[tom h]

Wow. Only a few miles from our home in So Cal.

Even in churches I expect that these things will happen but there are some very important cautions to any church before hiring a youth pastor.

First, NEVER hire a young man who is unmarried. I don't care how devoted a Christian he seems, or how stellar his background, if he is in his 20s and single he will struggle with being chaste around teenaged girls. It is a GIVEN that one of the gals will have a crush on him, leading to more someday.

Second, I for the life of me can't understand why churches hire cool dudes that look like this to be a pastor, much less a custodian:

Don't judge a book by its cover, I know, but the slovenliness that accompanies cool nowadays just doesn't work for me. I wouldn't let my daughter date a bozo like that, even if he was a Christian and a youth pastor.

[library user]

First, NEVER hire a young man who is unmarried.

Yes, because MARRIED young men never cheat. /s

[SoftballMominVA]

Hmmm.....sexual predators go where the children are.....what a radical concept..... One would have thought that this type of atrocity only occurred in public schools.

So much for being safe from sexual deviants if one doesn’t attend a public school huh?

[Mark was here]

My Grandmother was having sexual relations with my Grandfather when she was 15. This is the age she was when she got married. I do not consider a woman old enough to get married, a child. I would suggest the minister and his lady friend get married asap and live happily ever after.

[CE2949BB]

if he is in his 20s and single he will struggle with being chaste around teenaged girls. It is a GIVEN that one of the gals will have a crush on him, leading to more someday.

Bingo.

Don't judge a book by its cover,

I disagree.

You can tell a lot about a book based on the cover (in most cases), but be open to new information.

I wouldn't let my daughter date a bozo like that,

You'd let your daughter date... at all? ;)

[ccmay]

This can’t be possible, he’s not a Catholic priest.

[retrokitten]

Where's the "cool dude"? Standing out of the frame?

I guess my mom was right- your face will stay that way if you keep making it!

[XR7]

[T]here are some very important cautions to any church before hiring a youth pastor. First, NEVER hire a young man who is unmarried.

Yes.
Hire them to coach girls' high school and jr. high soccer teams!

[Joe Boucher]

WHY does a male get charged with 6 felony counts where if it had been an adult female having sexual relations with an underage male there would be NO charges?

[SlapHappyPappy]

I saw essentially the same thing happen at another church. They hired young men right out of seminary to work with the youth and one of them kept getting a little more attention from some of the girls than was appropriate. Unfortunately he didn’t do what he should have and gone to the Youth Pastor and told him what was happening. People didn’t even realize it was odd that, on more than one occasion, he was suddenly publicly dating girls shortly after they graduated and weren’t in the youth program anymore.

[JimSEA]

Don't judge a book by its cover

When miners and field hands I have known look better than your Minister, things have gotten too strange for me. Agree 100% with you.

[NRA2BFree]

Second, I for the life of me can't understand why churches hire cool dudes that look like this to be a pastor, much less a custodian:

I disagree about him looking like a "cool dude." He looks like a real sicko. Just look at his eyes. No wonder America is going down. God can't be happy! How can we ever be a witness to others when we don't even have leaders in the church to set a good example.

[Theodore R.]

When I was young in church there were no “youth ministers”, just the pastor for ALL. No one had thought of the extra expense for youth ministers.

[Tax-chick]

A man that age should be looking to get married, but he shouldn’t be looking in the Junior High youth group!

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

If a person awn’s a franchise food shop, they will hire
a person only after a drug test and lie detector test.

They will send their children to a school or church
where no real tests are run.

Don't hire a person that works with children with out
better checks.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I’ve been to this church with friends in the past. It can happen in any church.

It almost happened in the Baptist Church we go to near here in Arkansas. Most churches try to have plans to prevent this like having the others present but it can still happen.

[ElayneJ]

Well, I’m not sure I trust social services 100% of the time. Young women have been known to “stretch the truth” and they do develop crushes on their teachers and ministers from time to time, you know. I hope this guy is innocent of charges. Can we assume he is until it’s proved otherwise?

[Fido969]

The Evil One will focus his attention on people who are trusted by other to bring the the Word of God.

These people should have special training to look out for and avoid these kinds of things.

[trisham]

I agree with you.

[bradthebuilder]

This is a surprise. I thought innappropriate sexual relationships were limited to the Catholic Churhc. /s

[Wuli]

There is a difference in the affective meaning of “age of consent” from my grandparents day, and earlier, to today.

The difference is that in the past a person, male or female, acquired a larger net portion of their life skills (skill and responsibilities to sustain life) at a younger age than most do today.

Today, childhood has been extended into adolescence and adolescence extended sometimes into the late twenties.

It is by current mental framework that we judge “age of consent” and in the current mental framework a majority of 15-year-olds are a decade or more away from being mature enough, able enough and responsible enough for sustaining life on their own. Thus, having put them into a state of needing our continued protection, we can classify one a few years older as an abuser and the younger one a victim.