Pastor Ron Burning, profiled here, was convicted on 13 of 14 charges. He faces life in prison… twice over. Burning was a Baptist pastor who was arrested crossing an international border between the USA and Canada. It is widely believed he was attempting to flee his crimes.
The jury did not waste much time. It took a day to sort out the charges, which were pretty intense.
Burning, pastor of Johnsfield Baptist Church, was found guilty on three counts of sexual assault, four charges of indecent assault, sexual intercourse with someone under the age of 14, forcible confinement, indecent assault, voyeurism, criminal harassment, indecent assault and gross indecency. These charges, some committed on men and some on women, related to incidents that took place between 1971 and 2009.
There is another story here. Burning was a missionary for the Old Time Baptist church (OTBC) for 12 years. That’s ample time to perpetuate his form of Christianity. There is also his link to OTBC’s school administrator Pastor Robert Piwowar, who murdered his wife and hid her body. I’m thinking OTBC might not be a happy place.
OTBC is silent. Nothing on the blog. No press releases. It’s as if they want to bury their association with Burning. I listened to a few sermons there is nothing there either. There are questions to answer.
Why did they stand by Burning? Did they know of the abuse allegations? Did they report allegations? Were there allegations from Burning’s missionary work? What about their duty of car as mandatory reporters? The questions are endless, but so is the silence.
Burning is a terrible human being. I really want to know when Christians will have enough of these types of stories and stop putting their trust in "religious leaders". Not to sound too cynical, but doesn't it seem like there is a proportionally large numbers of crimes coming out of the profession of "religious leader" compared to other professions? Time to walk away sheep...come to the greener pasture of reason...
ReplyDeleteburning is a horrible man i was abused by him over a period of three years so very corrupt and scary. this has affected my life as well as my childrens. we attended his church for years my children we left there at many times i had no idea the crude acts this man was capable of. what an example of a leader of a church and community. i am pretty much a recluse only go where i need to i fear stepping in to another church or place of worship i cannot trust anyone he ruined my life. what a loser he should have gotten more than ten years that is so shocking.
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