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Thursday, August 2, 2012

Youth Pastor Watch Youth Pastor Reportedly Helped Cover Kids' Heads With Pillow Cases, Bind Their Arms with Zip Ties, Pack Them All Into a Van, and Take Them into a Windowless Basement

Posted by Unpaid Intern on Thu, Aug 2, 2012 at 3:55 PM

Posted by news intern Joseph Staten

An attorney for Pennsylvania youth pastor Andrew Jordan reportedly admits that his client helped orchestrate a fake kidnapping of his teen church group in March—during which at least one girl was crying, unaware that the whole thing was pretend. But it's all okay, the lawyer says, because the exercise was reportedly "meant to show the dangerous scenarios Christians face on missionary trips":

More than a dozen teens attended the youth group meeting at the church March 21 when the lights went out, and masked men carrying flashlights entered the meeting room.

The fake abductors ordered the teens to the floor, covered their heads with pillow cases and bound their wrists with zip ties, according to a grand jury presentment in the case.

The teens then were led into the back of a cargo van and driven around before being taken to a windowless unfinished basement. Once there, the pillowcases were removed, and they saw one of their captors holding an assault rifle and overheard their youth pastor supposedly being tortured.

Attorney William A. DeStefano, who is defending Jordan and Glad Tidings Assembly of God, told reporters that "The church is pretty serious: They don't think they did anything wrong." He then pulled a maneuver straight out of the victim-blaming playbook to brush aside a police complaint filed by a mother of one of the victims, who said her daughter was traumatized by the event.

DeStefano said of the alleged victim in this case: "She never asked to be let go, or said, 'I don't want to go through with this.'

"I'm not sure she knew before it happened, but I'm saying that she had the ability to say, 'I don't want to be part of this' at any time from minute one and didn't," DeStefano said.

Now, after a grand jury investigation, the district attorney reportedly says that both Jordan and the church broke the law. If convicted, Jordan could face up to 10 years in jail. He's expected to be arrested in a week or so.

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Comments (19) RSS

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That was not a pretend kidnapping. That was a REAL kidnapping. And fuck the guy with the assault rifle, honestly.

Posted by Alicia

on August 2, 2012 at 4:09 PM

Cheerleaders used to haze prospective cheerleaders at my high school this way. This sounds considerably more hard core, but it has me wondering if they still do that.

And what the fuck is the point of training Missionaries for this? Are they worried they're going to spill the beans on all sorts of sensitive Biblical information?

Posted by Dougsf on August 2, 2012 at 4:14 PM

What Alicia @1 said.

If you use violence of physical force, or the threat thereof, to coerce someone to go someplace against their will, that is kidnapping. There is no Jesus Clause in the definition.

Posted by Zebes

on August 2, 2012 at 4:15 PM

His logic seems to be, "it shouldn't be illegal if you're trying to teach someone a lesson."

Posted by Dougsf on August 2, 2012 at 4:24 PM

RELIGIOUS OPPRESSION 111!!!!11!!!!!!!

Posted by Mugwumpt on August 2, 2012 at 4:24 PM

Give me that old-time religion...

Posted by Nitidiuscula on August 2, 2012 at 4:27 PM

They don't think they did anything wrong.

Umm.... since when did *any* Christian Church consider what they're doing is wrong? From my experience, it's par for the course: if some Church does something, it is the right, moral thing to do, no matter what it is. It could be helping people, it could be condemning them. But their morality is always "we do it, therefore it is right."

Posted by Some Old Nobodaddy Logged In on August 2, 2012 at 4:36 PM

this was practice. if he's not stopped now it will end up with a long weekend of rape and the victim thrown in the river wrapped in chains.

Posted by MikeB on August 2, 2012 at 4:53 PM

@4 J. Weatherman: "And that's why you don't try to teach lessons!"

Posted by dirge on August 2, 2012 at 5:06 PM

ahh ok, so grand juries going after a church cult that kidnapped kids is ok, but not ok if the grand jury is going after neo anarchists alligned with the occupy movement smashing windows and assaulting people? wow, way to show those true colors slog.

Posted by Kinison

on August 2, 2012 at 5:24 PM

They probably could have arrested him yesterday at Chic-fil-a.

Posted by Samuel on August 2, 2012 at 5:50 PM

@10 are you taking a night class in false equivalencies or something?

Posted by dirge on August 2, 2012 at 7:14 PM

Arresting people at Chic-fil-A and sterilizing them would be a good idea.

Posted by sarah70 on August 2, 2012 at 8:30 PM

One thing I've learned about fundamentalist Protestant men: They are sick, sick, sick. (And kinky, kinky, kinky!)

Posted by floater on August 2, 2012 at 8:59 PM

But remember everyone, it was God's will that it happen, or it wouldn't have happened at all!

Posted by Knat on August 2, 2012 at 9:07 PM

@15 bingo...and it's also God's will that babies are born in Africa with AIDS. It's how Jesus wants it. SHOUT GLORY TO GOD!!!!

Posted by Cato the Younger Younger on August 3, 2012 at 6:29 AM

When I was a teen the seniors in our church youth group kidnapped the freshman out of their beds every year - with parent permission (though I suppose that doesn't really make it okay does it?). Anyway, hilarity ensued with a day of games and activities with the kids romping around in their pajamas.

Until one boy woke up badly and freaked out (odd, right?) by being woken suddenly by a bunch of people in masks in his room... they stopped after that. Thinking back, I wonder what youth pastor started that tradition and why he thought it was okay and why the parents allowed it to happen.

Posted by Allyn on August 3, 2012 at 8:02 AM