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A young man turned his life around after getting involved in a cult and suffering from schizophrenia, and now later in life is a leader in Christian ministry and running for Phoenix City Council. Nick Griemsmann has gone through a lot, but through the grace of God he was able to turn his life around and now helps others. He recently wrote an autobiography called Becoming God’s Friend. Griemsmann wasn’t raised as a Christian, and having trauma as a young boy no doubt set in motion some bad things. He developed addictions and dropped out of high school. He found...

A spokesman with the Federal Bureau of Prisons has confirmed the death of evangelist Tony Alamo. He was 82. Alamo, who operated ministries in Arkansas decades ago, had been imprisoned under his real name of Bernie Hoffman at the Federal Medical Center (FMC) Butner in North Carolina. Hoffman died on Tuesday, the spokesman said. He had been sent to prison in 2009 after a conviction of transporting minors across state lines for sexual purposes.

Former TV evangelist Tony Alamo has been sentenced to 175 years in prison for taking underage girls across US state lines for sex. Alamo, original name Bernie Hoffman, was sentenced today in Texarkana, Arkansas. US District Judge Harry Barnes listened to testimony from Alamo's victims before giving the 75-year-old the maximum time allowed by federal guidelines and effectively ordering that he spend the rest of his life behind bars. The founder of Tony Alamo Christian Ministries took girls into his organisation as underage "brides". Five women, aged between 17 and 33, testified in July that Alamo "married" them in private...

Evangelist Tony Alamo was sentenced Friday to 175 years in prison for taking underage girls across state lines for sex, effectively punishing him for the rest of his life for molesting children he took as "brides" in his ministry. During Friday's hearing, some of Alamo's victims testified about how their families were destroyed while the evangelist took over their lives. Alamo, 75, had been convicted in July on a 10-count federal indictment. U.S. District Judge Harry F. Barnes said Alamo used his status as father figure and pastor and threatened and threatened the girls with "the loss of their salvation."

TEXARKANA, Ark. – Tony Alamo, a one-time street preacher who built a multimillion-dollar ministry and became an outfitter of the stars, was convicted Friday of taking girls as young as 9 across state lines for sex. Alamo stood silently as the verdict was read, a contrast to his occasional mutterings during testimony. His five victims sat looking forward in the gallery. One, a woman he "married" at age 8, wiped away a tear. "I'm just another one of the prophets that went to jail for the Gospel," Alamo called to reporters afterward as he was escorted to a waiting U.S....

Evangelist Alamo found guilty of kid-sex crimes He calls himself 'prophet that went to jail for the Gospel' Evangelist Tony Alamo, left, is escorted from federal court in Texarkana, Ark., on Thursday. A jury convicted him Friday of taking five girls across state lines for sex. TEXARKANA, Ark. - Tony Alamo, a one-time street preacher who became an outfitter of the stars and fought the federal government over claims he underpaid followers for church work, was convicted Friday of taking five girls across state lines for sex. Alamo stood silently as the verdict was read, a contrast to his occasional...

A jury in Arkansas convicted evangelist Tony Alamo on Friday of 10 federal counts of taking minors across state lines for sex, according to the court in the Western District in Arkansas. Authorities in September charged Alamo, the 74-year-old founder and leader of Tony Alamo Christian Ministries, and raided his 15-acre compound near Texarkana, Arkansas. Jurors reached the verdict after more than eight hours of deliberations. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 10 years. Between March 1994 and October 2005, Alamo transported five girls younger than 18 across state lines for sex, according to the indictment. The criminal complaint...

TEXARKANA, Ark. — A woman who said evangelist Tony Alamo "married" her when she was 8 years old told federal jurors Thursday that he sexually assaulted her repeatedly until she dodged security cameras and roving guards to escape from his compound in 2006. Her testimony came after another former underage bride of Alamo said she "married" the pastor at 14 through hurried whispers during visiting hours at a federal prison. That woman later noted inside a Bible the date Alamo first forced her to have sex, but left the name blank out of fear Alamo would beat her.

TEXARKANA, Ark. (AP) — Evangelist Tony Alamo preyed on his loyal followers' young daughters, once taking a girl as young as 8 as his bride and repeatedly sexually assaulting her, a federal prosecutor said Tuesday.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- A federal judge in Arkansas has rejected jailed evangelist Tony Alamo's request for bail while he awaits trial on charges he took young girls across state lines for sex. U.S. District Judge Harry F. Barnes issued an order Wednesday denying a defense request to consider setting bail for Alamo.

Tony and Susan Alamo were photographed with scores of their followers in 1974, at the height of their power. Today, Tony Alamo is back. Photo by Gilbert B. Weingourt/Zuma Press LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Clad in matching T-shirts with bejeweled cross logos, members of Tony Alamo Christian Ministries are once again saving souls on Hollywood Boulevard. Since the late 1960s, followers of notorious cult leader Tony Alamo have recruited and distributed literature on this star-studded sidewalk. On this sunny summer afternoon, they're handing out heavily footnoted, paranoid screeds proclaiming the end of the world is nigh and branding the...