Former youth minister accused of molesting boys takes the stand in Broward trial

By Rafael Olmeda
Sun Sentinel
April 9, 2014

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fort-lauderdale/fl-jeffery-london-testifies-20140408,0,3643411.story

Jeffery London, the former youth pastor accused of molesting more than a dozen teenage boys at his homes in Coral Springs and Lauderdale Lakes, took the stand Tuesday to tell a Broward jury that he is innocent.

London, 50, is on trial for 27 counts of sexual battery and lewd and lascivious conduct, all involving teenagers entrusted to his care between 2000 and 2011. The trial involves four alleged victims, with three others having testified to similar behavior in the same time period.

The names of the victims are being withheld by the Sun Sentinel because of the nature of the allegations.

But the defendant, under questioning from defense lawyer Lourdes Gonzalez, denied it all.

"Have you ever had a sexual encounter of any kind with any of these boys?" Gonzalez asked.

Through his various positions, he said, he encountered boys whose mothers were unable to care for them for months at a time. He agreed to take those boys in and considered them his sons.

Through 2011 and 2012, at least 12 of those boys accused London of engaging in sexual activities with them in exchange for money, clothes and video games.

London's ex-wife, Aretha Wimberly, testified last week that she once walked in on her husband in bed with a 16-year-old boy, but she did not see enough to report a crime.

"That incident never happened," he said.

Gonzalez asked London on Tuesday why his ex-wife would lie about what she saw.

"We had our times as a married couple," he said. "The difficult times outweighed the great times."

The couple divorced in 2003 after three years of marriage.

Prosecutor Imabel Ocasio avoided any questions about the alleged molestation during her cross-examination, focusing instead on questions about London's financial status.

Although London is being sued by several of the boys, he said he was not rich.

The defense has hinted that some of the boys made the allegations so that they could be a part of the lawsuit against London.

Closing arguments are scheduled to begin at noon Wednesday before Broward Circuit Judge Michael Usan.