MS--Ex-Mississippi pastor sentenced for child sex crimes

For immediate release: Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016

Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790314 645 5915 home, [email protected])

A Baptist minister who worked in Mississippi has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after admitting to sexually abusing a 13 year old church member in Louisiana. We call on his former colleagues to aggressively seek out others who may have information or suspicions about his crimes and beg them to call law enforcement.

http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/courts/article_c65e9558-5d84-11e6-ac4e-e334e00e2d9b.html

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2016/08/ex-first_baptist_youth_ministe_1.html

It’s very possible that there are girls or young women in Mississippi now who are struggling with depression, anxiety, agoraphobia, eating disorders or suicidal thoughts because they too were repeatedly manipulated and exploited by Rev. Jonathan Bailey. It’s crucial that Baptist officials in both states use pulpit announcements, church websites and congregational mailings to search for others who could help police and prosecutors file more charges against this child molester. Regardless of what church officials do or don’t do, current and former members of Bailey’s congregations should also take steps like this to protect the vulnerable and heal the wounded.

We urge every single person who saw, suspected or suffered child sex crimes and cover ups in churches or institutions to protect kids by calling police, get help by calling therapists, expose wrongdoers by calling law enforcement, get justice by calling attorneys, and be comforted by calling support groups like ours. This is how kids will be safer, adults will recover, criminals will be prosecuted, cover ups will be deterred and the truth will surface.

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 20,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

Contact - David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, [email protected])

 

Former youth minister gets 10 years for sex abuse of girl

By Emily Lane, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune on August 08, 2016

Former First Baptist Church of New Orleans youth minister Jonathan Bailey was sentenced Monday (Aug. 8) to serve 10 years in prison after admitting to sexual misconduct involving a member of the church who was 13 when the abuse began.

Prosecutor Bonycle Thornton read a statement in court from the young woman who Bailey victimized, describing . . . 

Read full article here


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