Source: ministrywatch.com 1/7/25
At MinistryWatch, we run reports almost weekly of pastors getting arrested for various crimes — but an arrest doesn’t mean that person has been found guilty. Just recently, a jury found an Arkansas pastor who had been arrested on charges of possessing child sexual abuse material not guilty.
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“After 17 long months,” the pastor said, “we finally had our day in court, a moment I had prayed for, not just to clear my name, but to affirm a principle that seems increasingly lost in our time: that one is innocent until proven guilty.”
Not all pastors who are arrested are guilty, and not all guilty pastors are arrested. Studies show many sex crimes go unreported, and many reports don’t lead to arrests. With this in mind, it’s helpful to understand both civil and criminal cases — what goes into a civil lawsuit and the process that takes a crime from a reported incident to conviction. Terms like alleged, arraigned, and burden of proof all fall somewhere along the investigation process.
First in a criminal case comes the arrest. Typically, an arrest is based on allegations made by an investigative agency, such as a police force or department of justice. An arrest can only be made based on probable cause — the facts and circumstances exist that would lead a reasonable person to believe a crime has been committed. After making an arrest, law enforcement takes the alleged perpetrator into custody, informs them of the charges, and sometimes questions them. They have the right to remain silent and have an attorney present.
An arrest typically requires someone to report the crime. That said, a low percentage of crimes ever get reported—in 2018, according to a report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, only 24.9% of sexual assault instances were reported to the police. Even then, few reports lead to an arrest. An NBC News investigation into 10 cities found that only 12% of reported rapes in 2023 led to an arrest.
Once a person is arrested they are taken to a detention facility and booked. They are fingerprinted and pose for a mug shot. If a judge sets bail, an individual can go home to await their court date. But, depending on the nature of the crime and other factors, a judge can deny bail.
A civil case begins when a victim brings a civil lawsuit, typically seeking monetary compensation or court orders. The case begins when the plaintiff files the initial suit, stating their claims and desired relief. A civil lawsuit does not require the victim to have reported the crime to police. Typically the lawsuit will be in public record, but sensitive cases can be sealed and certain details redacted.
The first court appearance in a criminal case is called the arraignment. The defendant hears the charges read aloud and can plead guilty, not guilty, or no contest. “No contest” means the person is not disputing the facts of the case, but they are also not pleading guilty. Defendants often plead not guilty to challenge the evidence and give their attorney time to investigate. At this point, the judge might issue a no-contact order—meaning the defendant can’t interact with a particular person or age group. A public defender is assigned to those who can’t afford an attorney to represent them.
Both types of lawsuits include an investigation and discovery process. Attorneys for the prosecution and defense both gather…
I still wonder where some of the statistics come from. Specifically, ones like “24.9% of sexual assault instances were reported.” What is that based on? Exactly how do they know how many instances occurred that they can derive a rather specific percentage of what was reported?
I presume the answer is estimates provided by RAINN or the NCMEC or another “victim support” organization. But where do they get their numbers? According to them, their numbers (also estimates, based on God-knows-what) go up every year to continue soliciting donations.
It would be nice if someone would call these organizations out on this. Ideally along the lines of – if their numbers are accurate, then their “efforts” (assuming they actually accomplish something beyond being someone’s money mill) don’t appear to be working and they either need to try something else or disband. No other type of organization can exist through dismal performance masked by a noble mission statement.
Investigation know matter the outcome Rogue police detectives will push the crime and advance an allegation to their buddies in the sex crime unit at the DA’s office and know matter how much you claim you didn’t commit the act you will be brought up in charges , you are toast ! The alleged is 95% going to get prosecuted! Facts are facts the police detective(s) and with the DA’s office will fry you; especially if they’re buddies . Facts are facts . Lies , false police reports , coerce testimony the whole 9 you will be screwed! Please comment if you think differently! God bless you all !
I personally have a lot of questions regarding this article, the first of which is its purpose and the second its source of the statistics used.
I’m always interested in how they get the numbers of sex crimes that go unreported. Is it from surveys, is there some mathematical algorithm that is evidence based, or something else? Unfortunately there ARE women who like to lie or embellish stories in attempt to get attention, revenge, marital assets, and even child custody. I say this as a woman. It also doesn’t match up with a lot of the statistical evidence I’ve heard from a multitude of different sources regarding plea agreements, and it seems to lump an enormous list of various sex crimes into overly generalized categories.
The article comes very close to reading that while our current criminal justice system may be doing a lot of damage to people before they even go to trial, justice will prevail in the end. While I agree with the former, I could not more vehemently disagree with the latter. To me it seems the prosecuting attorneys in our system value winning, sometimes at all costs, more than they do about the actual truth.
Finally the newsletter speaks of stewardship of the church’s funds but gives no indication of how stewardship of those funds is connected to the article. Jesus commanded forgiveness, helping the poor and the sick, and even visiting those imprisoned. He also commanded repentance for our sins. The entire foundation of Christian faith is based on ALL having fallen short of the glory of God and the requirement of a perfect savior to suffer for the sins all of us imperfect people commit so that whosoever believes in him will be forgiven and have eternal life. It almost feels as though this article is encouraging its audience to give to those accused, because they are innocent until proven guilty, but once “proven” guilty there would be better uses of those funds. I simply cannot abide by that. Not everyone with a conviction is guilty, and even if they are I am commanded to forgive and love my neighbor, not ostracize them and allow them to carry heavy burdens the rest of their lives.