Update: The charges seem to be 6 acts of child molestation (http://sfist.com/2011/01/03/pastor_who_backed_prop_8_held_on_se.php)

The link below is to the Advocate.com, and a short post about a pastor accused of  child molestation who is now being held in a Sacramento County jail. On first read, I thought the tone of the piece was to fault the church board for supporting the pastor, but after reading it a few times, I’m not sure about that anymore. Unfortunately, the piece does not include the church board’s full statement, nor include any link to it, and that adds to the confusion. Personally, I hope that the board’s statement condemns child molestation, but we don’t know. A Google search for this shows that the Advocate is merely sharing what has been said in other news sources.

Church Board Supports Accused Pastor

“Until such time as the courts prove Pastor Tom Daniels guilty, we have an obligation to support him and his family,” said the statement. The Bee reported that, “The statement also said that accusations such as those facing Daniels need to be tried in the court and not the media.”

Daniels, 48, was arrested in December and is being held at the Sacramento County jail with bail set at $6 million. He has been employed as a foster parent and day care provider according to the Bee.

I think the church board’s stance makes some sense. In this country, we are supposed to believe in “innocent until proven guilty,” and as a LGBTQ Rights advocate, I believe strongly that facts ought to rule instead of insinuation and hearsay. But not everyone agrees. Even my own first instinct was to want to use this to blame the Church and Christianity in general. Upon digging deeper, it seems that the current charges stem from a second victim that has come forward. Daniels was investigated in 2008 concerning another victim, but not enough evidence could be found to file charges. Unlike the Catholic Priests who molested children, Daniels doesn’t have a big, powerful, and rich church to try and hide it or defend him. So, perhaps there will be Justice done here.

One of the commenters to the original Bee story said:

And of course he was an active prop-8 supporter. Funny how all the sanctimonious twits bleat that same-sex marriages would harm children and family, and yet often, they are the worse offenders.

For me, this is an important part of the story. We see this over and over again, where fear mongering and hate speech against gays and lesbians comes most loudly from those who have their own stuff they are hiding. What a shame it is that loving parents, when they are a same-sex couple, are demonized, but the Church (this small church, the mega huge Catholic Church, and others) creates an environment where these types of real crimes against children flourish. If the Church, in the most broad sense, really cared about healthy families and what is best for children, they would stop demonizing Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Trans persons, and start advocating for love in all families.

The most interesting comment to me is here. It displays on the original website as all caps, but the bold is added as emphasis by me:

I’VE HAD A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH THIS GUY. HIS WIFE HAS A HOUSE CLEANING BUSINESS THAT MY DAUGHTER WORKED FOR. BECAUSE OF A WORKPLACE DISAGREEMENT TOM DANIELS WIFE HAD HER HUSBAND COME IN AND VERBALLY ABUSE MY DAUGHTER. HER MADE HER SIT DOWN AND THEN STOOL OVER HER , SHOOK HIS FINGER AT HER AND PROCEEDED TO YELL AT HER. IT SCARED HER TO DEATH AND MADE HER CRY. MY WIFE AND I WENT TO HIS CHURCH ONE SUNDAY AND CONFRONTED HIM. TWO OF HIS ELDERS AND TOM DANIELS SAT AND LISTENED TO US AND DENIED EVERYTHING. WE CAME TO HIM TO TRY TO RESOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE THE BIBLE TELLS US TO DO BUT THE ONLY RESPONSE WE RECIEVED WAS TO BE YELLED AT AND THEN RECIEVED A LETTER FROM HIS WIFE THREATENING US WITH A LAW SUIT. HIS CHURCH WAS WARNED OF HIS BEHAVIOR BUT LIKE SO MANY CHURCHES THE BOARD DOESN’T HAVE THE BACKBONE TO DO WHATS RIGHT AND CONFRONT EVIL. IF THESE TWO MEN ARE PART OF THE BOARD THAT ARE STILL SUPPORTING TOM DANIELS, SHAME ON THEM. THEY SHOULD BE TRYING TO BRING THEIR PASTOR TO REPENTANCE. THEY KNOW HE IS GUILTY. THIS LITTLE CHURCH WILL NEVER HEAL UNTIL THIS BOARD DOES WHAT IS RIGHT.JESUS IS ANXIUOS TO HEAL AND RESTORE BUT REPENTANCE HAS TO COME FIRST.

This says it all.

via Church Board Supports Accused Pastor | News | The Advocate.