Another day, one other youth pastor grooming a younger lady in his care. Are Christian conservatives going to defend this one, too? Ugh, don’t reply that…
Alexander Blackwelder was arrested this week after allegedly having intercourse with a 16-year-old lady. The 26-year-old, in addition to typically sharing his sermons on YouTube, is the youth pastor in residence on the East Main Street Church of Christ in Tupelo, Mississippi. Tupelo Police detective Hal Veal informed reporters police acquired a tip again on February 15 concerning the church’s youth pastor having an inappropriate relationship with an underage parishioner.
Police first questioned the lady, along with her dad and mom current on the interview. The teen denied any sort of improper relationship — however admitted to having one-on-one conversations on the cellphone and thru Snapchat. That alone was sufficient to clue in detectives — and her dad and mom agreed, signing a consent kind permitting cops to go looking the lady’s cellphone. There they discovered sexually express photographs and movies, in addition to data of conversations with Blackwelder which led them to consider the 2 had carried out greater than trade pics.
Related: Body Of Missing 14-Year-Old Found Tied Underwater Near Where She Met Ex-Boyfriend
In his first interview with police, again on February 17, Blackwelder denied there was something inappropriate between himself and the lady. But on Wednesday he was introduced into the station — after police already had the cellphone proof. He cracked this time. Detective Veal mentioned:
“He admitted that they had sexual intercourse on two occasions and exchanged inappropriate video and pictures.”
That was all they wanted. Blackwelder was booked on one rely of enticement of a kid to supply visible depictions of grownup sexual conduct and two counts of sexual battery.
Prosecutors requested that Blackwelder be held with out bond, and in courtroom on Thursday Tupelo Municipal Court Judge Willie Allen agreed, saying:
“I think the charges are serious enough that we need to keep you.”
The query of bond will come up once more in his subsequent listening to. If discovered responsible of all crimes, the youth pastor may theoretically resist 100 years in jail, 40 for the enticement, 30 every for the battery. However, it’s unlikely he’d be given consecutive sentences on all the costs. Still, that reveals simply how severe authorities are taking this.
Because, regardless of what some Christian conservatives have argued the previous couple days, when a grown man has intercourse with a 16-year-old lady, it’s not main her into the trail God meant, it’s a criminal offense. For those that didn’t see, the story of the German youth pastor who proudly posted about having dated his spouse since he was 19 and she or he was 14 went viral once more this week. There have been, shockingly, some of us defending him — whereas in the identical breath decrying the LGBT neighborhood as “groomers” for the crime of telling younger individuals it was OK in the event that they have been homosexual. And but, within the face of precise, textbook grooming they mentioned it was fantastic as a result of it was heterosexual.
We couldn’t assist however discover there have been no less than three situations of youth pastors simply this week getting in bother with the regulation for sexual misconduct with minors. Kind of looks as if the trend that’s being displayed at drag reveals must be pointed inward to us. Or as y’all devoted may understand it, Matthew 7:5:
Thou hypocrite, first forged out the beam out of thine personal eye; after which shalt thou see clearly to forged out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
Just sayin’.
[Image via WJTV 12 News/Youtube.]
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