BishopAccountability.org
	4:51 P.M. - Tony Alamo in Court By Lauren Trager Arkansas Matters October 17, 2008 http://arkansasmatters.com/content/fulltext/news/?cid=130801 Watch http://arkansasmatters.com/media_player.php?media_id=134641 Nearly a month after his arrest in Arizona and the raid on his compound in Fouke, evangelist Tony Alamo was in court for the first time today. The judge set his trial to start November 19th. Cameras were not allowed in the courtroom today and federal officials kept him from view when they brought him in and took him out. But in court, he appeared somber in a wrinkled under-shirt and khakis. The charges: transporting a minor across state lines for sexual purposes and aiding and abetting in that crime. “It's less than I expected having read the initial complaint. I expected three charges not two. The government seemed to have enough to allege 3, but they chose not to," said Alamo’s lead attorney, John Wesley Hall, Jr.” Hall says he believes the charges stem from a complaint from a 16 year-old girl. "Basically the charge is from an interview with the federal agents who basically said he had sex with him. She's identified in court as Jane Doe,” Hall said. The US Attorney's office would not comment on the complaint and Hall says he's still waiting for documents from the prosecution. "We have to have it sooner or later and we want it now because the allegations of child porn that started this whole thing, as far as we can tell from the inventory of the search, there was no child porn. If there was no child porn, doesn't that undercut the government's case to begin with?” he said. Supporters on both sides attended the hearing, including Alamo’s next door neighbor who said she wished for more charges. “Certainly. But we want charges that will stick," Jeanine Philyaw said.” And she says prosecutors should bring more charges against the Tony Alamo ministries. "There are many that say don't stop at Tony Alamo. There are others in his organization that do a lot of the activity and do his bidding so they should be held accountable," Philyaw said. And while most Alamo supporters in court denied interviews, one had just this to say. "It's all false charges.” Alamo will have a detention hearing next Wednesday. The judge will decide if he's a flight risk and could keep him in jail. If not, Alamo could go home with an electronic tracking device. If convicted on these charges, he could face 10 years to life in prison. Six girls were removed when Alamo’s compound was raided last month. We told you earlier this week the foster care hearings for two girls have been delayed until November 17th. The others are scheduled for October 21st.
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