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Ministers rally in court to support pedophile |
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Wednesday, 28 November 2007 19:00 |
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North Carolina church "youth leader" Leonard Smith was sentenced yesterday to over 14 years in prison for sexually abusing a boy in his care, but not before a parade of clergymen showed up to seek lenient treatment for him. "He is still needed in the church, Rev. Charles Mosely told the court. "He is still needed with the young people."
Smith's case sparked open public protest in recent days, when prosecutors indicated they had made a plea bargain to give him just 16 months on minor charges, a very typical outcome for child sexual assault in North Carolina. Members of the victim's family said they were being denied justice for the sake of an expedient deal and were joined by protestors outside the courthouse, causing sentencing to be delayed. "We've got 30 years that we know of, of victims willing to testify," said one family member. Then on Wednesday, the State's plan changed. Judge James Downs gave Smith consecutive sentences on multiple counts.
The Reverend Mosely was not the only community leader to side with the predator. "About 50 people turned out in support of Smith," reports the Asheville Citizen-Times, including six ministers who testified in court. Rev. L.C. Ray, pastor of Greater Mount Zion Baptist Church and the founder of a "youth mentoring agency" said, "I can't get around the fact that God calls on me to fall on the side of mercy." Rev. Louis Grant called for counseling.
Amidst his friends and supporters, Smith rose to speak for himself. "The care and concern went a little too far," he said. "I shouldn't have overstepped my bounds." Then Smith added that he never "manipulated" his victims.
Any regular reader of the Newswire knows how this familiar story ends. The flood of love and understanding engulfing Leonard Smith didn't quite extend to the victims, says the family. "We have been ostracized," David Clement says. "Not one church leader has reached out to us."
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