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San Bernardino pastor is arrested, accused of molesting two boys

The pastor of the Muscoy United Methodist Church in San Bernardino has been arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing two boys, authorities said.

 

Stephen Howard, 54, of Fontana was arrested Thursday on suspicion of lewd acts with a child under 14 and oral copulation and sodomy with a person under 18, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. The alleged victims, now 14 and 23 years old, previously attended the church and said Howard gave them money in exchange for the sexual abuse, authorities said.

 

The 23-year-old told investigators the abuse started when he was 9, officials said.

 

Howard has been the lead pastor at the church since 2001 and was the youth director at an Ontario church from 1989 to 2001, authorities said. He is being held at the Central Detention Center in lieu of $250,000 bail.

 

Authorities are asking anyone with information about the case to call sheriff's Det. Jennifer Wood. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call (800) 782-7463 (800-78-CRIME) or leave a tip on www.wetip.com.

 

http://www.latimes.com/local/l....story#axzz2wG0inn3f

 

 

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Originally Posted by semiannualchick:

Wonder how long the abuse went on with the 23-year-old? I guess he needed the money to bad to report the POS when he got older.

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Semi, I want to make sure I understand you here.  I don't want to accuse you of saying something you don't mean so....just to be clear, are you saying that this victim was WILLING and not forced because he was given money? From the story its sounds like the abuse ended before he turned 18. It doesn't give a lot of detail but I take it that he just didn't come forward until now. Abusers give their victims gifts all the time. They shower these children with video games and trips to fun places to "buy" their silence. We are talking about kids here. They don't work with the same set of intellectual maturity that a grownup does, right? 

 

I hope I am misunderstanding you and that you are not saying the young man chose to be molested so that he could get more money. 

Originally Posted by Jankinonya:

Semi, I want to make sure I understand you here.  I don't want to accuse you of saying something you don't mean so....just to be clear, are you saying that this victim was WILLING and not forced because he was given money? From the story its sounds like the abuse ended before he turned 18. It doesn't give a lot of detail but I take it that he just didn't come forward until now.

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I hope this isn’t going to be one of those post that turns into name calling & bashing me just because we have a difference of opinion but yes, you did understand me correctly. What the article said was the alleged victims, now 14 and 23 years old, said they were given money in exchange for the sexual abuse. I see that as saying the two boys were given money for sex. Doesn’t use the word force anywhere. A 9 year old boy would be old enough to understand that he was allowing this man to do something for money. Kids at that age love money so he’s to say he didn’t know what he was doing or that he didn’t do it willingly? You don’t know, just as I don’t know. We have a difference of opinion & we’re expressing it.

 

I didn’t see anything in that article that said the abuse ended before he turned 18. Only thing I saw about 18 was that the Pastor was arrested for suspicion of lewd acts with a child under 14 & oral copulation & sodomy with a person under 18.

Originally Posted by semiannualchick:

Originally Posted by Jankinonya:

Semi, I want to make sure I understand you here.  I don't want to accuse you of saying something you don't mean so....just to be clear, are you saying that this victim was WILLING and not forced because he was given money? From the story its sounds like the abuse ended before he turned 18. It doesn't give a lot of detail but I take it that he just didn't come forward until now.

______

I hope this isn’t going to be one of those post that turns into name calling & bashing me just because we have a difference of opinion but yes, you did understand me correctly. What the article said was the alleged victims, now 14 and 23 years old, said they were given money in exchange for the sexual abuse. I see that as saying the two boys were given money for sex. Doesn’t use the word force anywhere. A 9 year old boy would be old enough to understand that he was allowing this man to do something for money. Kids at that age love money so he’s to say he didn’t know what he was doing or that he didn’t do it willingly? You don’t know, just as I don’t know. We have a difference of opinion & we’re expressing it.

 

I didn’t see anything in that article that said the abuse ended before he turned 18. Only thing I saw about 18 was that the Pastor was arrested for suspicion of lewd acts with a child under 14 & oral copulation & sodomy with a person under 18.

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Yes, we have a huge difference of opinion. 9 year old children can't consent to sex. What you are saying is that these children were no better than prostitutes. 9 year old little boy was willing to be molested? I'm not going to call you names. I can't think of an appropriate thing to call you. I have never heard anything so vile and outrageous come from you.  To tell you the truth, right now, after reading what you said, I am speechless. 

 

So as long as a grownup gives a child a gift or money after they molest them then the child is a willing participate?

 

Wow...just wow.

 

 

Originally Posted by Jankinonya:
 

Yes, we have a huge difference of opinion. 9 year old children can't consent to sex. What you are saying is that these children were no better than prostitutes. 9 year old little boy was willing to be molested? I'm not going to call you names. I can't think of an appropriate thing to call you. I have never heard anything so vile and outrageous come from you.  To tell you the truth, right now, after reading what you said, I am speechless.  

So as long as a grownup gives a child a gift or money after they molest them then the child is a willing participate? 

Wow...just wow. 

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I see no point in dignifying this kind of post with a response.

Unfortunately, it would seem that there are parents and the abused themselves who are not willing to be in the spotlight, so they take the hush money from the churches or their insurers and stay quiet.

 

Report: Protestant Church Insurers Handle 260 Sex Abuse Cases a Year

The three companies that insure the majority of Protestant churches in America say they typically receive upward of 260 reports each year of young people under 18 being sexually abused by clergy, church staff, volunteers or congregation members.

 

 

The figures released to The Associated Press offer a glimpse into what has long been an extremely difficult phenomenon to pin down — the frequency of sex abuse in Protestant congregations.

 

 

Religious groups and victims’ supporters have been keenly interested in the figure ever since the Roman Catholic sex abuse crisis hit five years ago. The church has revealed that there have been 13,000 credible accusations against Catholic clerics since 1950.

 

 

Protestant numbers have been harder to come by and are sketchier because the denominations are less centralized than the Catholic church; indeed, many congregations are independent, which makes reporting even more difficult.

 

Some of the only numbers come from three insurance companies — Church Mutual Insurance Co., GuideOne Insurance Co. and Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Co

http://www.insurancejournal.co...2007/06/18/80877.htm

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