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News & ArtsThursday, September 10, 2009
Religion Youth Pastor Watch
Posted by Dan Savage on Thu, Sep 10, 2009 at 9:15 AM
A youth minister at a Stafford County church was indicted yesterday on charges that she had sexual relations with a 15-year-old boy.Jennifer Michelle Brennan, 36, of Spotsylvania was charged by a Stafford grand jury with 10 counts of taking indecent liberties with a child and 10 counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. According to court records and sources, Brennan met the boy through her position as youth minister at Saint Matthias United Methodist Church in Stafford. The boy's mother said that among other things, Brennan counseled her son and his girlfriend against premarital sex.
A former Delaware County pastor accused of molesting a 15-year-old girl assaulted her on top of the desk in his church office, according to an arrest affidavit. Joshua Spires, 28, of Odessa, Texas.... is charged with 10 counts of lewd molestation.... The married father began to tell the victim he loved her when she was in the seventh grade and he was her youth pastor. The sexual contact relationship began in 2007 and lasted until Nov. 15, when the victim broke it off to date a high school senior, the affidavit states.The sexual contact assaults occurred "every Sunday" the victim was at church on either the desk or couch in Spires' church office about an hour before services began. During some of the assaults, the victim's father was helping prepare for services.
A Southern Baptist youth pastor arrested Aug. 13 on sex charges involving a teenage girl now faces more than 30 additional charges involving a second teenager. Police originally charged Jack Duffer, 40, youth minister at Seaford Baptist Church near Hampton, Va., with one count of taking indecent liberties with a minor and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. After his arrest, police say, a second victim came forward....Duffer is married and has four children. When he resigned after five years as pastor of University Baptist Church in Honolulu in 2006, Duffer told the congregation it was because of his "passion" for working with youth.
Ohio:
John Picard was sentenced Thursday to 40 years in prison for sexual battery, with no possibility of parole....Picard, 41, of Englewood, was convicted on all 42 counts of sexual battery at the end of a six-day trial. The former youth pastor at Grace Brethren Church on Marion Avenue used coercion to form sexual relationships with six female parishioners. [Picard's first YPW appearance is here.]
4
just the thought of that third guy touching me makes me want to run immediately to the toilet to hurl, followed by a long, hot shower.
5
Good ol' Jennifer there can molest me any time she wants. Feel free to give her my e-mail address.
6
Considering how crazy people can be, (tea anyone?) having worked with teenagers may have well prepared Mr. Cox for politics.
8
I don't know anything about the Iowa guy, but the association drawn between Iowa and the other cases makes me feel a little sick. While scrutiny may be in order, from the information you've provided here there doesn't seem to be a real reason for suspicion. I love reading your writing, and strongly agree with your stance on almost everything, but associating him with people who molest children simply because he's a youth pastor who "works with" teenagers seems wrong to me. I'm all for pointing out the fucked-up-ness after the fact, or pointing out the fucked up trends in youth ministry. Or even calling for a serious regulation of the industry/stronger public awareness... But, at the end of the day, I just don't think all people who are youth ministers deserve a scarlet letter. At the end of the day, including Mr. Iowa seems inflammatory and misdirected... but maybe I'm just sensitive because my morning's shit. What do you think?
9
We all know Mr. Savage is trying to show some balance (even though I think journalistic should not apply for blogs) and that there are good youth ministers out there. The commenters are the ones that are dirty-minded regarding Mr. Cox. Mr. Cox has gay face, by the way. Jus' sayin'
11
There's some intentional slander and character assassination going on here, Mr Cox shouldn't be included in this post alongside child molesters, he has done nothing of the sort. Unless Savage thinks that any news with the words youth and minister on it is immediately somehow something having to do with molestation. I wouldn't doubt that being his reasoning behind this.
12
Hey, my junior high band teacher got convicted of molesting a girl--when are we going to start the Band Teacher watch? How about Sports Coach Watch?
Anyone who has access to kids has potential for this, since they are in a position of trust. Should we vilify every institution where a person has molested a child, or are we going to just stick with churches since they're the "baddies"?
Anyone who has access to kids has potential for this, since they are in a position of trust. Should we vilify every institution where a person has molested a child, or are we going to just stick with churches since they're the "baddies"?
13
Back when I didn't include examples of good youth pastors in YPW—of youth pastors that had done nothing wrong—people screamed and yelled about how I was painting a horribly distorted picture. It was unfair! Because not all youth pastors are child molesters, rapists, embezzlers, murderers and thieves (all crimes that have been documented in YPW). So I started including examples of good youth pastors in YPW—links to stories about youth pastors who had done nothing wrong and maybe even done something right—and now people scream and yell about how I'm engaging in character assassination.
I just can't win.
I just can't win.
14
@9
You've bested me on assuming the best in people. Perhaps you're right that Mr Savage was just trying to give us some perspective. I guess it would be easier to understand if it was written like "On an up note, Iowa." It's probably just me being too picky, and those other shitty comments putting me in the right mindset to be an ass. Thanks for the perspective.
You've bested me on assuming the best in people. Perhaps you're right that Mr Savage was just trying to give us some perspective. I guess it would be easier to understand if it was written like "On an up note, Iowa." It's probably just me being too picky, and those other shitty comments putting me in the right mindset to be an ass. Thanks for the perspective.
15
@13
Sorry Dan. I don't know the history of your blog, so from my relatively uninformed perspective, I assumed the worst. My bad. I do appreciate YPW, so do it how ever you damn well please. Cheers.
Sorry Dan. I don't know the history of your blog, so from my relatively uninformed perspective, I assumed the worst. My bad. I do appreciate YPW, so do it how ever you damn well please. Cheers.
16
@12
It's not bands, or sports teams or any of the other institutions that have access to young people who are busy villifying gays as evil child molesting perverts. It's churchs. That's why we have Youth Pastor Watch, and not Band Leader Watch, or Little League Coach Watch. Dan is pointing out the church's blatant hypocrisy, and their willingness to ignore their own scripture -Luke 6:42.
It's not bands, or sports teams or any of the other institutions that have access to young people who are busy villifying gays as evil child molesting perverts. It's churchs. That's why we have Youth Pastor Watch, and not Band Leader Watch, or Little League Coach Watch. Dan is pointing out the church's blatant hypocrisy, and their willingness to ignore their own scripture -Luke 6:42.
17
Dan, come on, be a bit more forthcoming. If you're listing an example of a good pastor to appease reader complaints, you know you should do something to set that example apart from the above four ("And now for one example of a good youth minister" or something), rather than drop his name and info right after four criminals with zero context. I heartily support what you're doing here, I just don't want to see you provide Loveschild with an easy target.
20
That guy from OK is so freakish and disgusting looking, seriously- ick. I can't imagine why anyone would think he is hot, he reminds me of Frankenstein's monster. His whole head looks like a a dismembered penis with two fat swollen lips attached.
21
@ 19- totally, Sir Dustin' Cox looks like he is more along the lines of 18, while the other dude looks like maybe 35-40. Maybe Dustin Cox's faith is helping to preserve his youthful graces.
24
Dustin Cox? Does he go by Dusty?
Dusty Cox would be a great porn name... for an asexual?
Asexual gay porn? Is there such a thing? "Pizza delivery, sir, I'm here to see Dusty Cox..."
Dusty Cox would be a great porn name... for an asexual?
Asexual gay porn? Is there such a thing? "Pizza delivery, sir, I'm here to see Dusty Cox..."
25
@13 I think if you clearly separate them with a "The Good" and "The Scumbags" section or something to that effect, you can include them both without the association
26
13
Because you DO present a horribly distorted picture.
You feature every YP in trouble you can find from all over the world. They represent about o.o1% of all youth pastors.
Every couple of months you tack on some sap at the end who is not in trouble.
The picture you present is 20-30 in trouble for every one not. The reality is that only a tiny minority get in trouble.
The only question is: are you really that stupid or merely malicious?
Because you DO present a horribly distorted picture.
You feature every YP in trouble you can find from all over the world. They represent about o.o1% of all youth pastors.
Every couple of months you tack on some sap at the end who is not in trouble.
The picture you present is 20-30 in trouble for every one not. The reality is that only a tiny minority get in trouble.
The only question is: are you really that stupid or merely malicious?
27
I usually only do the podcast and occasionally have a chance to read the Stranger, but I had to come look up this "Youth Pastor Watch" you mentioned.
And the interface sucks! C'mon man! I can find individual articles, but where's a "previous article" button? Or a side panel with links to older entries?
Anyway, bitch bitch bitch, great job with this stuff, just make it easier to reference.
And the interface sucks! C'mon man! I can find individual articles, but where's a "previous article" button? Or a side panel with links to older entries?
Anyway, bitch bitch bitch, great job with this stuff, just make it easier to reference.
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