Tag Archives: religion

Bali Governor: Tourists Immune From New Sex Ban

Agence France-Presse reports: Visitors to Bali will not be put at risk by Indonesia’s newly ratified criminal code, the island’s governor said, dismissing concerns that revised laws which include articles criminalizing sex outside marriage may scare away tourists from its shores. Indonesia’s parliament last week passed the controversial bill that also prohibits cohabitation between unmarried couples. Seeking to reassure visitors, …

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TX Pastor Charged With Sexual Assault Of 11-Year-Old

Wichita Falls’ NBC affiliate reports: The pastor of a Wichita Falls church was jailed on charges of sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl whose family attended his church, Good Samaritan Outreach Ministries. Paul Coleman was in jail Saturday on charges of sexual assault and indecency with a child. According to the arrest warrants, an 11-year-old girl made an outcry at …

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FL Pastor Charged With $524,000 COVID Fraud Scheme

From the Justice Department: US Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Henry Troy Wade (45, Ocala) with six counts of wire fraud related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each count. In addition, the United States is seeking an …

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MN Pastor Arrested On Multiple Child Sex Charges

The Marshall Independent reports: A 36-year-old former pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Sleepy Eye faces three felony 3rd-degree criminal sexual conduct charges filed in Brown County District Court Friday. Bail was set at $50,000 for Nathan Van Alfred Luong of Rochester. Luong is accused of having an inappropriate sexual relationship with a teenage female church member from about October …

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Christian Sex “Expert” OKs Giving Others A “Holy Kiss”

The Christian Post reports: Notable Bible teacher and author John Piper said this week that modern-day Christians should not “rule out” the New Testament command for followers of Christ to give each other a “holy kiss.” In a “Look at the Book” video posted to YouTube on Thursday, Piper examined if Christians should still give greetings to each other through …

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IL Pastor Sentenced To 14 Years On Child Porn Charges

Shaw Local reports: Nearly eight years after he was charged with disseminating child pornography, three lawyers and scrapped trial dates later, DeKalb pastor Corey D. Butler will spend more than a decade in prison after he pleaded guilty Wednesday in front of a DeKalb County judge. Butler, now 42, was indicted on April 29, 2015, with dissemination of child pornography, …

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IA Youth Pastor Arrested On Multiple Child Sex Charges

Des Moines’ CBS affiliate reports: A former Des Moines metro area youth pastor is charged with giving alcohol to minors and sexually assaulting them. Caleb Toney faces five charges, including assault with intent to commit sexual abuse and supplying alcohol to someone underage. A criminal complaint says that while Toney was a youth pastor, he gave alcohol to minors on …

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Pastor Gets Six Years Probation On Child Sex Charges

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports: The former pastor of a church in Chester issued a tearful apology to his wife, his family and his former congregants Tuesday as he was sentenced to six years’ probation for having a sexual relationship with an underage girl. Edward Lilly, 72, said he was “deeply, profoundly sorry” during the brief hearing before Delaware County Court …

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Mormon Leader Had Sex With Underage Wives’ Father

The Daily Beast reports: Samuel Bateman, a self-proclaimed “prophet” of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, had 20 wives, many of whom were under the age of 15, according to an FBI investigation. Bateman drank wine and had sex with a male follower, Moroni Johnson, in a motel room in Lincoln, Nebraska, in front of his underage …

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Colorado Youth Pastor Arrested On Elder Fraud Charges

The Colorado Springs Gazette reports: Denver prosecutors want to know if there are any more victims of a Morrison contractor and youth pastor who is accused of bilking an elderly couple out of $250,000, according to a news release. Investigators allege Tilo Lopez, 35, funneled money paid for the couple’s retirement home on everything from fancy hotel stays and Las …

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Indonesian Parliament Criminalizes Non-Marital Sex

The Associated Press reports: Indonesia’s Parliament unanimously passed a long-awaited revision of the country’s penal code on Tuesday that criminalizes sex outside of marriage for citizens as well as foreigners, prohibits promotion of contraception and bans defamation of the president and state institutions. Rights groups criticized some of the revisions as overly broad or vague and warned that adding them …

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Florida Pastor Arrested On Multiple Child Sex Charges

Tampa’s Fox affiliate reports: A preacher from the Florida panhandle is facing federal charges after being arrested by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations following an investigation involving child sexual abuse. According to the Department of Justice, Jason Moore, 42, a preacher from Milton, Florida, was arrested on Friday in Santa Rosa County for illicit sexual …

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Iran Scraps Morality Police After Widespread Protests

The New York Times reports: Iran has abolished the morality police, according to an announcement by the attorney general carried on state media, following months of protests set off by the death of a young woman who was being held by the force for supposedly violating the country’s strict Islamic dress laws. The decision, reported by state news outlets late …

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SURVEY: Religious “Nones” Overwhelmingly Vote Blue

The Associated Press reports: In 2022, some 22% of voters claimed no religious affiliation, according to AP VoteCast, an expansive survey of more than 94,000 voters nationwide. They contributed to voting coalitions that gave Democrats victories in battleground states such as Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Arizona. The unaffiliated — often nicknamed the “nones” — voted for Democratic House candidates nationwide over …

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NC Pastor Arrested On Multiple Child Sex Charges

Durham’s ABC affiliate reports: Durham Police have charged a man accused of sex crimes involving minors. David Keandre’ Dixon, 37, of Raleigh, was charged with several counts of felony statutory sex offenses involving a child younger than 15 as well as felony indecent liberties with a child. Dixon, who was arrested Thursday by Raleigh police at his home, is being …

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WI Catholic Pastor Arrested On Child Sex Charges

Madison.com reports: A pastor associate at Dane County sister parishes in DeForest and outside Sun Prairie has been arrested on child sex charges, according to Dane County Jail records. Rajnal Rehmat was booked into the jail by the DeForest Police Department shortly before 5 p.m. Thursday on tentative charges of sexual exploitation of a child, sexual assault of student by …

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MO Youth Pastor Sentenced To 9 Years For Child Rape

The Roys Report reports: A former youth pastor at a Southern Baptist church in southwest Missouri pleaded guilty this week to six child sex abuse-related charges, court documents show. Jeff Taylor, 48, was sentenced to nine years in state prison as part of a plea agreement. He pleaded guilty to four statutory sodomy charges and two statutory rape charges, the …

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Indonesia Is Set To Criminalize Sex Outside Marriage

Reuters reports: Indonesia’s parliament is expected to pass a new criminal code this month that will penalise sex outside marriage with a punishment of up to one year in jail, officials have confirmed. The legislative overhaul will also ban insulting the president or state institutions and expressing any views counter to Indonesia’s state ideology. Cohabitation before marriage is also banned. …

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Oklahoma Youth Pastor Sued After Molestation Arrest

Fox News reports: Cody Barlow, a 33-year-old former Wewoka Middle School principal who was arrested in October on child sexual assault charges, is being sued along with the Wewoka School District by an anonymous minor who attended the school and claims that Barlow groomed and abused him, according to KOKH-TV. “Mr. Barlow had a process of grooming young kids,” attorney Ross …

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Anti-Vax Megachurch Pastor Dies Of Something [VIDEO]

The Christian Post reports: Canadian megachurch Pastor Leon Fontaine, who garnered recent attention for his refusal to adhere to ongoing and restrictive COVID-19 lockdown orders banning churches from holding in-person or drive-in worship gatherings, has died at age 59. A video posted online featuring Fontaine’s five children confirmed that he passed away on Saturday evening, though it did not mention …

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