BishopAccountability.org
	Bishop Joe N. Flowers Found Guilty By Jon Hand Democrat and Chronicle July 19, 2011 http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20110719/NEWS01/110719036 Jurors today found Bishop Joe N. Flowers guilty of repeatedly sexually abusing a child in Flowers’ Henrietta home. Flowers, 41, and pastor of Walk of Life Christian Center in Rochester, went on trial July 12 on the charge of second-degree course of sexual conduct against a child. He was accused of having had sexual contact with a boy younger than 13 from 2007 to 2010. Flowers faces two to seven years in prison when he is sentenced at 9:30 a.m. Aug. 18. During the trial, jurors heard from the boy who’d accused Flowers of the sexual abuse which included touching him in the shower of Flowers’ bathroom. Assistant District Attorney Sara Van Strydonck told jurors that Flowers regularly had young boys from his church stay overnight in his home, having gained the trust of the youths and their parents because of his position in the church and his demeanor. The case hinged on the believability and credibility of the young victim. “We had the easy part here; the hard part was for that little boy who had to come forward and say what happened to him in front of a courtroom full of people,” Van Strydonck said today. Flowers’ lawyer, Maurice Verrillo, and Flowers’ family did not comment. Flowers was scheduled to go to trial at the beginning of June, but Monroe County Court Judge James J. Piampiano moved the trial to last week because of a new indictment alleging that Flowers had sexual contact from 2005 to 2007 with a second boy younger than 16. Piampiano said the delay would allow the prosecution and defense to see whether evidence in the new indictment would have any impact on the previous case. No trial date has been set in the new case. Flowers has lived in the community for 22 years, has three children and has no criminal history. He has been pastor at the church since founding it in November 1994 along with his wife and co-pastor, Sheryl Y. Flowers. Contact: JHAND@DemocratandChronicle.com
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.