UPDATED::More than 200 women accuse Brazil 'spiritual healer' of sex abuse

UPDATE::  Brazil spiritual healer sentenced to 19 years for four rapes

A spiritual healer in Brazil known as João de Deus, or John of God, received his first prison sentence on Thursday following a deluge of sex abuse allegations since late last year.

A judge in Goias state issued a sentence of 19 years and four months for four rapes of different women, according to a statement from the court. Lawyers for the 77-year-old João de Deus said in a statement that they will appeal the decision.

More than 200 women have come forward in Brazil to accuse an internationally celebrated self-proclaimed spiritual healer of sexually abusing them, according to media reports and police complaints received Tuesday.

The accusations against Joao Teixeira de Faria, 76, better known as "Joao de Deus" ("Joao of God") include allegations he made women perform sex acts during one-on-one sessions in which he claimed he was using his supernatural powers to cure them.

Faria, whose reputation reaches far beyond Brazil, counts followers in the United States -- where American television celebrity and producer Oprah Winfrey did a show on him in 2013 after visiting him the previous year -- as well as Europe and Australia.

More than 200 women accuse Brazil 'spiritual healer' of sex abuse

Report: Antigay Priest Used Position to Sexually Abuse Other Men

An Anglican priest who founded his congregation on antigay dogma used his position to commit sexual abuse against numerous young men, according to a new report from an independent watchdog group.

An investigation by a group called Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment, or GRACE, found that Rev. Eric Dudley of St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Tallahassee, Fla., frequently touched men in a sexual manner without their consent, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. Dudley was forced to resign from the church in August 2018.

Dudley was rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church, also in Tallahassee, from 1995 to 2005. He departed after announcing from the pulpit that he was leaving the Episcopal Church due to its “deeply unrepentant heresies” — specifically, the elevation of an openly gay man, Gene Robinson, to the position of bishop, a first for the denomination. He then founded St. Peter’s, which is part of the Anglican Church in North America, formed in opposition to the Episcopal Church’s acceptance of LGBTQ people. Dudley is married to a woman and the father of three.

Report: Antigay Priest Used Position to Sexually Abuse Other Men

Local catholic priest charged with sexual abuse | WPMI

37-year-old Fr. Amal Samy is the pastor at St. Peter The Apostle Church in Chastang near Mt. Vernon.

A court filing states on August 21st while getting a massage on the Carnival Fantasy, Fr. Samy "attempted to touch a masseuse several times, exposed himself by removing the sheet and asked her to touch his genitals while touching himself.

Three days after the alleged incident, Fr. Samy admitted to FBI investigators that he was naked under the sheet, but denied the other allegations.

Local catholic priest charged with sexual abuse | WPMI

UPDATED::Former pastor says Angley abused him

UPDATE:: The Rev. Ernest Angley admitted sexual encounter

In 1996, internationally known televangelist Ernest Angley admitted to his assistant minister that he had had sexual relations with a man who was employed by their church, Grace Cathedral in Cuyahoga Falls.

The telephone conversation was tape-recorded and made available to the Beacon Journal and Ohio.com last month.

The person who provided the tape did so for a promise of anonymity. That person felt called to action after reading about an exchange of lawsuits between Angley and another former Grace Cathedral pastor, the Rev. Brock Miller. Miller sued Angley in August, claiming that sexual abuse Angley inflicted upon him has caused permanent damage. Angley has countersued for defamation.

The source believed releasing the tape would show that Angley, who has preached vehemently against the “sin” of homosexuality, has a history of sexual abuse involving his employees.

PART II::  Split with Ernest Angley tough for his assistant

UPDATE::  Former pastor claims sex abuse against televangelist

The allegations detailed in a complaint filed Wednesday in Akron by Brock Miller, of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, were previously reported by the Akron Beacon Journal in January.

Miller claims Angley, who recently turned 97, forced him in 2004 to get a vasectomy as a condition of his employment, inspected his genitals and repeatedly asked questions of a sexual nature at Angley’s Grace Cathedral in Cuyahoga Falls. The lawsuit alleges Angley made Miller lie on a bed while the televangelist massaged him.

A man who served as an associate pastor at Ernest Angley’s Grace Cathedral says he was sexually abused by Angley on and off for nine years.

The Rev. Brock Miller resigned in July 2014 after telling his family that, despite his deep love for the Cuyahoga Falls church, he simply could no longer deal with Angley’s perversion.

At the time, Miller turned down repeated interview requests from the Beacon Journal. But late last month, he contacted the newspaper and said he was ready to share his story.
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Miller, now 32, says that although Angley never actually touched his genitals, his boss required him to disrobe and masturbate in front of him.

Former pastor says Angley abused him

Northwest Indiana Priest Accused Of Lying About Attack « CBS Chicago

A Northwest Indiana priest failed to adhere to (at least) one of the Catholic Church’s ’10 Commandments’–‘Thou Shalt Not Lie’–after accusations surfaced that he made up a story about being attacked at the altar in August.

Father Basil Hutsko of Saint Michael Byzantine, a Catholic church in Merrillville, has been placed on administrative leave following allegations that he lied about being the victim of a hate
crime.

The parish discredited his claims that he was beaten while he was praying at the altar last summer.

Northwest Indiana Priest Accused Of Lying About Attack « CBS Chicago

Bihar: Buddhist monk held for alleged sexual abuse of 15 boys | The Indian Express

A Buddhist monk on Thursday was taken into custody at the international pilgrim town Bodh Gaya near Gaya district for alleged sexual abuse of 15 children from Assam who were studying at a school-cum-meditation centre run by him, police said.
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The monk ran an institution called “Prasanna Jyoti Buddhist School and Meditation Centre” at Mastipur village in Bodh Gaya where the 15 children – all hailing from Karbi Anglong district in Assam – were studying.

Bihar: Buddhist monk held for alleged sexual abuse of 15 boys | The Indian Express

Diocese Of Greensburg Removes Pastor After Sexual Abuse Allegations « CBS Pittsburgh

The Diocese of Greensburg has removed one pastor after reviving a credible allegation of sexual abuse.

Monsignor Michael W. Matusak has been removed from his ministry for sexual abuse allegations that date back to 20 years ago. Matusak served as a pastor at four parishes in Uniontown, including St. John the Evangelist, St. Joseph, St. Mary and St. Therese, Little Flower of Jesus.
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In a press release, the Diocese said, “As per Diocesan policy, Msgr. Matusak was removed from his place of ministry and relieved of all parish duties within 24 hours of the allegation and will remain on leave until authorities complete their investigation.”

The allegation has been reported to Pennsylvania ChildLine and the District Attorney’s office and the diocese says the investigation is now in the hands of law enforcement.

“It hasn’t settled in yet and I’m sure it’s going to take awhile,” said Riba.

Diocese Of Greensburg Removes Pastor After Sexual Abuse Allegations « CBS Pittsburgh

Shambhala Leaders Resign After Abuse Allegations Shake Community

Shambhala International’s leader, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, has announced that he will step aside amid an investigation into his alleged sexual abuse of students, and the organization’s governing body, the Kalapa Council, said that all nine of its members will resign—leaving the community with an uncertain future.

The Sakyong will stop teaching and step away from his administrative duties until an investigation is completed, he said in a statement released on July 6. He has also resigned from the board of trustees at Naropa University and as the Naropa Lineage Holder, according to a statement from the university released a day earlier.

The Kalapa Council, meanwhile, is planning a “phased departure” as they hand over their responsibilities to new leadership, who have yet to be determined. 

“We recognize that parts of our system are broken, and need to dissolve in order to make room for real change,” they said in a July 6 statement.

The change in leadership was spurred by a series of sexual abuse allegations against Shambhala teachers over the past few months. The accusations were contained in two reports created by Project Sunshine, a group that Shambhalian and abuse survivor Andrea Winn started over a year ago, initially as a support network for other survivors. The first report, which was released in February, described five accounts of misconduct that included childhood sexual abuse, betrayal by senior leaders, and a male sangha member exposing himself on retreat. “Phase two” of Project Sunshine, released in late June, revealed allegations against the Sakyong himself. Two women described being abused by him during boozy private parties. (He preempted the report with a statement three days before its publication that apologized for harmful “relationships.”)

Shambhala Leaders Resign After Abuse Allegations Shake Community

The epidemic of denial about sexual abuse in the evangelical church. - The Washington Post

This is more for reference, but a good report.  Many of the cases highlighter on H&C are mentioned. 

Without a centralized theological body, evangelical policies and cultures vary radically, and while some church leaders have worked to prevent abuse and harassment, many have not. The causes are manifold: authoritarian leadership, twisted theology, institutional protection, obliviousness about the problem and, perhaps most shocking, a diminishment of the trauma sexual abuse creates — especially surprising in a church culture that believes strongly in the sanctity of sex. “Sexual abuse is the most underreported thing — both in and outside the church — that exists,” says Boz Tchividjian, a grandson of Billy Graham and a former Florida assistant state attorney. 

The epidemic of denial about sexual abuse in the evangelical church. - The Washington Post

See also::
Report: Protestant Church Insurers Handle 260 Sex Abuse Cases a Year (2007)

Bob Jones University Blamed Victims of Sexual Assaults, Not Abusers, Report Says

'Spiritual healer' arrested, accused of sex abuse, abortion in the Bronx | abc7ny.com

Robles is accused of making his clients drink oils that would incapacitate them. Then, he would allegedly cut off their clothing with a knife and sexually abuse them.

Police say Robles also walked on a woman's stomach and back who was six-weeks pregnant. She suffered a miscarriage.

Among his many charges, Robles is also charged with abortion.

The so-called treatment is a form of practice known as Santeria.

'Spiritual healer' arrested, accused of sex abuse, abortion in the Bronx | abc7ny.com

Woman levels accusations against former MTC president | Deseret News

The LDS Church is investigating a woman’s claim that a former president of the Missionary Training Center in Provo sexually assaulted her while she was a missionary there in 1984, an allegation that he denies.

The woman, who is 55, posed as a reporter in December to confront Joseph L. Bishop, 85, who served as MTC president from 1983-86 and as president of Weber State College in the 1970s. She told Bishop that he groomed her by making her feel special, then took her to a basement storage room in the MTC and attempted to rape her, an allegation she later said was rape.

The conversation, which she taped, and its 76-page transcript was released by a website called MormonLeaks run by a former member of the LDS Church. The woman told the Deseret News Monday that the tape was released without her permission. The Deseret News typically does not release the identity of alleged victims of sexual assault.

Bishop adamantly denied the allegations through his son, Gregory Bishop, who questioned the woman's credibility, saying she has accused 10 other men of sexual assault, sexual harassment or assault without charges being filed and has sought cash settlements in other cases. In 2010, she threatened to kill Bishop, according to police records and her own statements.

Woman levels accusations against former MTC president | Deseret News

UPDATED::'Fight Church' Pastor Paul Burress Accused of Sexual Abuse, Allegedly Confessed to Swinging, Wife-Swapping Lifestyle

UPDATE:: Former Henrietta pastor pleads guilty to sexual abuse

A former Henrietta pastor known for running a fight club in his church pleaded guilty to sexual abuse charges Wednesday in Henrietta Town Court.

Paul Burress, 43, who was accused of groping three women in his Henrietta home, was charged last fall with four counts of forcible touching, a misdemeanor. On Wednesday, he pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual abuse, a misdemeanor, according to the Monroe County District Attorney's Office.

Burress was a charismatic pastor at Victory Church in Henrietta, a large nondenominational church, for a number of years.

UPDATE:: Henrietta 'Fight Church' pastor Paul Burress charged with forcible touching

If one remembers, the original case cited below never came to fruition.  Speculation, Burress and  Dr. Al Ogden demanded silence about these accusations. Threatening to publicize the accusers’ “sins,” revealed to the men during private counseling sessions.  No arrests were ever made at that time; it is unclear if the women dropped the case for lack of evidence or because they wanted to avoid repercussions.

Flash forward,  last Friday morning, Burress was arrested by Monroe County sheriff’s deputies on two counts of forcible touching.

Paul Burress, a charismatic, in-your-face pastor who gained fame for operating a fight club in his Henrietta house of worship, has been accused of forcibly touching two women.

Burress was for years a pastor at Victory Church, a large nondenominational Christian church. The Victory website does not list Burress as being among its leadership team, and the telephone went unanswered there Monday morning.

Burress, 43, is a mixed-martial arts fighter as well as a minister, and received a great deal of publicity when he was featured in Fight Church, a 2014 documentary.

On Friday morning, however, he was arrested by Monroe County sheriff's deputies on two counts of forcible touching, according to Sheriff's Office spokesman Cpl. John Helfer. Helfer verified the person arrested was the minister noted for his "Fight Church" activities.

The charges arose from separate incidents in February, Helfer said. The complainants are adult females.

Popular "Fight Church" pastor Paul Burress and his Victory Church in Rochester, New York, are now at the center of a report alleging a sordid pattern of sexual abuse and a past life of swinging and wife-swapping.

Burress and Victory Church have been receiving a lot of coverage in the press lately for being the focus of "Fight Church," a controversial documentary that examines the use of mixed martial arts in the Christian community.

In response to criticism that mixed martial arts had nothing to do with Christianity, Burress defended it in a CNN op-ed last month.

"Like many competitive sports, mixed martial arts can be considered violent, but it's not hateful or destructive. It teaches us how to contain and control our most violent impulses through strength, discipline and perseverance — none of which are at odds with Christianity," wrote Burress.

According to a report posted on a blog called the Bloody Elbow, however, Burress, who is senior pastor at Victory Church, has not been exercising a lot of control over his sexual urges.

In a letter sent to the leadership team of Victory Church in 2013, an unidentified source complains that he was seduced into administering sensual back-rubs on Paul's wife, Jill, and repeatedly shown explicit video of the pastor having sex with his wife.

'Fight Church' Pastor Paul Burress Accused of Sexual Abuse, Allegedly Confessed to Swinging, Wife-Swapping Lifestyle

Church of the Living God International: Allegations of sexual abuse plague Columbus-based reverend

Bishop Joseph White has led the Church of the Living God International for more than 20 years. His followers venerate him as a holy man free of sin. His sermons claim he's above the law, but a group of men claims he has abused his power and influence to abuse them.

White is aware of the allegations against him. He was ousted from his former church amid accusations he did not deny. Victims have emerged to tell their stories, many of which depict similar events.

But instead of facing the law, White has maintained his influence over thousands of people across the world and with it, access to the young men he's accused of abusing.

wkyc.com | Church of the Living God International: Allegations of sexual abuse plague Columbus-based reverend

The Ugly Truth: Sex Abuse at Evangelical Colleges | I Love You but You're Going to Hell

I found this to be an interesting OP, the highlighted statement catching my eye.  The first comment as well as the author's response is worth a gander as well.

I wish it were a shock or a surprise. Instead, the terrible stories coming out of the Larry Nassar case are all too familiar: young people threatened and abused, an abuser tolerated for the sake of victory, the whole story hushed up. Why did so many responsible adults look the other way? One phrase from gymnast and whistleblower Rachel Denhollander struck me: “not simple institutional protectionism.” Denhollander sees it as a theological problem, but in the research for my new book about evangelical colleges, I found a more complicated truth.

Of course, the demon of sexual abuse and institutional cover-up is not a problem for evangelical churches and colleges alone. The Catholic Church, big football schools like Penn State, and in the Nassar case, Michigan State all have an atrocious record of institutional protectionism.

However, I argue in my book that evangelical colleges faced a peculiar double-pronged problem. First, in the early years of the fundamentalist movement, leaders were keen to protect the reputation of their controversial movement. Second, without an outside arbiter—a denominational convention or presbytery or Vatican—fundamentalist institutions tended to turn into self-contained fiefdoms. The thoughts and plans of charismatic leaders tended to become authoritative, if not authoritarian.

The Ugly Truth: Sex Abuse at Evangelical Colleges | I Love You but You're Going to Hell

Former senior pastors at Church for Life face sexual assault lawsuit; attorneys deny misconduct | Local News | santamariatimes.com

Generally I don't post concerning civil cases, just too many of them to track, but this one caught my eye for some odd reason,,,

Former senior pastors at a Santa Maria church are facing a sexual battery, assault and harassment lawsuit filed by a former parishioner, who also alleges church officials did not take action when complaints were raised.

The lawsuit -- filed last summer by a mother of two in her 30s identified as Jane Doe -- claims that former Church for Life pastors Robert Litzinger and Cindy Litzinger knowingly co-conspired in conduct from 2014-16 that included sexual harassment, battery, assault and gender violence.

Criminal charges have never been filed against either Robert or Cindy, according to court records.

Doe is seeking compensatory and punitive damages against the defendants, along with attorney and court fees, claiming she was harmed physically and mentally. The case returns to Santa Maria Superior Court on May 22 for a case management conference.

Former senior pastors at Church for Life face sexual assault lawsuit; attorneys deny misconduct | Local News | santamariatimes.com

UPDATED::Rev. James Schook asking to be released six months into 15-year - WDRB 41 Louisville News

UPDATE::  Priest convicted of sexual abuse granted early parole

James Schook has been granted early parole.

He was released because medical staff diagnosed him with one year left to live. Schook is being supervised.

An update to http://interestinghmm.blogspot.com/2014/06/updatejames-schook-priest-convicted-of.html this story and all I can say is just wow. Wants special treatment because he has cancer, boo-fucking-who. Shock probation? And still technically a priest!

A Louisville priest convicted earlier this year of sexually abusing a teenage boy in the 1970s is asking to be released from prison just six months into his 15-year sentence.

An attorney for the Rev. James Schook has given notice that he will ask a judge Monday to release Schook on shock probation, saying he “now realizes the importance of obeying and conforming to the community's rules.”

In April, a jury convicted Schook of three counts of sodomy and one count of indecent and immoral behavior with an individual and recommended the 15-year sentence, which the judge upheld.

David Lambertus, Schook's attorney, wrote that he has the support of family members and friends who have offered to care for him and “make sure he abides by the rules of shock probation.”

Schook suffers from terminal cancer. Shock probation allows inmates to be released after serving one to six months of their sentence, under the belief they have been so "shocked" by their experience that they would be deterred from future crimes.

Rev. James Schook asking to be released six months into 15-year - WDRB 41 Louisville News

UPDATED::Pastor Mike Sperou Faces Child Sex Charges After 7 Women Accuse Him Of Abuse

UPDATE:: Oregon Court of Appeals upholds pastor's child sex abuse conviction

The Oregon Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of a pastor sentenced to prison for sexually abusing a girl who grew up in his Happy Valley church.

The court affirmed the conviction of Mike Sperou without opinion on Wednesday, records show. A Multnomah County jury convicted Sperou in 2015 on three counts of first-degree sexual penetration of a person under the age of 12, and he was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

He's being held in the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem, and records list his earliest release date as December 27, 2032.

An Oregon pastor was charged 18 years after several women accused him of sexually abusing them as minors.

Michael Sperou, 64, faces three felonies for unlawful sexual penetration of people under 12, according to KOIN. Seven women have lived in frustration since their complaints about the Happy Valley pastor in the 1990s went unanswered.

Now, prosecutors are taking a second look at those complaints. Sperou, who was arrested last June, is accused of sexually abusing women -- who ranged in age from 11 to 16 at the time -- in the Southeast Bible Church community, which is now known as the North Clackamas Bible Community, the Oregonian reports.

Jury selection began in his case this week. Prosecutors found that the statute of limitations had expired on most of the women's cases, but Sperou was charged based on new allegations by 28-year-old Shannon Clark. The victim said she withheld information from investigators in 1997 because she thought the community was on Sperou's side.

Pastor Mike Sperou Faces Child Sex Charges After 7 Women Accuse Him Of Abuse

Billy Graham's Grandson Says Protestants Abuse Kids Just Like Catholics - VICE

As I have questioned before in 2013 and 2015,  I am trying to figure out how he is able to rectify this view in light of where he teaches law? Criminality is suppressed and restoration of the "guilty" party back into leadership is the typical modus operandi of the evangelical crowd.

That criticism aside, I do like the fact that Tchividjian is showcasing the abuses within the Protestant church.  As this blog has highlighted, it is not just a Catholic problem.  And as Tchividjian notes the prevalence is the same in society as a whole compared to the religious community.

Basyle "Boz" Tchividjian walks a fine line. On one side, he's the ultimate evangelical insider. His grandfather was the famed evangelical preacher Billy Graham, who exerted immense influence over American politics, culture, and theology. Tchividjian has followed in the family business, teaching law at Liberty University, the Christian college of famed Baptist pastor Jerry Falwell. On the other side, he's one of the most articulate critics of evangelical institutions, at times sounding like a new atheist prophet alongside Richard Dawkins or Bill Maher. He says that churches can be ideal environments for sexual predators who target children. And that traditions of shame, male power structures, and public relations myopia help keep abusers in positions of power and the abused silent.

Tchividjian sees it as his Christian duty to root out abuse in the church, and to build defenses against it. His organization, GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment), has been hired to investigate high-profile Christian institutions like Bob Jones University and New Tribes Mission. GRACE revealed frightening levels of sexual abuse and, as he told me during our interview, "the common thread of institutional protection at the expense of the individual."

Tchividjian has even had to deal with sex scandals in his own family. In 2015, it was revealed that Boz's brother, Tullian Tchividjian, had committed what the GRACE board described as a "gross misuse of power" in his extramarital relations with adult members of the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Over the years, Boz has come to recognize that many churches do not have policies in place to deal with accusations of abuse. And too often they blame the victims for seducing their abuser. In an attempt to combat this, Tchividjian recently co-authored The Child Safeguarding Policy Guide for Churches and Ministries, attempting to help church leaders address difficult questions about predators in their communities and how to avoid further harming someone who has already been traumatized.

We recently spoke with the grandson of "America's pastor" about why some churches protect predators, how sexual ignorance leads to abuse, and where Jesus stood on child abuse.

Billy Graham's Grandson Says Protestants Abuse Kids Just Like Catholics - VICE

Troy's Emma Willard School reports sex abuse allegations - Times Union

Another possible sexual abuse scandal erupting at an elite prep school.  While non-sectarian in nature the power dynamics are still the same - (alleged) abuse of authority.

Local law enforcement and child abuse experts are looking into reports that sexual abuse may have taken place at Emma Willard School in the 1970s and 1990s, school leadership confirmed Wednesday.

One of the recent allegations came to light in April, when the all-girls boarding school received a report that a former student had been sexually assaulted by a former teacher in 1998, according to a letter sent Wednesday to the school community by Interim Head of School Susan Groesbeck.

An Emma Willard teacher was fired in 1998 after the school learned the individual had been involved with a student in a way that "violated the school's boundaries of faculty/student interaction," the letter said. But the administration was unaware at the time of any allegation of sexual assault involving the teacher, the letter continued.

Troy's Emma Willard School reports sex abuse allegations - Times Union

Prominent rabbi and educator accused of sexual abuse - Israel News - Jerusalem Post

A prominent rabbi and educator living in Beit Shemesh has been accused of misusing his authority and position for his sexual gratification.

An ad hoc rabbinical court of senior rabbis in Israel and the US issued a warning instructing women to avoid all contact with Rabbi Meir Pogrow, the founder of a website and study program called Master Torah, designed to aid the study of religious texts and retain the knowledge acquired.

According to the Master Torah website, Pogrow has rabbinical ordination from several authorities, including from the Chief Rabbinate, and is qualified as a rabbinical judge.
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Having spoken with Pogrow, the rabbis issued a ruling prohibiting him from associating with women in any way and for any reason, including married and unmarried women of any age.

The rabbis also warned all women against meeting with Pogrow for any reason publicly or privately, and from contacting him in any way including by phone or email and any other form of electronic correspondence.

The rabbis added that a woman in the US has helped Pogrow establish meetings with other women and said therefore that all women should avoid all contact with this individual as well.

Rabbis Bass and Malinowitz, along with Rabbis Yitzhak Berkowitz, Mordechai Willig, and Elimelech Kornfeld, issued a separate document entitled “Warning to the Public.”

“It is our obligation to notify and warn women and girls in the strongest and most urgent terms, to distance themselves from any interaction from this individual, from his lectures, and from any area of his influence in any way,” the rabbis wrote.

Prominent rabbi and educator accused of sexual abuse - Israel News - Jerusalem Post

See also:: Another scandal: Let’s not miss the point this time around