Yet another church official caught abusing a youth in his care

[Cirque du So-What]

Church choir leader charged
Case alleges sex with teen girl

By THOMAS B. LANGHORNE
Courier & Press staff writer
Saturday, September 22, 2007

A 25-year-old man who was a choir director working with youth at Evansville's Washington Avenue Baptist Church faces at least two felony counts of sexual misconduct with a minor.

Nathan St. Pierre is alleged to have carried on a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old female church member, the first incident occurring when she was 14. According to an affidavit for probable cause filed by the Evansville Police Department, the accuser said sexual contact with St. Pierre began in early May and ended Sept. 9.

St. Pierre is a son-in-law of the Rev. Mike Bebout, who took the pulpit at Washington Avenue Baptist Church in September 2005.

Bebout said he knew nother about the affair and said the church should not be held responsible for allegations of wrongdoing against one employee.

more...

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2007/sep/22/churchchoirleadercharged/

I don't usually go searching for examples of this sort, but a local TV station was reporting on it this morning as I was waiting for the weather forecast.

Funny thing is, the perp closely resembles the youth minister at a local church in the small town where I lived about 25 years ago. He was doing the same thing with a girl the same age as the victim in this story. She got pregnant and he was prodded into a shotgun wedding that subsequently fell apart three years - and two children - later. It's still astounding to me that the church kept the guy as a youth minister after all that.

[izzie]

1. Like the Middle Ages. Where do these people come from?

One finds it scary to even think about turning over a rock in a garden any more.

[Tian Zhuangzhuang]

2. A 25 year old man and a 14 year old girl

Middle Ages? try 1920's (or 1950's if you lived in the South).

I'm not defending the guy in any way but come on how old was your grandmother or great grandmother when they married. I bet a lot of them were 14 to 16.

What he did was wrong and illegal.

But it isn't pedophilia.

[izzie]

3. Good point.

One needs always to look at all sides. I often forget to and am always glad to have some one help me. I do mean this. I am far to old to think I knew much about such things and the best lesson I learned in college is how little I did know about the world.

[plantwomyn]

4. Pedophilia?

Neither the article or the post say anything about pedophilia. The girl is a minor! This scumbag used his position too have manipulate a 14 year old girl into a "sexual relationship" which by the way she has NO ability to consent to since she is a MINOR!
"In most jurisdictions the crime of rape is defined to occur when sexual intercourse takes place (or is attempted) without valid consent of one of the parties involved." Wikipedia. I don't know how old you are but my granny and great granny were both married after they were 16 and their parents approved and agreed to their marriage. This was NOT a marriage this was a RAPE.

[Hoondraskneltinsky]

5. I agree this guy is a despicable statutory rapist but,...

not a pedophile. As I understand the term, statutory means that the minor is legally too young to provide consent.

My paternal grandmother was 15 or 16 when she married my grandfather (in his mid-twenties)in the late 1920's. They were married until his death in 1981. They had 15 children. My mother was 16 when she married my father in the early-mid 1950's. They were married for over 30 years.