Christian missionary Warren Kennell was sentenced to 58 years in prison for sexually abusing girls while on mission trips to an indigenous tribe in the Amazon.
Warren Kennell admitted to befriending and abusing the girls over several years while he was establishing a church for the Sanford-based New Tribes mission, reported the Orlando Sentinel.
“We are heartsick,” said a spokeswoman for the ministry. “Children are to be protected, not hurt. We are grateful to the authorities for the prosecution of this individual despite international legal obstacles.”
Homeland Security agents began investigating the 45-year-old after they were tipped off that Kennell was posting photos on a child pornography website.
Source: Florida missionary sentenced for sexually abusing indigenous girls in Amazon by Travis Gettys
I don’t really know what to say here. Kennell molested innocent young girls and then traded photos of the girls with other pedophiles. Damn… And why do tribes in the Amazon need Christian missions anyway? That seems like another from of rape to me.
Logging you in...
mikespeir 65p · 586 weeks ago
Agreed. Colloquially, "They need Jesus like they need a hole in the head," anyway.
Mojoey 107p · 585 weeks ago
Matt · 584 weeks ago
You ask why they need Christian missions. I grew up as a son of missionaries down in the Amazon. These people live in extremely poor conditions. Warfare, disease, substance abuse, extremely difficult living conditions, superstition, all take a constant deadly toll. No one but missionaries are going into the jungles to help these people. Most missionaries genuinely care about them and bring great help to them, as the people themselves testify.
What this particular missionary did was heinous. No argument from me about that. But don't condemn them all because of one man's actions. Do we condemn all school teachers because of one pervert? Or any other group of people?
Mojoey 107p · 584 weeks ago
Matt · 584 weeks ago
Training has improved a lot over the years. And actually missionaries are responsible for preserving many cultures. When you look at tribes without missionaries who come in contact with "civilization," they lose their culture very quickly. They get television, start drinking tons of alcohol, and get taken advantage of by the "smarter" town and city folks.
Missionaries give them dignity and teach them how to interact with the outside world. Missionaries give them their own language in writing, one of the greatest culture preserving forces there is. Here in the U.S., I've recently heard of two Native American tribes who are trying to resurrect their cultures. They've been able to do so primarily because of religious materials that missionaries had translated into their language. And the missionaries were the ones who put the language into writing in the first place.
Missionaries ideally help the people get out of self-destructive lifestyles. Sure there are some who aren't doing a good job and who aren't well-trained. But there are many who do an incredible job and have kept many cultures alive.
It kind of seems like your prejudice against religious people is creating a huge blind side for you.
Don't throw the baby out with the bath water....