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	Pentecostal Bishop Charles E. Brown Indicted on Rape, Sexual Battery Charges By John Simerman The Times-Picayune November 4, 2011 http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2011/11/no_bishop_indicted_on_rape_sex.html An Orleans Parish grand jury this week handed up an indictment against the spiritual head of a local Pentecostal church, accusing him of sexual crimes against three juveniles dating as far back as 1977. Bishop Charles E. Brown faces a count of forcible rape and two counts each of sexual battery and committing a lewd act on a juvenile. Bond has been set at $900,000. A familiar figure on the religious landscape of New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina, Brown has since divided his time between New Orleans and Houston. Brown is the jurisdictional bishop for Greater New Orleans in the Church of God in Christ, headquartered in Memphis, Tenn. He also is pastor of Full Gospel Church of God in Christ in New Orleans. A spokesman for The Church of God in Christ said the church suspended Brown after learning of the first allegation, which came to light in September. Police originally booked Brown, who turned 59 Thursday, with aggravated rape on June 28, after an unidentified 39-year-old woman called the NOPD's child abuse unit in March to report that Brown had molested her between the ages of 14 and 16. According to a police affidavit, the woman said that Brown had been her aunt's boyfriend and committed the acts at his home. She told police that Brown recently reached out to "friend" her on the Facebook social networking site. She called him out as an abuser and went to police, the affidavit said. Brown turned himself in and made $25,000 bail after Magistrate Commissioner Harry Cantrell lowered the charge to sexual battery. Since then, at least two other people have come forward with accusations against him, according to the indictment. One of them, now 47, was under 17 when Brown committed indecent behavior and sexual battery sometime between the accuser's 13th and 17th birthdays, according to the indictment. Brown forcibly raped another woman, identified only as "G.H.," in 1977, when the alleged victim was 17, the indictment states. A brief police report said the woman reported the incident Sept. 28, a week after The Times-Picayune reported on the first allegation. The woman said Brown used his hands, feet and a fist to keep her from resisting. There is no statute of limitations for forcible rape in Louisiana. State law allows prosecution of sexual battery, indecent behavior with a juvenile or other sex crimes against people under 17 for 30 years after the victim becomes an adult. Prosecution can be difficult, however, said Judy Benitez, executive director of the Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault. "The main thing is, in a lot of these cases there isn't a whole lot of evidence, particularly long after the fact," Benitez said. "But it's very important that people realize the eyewitness testimony of the victim is sufficient to convict. The judge or jury, if they believe the victim, they don't need DNA. They don't need a tape of the crime in progress." According to a website for the Full Gospel Church of God in Christ, Brown was a spiritual adviser to former Mayors Sidney Bartholomew, Marc Morial and Ray Nagin. He directed a youth church from 1980 to 1997, the website says. Hurricane Katrina destroyed Brown's church on North Claiborne Avenue. The church's website says Brown is the pastor of two churches in Houston and a local congregation now meeting on Spain Street in New Orleans. "Bishop Charles E. Brown desires no accolades for himself even though many have referred to him as one of the greatest preachers and teachers of his day," the site says. Brown's whereabouts are unclear. Court records do not name an attorney for him, and a phone number for his home in Houston was not working Friday. He had not been booked into the Orleans Parish jail on the charges in the indictment as of late Friday. John Simerman can be reached at jsimerman@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3330.
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