Posted on 08/26/2006 12:57:01 PM PDT by AlaninSA
PINEVILLE, Mo. - Residents of a southwest Missouri county best known for canoe streams and its yearly Jesse James festival were in shock Friday over allegations that children were ritually abused at a remote church community known to few before the case broke.
The gated church compound on a 100-acre farm a mile from the nearest paved road remained a mystery.
Neighbors and other residents of McDonald County said they knew little or nothing about the Grand Valley Independent Baptist Church, where investigators said up to 100 people lived until recently.
The church's pastor, his wife and her two brothers, who also own the farm, posted bond Monday after county prosecutors filed felony complaints alleging they sexually abused young daughters of church members from 1977 to 2005.
Some of the girls were told their bodies were being prepared "for service to God," according to the complaint.
(Excerpt) Read more at kansascity.com ...
"We don't allow that kind of thing around these parts."
In contrast to the recent Catholic scandals, it's interesting that these men abused underage girls, not underage boys. Also note that all of the accused are related to one another, meaning the practice may have been learned from/accepted by family members. More from the article:
The pastor of an affiliated church community faces similar charges in neighboring Newton County and surrendered to authorities Friday, Newton County Chief Deputy Chris Jennings said.George Otis Johnston, 63, had been sought on warrants for seven counts of first-degree statutory sodomy and one count of second-degree statutory sodomy. Johnston was freed on $100,000 bond and scheduled for arraignment Aug. 30.
Johnston is the uncle of the Rev. Raymond Lambert, pastor of Grand Valley Independent Baptist Church in McDonald County.
Prosecutors allege that Lambert, 51, repeatedly had sex with two girls, both underage, between 1995 and 2005 with the help of his 49-year-old wife, Patty, as part of a "ritual or ceremony."
Patty Lambert's brothers - Paul Epling, 53, and Tom Epling, 51 - are accused of repeatedly having sex with girls as young as age 4 in the late 1970s and early 1980s
John 11:35
Matthew 18:6
After due proceedings, any convicted should find out about that weight about
the neck and being cast into the sea.
But we are too merciful for that.
Oh, I know where Pineville is. It's near Noel, one of my favorite childhood visiting places.
Grand Valley might be because it's close to Grand Lake. I had read all about the beautiful old resort hotel I knew in Noel - Ginger Blue - that Tyson had taken it over in rundown condition and had illegal Asian immigrants living there in squalor, working at one of their nearby chicken plants, but it is now abandoned again, after attempts to restore it. Very sad.
Bentonville and Springdale, AR, aren't too far to the south. They call it the "chicken trail." Now I'm remembering that I read about cults all around there in hippie-type communes.
Terrible. Some of the most beautiful country on God's green Earth. I'll pray for the area and for these people.
**Given the lack of ecclesiastical/denominational accountability among "Independent Baptist" congregations, I'm not terribly surprised this went on as long as it's alleged. Without pastoral oversight and accountability, these indy preachers can pretty much preach or do anything they want.**
Huh? The one who started this thread belongs to a well oiled religious machine that has been proven to be guilty of the same.........for centuries.
Nomatter where these things happen, they're horrible, and the fact that our justice system is so 'compassionate' toward the criminal only makes the situation worse.
When people accept a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof, failure to live above sin is guaranteed. Paul said he 'died daily', bringing his flesh under subjection to the Spirit of God.
Death is absolute. Unfortunately, people accept an ease of conscience as sufficient. The natural man does not want to give up even a toehold on the beach of self will. It is a battle for the soul. That is why one must have the infilling of the Holy Ghost, and be willing to submit to it at the drop of a hat.
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