XPost: or.politics, alt.politics.trump, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh   
   From: pothead@snakebite.com   
      
   On 2024-11-28, Mikey  wrote:   
   >   
   > Youth Pastor Charged With Nearly 200 Sex Crimes Going Back Decades   
   > Billy Witz   
   >   
   > Many of the victims were the West Virginia pastor's relatives, the police   
   said, including five nieces who filed a complaint against him in 2004.   
   > The top of a church building, with a cross at its peak, against a partly   
   cloudy sky.   
   > John W. Radcliff II has worked as a youth pastor for at least four churches   
   in West Virginia.Credit...Shelby Tauber for The New York Times   
   >   
   > Nov. 27, 2024   
   >   
   > The state police in West Virginia are continuing to investigate a longtime   
   youth pastor who has now been charged with nearly 200 counts of sexual abuse   
   crimes involving children, many of them his relatives, dating back more than   
   three decades.   
   >   
   > The pastor, John W. Radcliff II, was arrested a second time last week after   
   officers investigating a complaint filed against him in September revisited a   
   case from 2004, when five of Mr. Radcliff's nieces told the police that he had   
   abused them.   
   >   
   > "I have no idea what happened, but we never saw charges pressed," said one   
   niece, Carla Rinehart, whose mother is Mr. Radcliff's sister.   
   >   
   > Ms. Rinehart, 38, said that growing up, she did not know that her relatives   
   had endured the same type of abuse that she says her uncle had committed   
   against her. But when Ms. Rinehart was hospitalized at 17 after a mental   
   breakdown, she began to share    
   her story with family members. Her sister recounted a similar experience at   
   the time, and then their cousins did the same.   
   >   
   > A local TV station, citing court documents in Lewis County, W.Va., on the   
   2004 case, reported that Mr. Radcliff had forced the girls to perform sexual   
   acts on him from 1987 to 1996, and sexually assaulted them in other ways until   
   they were about 12.    
   The victims are all now adults, the news outlet reported.   
   >   
   > Lewis is one of four counties where Mr. Radcliff has been charged with abuse.   
   >   
   > Ms. Rinehart said she did not know who had filed the recent complaint   
   against Mr. Radcliff, in Nicholas County, alleging abuse between 2018 and   
   2019. But she and her sister and cousins went to the police there after their   
   uncle was first arrested in    
   September and released on bond, she said, to show support for the victim.   
   >   
   > "West Virginia is a small state; word gets around very quickly," said Ms.   
   Rinehart, who runs a child-care center. "We didn't want anyone to push her   
   statement aside like ours was. We were, ‘This happened to us. You have to   
   believe her.'"   
   >   
   > Mr. Radcliff, 57, who has worked as a youth pastor for at least four   
   churches in the state, is in custody on bonds totaling $1.7 million. It's   
   unclear if he is still working as a pastor. His wife, Kathy Radcliff, who has   
   been charged with knowing that    
   the abuse took place, has been released on bond. The Radcliffs declared   
   bankruptcy last year, according to state records.   
   >   
   > James Hawkins, a court-appointed lawyer for Mr. Radcliff, said almost all   
   the charges stemmed from accusations from 1987 to 1996 and were unrelated to   
   his work as a pastor. He said his client was facing a life sentence with more   
   than 100 years.   
   >   
   > "What I'm saying is there's nothing new - they're still uncorroborated   
   statements of the alleged victims," Mr. Hawkins said. "They were investigated   
   in 2004 and it was determined there was not enough evidence to proceed with a   
   criminal prosecution. We'   
   re looking forward to our chance to answer these uncorroborated statements."   
   >   
   > The case will be brought before a grand jury in either March or July, Mr.   
   Hawkins said.   
   >   
   > Meanwhile, the investigation is ongoing and more victims are coming forward,   
   the state police said in a statement.   
   >   
   > Kirsten Noyes contributed research.   
      
   Lock him up and throw away the key.   
   The prison population will ultimately take "care" of him.   
   Problem solved.   
      
   --   
   pothead   
      
   "Ding Dong The Witch Is Gone"   
   "Which Old Witch?"   
   "The Kamala Harris Witch. Of Course!"   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)