Pastor Michael Bryant, arrested for the alleged molestation of his 16-year-old stepdaughter, will plead guilty to sexual battery by an authority figure. Bryant made the plea to get a shorter prison sentence. Part of the deal will include closing the Church of God in Christ in Memphis, which is no great loss.
The details of this case are disturbing. The victims mother is a deluded fool and should serve time in prison as well.
After Bryant's stepdaughter informed her mother that the pastor had been inappropriately touching her, instead of reporting the incident to police, her parents had prayed that God would drive the thoughts out of Bryant's mind. But after he touched her earlier this month, the teen reportedly informed her aunt, who told authorities.
Source: Pastor Accused of Molesting Stepdaughter to Plead Guilty; Will Close Church by Morgan Lee
At least the victim is staying with her aunt. Her mother’s parental rights should be suspended.
The church has all of 27 members, so I doubt there was much oversight. I’m sure the members will scramble to find another church. It’s not like there is a shortage of small churches run by lying pedophiles. It seems the lack of oversight extended to his family too. What a shame. Abuse like this is horrible and leaves wounds that do not heal.
I guess Bryant was not really a Christian (I am sure this will arrive in my inbox within a few days of posting this story). Here is how it works. If a pastor abuses a child, other Christians will rush to tell me that the pastor was not really a Christian, so the crime should not stain Christianity. This argument makes no sense, but when did logic ever factor into this argument?
Still others will insist that the abuse did not take place at the church, which I never understand. A church is a building and cannot be good or evil, nor is the the actions of it’s pedophile pastor a reflection on its people, unless the people are culpable in the abuse. Instead, the fact that the pastor is a hypocrite and that they sucked at his teat… that is the story. What does it mean if you base your faith of the words of your pastor only to find out he is molesting his stepdaughter. No amount of soap and hot water can remove that stain. Every word he spoke is corrupt. Every action you took on his advise must to be re-examplined. You were following the advice of a monster. You cannot simply pray that away.
