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	Church Suspends Bishop Indicted on Sex Assault Charges By Max B. Baker Star-Telegram July 15, 2008 http://www.star-telegram.com/804/story/760456.html FORT WORTH — Christian Methodist Episcopal Bishop Kenneth Wayne Carter has been suspended by the church until his criminal case is resolved. Carter, 51, was indicted by a Tarrant County grand jury last month on sexual assault charges involving a 46-year-old Dallas County man. The man was applying for a job as the bishop’s driver and says he was assaulted at Carter’s home in Arlington. Carter was released on $10,000 bail last week. The CME’s College of Bishops made the decision to suspend Carter with pay during a special meeting last week. Under the suspension, Carter is barred from performing sacramental duties. Although his office is in Arlington, Carter presides over a district that includes Haiti, Ghana, Jamaica, Liberia and Nigeria, according to the church’s Web site. The church claims more than 800,000 members across the United States. His duties were divided among the CME’s other bishops. Senior Bishop William Graves at the CME headquarters in Memphis did not return phone calls seeking comment. Carter and his attorney, Brian Salvant, did not return phone calls seeking comment. The accuser, a licensed minister at a CME church in Dallas, contends that the incident took place last year when he met with Carter about a driving job. The Star-Telegram does not routinely identify accusers in sexual assault cases. The man went to the interview despite his misgivings about Carter’s "homosexual tendencies," according to a lawsuit filed against Carter and the church. The man said he was assaulted during a tour of Carter’s home. Carter has said he had a consensual sexual encounter with the man, who he said was the aggressor, according to court records. Before being elected bishop in 2006, Carter served 10 years as pastor at the Carter Metropolitan CME Church in Fort Worth. MAX B. BAKER, 817-390-7714 or maxbaker@star-telegram.com
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