Exposing the Corruption of the "Family Values" Party
Bill Gothard founded the Institute in Basic Life Principles which some people call a conservative Christian cult. It has very strict gender roles that circumscribe women’s lives, forbidding higher education, choosing their spouse, ordering what clothing they wear, and prohibiting cutting their hair. The Duggars are part of this ministry.
Wendel Nix was the youth pastor at Aztec Bible Baptist Church. He was arrested in 2007 on charges that he raped a fourteen-year-old girl. He groomed her over time and then began sexually abusing her. He family talked her into going to the police and more charges were added as they interviewed her. It’s interesting how his job description changes.
Malo “Victor” Monteiro was youth pastor at Faith Baptist Church in Wildomar, California, and assistant pastor at Menifee Baptist Church in Menifee, California. He was arrested in 2018 on suspicion of molesting children over an eighteen-year period and charged with seven felony counts: intent to commit rape, mayhem or sodomy, lewd and lascivious acts with force on a child under 14, lewd and lascivious acts on a child under 14, distributing harmful matter and sexual penetration by force.
Alexander Roesly was the youth pastor at Praise Chapel of Church God in Union City, Indiana. He sent messages to thirteen and fifteen-year-old girls asking if they wanted to be “friends with benefits.” The fifteen-year-old attended his church. He was charged with solicitation of a minor for the thirteen-year-old, but not the fifteen-year-old as he was nineteen at the time.
Shawn Fitzgerald was the youth director at First United Methodist Church. He also was a high school teacher and soccer coach. A tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children led investigators to him. They got a search warrant and arrested him when they found many images of child sexual abuse, including sexual abuse of infants. He was charged with over 400 counts of possessing CSAM.
Nicholas Kelley was a youth pastor at New Bridges Church, in Lawrenceville, Georgia. He sexually abused a fourteen=year=old girl. His crime was revealed when she had a nervous breakdown and hospitalized. That is when her parents learned of the “relationship.” He confessed to the church elders the next day that he had “inappropriate physical interactions” with her.
Jeffrey Winston Forrest was a youth pastor at Pioneer Baptist Church in Abilene, Texas. In 1998, there were allegations against him for sexual abuse. Children’s Protective Services investigated but the police did not pursue as there were discrepancies between the child’s two interviews. He did not face justice for 23 more years.
Jon Courson was the pastor of Applegate Christian Fellowship. He abused his position to pursue a relationship with an employee and parishioner who subsequently left her job and her church. She told the pastor of the Medford Christian Fellowship, her new church, who arranged a meeting with her and an elder of Applegate. The other elders were informed but did nothing to discipline Courson.
Ben Courson is a megachurch pastor who resigned from his church when it was revealed that he abused his position as pastor to pursue sexual relationships with women. One woman accused him of aggressively seeking a sexual relationship, forcibly kissing and touching her but she fought him off and got away. Two other women had sexual relationships that they acquiesced to, in part because he assured them that since he did not preach about sex, it was okay. Additionally, it wasn’t technically adultery, he claimed, as he masturbated and ejaculated on the women.
Donald Courtney Biggs was youth pastor at Mountain Church in Medford, Oregon. He was arrested for burglary and invasion of a woman’s privacy. The police began investigating him as a result of inappropriate messages, texting to a 14-year-old girl he met through his church youth program. In the course of investigation, they discovered he had videotaped a woman undressing without her knowledge and consent. Then it was discovered he also secretly recorded minors.