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	We Have Been Aware Stop Baptist Predators January 6, 2010 http://stopbaptistpredators.blogspot.com/2010/01/we-have-been-aware.html In Odessa, Texas, a grand jury has indicted a Southern Baptist youth pastor on nine counts of sexual assault of a child and one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child. Robert John Weber, 44, was youth pastor at Second Baptist Church of Odessa, and allegedly, he had been counseling the girl at the church. The indictment details three sexual encounters Weber reportedly had with the girl in August and October. It's another case that shows the typical Baptist pattern: So long as a Baptist minister isn't in jail, he can remain in ministry. It's an appallingly low standard for people who occupy positions of high trust. Excerpts and quotes below are taken from the Odessa American. The senior pastor of Second Baptist Church, the Rev. Randy S. Duckett, issued a typed statement, saying this: "We have been aware of the situation from the beginning and have re-assigned Mr. Weber to a different ministry within our church." The 15-year-old's mother said she was "happy to learn of the indictment but unsatisfied with the church's reaction." "The mother… said Weber harassed her daughter with text messages and led her to believe he would divorce his wife and marry her." "'She's 15, but she still plays with toys and plastic animals,' the mother said of her daughter." "Church members meanwhile have expressed disbelief over the charges and pledged to support Weber through the legal process, said Dena Ward, who attends Second Baptist…." "'Everybody was shocked, and nobody believed it," Ward said …. 'Everybody that I have talked to is 100 percent standing behind him.'" So . . . can you even begin to imagine all that must be going through the head of that 15-year-old? She is almost certainly filled with plenty of confusion and self-doubt already . . . and now she watches while 100 percent of her faith community stands with the minister. And what if there were other kids who might have been considering speaking up? How likely do you think that is now?
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