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REV. GARY HEIDNIK, convicted of raping and killing women he chained in his Philadelphia church-home basement, received a 2nd death sentence. (USA Today, 3/3/89)

Every state except West Virginia has made snake-handling illegal. There have been 11 documented deaths since 1945, although snake-handling is also practiced in parts of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Tennessee, thanks to Mark, chapter 16:17-18.

" See, I handle serpents because it's in the Bible, like a commandment. And I drink strychnine because the Bible says it won't hurt me. Now, either every word in that Bible is right or it's wrong," says snake-handler DEWEY CHAFIN. (People Magazine 4/26/89)

A volunteer Sunday School teacher, music teacher and groundskeeper at Bethel Baptist Church, Novoto, CA, CONFESSED to raping and murdering a 13 year old girl on April 13.

" I murdered her. I strangled her and I bludgeoned her," SCOTT MARTIN WILLIAMS, 29, told police a week later. He lured Jenifer Moore, a popular 8th grade student, into the church, tied her up, raped her, strangled her with a cord and beat her with a baseball bat. His friends insisted he could not be guilty, although police traced him through incontrovertible evidence.

" He is a devout Christian," who likes to talk about God and the Bible, said a clerk at the food mart managed by Williams, where he has spoken often about the unsolved murder. (San Francisco Chronicle, 4/21/89)

BARTLEY J. DOBBEN was judged mentally ill and guilty of 1st degree murder for putting his 2 sons, ages 2 and 15 months, in a red-hot foundry ladle on Thanksgiving Day.

Dobben said " God had dictated through the Bible" that he kill his sons since they were going to die anyway. He had joined Emmanuel Fellowship whose preacher violently attacked his own mother and checked himself into a psychiatric hospital in late April. (AP 5/4/89; Mohave Valley News, 5/18/89)

Four members of the Ecclesia Athletic Association were convicted of 1st degree manslaughter for beating an 8 year old girl to death on Oct 13. Dayna Broussard was the daughter of the group's founder. CONVICTED were: WILLIE K. CHAMBERS, 35; BRIAN K. BRINSON, 31; CONSTANCE Z. JACKSON, 38; and FREDRICK P. DOOLITTLE, 28. (Sacramento Union, 5/13/89)

REV. HERMAN FOUNTAIN was sentenced to 1 year in jail and 4 years' probation for striking a Mississippi state trooper. Fountain, 39, a Baptist, operates the notorious Bethel Children's Home in Lucedale, MS, which has refused to turn over records on children in its custody, many of whom have run away and reported gross maltreatment. (Montgomery Advertiser, 5/17/89) [More later on Rev. Fountain.]

A Christian fundamentalist got 12-year probation, was ordered to pay court costs and work 500 hours for setting 19 fires at Indianapolis bookstores, massage parlors and their customer's cars, causing $170,000 in property damage and injuring two firefighters. Two other followers of REV. GREG DIXON'S Baptist Temple await trial. (Indianapolis Star, 4/22/89)

TONY ALAMO, leader of a Christian sect, was charged with felony child abuse in the beating in 1988 of an 11 year old boy at the group commune in Santa Clarita Valley.

" I favor spanking children; you know that. It says so in the Bible. People have to decide whether to do what the Lord says or the state."

Alamo issued orders over a speaker phone, listing each of the child's transgressions and dictated how many times to paddle the child. The child could not sit down without a pillow for 2-3 weeks. Five of his followers were also charged. (LA Times, 4/15/89)

Officials stoned to death 11 prostitutes and 4 pimps in a sports stadium as thousands watched in the Gulf city of Bushehr. A court had convicted them of " spreading corruption on Earth," according to the newspaper KAYHAN.

Typical execution by stoning involves hooding and burying prisoners in a hole (waist deep for men, chest-high for women). Judicial officials or police stand in a circle around the convict. The sentencing judge throws the first stone as others follow, shouting 'Allah-O Akbar' (God is Great). (Houston Post, 4/26/89)

PIERRE LACROIX, a French Canadian Catholic TV evangelist, was freed on bail from prison -- only 2 days after he was sentenced to 2 years in prison. He was convicted of molesting a teenage boy for 5 years during counseling sessions. Sentencing Justice Jean Bienvenue said Lacroix carried on a " marathon of gross indecency" at his " Marathon of Love" rallies. Pedophiles should not be loose on the streets, he said. However, Judge Yves Bernier, Quebec Court of Appeal, said Lacroix's return to society is not a public danger. The verdict and sentence are under appeal. A Crown psychiatrist said the married father of 4 showed no remorse or understanding of the gravity of his crime. (The Spectator, 3/16/89; Canadian Press, 3/18/89)

Prominent former priest BRENDAN FOLEY was charged with sexually assaulting boys between 1982 and 1985 when he worked as a parish priest. Foley, 43, was known as the " Singing Priest." He is the 8th well-known and popular member of Newfoundland's Roman Catholic community to be charged with sexual abuse. Two priests are serving 5 year prison terms; 3 other priests and a former priest await preliminary hearings. The province of 567,000 people, one-third Catholic, only has 100 priests. (Spectator, 3/18/89; Chicago Tribune, 3/27/89)

COL. JAMES L. MOODY, Brooke Army Medical Center's top chaplain, who faced up to 19 years, reached a tentative deal to serve no more than 3 years' prison for sexual misconduct involving 2 female clients. (San Antonio Light, 3/29/89)

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese-Atlanta is paying $358,000 to families of 3 altar boys molested by British priest ANTON MOWAT. The Church returned Mowat to England for treatment rather than reporting him to police. Mowat fled the treatment center and is a fugitive. He was charged last year with molesting 4 boys from a suburban Stone Mountain parish. (Idaho Statesman, 4/6/89)

Delaware TV preacher WILLIAM J. KEICHLINE, 52, known for homeless work, is charged with 3 years of rape, bondage and homemade pornography involving a girl, now aged 10. As her landlord, he threatened to evict her family if she said anything. He was charged with multiple counts by New Castle Co. police. Mission of Care, the 2-state ministry he founded in 1979 -- including a TV show, " camp for needy children," and outreach center -- ousted him following the charges. The group, long affiliated with PTL Club, was honored by the state legislature in 1983 for opening a shelter for 17 homeless people during record cold; however the shelter closed after 4 days for code violations. Keichline is married with 3 grown sons. ([Wilmington] News Journal, 3/17/89; Sacramento Union, 3/18/89)

ROBERT CUSHING, 36, of Dubuque, was sentenced to 10 years after pleading guilty to a felony sex charge of molesting boys at Wahlert Catholic High School, and 2 years to a charge of prostitution. (Clinton Herald [IA], 4/4/89)

DR. THOMAS HAVEL, a Catholic priest who heads the psychiatric unit at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, Calif., is being sued by a 34-year-old former client who says he sexually exploited her for 5 years starting when she was 13. Her attorney says the priest admitted the abuse, offered the woman a $135,000 confidential settlement and threatened to commit suicide if she didn't take it. The hospital, which never investigated the charges, says his work there is " flawless." (San Jose Mercury News, 3/29/89)

SHAWN CHARLES " BROTHER DUSTY" WILLIAMS, 50, got 10 years in jail after pleading guilty to showing pornography and fondling 2 young boys. The preacher-plumber worked as a volunteer bus driver for the New Covenant Fellowship Church of San Antonio, picking up stray kids to take them to church. He blamed the " devil" for his crimes. (San Antonio Light, 4/6/89)

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese-Baltimore made a secret settlement with a couple who accused REV. WILLIAMS Q. SIMMS of molesting their 13 year old son, an altar boy. He suffered depression and required psychiatric treatment, following the inflicted " ritualistic sexual fantasies." The family had asked for $12 million. (Maryland Sun, 3/28/89)

REV. WILLIAM EDWARD THOMPSON, JR., 45, charged with 21 counts of child sexual abuse, pleaded guilty in a plea bargain. The married father of 4 sons was headmaster at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church in Catonsville. He was charged with child pornography and molesting 7 boys, ages 11 to 16, in his home and on church property. A social worker reported him. (The Maryland Sun, 4/8/89)

REV. THOMAS HUNT was convicted by a jury of sexually abusing a 5 year old girl and her 7 year old brother during visits in the rectory. He was children's choir director at the United Methodist Church in East Benton. The girl had nightmares before visits and asked her mother to make the minister " stop rubbing" Vaseline on her " privates." The boy added, " Believe her, mommy, he did it to me too." (Scranton Times, 4/4-7/89)

ROBERT MESSERSMITH, 46, a catechism instructor at Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church in north Minneapolis who works with many youth groups, was charged with coercing 10 boys to perform sex acts. Boys ages 12-15 say he showed them pornography and urged them to masturbate during camping trips. In 1976, when director of the Salem, NH Boys Club, he was convicted of sexually assaulting 2 12-year-old boys and was given 2 years' probation. He is married with 3 children. (Minneapolis Star-Tribune, 3/28/89)

PAUL ROSS INGRAM, 43, who formerly ran the Thurston Co. crime prevention program, is charged with rape and statutory rape. Ingram was the GOP county chair from 1986-1988, and is a member of the Four Square Gospel Church. Two other men linked to law enforcement and community service were also charged. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 4/4/89)

JAMES CLIFTON NALLEY, a volunteer at Bible Baptist Church in Fernandina Beach, Fla., was charged with fondling 2 church girls, ages 9 and 11. Church members phoned police after a child reported the abuse. (Florida Times-Union, 4/4/89)

A federal sting operation to find child pornographers/molesters yielded 6 arrests in Philadelphia, including Presbyterian minister JOHN MCVAY, 53. He allegedly solicited sex with 2 girls ages 9 and 12. He was charged with criminal solicitation to commit involuntary deviant sexual intercourse. He also sent a 15 year old girl obscene material and a letter soliciting sex. (Intelligencer-Record, 3/10/89)

Evangelist TONY LEYVA received a 20 year prison sentence on March 28 for running a child prostitution ring. Federal Dist. Judge James Turk called him and his 2 partners " bad to the core." Leyva was previously sentenced to 2.5 years for sexually abusing 2 boys in Virginia. His religious accomplices RIAS EDWARD MORRIS, 27, got 15 years, and FREDDIE H. HERRING, 50, got 12 years. All were fined $5,000. Agents located at least 30 boys, some as young as 8, molested by Leyva in the past 20 years; some put the total at 800 victims. (New York Times, 3/29/89)

Indianapolis music minister REV. CLAYTON DUANE HEIL, 42, employed by Lighthouse Tabernacle, is being sued by a 14 year old choir girl for rape over a 3 month period in 1985. The suit also names REVS. WILLIAM W. and DAVID TOTMAN. Said a church official, " they're not just fighting us, they're fighting God." (Carmel News- Tribune, 4/5/89)

Baptist minister HENRY BAZIL WATERS, 49, was convicted of fondling 3 young boys and untold others at the Grace Baptist Temple Church in Statesboro, Ga., and in his home and car. Waters' testimony that he " saved" youth through " sex instruction " matched testimony of the victims. Waters admitted fondling boys in Latin America, saying " I have no idea " how many children he had abused. Waters was given permission to attend church while free on bond. (Atlanta Journal, 2/18/89)

REV. THOMAS V. COSSAIRT, 72, retired former pastor of First Baptist Church, Carter Lake, received a suspended 1 year jail sentence and 2 years' probation after pleading guilty to indecent contact with a child. A charge involving a 2nd child was dropped. He lives in Commerce, Okla. (Omaha World Herald)

JOSEPH NEWMAN, of Lucedale, Miss., says he married his secretary and her 8 year old daughter " under orders from God." After officials removed the child and her brother from his home, Newman vowed that " God is angry" because the Koran gives him the right to " up to four wives," including child brides. (Mobile Press Register, 3/11/89; Press Register Reporter)

Former Salvation Army Capt. JACK HOLCOMB, 50, pleaded guilty to having intercourse with a girl under the age of 14 while heading the chapter. During his tenure, he received a community service award for trying to house and feed refugees in the Plattsburgh, NY area. (Syracuse Herald- Journal, 3/1/89)

" Popular, dedicated" youth pastor DOUGLAS BOUDINOT, 39, married with children, has been charged with 2 counts of rape while leading a Christian youth group in California. Santa Cruz authorities charged him with rape when a young woman reported that Boudinot had sexually assaulted her in 1983, when she was 17 and a member of Young Life. Professing medical expertise, he reportedly committed many of the assaults under the guise of conducting medical examinations. Washington police have also located victims reportedly abused while Boudinot worked as youth pastor at Kent Covenant Church, taking youth groups on overnight outings and trips to Germany and Mexico. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 2/23/89)

Radio preacher REV. FRED KENTON BESHORE, 63, of Newport Beach, Calif., was charged with influencing the testimony of a witness, a felony. He is accused of phoning the father of a girl reportedly molested by neurosurgeon Dr. Francis Williams, offering him $1,500 a month for 2 years if he would stop his daughter's testimony. Police taped offers. Charges against the neurosurgeon for molesting preteen and adult patients were dropped, but could be reopened. Beshore runs Bible Institute of the Air, buying bibles to smuggle into communist countries. (Orange Co. Register, 2/28/89; 3/1/89)

PAUL SLATER, 64, a traveling evangelist, was charged with 4 counts of sexual battery after 8 and 12 year old sisters reported being molested and raped by him. Slater, a " trusted neighbor," befriended their family. An investigator said, " We encourage people to listen to what their children have to say. Many of these cases go on for months and years. " (Ocala Star-Banner, 2/18/89)

A 25 year old San Jose woman reports being molested and raped between the ages of 11-13 by a priest, who was also her mother's lover. She saw him rape her younger sister. Their mother is now demanding that the Diocese of San Jose take action against the priest, still pastor of a Santa Clara church: " We want him to admit this happened...We want him removed from situations where children are at risk." After 10 months of negotiating, no action to remove the priest or protect children has been taken. The criminal statute of limitations has run out. (San Jose Mercury News, 3/10/89)

FATHER HARRY MCINTEE is charged with sexually assaulting children from the 1950s to the 1980s at a church-run native residential school at St. Joseph's Mission, British Columbia. (Ottawa Citizen, 2/27/89)

Former priest JOHN BAUER, 52, is a fugitive being hunted for making child pornography in Mexico. Three other suspects are involved, including DAVID NEGRETTE, 26, an assistant scoutmaster. Police say the four men regularly made trips from the Los Angeles area 200 miles south to Ensenada. Poor boys aged 8 to 14 were paid small amounts to perform sexual acts with each other and the men in shacks and hotels. Videotapes were distributed around the world. Bauer worked as a priest for 7 years in social work projects, including group homes for neglected children in Helena, Mont. He left the church in 1970 and directed the social work program at Montana State University. He had owned 3 pornographic west coast bookstores. (Billings Gazette, 4/14/89)

UPDATE: Bauer, a former priest who often wore his clerical collar even after leaving the church in 1970, was arrested in Spokane by FBI authorities, facing charges of producing child pornography and conspiring to molest children in California. Bauer, self-described " porno priest," was on the run for 15 months, after charges surfaced that he exploited youths and runaways from Mexico. He worked as a director of the social work program in Montana State University-Bozeman during the 1970s, then opened 4 pornography shops. (Spokesman-Review, 12/13/89)

Despite multimillion dollar lawsuits in 2 states against Church of Christ public humiliation (" disciplining" ) of women for " sexual misconduct," Nashville elders vow to continue their crusade. What about all the wayward ministers? (Nashville Banner, 2/14/89)

REV. JOHNATHAN HAMLIN, 24, convicted of shooting his live-in girlfriend last July, got 15 years in prison. Hours after the shooting he preached at 1 of the 3 Mississippi Baptist churches he served. (Palm Beach Post, 1/7/89)

Florida authorities say twin girls, 7 months old, were deliberately suffocated. They were left alive in the care of REV. JOHN W. HEFLIN JR., 45, of Belleview, their babysitter.

New reports of child abuse prompted the removal of two minors from the notorious Bethel Children's Home in Lucedale, Ms. A 15 year old from Alabama and 12 year old from New York were removed following reports of abuse by a runaway. Last June 72 children were removed from the welfare department; many testified to excessive beatings and boot-camp type regimens. In contempt of court, REV. HERMAN FOUNTAIN and colleagues have $300,000 in unpaid penalties, and face a jury trial for assaulting police officers. The state requires no licensing for religious homes. However, the legislature passed a bill, in effect July 1, requiring 24-hour childcare homes to submit monthly lists of names and places of origin for each child and staff member, and educational information. (Mobile Register, 4/11/89)

REV. SHIRLEY FREEMAN, a 74 year old vicar, murdered his wife of 46 years when he was unable to find his favorite program on the radio. He bludgeoned her for over 2 hours. He was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in a monastery in southern England because he was too old for prison. (LA Times, 2/20/89)

A woman accompanying a friend to a Brooklyn, NY abortion clinic was tossed against a wall 3 times by an off-duty police officer who shouted, " In the name of Jesus Christ, do you know what's going on in there? " When she lodged a complaint against him at a police station, she was strip-searched and jailed. The officer was convicted of reckless assault. A state jury found the officer liable for $400,000 and the city liable for $600,000. (NYT, 12/14/88)

MARK RIPPBERGER and SUSAN MIDDLETON-RIPPBERGER were sentenced to 5 years' probation and fined $5,000 on Nov. 2 after being found guilty of criminal negligence in the death of their 8 month old daughter in 1984 from untreated meningitis.

" She was not beaten to death or starved, but she's dead just as if she were beaten and starved," said the prosecution. The judge ordered the couple to take a family health or first aid course, read Good Housekeeping's " Family Health and Medical Guide," and authorize emergency medical care for their other school-age children. The Christian Science Monitor accused California of " unhidden antagonism toward Christian Science" for prosecuting the case. With 1,945 churches, it is the largest US religious organization shunning medical care. (Reuters/Newark Star-Ledger, 11/5/89; Washington Post, 11/11/89)

The Circuit Court in Alpena, MI ruled in favor of Dr. Michael Taylor, who was sued by Jehovah's Witness Cindy Werth for transfusing blood to her in a post-childbirth crisis. Werth said it violated her religion; the court said it saved her life. (USA Today, 11/7/89)

A woman from Waukegan, IL who was injured in a traffic accident in Wisconsin bled to death after refusing a blood transfusion because of her religious beliefs. Gloria H. Carter, 54, a Jehovah's Witness, died on Dec. 14 of massive internal injuries. An elder from her church complained: " Even though they made a big deal over the blood issue in Kenosha, that was not the cause of her death." ([Waukegan] News-Sun, 12/15/89)

Authorities found a seriously-ill 6 year old girl whose father went to jail along with his pastor rather than tell her whereabouts. The sect rejects medical treatment. The girl was located in a secluded log home after an anonymous tip. Swollen and anemic, Melinda Sue James appeared to have kidney failure. She disappeared May 5 after the state ordered her to be medically examined. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 8/1/89)

A mother who starved to death her daughter, 4, in order to exorcise her of evil spirits, received a 7 year prison term for 3rd degree murder. The Florida mother, DARLENE JACKSON, 33, agreed to testify against MARY NICHOLSON, an evangelist charged with influencing Jackson to withhold food from daughter Kimberly McZinc. Jackson told the judge she would devote herself to " exposing people like Mary Nicholson."

Nicholson's trial is in February. The girl died on Feb. 8, 1988. The home had been investigated for neglect prior to her death, but a state agency had taken no action. Jackson, who has a master's degree, was also ordered to pay $23,000 in court costs and serve 8 years' probation. (AP/Miami Herald, 7/27/89; Pensacola News Journal, 11/30/89)

LARRY AND LEONA COTTAM, found guilty in Wilkesbarre, PA in September of starving their 14 year old son Eric to death, are free on bail pending an appeal. Eric's 69-pound body was found Jan. 4, 1989 after the family had fasted for 6 weeks. Larry, a former Seventh-Day Adventist minister, had $3,700 but would not buy food with it, saying it belonged to the Lord.

" We were wondering, 'Is our faith being tested?' like when God asked Abraham to go up and sacrifice his son on the altar," Cottam said.

" It was a kind of very close family togetherness," Cottam said. In the understatement of the decade, he added, " In some way, we lost perspective on reality." Their daughter Laura, now 13, who weighed 77 pounds when she was found after her brother's death, is in foster care. The Cottams are basing their appeal on grounds that the boy starved himself to death to express his freedom of religion. (Scranton Times, 8/29/89; Philadelphia Inquirer, 9/2-9/89; AP, 12/26/89)

VIRGINIA JENKINS, 37, of Anderson, SC, was ruled incompetent to stand trial in charges that she sexually assaulted her son, 14, during an exorcism. She also rubbed glass and salt into his wounds. (USA Today, 1/4/90)

The principal of Cornerstone Christian Academy (near Indianapolis) and her husband were charged with battery for paddling 2 pupils, ages 10 and 12, for bad grades. (Indianapolis Star, 12/15/89)

DAVID L. DOUGLASS, principal of Mountain View Christian School in Derry Township, PA, was found guilty of paddling a 7 year old child until he was bruised. The boy was paddled for talking in class.

" What we are talking about," said the prosecutor, " is a man who is blinded by his religion. The man does not see that the way to treat a hyperactive child is not to beat him into submission." (Express, 9/24/89)

A Fayetteville, NC minister, his wife and another woman were charged with felony child abuse for beating 4 children last year. They are part of Holy Tabernacle storefront church, where Rev. John Charles McCollum, 39, is " chief apostle." He also preaches over radio stations in North and South Carolina and in tent revivals. Four children, who range in age from 3 to 15 years, suffered permanent scars on their bodies from serious physical injury. One is scarred permanently on the face. They were removed from the McCollum home in December, where Irish Lamont Williams, 32, mother of two of the children, also lives. Two other adults are being sought for abusing the children. (Fayetteville Times, 1/11/89)

New Hampshire authorities have filed felony assault charges against a fundamentalist couple for beating their children with a stick and paddle. The kids were removed from their home. STEPHEN and JOANNE DECOSTA have found support in their church, and in character witnesses such as a former governor and a police officer whose children attend a church-run school with the DeCosta children.

" The Bible definitely and expressly teaches the use of the rod in the discipline of children and we believe it, and we do it, and I teach it," said DeCosta's pastor, Richard Anderson of the Calvary Independent Baptist Church, Meredith. (AP/Clinton Herald [IA], 10/31/89)

REV. ROBERT G. HALVERSTADT, 61, of Victory Center Church, Pueblo, CO, was sentenced to a year in jail, after admitting he used games, coercion and drugs to sexually molest 3 girls in his congregation. Charges involving 4 other victims were dropped when he pleaded guilty to reduced counts. He was given credit for 135 days already spent in jail, plus 4 years' probation. Halverstadt assaulted a girl, 9, who volunteered to help him clean his church. Another girl said he gave her something to drink that made her fall asleep. She woke up naked with pain in her groin area. (Chieftain, 12/15/89)

The Kansas Supreme Court upheld the convictions of REV. DARWIN G. DAMEWOOD, 54, sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping a teenager in 1987 and sexually assaulting him. The Court affirmed all 8 counts against Damewood, formerly with the Rossville Methodist Church, ruling it permissible for another teenager to testify at the trial that Damewood had molested him too. (Topeka Capital-Journal, 12/9/89)

STANLEY DENNIS CUMMINGS, 34, a bible school teacher, was sentenced to more than 2,000 years in prison after being convicted of 60 counts of child molesting and sexual exploitation of a minor. Cummings befriended 8 boys he met through church, friends and employment, molesting, sodomizing and photographing them in sexual acts. He beat one victim, tape-recording it for sexual gratification.

" Ten seconds of indiscretion is ruining my entire life," he complained, referring to oral sex with a boy, 10. He told the judge: " But I have an illness. You cannot make me a criminal." (Arizona Daily Star, 9/19/89)

REV. JOHN MICHAEL LIADIS, 56, of Largo, FL, was sentenced to 10 years' probation after a no-contest plea to 1 count of committing a lewd and lascivious act on a child under 16. He was also fined $500, told to stay away from children, and ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. He grabbed a girl, 15, the daughter of friends, at a church retreat. Liadis was relieved of his duties at the church camp. (NT Times, FL, 11/4/89)

MARY LOU GALLUP, 61, was sentenced to 2 years in prison for child molestation, and must pay for counseling for her victim, a 4 and a half year old girl. Her husband, Edward Sr. and son, were convicted of molesting kids at the family's two Christian preschools in Portland. (Register-Guard [Eugene, OR], 12/5/89)

REV. WALTER N. STONE, pastor of Rollstone Congregational Church in Fitchburg, MA, was sentenced to 7-15 years in prison after being convicted by a jury of 8 counts of molesting 2 boys. Two victims, now 18 and 21, testified Stone befriended them during church counseling and activities. Stone, 56, is married with 4 children, an Air Force veteran, with a doctorate in theology from Boston University. Several friends and colleagues wrote letters of commendation for him. (Worcester Telegram, 11/10/89)

REV. ROBERT DUANE SCHULTZ, 52, of Washington, Iowa, was sentenced to 30 years in prison after confessing to acts described as " horribly perverse" on boys under age 12, involving 1 count of sexual abuse and 3 others of lascivious acts. Officials are giving him polygraph tests and blood tests in an effort to identify other victims. The married minister was a foster parent honored in 1989 by Gov. Terry Branstad for volunteer service. Victims included foster children; five were removed from his home upon his arrest. The prosecution said a law preventing prosecution for sex assaults occurring more than 4 years ago should be changed, and would have resulted in more charges against Schultz. Rev. John Bennett told Schultz' congregation at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), " Bob has fallen...into a deep pit of despair. But Bob has not fallen from the grace of God." Church policy requires that he be defrocked for committing a felony. (Des Moines Register, 10/30- 11/3/89; AP/Clinton Herald, 10/30/89)

REV. DAVID SWOPE, minister at Sparks United Methodist Church, NV, was sentenced to 1 year in county jail, suspended to 3 years' probation, and psychological counseling. Swope pleaded no contest to a plea bargain of open & gross lewdness. He molested a girl, age 10, after choir practice, telling her she was one of his favorites and it meant nothing sexual. He was accused of taking indecent liberties with another girl 8 years ago. (Reno Gazette Journal, 10/28/89)

JOHNNIE VERNON WOODS JR., 36, a lay minister at a North Little Rock church, got 3 consecutive sentences for abducting and raping a girl, 9. A jury found him guilty of 2 counts of rape and 1 count of kidnapping. (Tulsa World, 10/29/89)

BRUCE KRAHN, 37, pleaded guilty to molesting a student, 15, at Calvary Academy where he taught math. He got 1 year probation, a $500 fine, and a possible 60-day jail sentence. He asked her to stay after school, turned off the lights, shut the door, asked her questions about sex education she got in the public schools, hugged, fondled her and asked her to touch him. She reported it to her parents. He was fired and the state will revoke his teaching license. (Journal-Register [Springfield, IL], 10/25/89)

GEORGE DEGOLYER, 42, pastor of Verona Christian Fellowship, WI, was sentenced to 30 days in jail, 5 years' probation after pleading no contest to 1st degree sexual assault of an 8 year old girl visiting his home. He carried the girl upstairs, pulled down her pants and molested her. He was ordered to have no unsupervised conduct with minors except his children. The DA agreed to ask the court to amend the charge to 4th degree if he does not violate probation. (Wisconsin State Journal, 11/1/89)

JAMES KENNEDY, a Salvation Army pastor from LaCrosse, WI, was sentenced to 6 years in prison plus 10 years' probation for 1st degree sexual assault of a girl, 10. He was ordered to pay for counseling. She was sexually abused at his home 4 times in 1985. Supporters have rallied to his cause. The day after his sentencing, he was released on $15,000 bond posted by a relative, pending appeal. (AP/Wisconsin State Journal, 12/22/89)

REV. L.G. GILSTRAP, 54, an Assemblies of God minister, was convicted by a jury on 3 counts of child molestation and sentenced to 33 years in prison for a string of fondling incidents in 1988 involving brothers aged 10 and 13. The older boy said Gilstrap once tried to have sex with him in the shower. Eight men testified during the trial that they too were molested by the minister when they were boys. Three said they were also abused by the Sunday school teacher, who was not tried. Gilstrap denied the charges but corroborated their accusations against the teacher. The prosecutor called Gilstrap the " Pied Piper of pedophilia." Gilstrap, defrocked, started a new church, New Hope Ministries. Married, he was a former clerk for the Georgia House of Representatives. (Atlanta Constitution, 9/22/89)

REV. THOMAS MCLAUGHLIN, 58, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for sexually molesting a boy, 12, after pleading guilty in exchange for dismissal of 6 other charges. He was pastor of Church of the Resurrection in New Albany and St. Mary Church in Marion, Ohio. The mother of the victim asked the judge for leniency.

" I was flabbergasted," noted Logan Co. prosecutor Gerald Heaton. " I can't recall, in my seven years of prosecuting cases, having the parent of a victim, especially a sexual abuse victim, speak in support of the perpetrator." The priest blamed his actions on " his disease" rather than himself. (New Herald, 1989)

REV. RICHARD ZULA, 48, former pastor of Sts. Mary and Ann Church in Marianna and Washington counties, PA, received 1 to 5 years in prison for sexually mole

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