More Molestation Charges Levied at Tulsa Pastor

By Lori Fullbright
News On 6
June 6, 2014

http://www.newson6.com/story/25696494/more-molestation-charges-levied-at-tulsa-pastor

[with video]

TULSA, Oklahoma - A third victim has come forward to accuse a Tulsa pastor of molestation.

Galilee Baptist Pastor Damien Bonner now faces eight charges of lewd molestation.

You might remember in January, police arrested Jermaine Clemons for beating up a youth minister from that same church. Clemons said he did it because the youth minister was sending inappropriate texts to Jermaine's teenage daughter.

Clemons said he begged Bonner, the pastor, to investigate the youth minister, but his pleas were ignored.

When we first met Clemons, he was in jail for using brass knuckles on the youth minister from Galilee Baptist Church. He says the 24-year-old youth minister was sending texts to his 16-year-old daughter.

According to a police report, the youth minister came to Jermaine's house at midnight, thinking his daughter was alone, but Jermaine was there instead.

"The more texts I read, the madder I got," Clemons said.

After our story, Rusty Roberts bailed out Jermaine for free and attorney Robert Stubblefield represented him for free. Prosecutors dismissed the assault charge.

Clemons said he called Bonner at Galilee and asked him repeatedly to talk to other young girls, one in particular, to see if the youth minister was also texting them.

He says he got nowhere and he was treated like a bad guy.

"He blew us off," Clemons said. "He had the church members so fired up against us for what happened, they didn't want to talk to us. There was arguing so my fiancee and I said forget it."

A few months later, police arrested Bonner for molesting the very girl Jermaine had been calling about.

"When I heard that, I figured that's why he wasn't talking to the little girl about it because he was already putting his bid in, you know what I mean?" Clemons said.

After Bonner was charged with molesting that girl, a second a girl came forward saying he molested her several years before when he worked at Mount Zion. Then a third girl came forward saying the same thing.

Clemons said he's trying not to let this whole experience sour him on church.

"I've been the person when I hear people say why they don't go to church and try to convince them church is not like that, they've got good and bad but, now, I'm the person..." he said.

Reporter: "You need convincing now."

Clemons: "Yeah."

Clemons also lost his job when he got arrested, but he started a new one on Wednesday.

Bonner remains in jail.

The youth minister never was charged with a crime because police say the text messages were not overtly sexual.