Sex Charges against Pentecostal Bishop Were Filed Too Late, Judge Rules
By John Simerman
An Orleans Parish judge quashed a five-count indictment Friday against the 59-year-old spiritual head of a local Pentecostal church, ruling that the three purported victims waited too long to lodge their allegations against Bishop Charles E. Brown. Criminal District Judge Karen Herman ruled that the statute of limitations, as it was written when the alleged sexual attacks took place, had long ago run out. Brown, the jurisdictional bishop for Greater New Orleans in the Church of God in Christ, based in Memphis, Tenn., also was pastor of Full Gospel Church of God in Christ in New Orleans, though he spent much of his time leading a congregation in Houston. The Church of God in Christ suspended him after learning of the first allegation, which came to light in September. Police booked Brown 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 he had molested her between the ages of 14 and 16. Afterward, two other women came forward with accusations against him. One of them, now 47, claims Brown committed indecent behavior and sexual battery sometime between her 13th and 17th birthdays, according to the indictment. Identified only as "C.B.," she reached 17 in 1981. Another woman, identified only as "G.H.," claimed Brown forcibly raped her in 1977, when she was 17. A brief police report says the woman reported the incident Sept. 28, after The Times-Picayune reported on the first allegation. Brown faced a count of forcible rape, two counts of sexual battery and two counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile. There is no statute of limitations any longer 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. But that wasn't the case when the crimes allegedly were committed, between 1977 and 1989. Then, the victims were required to report them no later than 10 years after they turned 17. Forcible rape carried a six-year statute when the woman said Brown raped her, Herman found. The last of the statutes under the indictment ran out in 1991, Brown's attorney argued. Herman quashed the rape count in January, and the other four counts Friday. Brown's attorney, Garron Johnson, criticized Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro for prosecuting the case. "That's what we're confused about," Johnson said. "You have a district attorney who's been a state court judge for 17 years and an appellate judge for seven. I just don't know what his motivation was to pursue this matter." A Cannizzaro spokesman said the office would appeal Herman's ruling and that he couldn't comment on it. A familiar local religious figure prior to Hurricane Katrina, Brown has divided his time since the storm between the city and Houston. According to a website for the Full Gospel Church of God in Christ, he was a spiritual adviser to former Mayors Sidney Bartholomew, Marc Morial and Ray Nagin. He also directed a youth church from 1980 to 1997, the website says. Johnson called the ruling "bittersweet" for Brown. "He actually wanted to face his accusers," said Johnson, who claimed the case was "set up for a money grab" by the women. Brown hopes to be reinstated with the church, he said. Brown had been free on $900,000 in property and personal surety bonds, most of it put up by friends. Contact: jsimerman@timespicayune.com
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