain in this case, they were devastated. Now, they’re disgusted.

If accepted by the judge, the plea agreement would convict Comford of two of the nine original counts of child molesting.

It wasn’t until this Monday, that the family and their legal advocate were made aware that Comford could be cleared of any punishment involving Doe.

It’s painful for Doe’s mother to think about the grandson of Faith Baptist Church’s pastor pleading guilty to molestation charges, but it’s impossible for her to imagine him not paying for what she claims he put her son through.

She says, “I was speechless. I didn’t even know what to say.”

When she called a victim’s advocate to say John Doe wanted to speak at Mark Comford’s hearing on October 17th, she cried. She felt any sign of hope was ripped away from her and it was beyond her control.

She says, “This man isn’t even being charged for what he did to my child, for what he’s put my child through. His life has changed forever.

Doe’s lawyer in a civil suit brought against the church and a family advocate, Doug Bernacchi, immediately wrote a letter to Prosecutor, Jennifer Evans, asking her to revoke the plea or propose an amended plea bargain.

Bernacchi says, “The perpetrator isn’t going to serve anytime for the damage he’s done to this boy. The plea bargain waves all allegations by this boy.”

Bernacchi says it’s unfair, unjust that John Doe is serving time because of the suffering Comford has put him through.

Bernacchi says, “The victim is in the Madison Center being treated in an inpatient program that may take up two years. It should start from scratch and prosecute the defendant to the fullest extent of the law.”

Doe’s mother says Jennifer Evans has never given her son the opportunity to state his case.

She says, “They’ve never heard from him or contacted his counselors to see if he was okay to give a statement. She had promised him before even when he went to the police station to give a statement that she would make sure this man paid for what he did to him.”

Doe’s family showed us a copy of the letter Bernacchi sent to Evans Tuesday.

We called her office twice to see if received it. We were told she wasn’t in the office Tuesday. We’ll let you know if and when she decides to comment or if there are any further developments.

If the judge accepts the plea bargain on the table, it would mean a 20 year prison sentence with eight years probation. Comford has already served 14 months and Doe’s mother fears with good behavior it could end up being just about 7-8 more years.

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The Rev. Aaron Joseph Cote, who once served as a pastor at Mother Seton Parish in Germantown, has been indicted on one count of child abuse in a case that alleges he sexually touched a teenage altar boy, according to court records.

Cote, 56, of New York City, was indicted on Sept. 11 in Montgomery County Circuit Court. He was charged in Montgomery County with one count of custodian child abuse against altar boy Brandon Rains in July.

Cote and the Catholic religious order to which he belongs reached a $1.2 million settlement in August 2007 with the altar boy. The settlement included no admission of wrongdoing.

Rains accused Cote of sexually abusing him from 2001 to 2002, when he was 14 and 15 years old, at locations in Germantown and Washington, D.C. Cote is only charged with abuse that occurred in Germantown, according to the charging documents.

Rains and his family reported the alleged abuse to county police in 2003 and filed their lawsuit in 2005 after they were dissatisfied with the police investigation. Although The Gazette rarely names alleged victims of sex crimes, Rains and his family went public with the case.

Cote was assigned as an associate pastor and youth minister at Mother Seton from 1999 to 2002.

After Rains’ allegations were made in 2003, the Order of Dominican Fathers and Brothers sent Cote for psychological evaluation, conducted an investigation and cleared him of any wrongdoing, church officials have said.

Cote then was assigned a position as youth minister and associate pastor at a Providence, R.I., church. When Rains went public and filed the lawsuit, Cote was placed on administrative leave from the church, church officials have said.

Cote also served at St. Jane Frances de Chantal Catholic Church in Bethesda from 1997 to 1999.

Earlier this year, a Massachusetts family filed a lawsuit against Cote and the Dominican Order alleging that he abused their two young sons in 2003.

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Federal agents arrested a Royce City church pastor Wednesday for sharing child porn pictures with other people online. 36-year-old Steve Richardson, leader of the First United Methodist Church of Royce City is charged with transporting child pornography after agents seized computers at home and at his church.

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A retired Lehigh Valley pastor has been arrested and charged with propositioning a teenage girl online, police said.

His alleged screen name was “AllentownHotGuy,” and according to investigators, the 62-year-old retired pastor used that idenitity to try to get a 15-year-old girl to have sex with him

Paul Marmon, of South Whitehall Township, has been charged with unlawful contact with the Montgomery County teenager, whom police said he met in an online chat room while pretending to be more than 40 years younger than his real age.

State Attorney General Tom Corbett said Marmon posed as a 19-year-old boy and told the girl she was much more mature than other girls.

Investigators said that Marmon not only discussed sex with the girl but asked her if she would take nude photos of herself.

Authorities also said Marmon left her presents, including bags of Victoria’s Secret underwear, in a park near her home.

Kristie Frantz said she has lived across the street from the former pastor and his wife for years. She said the couple recently became grandparents.

“Never would I have thought this,” she said. “My daughter’s 10, and she’s out playing all the time. This very much shocks me.”

Police said they arrested Marmon after the girl became suspicious of his age when speaking to him on the phone. She told her parents, and they called the police.

No one at Marmon’s house answered the door on Friday. The Allentown church where he reportedly once preached did not return calls from NBC10.

Marmon was being held on $1 million bail. He faces up to 21 years in prison if convicted.

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PLAINFIELD, N.J. — A New Jersey pastor has been arrested on charges he sexually assaulted a child younger than 13 years old.

George Benbow, 56, is a bishop at the Christian Fellowship Gospel Church in Plainfield.

Benbow was arrested without incident at the church around 10:30 a.m. and is being held at the Union County Jail on $150,000 bail.

He was charged with four counts of second-degree sexual assault on a minor younger than 13 years old. He was also charged with two counts of third-degree endangering the welfare of a minor younger than 16, said Union County Prosecutor Theodore Romankow.

Prosecutors launched their investigation into Benbow’s actions in July after several concerned Plainfield residents contacted police, Romankow said.

The investigation revealed that the alleged abuse happened between 2000 and 2008 at multiple locations on the church grounds.

Benbow has been married for nearly 30 years and has two sons. He has served at the Plainfield church since 1981.

Assistant Prosecutor John Esmerado is handling the case.

Anyone who believes they might have additional information pertaining to the case is encouraged to contact Union County Prosecutor’s Office Det. Paul Han at 908-965-3881.

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New Jersey State Police have arrested a Trenton pastor on charges that he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old boy at the pastor’s Burlington County home.
Charles Brinson, 48, who leads the Brinson Memorial Church in Trenton and is associated with several other churches in New Jersey, was arrested on Saturday in Trenton after police officers found him in the driver’s seat of his church’s van.

Authorities allege that earlier this year, Brinson picked the teenager up in Philadelphia and drove him to his home in Florence.

At some point, the sex assault was reported to the Philadelphia police. Brinson, who police said used the title of “bishop,” had eluded authorities since August, when Philadelphia police issued warrants for his arrest. Brinson was carrying his passport when he was found, state police Sgt. Stephen Jones said.

Philadelphia police charged Brinson with several felonies, including contact with a minor and solicitation. He was also charged with corruption of a minor and being a fugitive of justice, Jones said.

Brinson has been involved with churches for at least two decades, public records show. A phone number for the Brinson Memorial Church could not be located and its Web site has apparently been disabled.

Brinson is being held at the Mercer County jail pending extradition to Philadelphia.

Anyone with information about Brinson is asked to call the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office at 609-989-6415 or the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office at 609-265-5879.

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