Tennessee Pastor Arrested for Child Sexual Abuse - Church Closed

[MineralMan]

http://www.wmcactionnews5.com/story/37661977/former-atoka-pastor-accused-of-rape-arrested

Sometimes, it seems, such behavior ends appropriately. Would that we would see more churches shuttered where this sort of thing has occurred.

Former Atoka pastor arrested for rape of 2 underage boys

A former Mid-South pastor accused of raping two underage boys has been arrested, Tipton County Sheriff’s Office confirms.



Ronnie Gorton, the former worship leader at Awakening Church in Atoka, was arrested Tuesday afternoon. He is charged with 47 counts related to sexual abuse.

The charges include aggravated sexual battery of a victim under the age of 13, rape, sexual battery by an authority figure, enticing a child to buy alcohol, and sexual exploitation of a minor.

{snip}

The Awakening Church is now closed and there is a “For Lease” sign in front of it.

[Initech]

1. I'd love to see the whole lot of these family values hypocrites in prison.

They can preach behind bars.

[MineralMan]

2. There are many such in prisons for sexual abuse.

The man in this story will probably get his chance to preach from behind bars, too.

Sadly, far too many are hidden by their church organization by moving them to other parishes. That practice is getting less common, though, and several Roman Catholic dioceses have been force to file for bankruptcy to settle claims by dozens of victims of abuse by priests.

In some cases, marginal churches and parishes have been shut down due to such bankruptcies. And yet, the problem continues. When will the lessons be learned?