BishopAccountability.org
	Norwalk Police Issue Arrest Warrant for Accused Minister By Steve Kobak The Hour December 31, 2009 http://www.thehour.com/story/480028 A Norwalk minister who was arrested by New York City Police for rape charges will also face domestic violence charges, as a warrant for his arrest has been issued by the Norwalk Police Department. The warrant for the arrest of the Rev. Phillip Joubert, a pastor at New Light Missionary Baptist Church, stems from a November incident at his 21 Lexington Avenue home, according to police. The domestic violence incident sparked the investigation into allegations that the pastor had raped a minor, according to a source close to the case. Joubert, 48, who has dual residences in Norwalk and Queens, was arrested in Queens, N.Y., on Nov. 24 for six rape-related charges. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and he will appear Feb. 8 at Queens Criminal Court. Joubert's attorney Richard Benson was not available for comment Wednesday and a receptionist in his Queens, N.Y.,-based office said he was in Connecticut. She did not disclose why Benson had traveled out-of-state. An officer in the holding facility at the Norwalk Police Department said Joubert had not been booked on the charges at press time. Police Chief Harry Rilling said the warrant has been pending for some time. Sgt. Ashley Gonzalez of the Norwalk Police Department's Youth Bureau was in charge of investigating the incident at Joubert's home but could not be reached for comment. A source close to the case said police were called to Joubert's Lexington Avenue home because Joubert had beaten a minor with his fists and while the child's mother was consoling the victim, the child told her mother about the sexual abuse. The alleged sexual misconduct took place in July at Joubert's home in Queens, N.Y., according to a source close to The Hour who has knowledge of the case. Another minor was in the house but on a different floor at the time the alleged abuse occurred, the source said. Norwalk Police subsequently turned the rape investigation over to the 112th Precinct of the New York City Police Department and began investigating the domestic violence charges. Joubert was taken into custody Nov. 24 by officers from the 112th Precinct of the New York City Police Department as he arrived at JFK International Airport in Queens after a trip to Israel. He spent three weeks in a jail cell on Rikers Island but is currently free on a $350,000 cash bond.
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