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02/09/2009
Audio: Bobby Brown (no, not that one) talks to Signorile
Bobby Brown, a bail bondsman who sometimes appears on the A&E reality show "Dog The Bounty Hunter," went on Michelangelo Signorile's Sirius/XM radio show to discuss a several years-long investigation that he's been conducting on Ted Haggard, New Life Church, and an earlier New Life pastor, Stephen Evans, whose own same-sex sexual misconduct the Colorado Springs megachurch allegedly covered up. Here's Brown talking about the Evans case:
And in addition to the Evans claims, Brown claims he is working on up to TEN cases against Haggard, with some of those also underage. So what does this mean for New Life, and the Colorado Springs megachurch community in general? Well, that we do not know. And it'd be wrong to act as if these two cases are necessarily a widespread problem.
But that being said, it would be equally (more?) unfair to ignore the implications of these claims. These cases, especially with the cover up elements that keep coming to light, are simply eyebrow-raising! Can you even imagine if they involved a gay rights group? Social conservatives would be calling for the heads of all involved! So it'd be both disingenuous and dangerous for these same folks to gloss over these facts and allegations simply because they involve spiritual homes that they've been told are holy. These are real kids who are claiming to be hurt. These are real pastors whose closeted, self-persecutory lives have seemingly led them to act out in certain ways. When these matters build, the evangelical community has got to own them. They have to look at what is going on within their walls, and ask hard questions about their operations and persecutions. And if they won;t we unapologetically will.
For more, including transcripts and video from other parts of the show, see Michelangelo's site: More New Life Church Revelations [Signorile]
Your thoughts
Think these are vivid examples of the type of revelation he was making. Not sure why you didn't put them up here. If you think they need to be censored, just don't put up this comment JH, that's okay.
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Bobby Brown, reading from what he said was a detective's affidavit, told me that the pastor, Stephen Evans, was convicted in 1999 of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy and admitted to molesting his own 14-year-old son and his own 15-year-old daughter, in a case that Brown says was somehow kept out of the media and has not been reported until now. Brown says that with the help and backing of New Life Church, Evans served no jail time at all, cutting a plea deal in which he'd agree to a "restoration" at the church - yes, just like the one that Ted Haggard went through to supposedly make him straight! - while serving five years on probation. It is likely that Ted Haggard, as senior pastor at the time, oversaw Evans' restoration.
In 2001, for reasons that Brown doesn't yet know, Evans' probation was revoked. But rather than turn himself in, Evans apparently skipped the country, immediately becoming a wanted man, and apparently he is known to be in London. Brown believes New Life Church may have helped him leave the U.S., fearful that he might talk about the church.
I was able to independently confirm through the State of Colorado Court Database (there is a charge for searching, so the link will likely be dead or blocked) that indeed a Stephen Michael Evans was arrested and convicted in El Paso County (where Colorado Springs is located) in 1999 of sexual assault of a child under 15 and sentenced to five years probation. In the fall of 2001, the court records show, a warrant was issued for his arrest for "failure to comply" and indeed his probation was revoked.
Brown said that it's clear that local law enforcement has been intimidated by the New Life Church and by all the megachurches of Colorado Springs, which is like the Vatican of the evangelical movement. He noted that Ted Haggard continually bragged about how he had friends in the district attorney's office and police department.'
Posted by: LOrion | Feb 9, 2009 12:24:47 PM
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