52°
"This table was created as a research tool to discover the scope of sexual abuse of children within the Sothern[sic] Baptist Convention," the 205-page report released last week reads.
The Pennsylvania ministers on the list include:
- Name redacted, 34, Deacon: In 1992, he was arrested for abusing 8 girls between ages 3-14.
- Otis Joseph: choir leader, teacher and camp counselor at Bright Hope Baptist Church, Philadelphia, PA. He was found guilty of abusing 5 girls between 1998-2005.
- Name redacted, pastor, name of church redacted, in PA. Lawsuit filed saying the preacher "groomed" a young teen for a physical relationship that began soon after she turned 18. She stated he exploited and manipulated her "to satisfy his own sexual desires." The results of the lawsuit were not made available. The church is now listed as an independent Baptist church.
- Rudolph B. Walls, 43: former associate pastor, Cornerstone Baptist Church in Harrisburg, PA, was on probation for a North Carolina molestation of a male teenager when a new lawsuit was filed. He was sentenced to one to two years in prison.
- Scott Sechrist: a pastor, First Baptist Church, Morrisville, PA. In 1992, he was charged with raping a girl when she was 9-years-old and continued the abuse over the next two years. He was charged with 20 counts of involuntary deviant sexual intercourse, 10 counts of statutory rape, and 10 counts of aggravated indecent assault. A tape of him confessing was played at a preliminary hearing as he died by suicide just before his trial.
- David Pearson: Pastor at West Side Baptist Church, Sharpsville, PA, is listed on the National Sex Offender Registry for a 1993 conviction of aggravated criminal sexual assault of a child in Denton, Texas. The Executive Committee disfellowshipped West Side Baptist Church, Sharpsville, PA, during their February 22-23, 2021, meeting.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Cumberland and receive free news updates.
