BishopAccountability.org
	Pastor Gets 15 Years in Child Sex Abuse Case Griffith Was Convicted in May of Molesting Teenage Boy He Counseled in 2004 and 2005 By Rona Marech Baltimore Sun July 26, 2007 http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/howard/bal-pastor0726,0,3004398. story?coll=bal_sports_motorracing_xpromo Maryland — A convicted pastor's tearful plea for leniency, impassioned testimony about his character and a courtroom jammed with supporters failed to sway a Howard County Circuit Court judge, who sentenced the religious leader Thursday to 15 years in prison for sexually abusing a teenage boy who said he once viewed the man as a father figure. As Gerald Fitroy Griffith, 41, was led away in handcuffs, some supporters from Redemption Christian Fellowship Church in Woodlawn who had been quietly crying and sniffling broke into wails and sobs and one thrashing man was restrained by companions. The screaming and crying continued as the pastor's supporters, who had filled two buses and could not all fit into the courtroom, filed out of the courthouse and onto the parking lot. Under the terms of the sentence imposed by Judge Diane O. Leasure, Griffith also is to serve five years of supervised probation upon his release, register as a child sexual offender and undergo a psychosexual evaluation and follow-up treatment. He cannot have contact with the victim or spend unsupervised time with any child younger than 18. During the hearing, the victim spoke in a calm, soft voice. "A lot of people say I'm lying. They think he's a man of God and it's impossible for him to do this. Me, myself, I know what happened, God knows what happened and Pastor Griffith knows what happened," he said. "He came into my life and said he would be a father figure to me. It's something I'll have to live with for the rest of my life." The victim, who was 14 when the sexual assaults began, said he has been hospitalized twice for anxiety since the abuse and is seeing a psychologist for help. "I'm not here to make myself look good to you or anyone else. I just want the truth to come out and justice to be served," he said. His name is being withheld because The Sun does not identify victims of sexual assault. Lisa L. Broten, the prosecutor, argued for a 25-year sentence, saying the abuse was premeditated and that Griffith never accepted responsibility for what he had done. Griffith told the victim that no one would believe him if he reported what happened and, in fact, the victim was cast out from the church after coming forward with the accusations, Broten said. Five witnesses — fellow pastors and parishioners — subsequently testified about Griffith's integrity, caring and good works both in this country and abroad. Andrea Gross, a bank vice president who has been filling in as the church's pastor, spoke heatedly about what Griffith — whom followers call "the apostle" — had done for her, her son and her marriage. "You're looking at a broken woman who was healed through his teachings," she said. "For me to believe what happened is preposterous, because it would deny my very existence." Griffith also spoke, asking through tears and a cracking voice for a home incarceration that would allow him to continue preaching. He was largely inaudible from the gallery, where supporters cried as he talked. "I've given my life to save other lives," he said. He looked at the victim. "I care for him, and I still do," he said, as the younger man shook his head. The judge acknowledged that she had read the many letters that Griffith's supporters had submitted to the court and that it was difficult to sentence someone "who by all accounts has done marvelous things for others." But while many people found Griffith's guilt hard to believe, the jury had convicted him and it was her job to determine an appropriate punishment, she said before handing down the 15-year sentence. "This is a sad day for a lot of people," she said. Griffith was convicted at a trial in May of two counts of abuse of a minor at Columbia hotels in 2004 and 2005. He was acquitted of a third count. Next month, Griffith is to go on trial in Baltimore County in a separate case in which he is accused of sexually abusing five minors, including the teenage victim in the Howard County case. "We're pleased. We feel that justice was served," Broten said after the hearing had concluded. Defense lawyer David B. Irwin said he wished the judge had balanced the conviction against all the good Griffith has done. "We're disappointed, of course, because it's a long prison sentence," Irwin said. "But I understand the judge's rationale and I hope the church can move on." The victim's mother declined to comment, saying she was too overwhelmed. Contact: Rona Marech rona.marech@baltsun.com
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.