By Diane Turbyfill
The Star
March 7, 2011
http://www.shelbystar.com/news/registry-53895-cavender-offender.html
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| Thomas Lee Cavender |
Two young women described horrific memories of molestation from their childhood as they pleaded with a judge to keep their abuser on the National Sex Offender Registry.
Thomas Lee Cavender, a local preacher and evangelist, requested removal from the registry having completed 10 years on the nationwide database.
Gaston County Superior Court Judge Jesse Caldwell denied the request.
Cavender, 60, of 213 E. Maine Ave. Apt. B, Bessemer City, will remain on the Sex Offender Registry for at least another year. At that time he can make another request.
Two women who said they were victims of Cavender's sexual abuse spoke and wept in court Monday afternoon.
The women, sisters, asked to be heard about their experience.
The older of the two turned to Cavender and told him that she forgave but didn't want him to have the freedom to hurt other young girls.
The other woman talked of being a third-grader when Cavender first touched her inappropriately. She spoke of how he infiltrated her family and tore it apart.
"My family could never imagine the devastation this man would bring on us," she said.
The women's mother and father also addressed the court. Both wept and spoke angrily toward Cavender.
Cavender was convicted of sexual battery for interaction with one of the girls in Knox County, Tenn., in 2000. The other never got to prosecute because of statute of limitations, she told Caldwell.
Cavender accepted a plea offer that included a brief stint in prison and followed by probation, he told Caldwell. He also said he completed a sex offender rehabilitation program.
Cavender did not provide any documentation for the court.
Caldwell asked Cavender questions about his past and why it was important for him to be removed from the Sex Offender Registry.
Cavender said that he is a preacher and the label is hindering his ability as a pastor.
"It hurts my ministry when you're in the pulpit and someone goes to the computer and there you are," he said.
The judge questioned Cavender as to why he wouldn't be upfront about his past.
"Are you trying to keep all this quiet to your congregation and the people you preach to?" Caldwell asked. "You're going into the pulpit under false pretenses, are you not?"
Gaston County District Attorney Locke Bell said he was glad that Caldwell kept Cavender on the registry, calling the Bessemer City man a danger to women and children.
Neither Bell nor the family of the two women knew where Cavender might be preaching.
Cavender could not be reached for comment about where he might be serving at a church. He did tell Caldwell that he collects disability and does not get a paycheck for being a preacher.
You can reach Diane Turbyfill at 704-869-1817.
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