Balfe
Posted on 04/28/2005 5:52:33 AM PDT by RedBloodedAmerican
DELAND -- A self-described Internet evangelist who has preached about everything from morality to spirituality on his family's Web site was arrested Wednesday and charged with raping a child younger than 12.
Balfe
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Balfe, married and the father of three, is accused in three warrants of raping a child younger than 12, Henderson said. The remaining counts accuse him of sexual battery, lewd and lascivious molestation and domestic violence.
Court records show Balfe was divorced in 1998 and remarried in October 1999. While the Web site identifies him as an "Internet evangelist," the site doesn't mention his educational background or his connection to any organized theological group.
On his Web site's Frequently Asked Questions page, Balfe notes he doesn't have "a permanently constructed building that we own and maintain" for church services, but does have "an assembly of other Jesus believers" as members.
To the question of whether he is a Christian, Balfe's response is: "Yes, and also a born-again believer."
On the site, Balfe denies his group is a cult.
As of Wednesday morning, the Web site for the First Christian Church/Disciples of Christ of DeLand listed Balfe as a member and linked to Jesusbelievers.beliefnet.com, which was described as a Web site of the Balfe family's ministry.
But those references were removed from the First Christian Church Web site by Wednesday night, when churchgoers at First Christian attended services.
A group assembled outside the church after the service and most did not want to comment.
Courtney Myers, a 15-year-old member of the First Christian Church, said she was surprised by Balfe's arrest.
"He appears to be a nice man," Myers said.
The Balfe family used to attend Wednesday services regularly, Myers said, but she hasn't seen them lately.
"They would all sit down for dinner and stay for youth services," she said. "They looked like a normal, happy family."
Knocks at Balfe's North Orange Avenue home Wednesday went unanswered and neighbors avoided questions.
Jesusbelievers.beliefnet.com includes information promoting prayer in schools, a What Would Jesus Do? checklist and a discussion about heaven and hell.
The Web site also features a family portrait of Balfe, his wife and their three children and includes the question, "Do you see guardian angels in this picture?"
Circuit Judge S. James Foxman ordered Balfe held without bail on the domestic violence count, which supersedes the $1 million amounts for each of the sexual abuse charges, jail officials said.
Police would not say whether Balfe's wife was the victim of the domestic violence or when the incidents happened, although court records indicate the attacks occurred at Balfe's home in 2000.
Accountability. If you belong to a religious (Christian) group with no accountability, consider getting out.
The US justice system seems way to nice for some cases.
The last refuge of a scoundrel
Friggin' cultist.
Just north of Casadaga.
Beware of wolves in sheeps clothing.
That is good counsel.
Watch out for phony charges these days.
The Wall Street Journal is running the second of a two-part series on what looks like a false conviction of a Catholic priest to life imprison.
There are at least three motives for wrongful prosections in such cases: 1) Anti-Christian venom; 2) Career-building by ambitious prosecutors; and 3) the promise of lucrative lawsuits by avaricious lawyers. The Catholic Church is a perfect target.
I know nothing about this case at hand, but would caution that one newspaper article does not determine a man's guilt. That is why we have a jury system. We also have good forensic methods. There must be evidence before conviction.
If the charges turn out to be true, this is just the type of fuel the lefties use to stoke the "Christian hypocrites" fire. The general public doesn't pay much attention to the cultist angle and the media will paint it with a broad brush.
".... they would stay for youth services."
Well, that's a shocker.
I looked over his website a little bit and that's all the information I have on this, but I don't see right off what makes him a cultist. Could you elaborate?
He's got three kids, staying for youth services at a church hardly convicts the father of three of child molestation.
Yep to both.
And considering this sources liberal stance, they will make the most of it, true or not. But it appears that the charges are based on fact.
Hang him. Period.
This is the caption from the picture on the paper's front page, yet you somehow think the newspaper is "liberal"?
/sarcasm
Umm....fishing season requires compliance with "Castrate and Release" laws.
This paper is so liberal they make the NYT look like a wing of the RNC.
errr, "chuckle" not "cuckle" - argh. (dammit, WAY too close to 'cuckold' - NOOO!)
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