CANADA
London Free Press
KELLY PEDRO PATRICK MALONEY AND RANDY RICHMOND, Free Press Reporters 2005-09-09 02:20:05
Charges of sexual abuse and assault -- some involving young children -- have stung a London Baptist church, put its leaders behind bars and prompted police to continue searching for others who may have been assaulted.
Ambassador Baptist Church pastors Roy Wood, 55, and Brian Fast, 51, along with deacon William Dalton Fletcher, 44, and church member Russell Wilson, 48, were charged yesterday with sexual assault, police said.
Fletcher was also charged with sexual exploitation and Wilson was charged with sexual interference.
Wood was also charged with sexual exploitation and three counts of assault with a weapon relating to three teenage boys.
News of yesterday's arrests sent shockwaves well outside of London.
Though all Ambassador churches are independent of each other, Pastor David Axler, who leads a congregation in Brantford, was stunned by news and expressed concern over its potential fallout.