Balfe
Posted on 04/28/2005 5:52:33 AM PDT by RedBloodedAmerican
DELAND -- A self-described Internet evangelist who has preached about everything from morality to spirituality on his family's Web site was arrested Wednesday and charged with raping a child younger than 12.
Balfe
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Balfe, married and the father of three, is accused in three warrants of raping a child younger than 12, Henderson said. The remaining counts accuse him of sexual battery, lewd and lascivious molestation and domestic violence.
Court records show Balfe was divorced in 1998 and remarried in October 1999. While the Web site identifies him as an "Internet evangelist," the site doesn't mention his educational background or his connection to any organized theological group.
On his Web site's Frequently Asked Questions page, Balfe notes he doesn't have "a permanently constructed building that we own and maintain" for church services, but does have "an assembly of other Jesus believers" as members.
To the question of whether he is a Christian, Balfe's response is: "Yes, and also a born-again believer."
On the site, Balfe denies his group is a cult.
As of Wednesday morning, the Web site for the First Christian Church/Disciples of Christ of DeLand listed Balfe as a member and linked to Jesusbelievers.beliefnet.com, which was described as a Web site of the Balfe family's ministry.
But those references were removed from the First Christian Church Web site by Wednesday night, when churchgoers at First Christian attended services.
A group assembled outside the church after the service and most did not want to comment.
Courtney Myers, a 15-year-old member of the First Christian Church, said she was surprised by Balfe's arrest.
"He appears to be a nice man," Myers said.
The Balfe family used to attend Wednesday services regularly, Myers said, but she hasn't seen them lately.
"They would all sit down for dinner and stay for youth services," she said. "They looked like a normal, happy family."
Knocks at Balfe's North Orange Avenue home Wednesday went unanswered and neighbors avoided questions.
Jesusbelievers.beliefnet.com includes information promoting prayer in schools, a What Would Jesus Do? checklist and a discussion about heaven and hell.
The Web site also features a family portrait of Balfe, his wife and their three children and includes the question, "Do you see guardian angels in this picture?"
Circuit Judge S. James Foxman ordered Balfe held without bail on the domestic violence count, which supersedes the $1 million amounts for each of the sexual abuse charges, jail officials said.
Police would not say whether Balfe's wife was the victim of the domestic violence or when the incidents happened, although court records indicate the attacks occurred at Balfe's home in 2000.
Accountability. If you belong to a religious (Christian) group with no accountability, consider getting out.
The US justice system seems way to nice for some cases.
The last refuge of a scoundrel
Friggin' cultist.
Just north of Casadaga.
Beware of wolves in sheeps clothing.
That is good counsel.
Watch out for phony charges these days.
The Wall Street Journal is running the second of a two-part series on what looks like a false conviction of a Catholic priest to life imprison.
There are at least three motives for wrongful prosections in such cases: 1) Anti-Christian venom; 2) Career-building by ambitious prosecutors; and 3) the promise of lucrative lawsuits by avaricious lawyers. The Catholic Church is a perfect target.
I know nothing about this case at hand, but would caution that one newspaper article does not determine a man's guilt. That is why we have a jury system. We also have good forensic methods. There must be evidence before conviction.
If the charges turn out to be true, this is just the type of fuel the lefties use to stoke the "Christian hypocrites" fire. The general public doesn't pay much attention to the cultist angle and the media will paint it with a broad brush.
".... they would stay for youth services."
Well, that's a shocker.
I looked over his website a little bit and that's all the information I have on this, but I don't see right off what makes him a cultist. Could you elaborate?
He's got three kids, staying for youth services at a church hardly convicts the father of three of child molestation.
Yep to both.
And considering this sources liberal stance, they will make the most of it, true or not. But it appears that the charges are based on fact.
Hang him. Period.
This is the caption from the picture on the paper's front page, yet you somehow think the newspaper is "liberal"?
/sarcasm
Umm....fishing season requires compliance with "Castrate and Release" laws.
This paper is so liberal they make the NYT look like a wing of the RNC.
errr, "chuckle" not "cuckle" - argh. (dammit, WAY too close to 'cuckold' - NOOO!)
Yup...sounds like a cult to me. < /sarcasm>
As for your comments...I don't associate with organized religion either, I have a personal relationship with God and don't need a middle man to tell me what my relationship with Him should be. I have accountability...to Him and no one else.
And it seems some on here have forgotten the principle of innocent until proven guilty.
Unfortunately many of the "accountable" denominations are run by queer-loving commie creeps.
I wonder what his real occupation is?
If a self-appointed doctor were to set up a website would it read "Internet Doctor held on XYZ charges!"?
This is another reason for staying away from belief.net The website is ready to add anything without checking it out.
And going further, if you've gotten out of a cult or spiritually abusive situation and are still having difficulties with it check out Wellspring Retreat Which is Christian facility dealing specifically with cult survivors
Neighbors said the family members are friendly and helpful. But inside was a household of fear and unspeakable abuse, police said.
This was the house where Charles Michael Balfe, a self-described Internet evangelist, and his family lived. It was also the house, according to graphic arrest affidavits released by DeLand police Thursday, where children were repeatedly raped and molested, and Balfe's wife, Rachel, was often beaten.
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Balfe was arrested early Wednesday at the lumber company where he worked. He was charged with capital sexual battery on a child younger than 12, lewd and lascivious molestation on a child younger than 12 and domestic violence.
Detectives began investigating the home in early March after someone called the Department of Children & Families in February.
For years, the 60-year-old suspect and his family had a Web site where he preached about morality and spirituality, discussed the notions of heaven and hell and the end of mankind.
But inside the house, where most of the windows are covered with plywood, the living conditions were far from heavenly, investigators said.
The pictures painted by the arrest affidavits portray a home where Balfe ruled by fear and humiliation, enforcing his will through sexual abuse and physical violence.
According to reports, boys and a girl were sodomized and forced to perform oral sex on Balfe routinely for at least four years, starting in 2000.
Balfe also beat his wife regularly during that time, especially when she questioned his treatment of the children, according to reports. Balfe would respond to his wife's criticisms by slapping her in the face, police said.
The Daytona Beach News-Journal is not naming the children police say were abused by Balfe because it is a sexual abuse case.
One of the most shocking sexual assaults, according to investigators, came after Balfe became enraged because the youngsters took snacks from the refrigerator without his permission.
The incident is mentioned repeatedly in the affidavits because the youngsters told police they were so traumatized by what was done to them.
While Balfe's wife witnessed the acts, she told investigators she feared for her safety because her husband had convinced her and the children that he "could take any one of them out," and that "no one would ever know."
The suspect told his family he had Mafia connections and he could dispose of them quickly if they ever told anyone what he had done, police said. He was also heavily armed, keeping an arsenal of five rifles and 20 to 25 handguns in the residence.
The youngsters told detectives he practiced with the guns regularly at a range and never left the house unarmed.
Balfe also apparently saw everything that happened inside the house, even when he wasn't there, police said.
Several surveillance cameras were installed throughout the residence because Balfe wanted to make sure "no one was doing something they weren't supposed to," police said.
Neighbors on North Orange, lined with small, older houses and some industrial businesses, were shocked. A manager at his job refused to comment.
"I hope none of this is true," said Mike Carson, who can see Balfe's back yard from his living room. "He was a nice guy. He let me hook up to his electricity during the hurricanes."
Kathleen Tabor, who lives across the street from the Balfes, said the family kept to themselves and waved to her whenever they were outside.
"Their oldest boy did some work for me, you know cleaning the yard," Tabor said Thursday. "And he (Balfe) always said hello when he came from work every day. His wife looked very homelike."
Cmdr. Henderson said Balfe's arrest has angered the people who knew him.
"This was a man of trust who walked amongst the community," Henderson said. "That scares people."
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