Youth Church Leader Sentenced for Molestation

A Calgary judge has sentenced a former volunteer youth church leader to two years in jail for molesting teenage girls.

Kelly Malcolm Grant had pleaded guilty to five sex-related charges stemming from incidents over a number of years.

The judge told Grant that had it not been for his guilty plea, the sentence would have been one year longer.

Two of Grant's victims, who are now in their 20s, told court that he took away their innocence.

Salvation Army Minister Sentenced for Theft

Salvation Army Captain and Minister Andrew Huggins stole more than £900 from his congregation.

The 40-year-old smashed a window and trashed his office in Brick Kiln Lane, Chesterton, to make it look like it had been broken into by crooks who carried out an untidy search, Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard yesterday.

He denied the theft and a separate charge of criminal damage but was found guilty by a jury.

The jury heard an alert neighbour heard the window break at the Salvation Army building at about 5.15pm on July 30. He went to investigate and called the police.

Huggins approached officers and asked what was wrong. The officers searched the building and noticed the filing cabinet in the defendant's office had been broken and the takings were missing.

The CCTV system was checked and the defendant was seen entering the building and going into his office. He was later seen leaving carrying a black computer case.

Huggins's car was searched and officers found the £931.78 takings inside the computer case in the boot.

The defendant was arrested and claimed to have taken the takings to count them at home before returning them. He denied breaking the window and acting dishonestly.

But the jury agreed with the Crown's case – that Huggins staged a break-in to conceal his wrongdoing.

Methodist Minister Sentenced for Child Pornography

A Maida Vale minister who trawled illicit internet sites under the guise 'Uncle Harry' has been convicted of downloading hundreds of child pornography images.

Rev Martin Tullett, a part-time chaplain at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, was found to have more than 400 sexually explicit pictures of children on his computer.

The 46-year-old, who had counselled victims of the 7/7 bombings, was a respected clergyman at the Hinde Street Methodist Church, Marylebone, and Trinity Methodist Church in Fernhead Road, Maida Vale.

But unbeknown to his congregation and employers he was regularly surfing a depraved website - using the pseudonym "Uncle Harry" - to view erotic photographs of 12 and 13-year-old girls.

Catholic Charity Director Sentenced for Theft

The former director of a Southold charity stole from the poor as she tried to make herself rich, a Suffolk judge said yesterday.

Before he sentenced Pauline Winterbottom, 53, of Greenport, to 3 to 9 years in prison for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars while running the Catholic not-for-profit agency, Judge Ralph Gazzillo yesterday drew an unfavorable comparison between Winterbottom and a fictitious defender of the underclass.

"You're no Robin Hood," Gazzillo said. "You stole from the poor."

Winterbottom - who used the money to buy lottery tickets - pleaded guilty in April to one count of grand larceny, and has never tried to pay back the Diocese of Rockville Centre, prosecutor Lucie Kwon said. Gazzillo, sitting in Riverhead, yesterday ordered Winterbottom to pay $733,091.72 in restitution.

Prosecutors said Winterbottom stole the money in cash over a five-year period while she was director of North Fork Parish Outreach, which administers charity funds collected by four Roman Catholic parishes on the East End. The organization provides food, clothes and furniture and pays utility bills for the needy.

The theft was discovered during an audit. Kwon said authorities were unable to recover any of the money.

"She spent it all," Kwon said.

Winterbottom's attorney, William Goggins of Mattituck, blamed the diocese for his client's legal problems. He said Winterbottom was hired to run the center, though she had no experience running a business, "lacks a formal education and had a gambling addiction."

Jehovah's Witness Sentenced for Molestation

A member of the Jehovah's Witness church who molested three male church members after "ingratiating himself" into their families has been sentenced to more than 10 years in jail.

Robert Leslie Souter pleaded guilty to eight charges of sexual assault of the boys, who were aged between 14 and 16 at the time of the abuse, following prolonged negotiations with prosecutors.

Two of the victims were brothers whose parents had met Souter when the family first become involved with the church in 1970.

The elder brother, 14, known as CT, was first abused when he did a week of work experience with Souter, a qualified carpenter.

As CT climbed a ladder Souter followed him up, slipping his hand up the boy's shorts and rubbing his penis before climbing down and ejaculating himself.

Later when CT helped him at a carpentry job, Souter rubbed himself against the boy simulating sex and told him to think about the woman who owned the house. He then masturbated CT after telling him to put on the woman's stockings.

CT's younger brother, NT was about 10 years old when he first met Souter who would visit their home for dinner and family barbecues and go to the beach with them.

Four years later, while NT helped Souter to build a new church hall, Souter asked him, "Do you want me to show you how to become a man?" before making the boy perform sex acts.

Later, while taking the boy on a bike ride Souter said to the boy: "Let's go to the sand hills. I can show you how to make babies." He held his hand to the boy's mouth while having anal sex with him.

NT told health workers about the abuse after he experienced an anxiety attack while on a church convention in Alice Springs.

Souter was expelled from the congregation before being readmitted after he apologised to church elders.

Souter abused the the third boy, who worked for him, several times including while the boy slept as they drove home from a job.

Souter sat with his head down throughout the sentencing while his three victims, now adults, and their family and friends sat in the back of the court.

He is serving a prison sentence for the sexual assault of another brother of CT and NT, the court heard.

Judge David Freeman said the facts of this case were "distressingly similar to the case for which he is already serving time".

"That he has debauched all three sons of the one family has done extreme damage," Judge Freeman said. "The guilt of the parents for allowing a fellow member of their church to defile their sons is palpable."

Souter will serve a maximum of 10 years and six months in prison with a non-parole period of seven years and nine months.

He will be eligible for parole in 2015.

Outside court the victims said they were relieved by the sentence and that they could now begin to move on with their lives.

Deacon Sentenced for Sex with Teen

A former deacon’s original jail sentence was reinstated Tuesday on charges he had sexual relations with a young church member.

Sean Fairbrother, 44, currently of Florida but formerly of Bloomsburg, was re-sentenced to 18 to 36 months in state prison for having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl at his church.

He had pleaded guilty to corruption of minors and was originally sentenced in January. The state Superior Court reviewed the case and on Sept. 18, ordered the county court to consider additional factors before re-issuing a sentence.

The relationship lasted over a 3-month period where records said they had sex between 10 and 20 times.

The girl, who appeared in court to testify on consequences since the events, was dressed in a Navy uniform and surrounded by her family and friends in the courtroom.

She told Judge Scott W. Naus that it pains her to have to return to face the situation all over again.

Deacon Sentenced for Molesting 7-year-old Girl

A church deacon who was arrested for molesting a 7-year-old girl has been sentenced to prison.

An attorney for Stanley Dale Jones sought to keep the 72-year-old from getting a prison term after he pleaded guilty to six counts of sexual abuse of a child.

But District Judge Tammy Bass-LeSure sentenced Jones to three years in prison and seven years of probation on Monday.

Jones was a deacon and song leader at Eastside Church of Christ, but he resigned those positions after his June 2007 arrest. He apologized to his family and his church afterward.

On Monday he called what he did "the worst decision I ever made in my life."

Jones, a former band director at Carl Albert High School, has been in sex offender treatment since a month after his arrest.

He had hoped to remain out of prison to continue that treatment, which his doctor said should last four to six more years.

Christian Sentenced for Murder of Infant

An Auckland woman has been sentenced to life imprisonment with minimum non parole period of 17 years for the murder of ten month old baby Jynia Te Awa.

Tiana Kapea, who was the child's minder, has also been sentenced to three years jail on a cruelty charge - that is to be served concurrently with the life sentence.

Kapea, 30, admitting murdering Jyniah last year.

Kapea was baby sitting Jyniah when she was taken from a Manurewa house to Middlemore Hospital in September last year with a brain injury.

She was transferred to Auckland's Starship Hospital but died the next day.

The court was told that Kapea was a trusted friend of Jyniah's family.

During her short life, the baby was held against a gas heater, swung around by her hair, hung on the back of a wardrobe door and put in a closed freezer several times.

She died from injuries after being kicked, thrown against a wall, shaken and smothered.

Jyniah's mother Lisa Cassidy says she still can't believe Kapea abused her baby, when she had trusted her.

She says she went to church, she had good children and was a best friend to her.

Cassidy says the sentence gives her family some closure and says every night she and her children cry and pray to have nice dreams.

Relatives of Jynia wore t-shirts in court with slogans demanding justice for the little girl on Tuesday.

They burst into spontaneous applause when the sentence was announced.

Pastor Pleads Guilty to Sexual Assault of Teenager

A convicted sex offender spared prison a decade ago in favor of treatment pleaded guilty Monday to a new charge of sexually assaulting a teenage boy.

Robert D. Bennefield, 43, of Sifton could face up to 12 years in prison.

In 1998, Bennefield pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree rape of a child and one count of attempted second-degree assault involving two brothers. The boys attended the small Lighthouse Christian Center in Rosemere, where Bennefield was a pastor.

In that case, Bennefield also admitted to molesting nine other boys he’d met through the church, according to court records. At his 1998 sentencing, Clark County Superior Court Judge Robert Harris granted Bennefield’s request for a term under the state’s Special Sex Offender Sentencing Alternative (SSOSA).

Harris, who could have sent Bennefield to prison for a decade, instead ordered him to spend six months in jail and complete therapy for sexual deviancy.

Bennefield graduated from therapy.

Earlier this year, Bennefield, who was working as a hotel maintenance worker, met a teenage boy online and went to the boy’s house. The father of the 15-year-old walked in on Bennefield and his son, chased Bennefield out and then left a note on Bennefield’s door that was discovered by Bennefield’s wife, according to court documents.

Bennefield told his corrections officer about the incident on May 13 and was arrested that day.

On Monday he pleaded guilty to assault of a child in the third degree with sexual motivation.

For that crime, he faces at least two years in prison. Harris will have the option of also imposing the prison term he suspended in 1998.

Harris ordered a pre-sentence report and set a tracking date of Jan. 6. If the report is finished, a sentencing date will be set at that time.

Christian Sentenced for Child Abuse

A woman who abused and terrorized five children related to her for years will serve five years in prison. Rita Makekau pleaded no contest to eight felony counts and one misdemeanor.

Three of the five abused children summoned up the courage to face their tormentor in court.

"To be starved outside without any sleeping material, warm clothes, clean clothes, or food under the house," said Deputy Prosecutor Lori Wada.

"Aunty Rita is the worst. She lived with us for two years, and whacked me on my head with a knife, especially in the kitchen when getting ready for dinner. She hated us," read guardian Colette Dhakhwa.

Horrible images of physical abuse that took place here. There is also a mental toll taken on siblings who know a younger brother is being abused.

"And they would make my little brother sleep under the stairs by himself every time he made pee in his pants. It would be dark and he would be scared," read social worker for the kids, Lori Wada.

Rita Makekau claims it was discipline.

"We need to understand something, when we are put here on earth we are to discipline, the bible says to not spare the rod on your children," said Makekau.

The abused appealed to the judge for what they felt was a fair sentence.

"I think that she should get forty-one years because it's not fair that she only gets five years when we was put through hell and abused for more than five years," said victim abby Sylvester.

That was also what the state wanted, 41 years, but Judge Virginia Crandall handed down a five year sentence.

"They were very angry. They were very upset. One quote of the children was 'this is nuts,'" said Wada.

It didn't help that Makekau walked out of court before the children did, not due back until next month.

"She has made a motion to dismiss under sovereignty, and the case law is very clear that Hawaiian sovereignty does not excuse you from committing these types of crime, or any type of crime."

Christian Sentenced for Child Porn

A federal judge sentenced a repentant former state legislator Friday to just over three years in prison for possessing child pornography, declaring that "a reputation is easier to build than it is to repair."

Republican Robert A. McKee, 59, of Washington County, must report to the federal Bureau of Prisons on Jan. 12 to begin the 37-month term, which will be followed by lifetime supervised probation. U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles Jr. also ordered McKee to register as a sex offender.

The offense carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

McKee apologized to his family and community, acknowledging he had let them down and violated their trust.

"In the eyes of the law, I committed a crime. In the eyes of God, I committed a sin," said McKee, who was a First Christian Church trustee and executive director of the Hagerstown Big Brothers and Big Sisters when the investigation was revealed Feb. 14.

He resigned from Big Brothers and the General Assembly, where had served for 13 years in the House of Delegates and was chairman of the western Maryland delegation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bonnie S. Greenberg told the judge that during the time McKee was using child porn, he had sponsored, co-sponsored or voted for a number of child-protection bills, including the Child Protection From Predators Act this year.

Lutheran Sentenced for $1.1 Million Theft from Church

A Lancaster man who worked for a local Lutheran church organization for nearly 30 years was sentenced to 2½ years in federal prison today for embezzling more than $1.1 million from the religious organization.

Barry R. Herr, 61, of 2119 Creek Hill Road, had pleaded guilty in July to stealing the money from the Lower Susquehanna Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, where he served as treasurer.

Prosecutors had recommended 51 months of jail time, but U.S. District Court Judge William W. Caldwell went outside that guideline.

"No amount of prison time is going to solve this problem," Caldwell told the nearly two dozen church members, family members and friends at the sentencing.

The judge ordered Herr to make $799,998 in restitution in addition to the $309,000 he has already repaid the church.

Herr will report to Allenwood Federal Prison, near Williamsport, Dec. 29. He will have two years of probation upon his release.

Before the sentence was handed down, a remorseful Herr took full responsibility for his "poor judgment."

He mentioned a "deep sense of humiliation and contrition to those whom I have betrayed...more than money, I have robbed them of their belief and confidence in me."

Herr's wife, pastor and a friend told the judge Herr had good character, was a good family man and husband.

Presbyterian Minister Sentenced for Child Porn

A Presbyterian minister has been jailed after being caught in one of the biggest child porn stings in Queensland history.

John Caldwell Morrow, 69, from Eagle Heights in the Gold Coast hinterland, was one of 13 men arrested in September last year following a two-month special operation that included tip-offs from German police.

The Brisbane District Court was told on Friday that Morrow was identified as having downloaded a large number of child exploitation images, literature and videos from the internet.

A police raid on his home uncovered more than 170,000 images and videos stored on three computer hard drives.

The court was told the majority of the images featured girls aged between eight and 16 in sexualised poses.

The material also included children as young as three being raped.

The court was told Morrow had kept detailed diaries in 2003 and 2004 that documented his internet accessing history and included addresses for child pornography websites.

Morrow pleaded guilty on Friday to three counts of possessing child exploitation material and one count of using a carriage service to access child pornography.

Judge Michael Noud sentenced him to two and a half years jail, to be released after six months on a good behaviour bond.

Catholic Priest Sentenced for Nude Jogging

A Catholic priest convicted of indecent exposure will not serve any time in jail. A Weld County District Court sentenced Father Robert Whipkey to five years probation Thursday morning.

Whipkey will also have to register as a sex offender.

During the hearing, he told the judge the publicity surrounding the case has been a hardship on him and his efforts to look for employement.

"Absolutely extreme, he was a Catholic priest. He no longer can preach and that is more than just a career, that's a calling. He's dedicated his life to that and now lost that and it is extremely painful," said Lee Harrell, Whipkey's attorney.

Whipkey is appealing his conviction. In court, he said his family has been wrecked by this ordeal.

The judge did order a stay of the sentencing until the appeal is decided.

Whipkey had served at parishes in Erie, Mead and Frederick. He was arrested in June of 2007 for indecent exposure when he was caught jogging naked near his home at the Frederick High School track.

Christian Missionary Sentenced for Sex Abuse

A British paedophile who ran a Christian missionary orphanage for abandoned street children in Albania has been sentenced to 20 years in jail after being found guilty of sexually abusing children.

David Brown, 57, a charity worker from Edinburgh, opened the orphanage seven years ago, claiming to be receiving instructions from God. He was found guilty in Tirana's district court today of "sexual relations with minors".

During his trial Brown accused two other British helpers at the home of committing the abuse. Dino Christodoulou, 45, a social therapy nurse from Blackburn in Lancashire, and Robin Arnold, 56, a salesman from Cromer in Norfolk were extradited to Albania in May and are being tried separately for their alleged role in the abuse.

Brown was arrested in May 2006, following a raid on the orphanage.
Sentencing him to the maximum sentence in a high security jail in Albania, the judge said he hoped the punishment would serve as a warning to other paedophiles. He ordered Brown to be expelled from Albania when he is released from prison, in 2028.

Before travelling to Albania, Brown provided bible lessons and camping holidays to boys in Scotland over two decades.

Protestant Convicted for Attempted Murder of Catholics

A Belfast judge convicted a notorious Protestant militant Friday of trying to kill Catholic politicians during his bizarre — and internationally broadcast — attempt to attack the Northern Ireland Assembly two years ago.

Justice Donal Deeny rejected as unbelievable Michael Stone's claim that he intended his November 2006 assault on Northern Ireland's power-sharing legislature to be an act of cutting-edge performance art. Stone denied any plan to try to kill Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, leaders of the Irish Republican Army-linked Sinn Fein party.

Deeny said the evidence was overwhelming — including handwritten letters that Stone himself had sent to journalists beforehand — that the Protestant extremist had hoped to kill both politicians if he managed to breach security at Stormont Parliamentary Building in Belfast.

Stone won a cult following among anti-Catholic extremists in 1988 after he launched a solo gun-and-grenade attack on an IRA funeral, killing three and wounding dozens. He won parole from prison as part of Northern Ireland's 1998 peace accord — but kept expressing a desire to kill Adams and McGuinness.

Baptist Youth Minister Sentenced for Sex with Minor

Jeremy Workman, 33, of Olmsted Falls was sentenced to four years in prison for having sex with a minor four years ago when he was head of the Youth Ministry at Berea Baptist Church.

Workman was 29 at the time and the girl was 15, said Ryan Miday, a spokesman for the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office.

In September Workman pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, a third-degree felony. Workman was indicted in April after in became apparent he had sex with the woman when she was a minor.

The woman recently gave birth and Workman is the child's father, said Miday.

Fugitive Catholic Priest Caught in San Francisco

A former Catholic priest and convicted child molester living in San Francisco is in jail after allegedly being on the run for more than two years.

Federal authorities say 63-year-old Wilputte Sherwood, a priest in Phoenix before his conviction on child sex charges, was arrested Sunday as he was leaving a San Francisco church.

Authorities say he was on the lam after failing to report for probation in 2005 following his release from an Arizona prison, where he served a 10-year sentence.

Prosecutors say Sherwood acknowledged having sex with more than 1,800 people, including 22 minors, when he was convicted in 1993. They say many of his sexual partners were hitchhikers or runaways.

Sherwood faces extradition proceedings for his return to Arizona.

Pastor Sentenced for Stealing From Church

A former Bryan pastor will spend the next four years on probation for stealing from his own church.

According to the Brazos County District Attorney's Office, Kris Erskine, the former pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church, was found guilty Monday of Misapplication of Fiduciary Property. Besides probation, Erskine must pay a $1,000 fine and complete 100 hours of community service.

You may remember, Erskine turned himself in after authorities discovered the pastor was diverting church funds into a personal bank account.

The Brazos County District Attorney's office says a restitution hearing to determine the total amount of money owed to the church will be held at a later date.

Bible School Principal Sentenced for Rape of Student

A former Tulsa private school principal received a five-year probation Friday for the second-degree rape of a teenage student.

Tyrell Brewer pleaded guilty to a charge that alleged he had sex with a 17-year-old girl at Bible Fellowship School, 4915 S. Waco Ave., where he was her principal.

The girl said she and Brewer had sex at the school on four occasions between April 30 and May 6, and she "stated that she consented to the sex," police reported.

It is unlawful for a private or public school employee who is 18 or older to engage in sexual intercourse with a 17-year-old student attending that same school.

Christian Couple Plead Guilty to Sexual Assault of Pastor's Daughter

Few things go unnoticed in a town of 9,000. That explains why the guilty pleas of a former Osceola, Arkansas, reserve police officer and his wife to sexual assault charges on a 14-year-old girl, have people talking.

Wednesday, in Osceola, James Gonzalez Jr. and his wife Pam Gonzalez pleaded guilty to fourth degree sexual assault. Mr. Gonzalez's charge is a felony while Mrs. Gonzalez's charge is a misdemeanor.

According to court documents obtained by FOX13, an Osceola pastor and his wife allowed the Gonzalez's to babysit their 14-year-old daughter for a weekend in July of 2007. The Gonzalez's were members of the pastor's church.

The documents show and the Gonzalez's now admit, it was during that time that Pamela Gonzalez encouraged the 14-year-old to have sex with her 35-year-old husband, who was an Osceola reserve police officer.

Charges were later filed against the Gonzalez's. James Gonzalez Jr. was immediately let go from the police department.

Wednesday, the two agreed to a plea bargain. As a result, neither will face any jail time.

Mr. Gonzalez Jr. was sentenced to 36 months of supervised probation. Mrs. Gonzalez was sentenced to one year. Both have six weeks to register with the state of Arkansas as sex offenders.

Scott Ellington, the prosecutor, said the case never went to trial because the victim and her family did not want to. Ellington said the girl's parents did not want to force the teen to re-live the experience in a public way.

Church Going Teacher Sentenced for Child Porn

A 70-year-old former teacher at Two Rivers Middle School was sentenced Monday to eight years and eight months in prison for looking at child pornography online.

James Chase of Ludlow admitted that he used his computer to download more than 3,000 pictures of child pornography. The pictures included depictions of children under 12 engaged in sexual conduct, as well as images of sadistic and violent conduct.

"Chase may have appeared to live an exemplary life as a schoolteacher and church-goer," Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Bracke said in a statement, "however, he had a secret side obsessed with adult and child pornography."

Under federal law, Chase must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence.

Following his release, he will be on probation for the rest of his life. U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves also ordered Chase to register as a sex offender and to successfully complete sex offender treatment.

Devout Catholic Convicted of Sexually Assaulting Fellow Church Member in Cathedral

A devout churchgoer who developed a crush on a younger fellow worshiper sexually assaulted her in the foyer of their cathedral, a court heard.

Single man Jan Przybyl , 60, became smitten with the married mother after she began attending the Roman Catholic cathedral in Plymouth.

They attended the same daily mass, and she accepted two lifts from him until he began making "inappropriate" remarks such as: "I recognized your figure" and "I just can't stop thinking about you; you're on my mind all the time".

Plymouth Crown Court heard how on April 29, the woman attended morning mass as usual at the Church of St Mary and St Boniface, the Roman Catholic cathedral in Stonehouse.

As she passed Przybyl, he said: "Hello, sexy!" She gave him a disapproving look and sat in a different part of the church.

As they left after the service, he grabbed her arm and asked her how she felt.

He made a strongly sexual remark to her, before touching her chest in several places and then cupped her groin area with his hand.

Christian Teacher Sentenced for Sexual Abuse of Student

The former Fredericksburg Christian School teacher who pleaded guilty in July to aggravated sexual battery, will spend 12 months in jail.

Thomas G. Best, 53, was sentenced by Spotsylvania Circuit Judge David H. Beck to a total of 45 years on three charges, but 44 of those years were suspended.

Beck told Best that the decision came after hearing from witnesses about how remorseful Best is for his actions.

Beck said he also took into consideration the minimal risk that a counselor said Best was of being a re-offending sexual predator.

"He has shown an indication of a high degree of remorse," said David Heeb-ner, an expert in sex-offender treatment who evaluated Best.

Heebner added that Best was in the lowest range of recidivism for sex offenders.

Best pleaded guilty July 9 to indecent liberties and two counts of aggravated sexual battery of the woman, who is now 23 years old. He admitted to inappropriately touching her for more than six years.

Best's defense attorney, Mark Murphy, asked Beck to consider the counseling his client already completed as well as his desire to rehabilitate himself.

"He doesn't sugarcoat what he was doing to her," Murphy said.

The woman, who was not one of Best's students, testified yesterday that she has been mentally scarred by the abuse.

"It has been going on most of my life," the woman said about Best molesting her.

She told Beck that she has trust issues and has been in and out of psychiatric hospitals. She added that she did not want Best to be able to hurt anyone else.

Best's pastor and friend, Don Taylor, told the court that he believed Best was truly remorseful and forthcoming with details of the abuse.

"Tom was extremely transparent and accepted responsibility," Taylor said of Best's confessions in church group sessions before his conviction. "He continues to be extremely repentant."

Prosecutor Amy Harper, who asked the court for sentence of "a significant amount of time," told Beck that while Best has been honest regarding his actions and the years of abuse, his honesty came only after the woman reported the abuse.

She said statements Best made in letters and a journal show that his intentions were to rape the woman.

Christian Elder Convicted of Sexual Abuse

A leading Christian was told to expect a "long" time behind bars after being convicted of sexual abuse and indecent assault.

The leader and elder of Caterham Christian Fellowship, Edwin Cottingham, 67, was convicted at Truro Crown Court on Friday of having sexually abused two young sisters and having indecently assaulted an unrelated married woman.

The jury retired for 13 1/2 hours over three days before returning their unanimous guilty verdicts in respect of the seven charges Cottingham faced.

Cottingham, of Ivy Mill Lane, Godstone, did not react to the verdicts but looked stunned when Judge Philip Wassall remanded him in custody to await sentence, which he warned will be a long one, following the preparation of a probation officer's report.

He said: "The jury have seen through your bombast and rank hypocrisy,"

"You can expect a long sentence because of the very serious nature of these offences. I can give you no credit at all because of the manipulative way you have conducted your defence."

Christian Monks Brawl in Jerusalem Church

Israeli police rushed into one of Christianity's holiest churches Sunday and arrested two clergyman after an argument between monks erupted into a brawl next to the site of Jesus' tomb.

The clash between Armenian and Greek Orthodox monks broke out in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, revered as the site of Jesus' crucifixion, burial and resurrection.

The brawling began during a procession of Armenian clergymen commemorating the 4th-century discovery of the cross believed to have been used to crucify Jesus.

The Greeks objected to the march without one of their monks present, fearing that otherwise, the procession would subvert their own claim to the Edicule — the ancient structure built on what is believed to be the tomb of Jesus — and give the Armenians a claim to the site.

The Armenians refused, and when they tried to march the Greek Orthodox monks blocked their way, sparking the brawl.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said police were forced to intervene after fighting was reported. They arrested two monks, one from each side, he said.

A bearded Armenian monk in a red-and-pink robe and a black-clad Greek Orthodox monk with a bloody gash on his forehead were both taken away in handcuffs after scuffling with dozens of riot police.

Six Christian sects divide control of the ancient church. They regularly fight over turf and influence, and Israeli police are occasionally forced to intervene.

"We were keeping resistance so that the procession could not pass through ... and establish a right that they don't have," said a young Greek Orthodox monk with a cut next to his left eye.

The monk, who gave his name as Serafim, said he sustained the wound when an Armenian punched him from behind and broke his glasses.

Father Pakrat of the Armenian Patriarchate said the Greek demand was "against the status quo arrangement and against the internal arrangement of the Holy Sepulcher." He said the Greeks attacked first.

Archbishop Aristarchos, the chief secretary of the Greek Orthodox patriarchate, denied his monks initiated the violence.

After the brawl, the church was crowded with Israeli riot police holding assault rifles, standing beside Golgotha, where Jesus is believed to have been crucified, and the long smooth stone marking the place where tradition holds his body was laid out.

The feud is only one of a bewildering array of rivalries among churchmen in the Holy Sepulcher.

The Israeli government has long wanted to build a fire exit in the church, which regularly fills with thousands of pilgrims and has only one main door, but the sects cannot agree where the exit will be built.

A ladder placed on a ledge over the entrance sometime in the 19th century has remained there ever since because of a dispute over who has the authority to take it down.

More recently, a spat between Ethiopian and Coptic Christians is delaying badly needed renovations to a rooftop monastery that engineers say could collapse.

Baptist Preacher Sentenced for Incest

A 56-year-old Mount Vernon preacher who pleaded guilty in October to incest has been sentenced to 30 months in prison.

The Rev. Leonard Frazier — originally charged with rape and sodomy — made a blind plea to incest before Mobile County Circuit Judge Rick Stout on Oct. 9. A blind plea meant there was no sentencing deal worked out with prosecutors.

Frazier's accuser, now in her mid-20s, came forward last year, according to court records.

She told authorities that Frazier attacked her sexually when she was a teenager nine years ago. The victim was identified as being related to Frazier by marriage.

At the time of his November 2007 arrest, Frazier was a preacher at Stonewall Baptist Church near Chatom in Washington County. The victim and the church were not connected, officials said.

Frazier's Mobile attorney, Russell Bergstrom, described Frazier on Friday as a longtime mill worker who had never been in trouble with the law until the sexual accusations against him arose.

"He was a model citizen by any other measure," Bergs trom said.

Assistant District Attorney Steve Giardini said Friday that often people who are accused of such crimes are well-

employed with no criminal history.

"They are adept at manipulating adults, too, because we don't entrust our children with criminals," Giardini said.

During Thursday's sentencing, Bergstrom said, Frazier apologized to his family and "took responsibility" for what happened.

Stout ordered Frazier to register as a sex offender when he got out of prison.

Catholic Student Sentenced for Vehicular Assault

Joseph Houghtaling Jr. was not expected to spend any time in jail for his alcohol-fueled crash that injured a passenger last April — but he will now.

The Colonie teenager was sentenced to six months in the Albany County jail and five years probation Friday after he violated conditions of his plea deal.

The agreement prohibited Houghtaling from driving in the time between his guilty plea and sentencing.

But when it was revealed Friday the teen has been driving on his conditional license, Judge Thomas Breslin sentenced him to jail time for vehicular assault and misdemeanor drunken driving.

Had he not gotten behind the wheel, Houghtaling would have received five years probation.

"I trust that you're going to look at this not as a mistake," Breslin told the teen, "it's a crime."

Houghtaling had told the judge, "I'm sorry about everything."

The Christian Brothers Academy student(a Catholic College Prep School) was arrested for driving drunk on April 30. His Honda Civic spun off Mordella Road and hit a parked car in a crash that sent his car's engine hopping across a front yard and through a garage wall. Both Houghtaling and an underage passenger were injured.

He originally faced felony assault, felony vehicular assault, misdemeanor reckless providing alcohol to minors and misdemeanor reckless endangerment. The plea deal was later reached between his lawyer John J. Kelleher, and Assistant District Attorney Mary Tanner-Richter, before Breslin.

Kelleher said later Friday that Breslin "made it clear that violations of his orders will not be tolerated between plea and sentencing."

He said his client "sincerely regrets his destructive decision, and it is his family's hope that he learns from this."

Houghtaling was joined in the courtroom by his father, Joseph, who, along with his estranged wife, Renee, is still appealing their convictions in connection with the longest trial in Albany County history.

Joseph and Renee Houghtaling were found guilty of falsifying business records following an 11-week insurance fraud trial in which three other family members were cleared of more than 100 fraud-related charges. The charges stemmed from allegations they had staged car crashes for money.

They remain free on bail.

Baptist Youth Worker Convicted of Sex with Minor

An Amherst man pleaded no contest Thursday to misdemeanor charges of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor in Oberlin Municipal Court.

Albert Battistelli IV, 19, could get time in the county jail when he is sentenced Jan. 8.

According to Amherst police, Battistelli had a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old boy in August 2007 at an event at First Baptist Church in Amherst.

Battistelli had been working with the youth of the church and was removed after the allegations surfaced against him, officials at the church said in a statement at the time of his arrest earlier this year.

The charges were misdemeanors because Battistelli and his victim were within four years of age, according to Amherst police.

Christian Choir Leader Sentenced for Molestation

Brian Michael Lane was a preschool teacher. Now he's a sexual predator.

Lane, 30, who worked at Sugar Plum First Class Preschool in Hudson, was arrested in June and accused of fondling a 4-year-old boy and performing a sex act on a 10-year-old boy. On Thursday in court he pleaded guilty to attempted capital sexual battery and two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The hearing was long, strange and contentious.

It was on, off, on again. There was crying, yelling, pointing. The father of the 4-year-old victim got up in court and said Lane was a monster. Lane's mother got up and said that he wasn't. For all of it, the 4-year-old was in the courtroom, in the front row, kneeling, watching, wide-eyed.

Lane lived in New Port Richey and used to lead the choir at Bayonet Point Christian Church. He had no prior criminal record and passed all the required background checks when he was hired at Sugar Plum. He fondled the 4-year-old during nap time.

Jewish Community Leader Heading Back to Prison

The Rubashkin family, owners and founders of the Agriprocessors plant in Postville, were handed another defeat this week as Moshe Rubashkin was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison.

Moshe, a son of Agriprocessors founder A. Aaron Rubashkin, had pleaded guilty in February to leaving hazardous waste inside the Allentown, PA textile plant he owned and operated. His son, Shalom Rubashkin, was also charged in the case and will be sentenced next month.

Montex Textiles, which closed in 2001, was used by Rubashkin as an illegal storage facility for numerous containers of hazardous waste. When a series of unexplained fires in 2005 gutted the building just days before a sheriff’s sale (the company was won in foreclosure by a Brooklyn, N.Y. bank), the Environmental Protection Agency stepped in to order clean up of the property.

In addition to the prison time, U.S. District Judge James Knoll Gardner ordered Rubashkin to pay $450,000 in fines. The monies will be distributed between the EPA and the City of Allentown.

This will not be Rubashkin’s first stint at in a federal institution. In 2002, he was sentenced to 15 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $225,000 in restitution for bank fraud. That case was also linked to his ownership and operation of Montex Textiles.

Within months of his release from prison, Moshe Rubashkin was elected as president of Crown Heights Jewish Community Council in Brooklyn, which receives and administers millions in government funds each year.

Moshe and his father, Aaron, were found guilty in 1995 of collecting union dues from their Cherry Hill Textile employees without sending the collected monies on to the United Production Workers Union. The National Labor Relations Board ordered the Rubashkins repay the money with interest.

Moshe’s brother, Sholom M. Rubashkin, a former executive officer at Agriprocessors, is currently out on bail and waiting trail on federal identity theft and immigration-related charges. This week Agriprocessors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy amid a foreclosure lawsuit.

Christian Sentenced for $77,000 Theft

A former Jefferson County employee accused of stealing $77,000 from an industry-funded committee she served on was sentenced Wednesday to three years in prison and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.

Mary Darlene Koch, 56, pleaded guilty to the felony theft offense Tuesday but told The Enterprise on Wednesday that she did not take as much money from the Local Emergency Planning Committee as has been claimed.

Jurors heard testimony Tuesday from Carl Rose, an investigator with the district attorney's office, that Koch had used checks from the committee to pay her rent and phone bills and that she had made several purchases and cash withdrawals with the committee's debit card over a five-year period starting in the summer of 2001.

Irregularities with the account came to light after Greg Fountain became emergency management coordinator in summer 2006 and ordered an audit, jurors heard.

Koch's attorneys called her family members and church members, including Koch's pastor, to testify that she has a good reputation in the community. They encouraged jurors to grant Koch probation, arguing that she would work hard to repay the money she took and was unlikely to regress.

Jefferson County prosecutor Thomas Perry countered that even if Koch can find work, she would not be required to make restitution if earning only enough to survive.

"If you don't have enough to support yourself, you don't have to pay the money back, which means she gets away with it," he said.

He emphasized that Koch was a public servant and told jurors they need to send a message to the public that corruption will not be tolerated in public officials.

Catholic Priest Sentenced for Sex Abuse

A Catholic priest and former teacher has been jailed for sexually abusing two young girls in the 1980s and 1990s.

Michael Francis Reis, 66, pleaded guilty to seven counts of indecent treatment of girls under 16 in Brisbane's District Court this morning.

The abuse occurred in Brisbane between 1983 and 1985 and in Caboolture from 1992 to 1995.

Reis molested the girls by touching them on their breasts and genitals but did not involve sexual penetration, placing his offences at the "lower end of the scale", Judge Kerry O'Brien said at a sentencing hearing today.

The court heard the victims inititially went to the Catholic Church with their complaints and received counselling in 1999.

But they waited nearly 10 years before going to police, who arresed Reis in January this year.

He was sentenced to 18 months' jail for each offence, to be served concurrently, but the sentence will be suspended after six months.

Methodist Sentenced for Theft from Churches

A former treasurer of a group of Back Mountain churches was sentenced Tuesday on charges that he stole more than $50,000 over a four-year period.

Daniel Shission, 36, was sentenced to serve 18 months with the county’s restricted intermediate punishment program and 200 hours of community service.

Shission pleaded guilty in August before Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Thomas Burke to a charge of theft by unlawful taking and a violation of the charitable organization act.

Luzerne County Assistant District Attorney Shannon Crake said Shission applied for the restricted intermediate punishment program, since he had no prior criminal record. The program includes wearing a bracelet that monitors alcohol intake. Crake said Shission could have faced prison time.

“It’s a very intense program,” Crake said. “He said he committed the crime because of alcohol depression related issues.”

According to court records, Shission stole more than $50,000 from the Carverton United Methodist Charge, a group of three churches, by writing 110 checks to himself between May 2002 and December 2006. Shission became volunteer treasurer in May 2002.

Shission said as treasurer, he would receive payments made to all the churches and use the money to pay bills. Police said that after noticing discrepancies, the Rev. Jackson Cox approached Shission, who said it was a mix-up and promised to fix the error.

The church organization includes Mount Zion United Methodist Church, Carverton United Methodist Church and Orange United Methodist Church.

Christian Student Sentenced for Assault

Looking back on the June attack of a fellow student, Crystal VanderLaan sees her behavior as embarrassing, her attorney said Monday.

"She was embarrassed and horrified at how the altercations back and forth, that had built up over the semester, finally led her to do something as cruel as she did," attorney James Dimitrio said.

VanderLaan, now a student at South Christian High School, was sentenced Monday to six weekends in juvenile detention, 20 hours of community service and placed on probation until further notice as part of her sentence on an assault charge.

She also must write an apology to the victim.

A co-conspirator, Sydnee Longhurst, received a similar sentence about a month ago. Both girls, as well as the female victim, were freshmen at Wayland High School, where the assault occurred in a hallway on the last day of school.

VanderLaan stood Monday before Allegan County Family Court Judge Michael Buck, hoping to persuade him not to order detention.

"If I go to (detention), I would have to miss church, and I love church," she said.

But Buck described the attack as harsh and premeditated, deserving a tougher sentence.

Jewish Community Leader Pleads Guilty to Perjury

A former Australian federal judge and high-profile Jewish community member pleaded guilty to perjury.

Marcus Einfeld, a former executive member of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, councilor of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry and patron of the Australian Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Descendants, faces a maximum jail term of 10 years for making a false statement under oath after pleading guilty on Oct. 31. He also faces 14 years for intending to pervert the course of justice.

Einfeld had testified in court that others, including an Australian woman in America whom he knew was already dead, were driving his car on four occasions when it was booked for traffic offenses between 1999 and 2006. Einfeld was trying to avoid paying a $50 traffic fine. He will be sentenced Feb. 25.

Einfeld, 69, is the son of the late Sydney Einfeld, a Labor Party member of parliament and New South Wales government minister, as well as the president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.

A former president of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission, Marcus Einfeld was a champion of the left and was named an Australian Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia in 1997. He was awarded an Order of Australia in 1998 for his promotion of human rights.

Einfeld was involved in the Rule of Law project in the Palestinian territories following the Oslo Accords. The project began to train Palestinian judges and lawyers to help establish Palestinian law.

In 2002 he compared the treatment of asylum seekers in detention centers in Australia to the Nazis, saying the “thuggery” of the guards in Australia was “not much different” to the treatment meted out by SS guards.

Baptist Youth Minister Sentenced for Child Molestation

A Green County man was sentenced Friday to 10 years in federal prison for using a computer to entice a Madison County girl to engage in sexual activity.

Timothy Scott Richerson, 40, of Greensburg, admitted in July in U.S. District Court that he met the victim, a 14-year-old girl, on a MySpace page where he represented himself as a16-year-old male. He then began communicating via the Internet with the victim during the summer of 2007 using MSN Messenger.

Many of Richerson’s chats with the girl were sexual in nature, according to his plea agreement. He also communicated with the girl, who told him her age, by text messages and over the phone.

“(Richerson) repeatedly talked with the 14-year-old female online in detail about sexual acts he wanted to engage in with her,” the plea agreement states.

“The defendant made the 14-year-old female a video of himself masturbating and sent it to her via e-mail,” the agreement also states.

In September of 2007, Richerson — a former youth minister at Freedom Baptist Church in Campbellsville — traveled from his home to the victim’s residence, according to a press release from the U.S. District Attorney’s Office.

Richerson then picked up the victim and drove her to a nearby location where they kissed.

Six days later, he again made the trip to Madison County.

“They went on a motorcycle ride together and when they were alone together, the defendant digitally penetrated the 14-year-old female and she rubbed his penis,” the plea agreement states.

After meeting in person, Richerson and the female continued to have sexually explicit chats online.

Pastor Back in Prison for Multiple Rapes

A Taiwanese pastor has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for raping 13 women in his congregation over the course of more than two years, according to a report Saturday.

Tang Tai-shen, 58, sexually abused the women, the youngest of whom was aged only 14 years old, under the pretext of offering them sex counseling and videotaped the crimes, the Apple Daily News said.

He was also ordered by the court to undergo therapy for three years, the report said.

Eight female staffers, including Tang's daughter-in-law, who were in charge of recruiting followers to his self-styled church, also received jail terms of between 12 months and seven and a half years for molesting the women, it said.

The pastor was arrested last year and has been detained since.

In 1999, Tang, then a pastor in the 'China Holiness Church', was convicted of molesting a female follower and was sentenced to three years and two months in prison in a case that shocked Taiwan's religious community.

He was released in 2005 after serving the full jail term

Televangelist Sentenced for Rape of Child

The betrayal of trust, making up a file intended to besmirch the good name of a 13-year-old girl, and the "contemptuous way" in which Pastor Jippy Doyle threw a bag of sweets and $20 at her, landed him behind bars for ten years on Friday.

"This case is about the betrayal of trust and confidence," Justice Margaret Reifer declared Friday. "[The girl] was 13 years old at the time and she was entitled to have faith and trust in her reverend.

"Her mother," the judge said, "should have been safe in the belief that her children were safe and protected in your care."

The former televangelist took his jail term stoically and even smiled to some of his followers as he was led back to the cells. His only moment of seeming concern was when Justice Reifer told him the maximum penalty for rape was life behind bars.

Then, he briefly looked at his counsel Sir Richard Cheltenham before returning his gaze to the judge.

Doyle , 39, who is in charge of Dominion Life Centre in Haggatt Hall, St. Michael, and Winners Church International in the City, was back in court yesterday, to be sentenced after he was convicted, in July, of raping a then 13-year-old child, a former parishioner, on May 12, 2001.

Justice Reifer told the pastor the seriousness with which the legislature and people in society viewed rape was reflected in the severity of the penalty laid down.