Posted on 01/15/2004 7:15:42 AM PST by Born Conservative
Pastor convicted of soliciting sex from teenager Associated Press
WEST CHESTER, Pa. - A Philadelphia pastor who has condemned homosexuality and was known for using a bullhorn to preach to passers-by at colleges was convicted Wednesday of soliciting sex from a teenager.
Jurors deliberated for 3 1/2 hours before convicting the Rev. Craig Stephen White of criminal solicitation to commit involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and related offenses.
White, 40, who faces a minimum of three years on the most serious charge, showed no reaction, and neither did his wife. His mother wept and said, "He's innocent; he's innocent."
Chester County Judge Anthony A. Sarcione revoked White's $20,000 bail and sent him to Chester County Prison.
"He's a preacher, and he has access to children," Sarcione said. "This jury has spoken. He has been convicted of attempting to lure a child into a vehicle" for sexual gratification.
Defense attorney Robert J. Donatoni said he was "disappointed but not surprised." "This was a very difficult case for everyone," said Donatoni, who suggested that the teenager was mistaken, confused or just seeking attention.
On June 26, White, who was driving a Ford minivan, stopped in West Chester and asked a 14-year-old boy for directions.
The boy said White also asked about strip clubs or adult book or video stores, asked him to get in and help the driver find the regular video store, and later came back and offered him $20 for taking part in sexual activity.
White denied that he made any sexual proposition and said he asked directions to a video store because he wanted to buy the movie "Shrek" for his children.
White, who moved to Philadelphia in 1991, started a Temple University campus group called Soldiers for Christ, worked at a youth ministry in Gloucester County, N.J., and began the Philadelphia Gospel Outreach Center in North Philadelphia.
He was a fixture on the University of Pennsylvania campus and preached to passers-by at other campuses in the Philadelphia area. He was a prominent enough figure at Penn that the chaplain's office held a panel discussion about his methods in 1998.
White preached against homosexuality and atheists, using a bullhorn to rile at students and faculty about "fornicators," "whores" and "sodomites."
Assistant District Attorney Kimberly A. Callahan called White a threat to society. "I'm relieved the jury believed the victim and understood the seriousness of the case," she said.
White supporter Michael A. Marcavage called the verdict "an outrageous travesty" and said the community should be alarmed. "Citizens should be concerned about how a man can be tried and convicted on the testimony of a 14-year-old," he said.
Pat Noordewier said she worked with White and a youth group for years and that he often stayed at her home. "This man is innocent," she said. "His ministry is kids."
True. The Church has two things going for it, as far as fodder for media attacks go. First, it's visible. And two, it's staunchly moral and traditional.
This isn't to say that some coverage of the abuse-coverup wasn't warranted. The hysteria wasn't warranted. I've done some web research, and I've found that the rate of child abuse by priests is equivalent to the rate of child abuse by parents, around 2-3%.
The most interesting story, which the media ignored, is that 90% of the abuse was by homosexuals and that seminaries seem to be weeding out orthodox applicants in favor of homosexuals and homosexual sympathizers.
Who better than a lurking, practicing homosexual predator with a proclivity for young flesh to preach using a bullhorn!
There is just no other alternative to protecting our children than to round up and exclude from society these dangers to the youth of America.
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