178: Brett Bennie Langham
Child Molestation
Brett Bennie Langham was a Richmond County Republican party official as well as an Augusta waterworks employee. He was indicted for sexual battery and child molestation charges.
Month: August 2022
177: Matt Baker
Murder, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Assault
Matt Baker was a widely respected Baptist minister in Waco, TX. Waco, home of Baylor University, is for Southern Baptists a sort of center of faith. In 2006, his wife Kari Baker died. It was ruled a suicide and there was no autopsy. He claimed she was depressed over the death of their daughter and wanted to be with her.
Her parents did not believe she killed herself and hired a detective who found a motive for murder. Her body was exhumed and her death was ruled a murder by asphyxiation. It was discovered that Baker was a serial predator with a series of accusations of molesting underage women, sexual assault, and attempted rape. He also was in love a young parishioner.
176: Darrell Gilyard
Child Molestation, Child Rape, Sexual Assault
Darrell Gilyard was a successful mega-church preacher. So famed was he, there was a film about him “The Darrell Gilyard” story that had Jerry Falwell. one of his mentors, give a testimonial saying he was one of “most brilliant men in the pulpit.”
This is all in spite of him being fired in 1991 for child molestation. His main mentor, the former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, knew but since he forgave him, he promoted his career. At least the first time.
That all ended when he was convicted of sexually molesting a 15-year-old girl. He served three years and has been released but has been barred from being in the presence of minors.
So a church hired him anyway and barred children from the church. That’s right. The convicted sex offender was chosen over the children. He is welcome, they are not.
175: Gordon Blake
Child Molestation
Gordon Blake was active in California Republican politics and twice ran unsuccessfully for California state assembly. He was accused of molesting 4 boys over 8 years. He was convicted of 32 counts and acquitted of one. He was sentenced 194 years to life.
174: Chris Corley
Familial Abuse & Violence
South Carolina state Rep. Chris Corley was one of the most ardent defenders of keeping the Confederate flag. After his fellow Republicans voted to remove the flag from the state capitol grounds, he sent them a Christmas card with a picture of the removed flag and the suggestion they “ask for forgiveness of all your sins such as betrayal.” It’s such a story, I included it below.
A year later, his wife confronted him about infidelity. He beat her so badly her head was bleeding. He held a gun to her head. He did this in front of their children. He took her phone so she could not call 911, though she cleverly used her Apple watch to call 911. The recording has their 2-year-old son saying “Please stop daddy.”
173: Norman McAllister
Sexual Assault, Trafficking
Norman McAllister was a Republican state senator in Vermont when he was charged with sexual assault of one woman and sexual abuse of two other women whom he forced to trade sex for their rent. He had four trials. One was a mistrial. Two where he was found guilty. One of the women died. The final trial resulted in an acquittal and thus, exonerated.
172: Douglas Marks
Child Molestation
Douglas Marks was a scion of an important Republican family in Montana. His brother, Bob Marks, was the Speaker of the House. He was a teacher and molested children likely over thirty years before he was arrested. The prosecutor said he knew of at least 45 students, but over the course of his career, he molested children of men he had molested when they were young.
171: Jeff Miller
Child Molestation
Jeff Miller was an Indianapolis City Council member in his second term when he was charged with molesting a child, a ten-year-old girl who told her parents about his actions. Police interviewed other children who reported similar experiences with Miller. His fellow Republicans on the council asked him to resign, but he refused.
He was charged with child molesting. In a plea deal, those charges were dropped and in exchange, he pleaded guilty to four counts of battery of a person under the age of 14. He got probation, counseling, supervision, and must stay away from his victim
170: Brian O’Toole
Child Molestation
Brian O’Toole was first elected to the Sunnyvale City Council in 1983. He served as mayor from 1985 to 1986 and was re-elected in 1989 for a two-year term. He was charged in July 1990, with molesting a boy under the age of fourteen for six years from 1983 to 1989. He met the boy through the Big Brother program.
He later pled guilty and was sentenced to six years.
169: James E. Dutschke
Child Molestation
James E. Dutschke, who preferred J. Everett Dutschke, ran in 2007 as the Republican nominee for Mississippi State District 16. He lost. He had some legal issues including a conviction for indecent exposure and an arrest for child molestation when he was arrested for sending ricin to President Barack Obama, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, and Mississippi Judge Sadie Holland. Coincidentally, it was Judge Holland’s son who defeated him with more than twice as many votes (3551-1425.)
He was charged with fondling three underage girls at his taekwondo studio, one of whom was just 7 years old. He was arrested for sending ricin in April 2013. He tried to frame an Elvis impersonator for the ricin attack by quoting from his Facebook posts. He eventually pleaded guilty in federal court and was sentenced to 25 years for the ricin letters. He also pleaded guilty to state court to fondling a minor and was sentenced to 20 years for that to run concurrently with his federal sentence.