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Stories like this greatly concern me, because it's yet more fuel to the fire for people that call us "freaks" and "sickos." Although the article gives scant details about how all of this came to be, the first thing that people will assume is that the pastor was using his position to take advantage of his flock. Since we don't know all the facts, we can't truly say that for certain. It's a bit hard to believe that he would have been able to pull something like this off on 35 different women and none reported anything before now. It makes me wonder just why these women suddenly came out of the woodwork when one person did finally come forward. Until we know both sides of the story, we're going to continue to be in the dark.
If he did abuse his position, then it's not just the sexual aspect, but also the paddling that he would be guilty of forcing on these women. Without further information, there is no reason to believe that any of his actions were consensual.
I am going to do some research on this and make an entry in my blog with what I've found. If anyone has seen a site with more information than presented here, or if new information comes out in the future, please email or PM me with the details.
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