The pastor of a Baptist church in Alabama has been arrested after admitting to his entire congregation that he molested at least one young boy from the church on multiple occasions.
41-year-old John Martin is a married father of five and the lead pastor of Lighthouse Baptist Church where he has regularly preached about the evils of homosexuality since 2010.
On Monday, he confessed to four counts of child sexual abuse after church members reported him to authorities.
According to local news station WAFF48, Martin first made the confession from the pulpit during a Sunday sermon in June. According to court records, he told churchgoers that his molestation of the boy child was an “affair.”
Martin said the abuse happened on multiple occasions at his home and on a road trip. He also sent the boy explicit text messages.
After sharing the story with stunned churchgoers, the pastor checked himself into a psychiatric unit and turned over two guns.
According to its website, Lighthouse Baptist Church believes that marriage is “between a man and a woman” and that “intimate sexual activity” that happens outside of a marriage is a sin.
It goes on to say: “We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex.”
A photo on the church’s website shows Marin and his family–his wife and their two young daughters and three sons–along with a memo that reads: “We are proud to have Pastor Martin and his family with us. Since Pastor Martin came to Lighthouse, we have seen a growth that can only come from God. Pastor and his family would love for you to visit Lighthouse Baptist Church very soon!”
Angie Hamilton, an assistant district attorney in Lauderdale County, says more victims may be involved.
“We have identified several potential victims,” she told local media this week. “We believe other charges are forthcoming.”
Martin is currently being held in the Lauderdale County jail. His bail is set at $60,000.
calpoidog
He’s a pedophile. Why do we need to be told he’s railed against homosexuality? The two don’t go together and some his intolerance of gays is maybe hypocritical given his penchant for kids?
His pedophilia alone shows he’s a hypocrite.
Cam
Why would you want to hide that? It shows that pretty much all of these preachers who are anti-LGBT bigots are using attacks on us to cover for the fact that their either self hating closet cases, rapist, child molesters.
Juanjo
A pedophile is someone who desires sex with a child who has not reached puberty. According to the news reports he is charged with having sex with a person under the age of 16 which is a term of legal phrasing under Alabama law for their statute prohibiting sex with people between 12 and 16 as opposed to under age 12. If the person is under 12 then the statute has much stronger penalties. So we do not know the specific age of the person except he was between 12 and 16. That makes this scumbag an ephebophile, not a pedophile.
dean089
I get what you’re saying, calpoidog. There’s the assumed connection that pedophile and gay are two terms for the same thing. His moral hypocrisy is what the article should focus on — and it’s interesting to note that pedophilia is not one of the ‘horrors’ listed on the church’s website (more likely because the Bible doesn’t make a strong case against it, but still).
[email protected]
juanjo not under 12? hell let him go than. hell put him in trump’s parade. i was 13
dwes09
blester1933:
Juanjo is correct, the perp is not a pedophile. And the importance here is that pedophiles often do not care if their victims are male or female…it is the lack of secondary sexual characteristics and their vulnerability that is the turn on.
Ephebophiles and hebephiles DO care about the sex of those they victimize, and most molest girls. But given this usually occurs in the family or with family friends, most gores unreported.
Nobody is making excuses for the seriousness of these acts, nor diminishing the need for punishment, just making the use of proper terms clearer.
Chrisk
Why anymore is surprised at this point is beyond me.
The more anti gay the more i’m concerned for the children.
LostMyClothesAgain
If an openly gay man in Alabama admitted to repeatedly molesting a boy, do you think his bail would also be $60,000 ? Or perhaps more like $2,000,000 or denied altogether ? A $6,000 bail bond is easily affordable to most people and it would be awful to keep Pastor away from his Christian family.
Wayne_in_NYC
The bail is so low because he confessed his sins and asked for forgiveness! Hallelujah Amen! Everything is fine now! He’s been cleansed by the blood of Jeeesuz! He’ll never do it again and now they need to round up the young men , strip them off and baptize them and then lay hands on them and pray for them and they’ll be just fine too! Thank the lord! Jesus fixes everything! Thank ya Jeesuz!
ATX1954
Keep him away from the sheep in his flock; as if that would be a loss? Seriously? The State of Alabama will take care of him. Who will help his victims deal with this?
Cam
If some right wing preacher is an anti-LGBT bigot the BEST case scenario is that they are a self hating closet case. This guy is more typical, a child molester. The rest are cheating on their wives, stealing from the congregation, raping people, etc…
Geeker
The fact that when it comes out that yet another antigay religious bigot turns out to be a predatory pervert we aren’t even that shocked anymore is just sad…for them anyway.
darklight413
We now live in the Upsidedown. Facts are alternative, treason is patriotic and the evangelicals have taken Donald Trump as their Lord and personal savior. It’s 1984 and absurdity has been normalized.
Larry
And of course we have a predator for President so why not. Predators supported him all the way.
ATX1954
You’ve got that right!
Jon in Canada
Pedophile, check
Straight White man, check
Christian Pastor, check
Punishment: Hahahahahahahahaha as if.
James Hart
What does his race (white) have anything to do with this???
Are you trying to pit people against each other based on their race???
I think you are.
This man is an evil criminal and it has nothing to do with his race.
Inspector 57
As if we needed another reminder that:
— Religion (ALL religion) is bogus, fantastical, self-serving, a form of delirium — and a business, to boot.
AND that…
— Biology — human nature, specifically — wins out over religion’s artificial conscriptions every time.
Another one bites the dust.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
WOW! that never happens!
Oh, wait….
michel_banen
Typical church logica; homosexuality is a sin but pedophilia….. always bashing the homosexuals to keep the attention away from all the pedophilia…..
Brian
The sheer number of brainwashed people in this country is unsettling.
Donald Dork
Why do these people always lump us in with guys who screw animals?
batesmotel
This is a common theme as old as time. Church heads preaching fiery condemnation and hate towards anyone that has a same sex attraction, then meanwhile they’re having discreet same sex relations. And usually with someone that is either underage or extremely younger than they are.