I am a busy professional and sometimes I do not have time to document the entire breadth of religious depravity on display in the media. Here are a few of the smaller cases from the last week.
Texas Church Closed After Pastor Arrested For Drugs, Family Violence
TEXAS CITY (January 27, 2013)—Baypoint Community Church in Texas City has closed after the arrest of its pastor for drug possession and family violence.
A bank has foreclosed on the Baypoint Community Church's property in Texas City.
CALCASIEU PARISH, LA (KPLC) - The pastor known for local "Just for Jesus" rallies is facing charges in a drug case.
According to a news release from the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office, James P. Bertrand Jr. has been charged with possession of CDS II (crack cocaine) and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Authorities said Bertrand was arrested after an alleged narcotics transaction outside a gas station on Country Club Road in Lake Charles.
Pastor arrested for tying 5-year-old to pole
Tororo. Police in Tororo are holding a pastor for allegedly torturing a five-year-old girl.The 35-year-old pastor of a Pentecostal church in Kasoli, a suburb of Tororo Municipality, was arrested on Wednesday after he allegedly tied the minor to an electricity pole.
The pastor reportedly accused the girl and her friends of stealing electricity bulbs that had been installed in the church.
Pastor Arrested & Charged Over 492 Fake Marriages
A vicar has been charged with presiding over 492 fake marriages in 16 months – equivalent to one a day.
Reverend Nathan Ntege was arrested in June last year following an investigation into sham marriages by the UK Border Agency.The 53-year-old is accused of conducting a string of fake marriages at the St Jude’s with St Aidan Church in Thornton Heath, south London, between December 2009 and March 2011.
Pastor arrested over N725, 000 visa fraud
A 43-year-old pastor, Nehemiah Elijah, who allegedly obtained N725, 000 under pretence, was on Friday charged before an Ikeja Magistrates' Court in Lagos.
Elijah, who resides at No. 13 Edom St., Muwo, Ojo, Lagos, is facing a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy, stealing and fraud. The prosecutor, Insp. Okoi Edet, told the court that the accused had on May 5, 2011 at Ojo Area, Lagos, obtained the sum of N725, 000 from one Mr Cyprian Ezegbo.
Pastor Arrested For Raping Church Members
A pastor with a Pentecostal church has appeared in court for allegedly raping two women from his church on separate occasions.
Greatness Tapfuma (31), a Zimbabwean, allegedly raped a 25-year-old congregant twice and another one who is aged 22 once.
It is alleged that he would invite them to his house or go to their houses on the pretext of holding prayer sessions and eventually rape them. Tapfuma has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Honduras arrests pastor wanted for rape
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- The pastor of an evangelical church in Colombia accused of sexually assaulting 23 women and four underage girls has been arrested in Honduras, officials say.
Alvaro Javier Gamez Torres was arrested in Portal del Bosque, a town south of the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa. He was being held pending extradition proceedings, La Prensa reported Thursday.
Pastor Arrested for Kidnapping in Gay Custody Case
A Virginia pastor was handcuffed and taken into federal custody Thursday for his role in a dispute between an ex-lesbian and her former gay partner.
Pastor Kenneth Miller, from Stuarts Draft, Va., cited his religious beliefs for refusing a court order to testify in the case that's now before a grand jury.
