BishopAccountability.org
	Victim's Mother Speaks out about Son's Abuse By Barbara Czura WAFF November 4, 2009 http://www.waff.com/Global/story.asp?S=11437925 [with video] KILPATRICK, AL (WAFF) - A man convicted of sexual abuse in 2002 is headed back to prison for violating his probation. 64-year-old Billy Paul Masters was convicted of four different sodomy and sexual abuse charges in 2002. He was released from prison in 2007. While he was on probation, Masters was arrested and charged in another sexual abuse case involving a 12-year-old-boy. Now the mother of the victim is speaking out. This is the first time Amanda Beard has talked openly about the case. "You can forgive but you will never, never forget," Beard said of the sexual abuse case involving her son. A parent's worst nightmare is a sexual predator taking advantage of your child. For this mother, it's all too real. Beard said she blames herself. "I think in the back of my mind the reason why I blame myself is, we were in a church, that's so weird, how often do you hear a child getting hurt in a church that way?" she said. Beard said her son was sexually abused by Masters while they attended the same church in Kilpatrick. WAFF 48 News was initially told by Beard that Masters was an associate pastor, but the church's pastor said Masters was just a member. The past few months have been difficult for her and most of all her son. That's why she didn't want her son to testify in court against the man who abused him. The victim's family decided to drop the charges and in return, Masters will be behind bars for a long time. Beard said the experience would be terrifying for her son. "My son is now 8-years-old," she said. "If he had to go inside that courtroom and sit there in front of Billy and see him, that would have traumatized him that much worse". This mother is taking each day at a time and is learning to live through the pain. She hopes her story will bring strength to other victims out there. "It's so hard to just put it into words, just watch your children. They're not ours, God gave them to us, we're borrowing them, we're raising them for him," she said.
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