Former Fresno area Baptist pastor John Bonine was sentenced to 36 years in prison for child molestation.
Investigators arrested Bonine and charged him with 107 child molestation counts. He plead guilty to 16 counts. Prosecutor Marlea Dell'Anno said the former pastor misled his congregation, "A supposed man of god, your honor he has been shown all mercy that he should be shown."
Bonine was the Pastor of Sierra Heights Baptist Chruch in Fresno California. Bill Steele is the new pastor. There is no mention of John Bonine or his crimes on the church website. There rarely is in cases like this. I think that’s a mistake. Telling the truth is a good first step towards building the transparency needed to operate in a spirit of trust. Why they decided to act as if nothing ever happened is something I will never understand. Baptist are so screwed up.
Bonine is 44. He’ll never make 80 in state prison. I predict that the next time we hear from John Bonine it will be in his obituary.
