[flv:http://media.queerty.net/brentg.mp4 https://queerty-prodweb.s3.amazonaws.com/2011/03/brentg1.jpg 650 400]
Maybe Eddie Long should try this excuse? Brent Girouex, a 31-year-old former youth pastor in Council Bluffs, Iowa, insisted to the boys he’s accused of molesting that he was just trying to instill “sexual purity in the eyes of God.” Originally alleged to have sexually exploited four teens beginning in 2007, the number of victims has risen to at least eight. Girouex has been slapped with a 60-count indictment for using his position at the Victory Fellowship Church to target teenage boys in his counsel. The Rev. Lonnie Parton insists his church knew nothing of the alleged crimes until four victims came forward in February, and he then confronted Girouex, who is married with kids, and told him to confess to police, which he did. But it appears his math was off.
Court documents indicated Girouex told investigators the most sexual contact he had was with one teen over a four-year period, starting when the boy was 14 years old. Girouex speculated that he had “mutual” sexual contact with the teen between “25 and 50 times” over the four-year period. When investigators spoke to the teen, who is now an adult, he told them the number was between 50 and 100 times. Girouex allegedly said as a youth pastor he felt it was his duty “to help (the teen) with homosexual urges by praying while he had sexual contact with him.”
Several additional victims also spoke with detectives. At least three others – who were teenagers when the incidents occurred – told investigators the events happened at Girouex’s home. All three said they were at the house to be helped with “sexual purity.” Another man said he was 23 years old and having problems with his wife when Girouex wanted to “help him with his issues.” The man alleged Girouex pulled down his pants and began to touch his genitals. Yet another man said that over a five-week period when he was 20 years old, Girouex slowly evolved sexually contacting him from touching him over his clothes to oral sex.
Court documents stated Girouex said during all of the incidents, it was only about “helping the victims gain sexual purity.” “When they would ejaculate, they would be getting rid of the evil thoughts in their mind,” he allegedly told detectives.
Girouex, who is out on bond and due back in court April, on MySpace held the username “ilovezakjoeyandben.” It’s unclear whether those are the names of any of his victims.
Harbo
I heard it called a lot of things, but “sexual purity” is not one of them.
Why doesn’t they just trasefer Girouex to another church across town and he can keep this up. Hey, it’s been done.
TMikel
Yuck! Ejaculating sin from the penises? Yeah, right. This pervert needs to go to prison where he can “minister” to other inmates.
the crustybastard
Church rape. Because brainwashing kids isn’t bad enough.™
tallskin2
Urgh, more creepy christian behaviour
B
The idea that it helps “get evil thoughts out of their minds” would help a lot of teenage boys feel less guilty about what nearly all of them do in private.
Let’s thank him for that idea as long as the thanks does not give him a reduced sentence.
JKB
Married with children…WTF? And people need to start talking to their kids about how NO ONE should be touching them! Even so-called “agents of God” ffs.
Mac McNeill
And what bother me is the adults didn’t stop him. A 20 year old and a 23 year old, didn’t stop him? Are they that dumb in Iowa? I can understand a 14 year old not stopping him because they may think what he is saying is gospel, but a 20 and a 23 year old, and one is married? Geeze and I thought they were stupid in Kansas. This guy should receive life for molesting the young kids and hopefully the prisoners in jail will make him see the “errors” of his ways. But the 20 and 23 yr old, just wanted action. There is no excuse for it.
Michael
@Mac McNeill: Yeah, the 20-somethings, I mean, come on! I gotta say the 14 year old, well, that’s pushing it too.
microbrand
A hypocritical religious person? NO WAY! It just can’t be. They are always so honest.
L-O-L
hf2hvit
“Another man said he was 23 years old and having problems with his wife when Girouex wanted to “help him with his issues.” The man alleged Girouex pulled down his pants and began to touch his genitals. Yet another man said that over a five-week period when he was 20 years old, Girouex slowly evolved sexually contacting him from touching him over his clothes to oral sex.”
You can’t rape the begging!
Jeffree
This is NOT just about the age of the guys he abused. It’s about the violation of a position of trust & authority. The parents believed the pastor was helping the kids, not getting off with them. Abusing one’s religious authority to molest the people who are seeking help, that’s just evil.
TheRealAdam
@Jeffree: Who’s to say it isn’t justified in some way by the scriptures? We have seen historically how religion can be used to do and say anything without major penalty, so why isn’t this acceptable?
He will receive a lenient punishment, if any at all.
Mike in London UK
The Victory Fellowship Church, now entering bankruptcy in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1,… {zap!}
Jeffree
@TheRealAdam: Touché! The scriptures may work in getting his congregation to forgive him, but those verses won’t carry much weight when he stands trial.
— – — – —
This whole episode goes to show what happens when these closet cases repress their sexuality: it creeps out in all the wrong ways and with all the wrong people.
B
No. 6 · Mac McNeill wrote, “Are they that dumb in Iowa? I can understand a 14 year old not stopping him because they may think what he is saying is gospel, but a 20 and a 23 year old, and one is married.”
It’s not that they are dumb – they are most likely closeted and desperate (I’m referring to those who were adults when the sexual contact occurred). There religious beliefs kept them sexually repressed and when some kind of religious figure gave them “permission” to do what comes naturally for them, they did what comes naturally.
It’s an old story (whether gay or straight, men react the same way):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BY28AiP6ahU&feature=related
Max the Communist
. . . ‘cuz we all know, it’s the little demon spermies that make you do it . . .
zacht
hahaha. aside from this poor 14 yr old victim, this story is pretty funny, considering that you cant really get lured into someones house for sex and then have sex with them and be a victim at the age of 23… but at least your sins are now inside this idiots stomach! let him deal with it 🙂
tish
@Harbo:
LOL for the east side church to the west side church in 30 days
Otis Criblecoblis
Praizzze Gawd Aw-mighty!!!
Thank you Jeebus for giving me such beautiful young men to minister to!!! …now what can possibly be wrong with that, dear Lord???
Dandy Dan
@TMikel: I suppose the next thing we are going to find out is that he was a sin eater like Heath Ledger in the movie The Order.
Dandy Dan
@Jeffree: It was probably less of a creeping out than a squirting out.
Dandy Dan
@Michael: I just wanted to clarify, the 20 and 23 year old men were ok because they were old enough to understand what they were doing and you believe that this goes for the 14 year old as well?
Beyond the fact that all three of these people were probably scared and confused about their own feelings I think that is completely unacceptable to suggest that a 14 year old would not at very least be protected against statutory rape.
This man was someone whom these people went to for guidance and although I do not know their motivation for coming forward I do believe that one good reason to do so is to prevent this “Pastor” from retaining his position of trust in any community.
Dandy Dan
Why is it that everyone thinks that the older of this Perverts victims should not be considered victims. I think that these men were most likely confused and scared about their feelings and may have been devoted members of this church; as such they went to the pervert (I mean Pastor) for guidance. He basically coerced them into engaging in these sexual acts to save their souls. The dismissive attitude is alarming since the fact is that this Pervert exploited the fear and confusion in all of his victims.
j
Part of the problem here is the not-so-implicit demand that all conservative evangelical pastors have wives or husbands. That is, be in a church-approved heterosexual marriage. This just encourages sexually confused or sexually immature people to abuse kids and rape adults. I suspect that this perp is a sociopath and would abuse even in an LGBT friendly denomination. Still, pastors like Ted Haggard illustrate that the pressure to keep up a family facade and the temptation to have risky gay sex on the side can have a devastating impact on individuals and churches.
Jeffree
@Dandy Dan: Agreed. That’s why I posted #11: it’s about an abuse of power, position, influence, not age, per se.
I don’t believe in hëll but if there is one, I think this pastor would fit right in there !
Dean
What i find interesting as how gays perceive it as the church being hypocritical. I see it as gay people joining the church pretending to be religious so they can have access to the altar boys and has nothing to do with the overall church.
justiceontherocks
@Dean: You don’t see very well.
tallskin2
well, I never, another christian fiddling
Charlie
As someone who is deeply religious (but not of those religions that has a problem with gayness) I really hate this guy. He is using his role as spiritual guide for his own twisted selfish purposes and on top of that he is contributing to the reason so many gay people fear and mistrust any form of spirituality.
lizcivious
Funny how the reporter assigned to the TV story is named LUBY.
Jaroslaw
The county attorney seems Gay to me….
jack e. jett
Sin jiz 4 Ever.
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Pastor.
cheech
Let this guy have all the MEN he wants in prison. Hopefully they are big men and he equivalent to his teenage victims. Brent I hope you get it so many times that you are crying in pain and bleeding profusely and are damaged for life. Because when and if you get out, you are just going to do this again. People wonder why I don’t send my boys to religion.
Jaroslaw
I know this won’t register for some, but veangance and bad wishes are not helping the perpetrator or the victims. Yes aboslutely he should go to jail for his crimes but it MAY be our society that causes people to hide homosexual feelings and express them inappropriately such as this. But to hope he gets raped in prison? Wishing that makes you as bad as him.
BG
This guy was doing this all while he & wife have just adopted a couple of babies and has a couple babies of thier own.
He was also noticeably abscent at family gatherings and hospital
when his brother’s young wife was dying of rare disease. Now we know what was occupying his time instead of a (pastor) being there for his family during a terrible time of grief.
Ken
Well first off, to those who knock religion, thats sad to do so, its not the religion, and I don’t believe that a supreme being would want this any more than a murderer, but dont blame all the, upright, descent, religious people for a persons wrong doing, this guy is a sexual preditor not different than a school teacher that might be involved in the same thing, but we don’t want to do away with school teachers. People seem to do their best to do away with religion and itsgood because of a few bad eggs in the pile. Im not against gay people, I am gay, but Im also religious and I don’t blame religon. Think of all the good things that are done for humanity in the name of God. So please stop bashing Christianity just because you don’t like it or think that its a good thing, there are just as many sexual preditors and perverts out there that don’t have any thing to do with Christianity or Religion, remmeber being gay in the muslim religion is a death offence, not just being a child molester.
Jeffree
@Ken: I appreciate your sentiment. Although I am not a person of faith, I absolutely support freedom of religion. I don’t try to convert my friends from their beliefs. However, when self-identified Christians use their faith to justify denying me equal rights (employment, adoption, marriage, tax equality, military service, etc.) I will fight back.
There are people of faith who do support equality, but unfortunately their voice gets drowned out by the many fundamentalists who actively work against the rights of LGBT people.
Shannon1981
I don’t trust religious people. End of story. Do I hate them all? No. But…at the end of the day, their affection for you usually begins and ends with your agreeing with them. I had a now former friend just the other night go off on my on a blog I wrote pointing out all the inconsistencies in the Bible, and explaining why I get so fucking irritated when people try to convert me. The second she realized that I think her belief system and her book is a load of shit, she turned on me. So, yet another example.
And the fact that stories like this one are being released in droves here lately just cements my view point. Religion and its followers are poison to society. I do support their right to believe as they do. But only if they can keep that shit in their own homes and churches where it belongs, and leave the rest of us out of it.
sanluvsgod
HOLY GOD WILL BRING JUDGMENT ON MAY 21 2011
sanluvsgod
1 PETER 4:17
For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?”;
katie
I agree with the person who commented about how this is bad there is no doubt he’s sick and wrong very wrong for what he has done but it is also a violation of trust and a violaton of his role he had in the church…he to will be judged by God one day and that will be the biggest punishment! I have to admit He was my boss for awhile and Wow! I never knew….Im so so shocked and saddened for his family but thank all those brave kids for coming forward so he will never be able to hurt his own children.