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	Girl Testifies against Pastor Sexual Abuse, Rape Described during Preliminary Hearing By Chris Collins Fresno Bee March 27, 2007 http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/37707.html Charles Dickerson, a pastor and black leader in southwest Fresno, molested two girls in his family for seven years — and raped one of them after she became pregnant, one of the girls testified in court Monday. In a quiet voice, the girl described the alleged abuse. Meanwhile, Dickerson, 36, sat silently with an elbow resting on a table and his face buried in his hand. At the end of the preliminary hearing, which continues today, Fresno County Superior Court Judge Bruce Smith will decide whether a jury should determine whether Dickerson is guilty of the rape and child molestation charges he faces. But Dickerson's reputation already is on trial. His defense attorney, Glenn LoStracco, said Monday that the accusations against his client stem from an estranged wife with a "vendetta" and from girls who have been coached to tell stories about being sexually abused. "That's just someone telling them what to do," LoStracco said outside of court. "It stinks to high heaven." Dickerson, the California state overseer for Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship, has been a vocal leader in southwest Fresno. He frequently has called for an end to street violence, once standing beside Police Chief Jerry Dyer at a news conference. He also has encouraged people to support black-owned businesses. But members of Pearly Grove Baptist Church in southwest Fresno, where Dickerson is pastor, are split over whether to support their preacher. "Because you are the head, that doesn't mean you can't do any wrong," "Lady" Peaches Coleman said Monday outside the courtroom. "When the people are following you and not following God, that's where the problems start." Coleman, who said she was skeptical of Dickerson when he became pastor in 2001, said some have stopped attending the church since Dickerson was arrested in October. Dickerson's estranged wife, Jeneene Dickerson, testified Monday that she started pursuing a divorce after her husband became physically abusive. Asked if she called the police to report the abuse, she said, "No, we had a church. That would be the unpolitical thing to do. It would destroy his career." To protect her identity, The Bee is not identifying the girl who testified Monday or reporting her age. The girl said she was younger than 10 when Dickerson first started molesting her. She also recalled that when she was several years older Dickerson often would ask her to come into his room and turn up the volume on a TV set while he was in bed. "As I was walking out, he'd call me over to give him a hug and he'd pull me on to him," she said. The girl said that two months after she became pregnant, Dickerson brought her into his bathroom and raped her. She said she feared she would get in trouble if she told anyone about the abuse. "He told me a long time ago not to tell my mom," she said. The reporter can be reached at ccollins@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6412.
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