"My Pastor Was My Rapist': Alabama Preacher Accused of Sexual Torture, Abuse of Multiple Children
By Jeremy Gray
Jane said she lost her virginity to her pastor on her father's grave when she was just 9 years old. It was, she said, the culmination of two years of "grooming" at the hands of Mack Charles Andrews, pastor of the strictly conservative United Pentecostal Church in Thomasville. Jane is a pseudonym to protect the identity of the victim. "He told me if I didn't say anything, he would come back and put flowers on the grave," Jane said. "If I did, he said demons would come and get me from my bed." Jane hopes 55-year-old Andrews, jailed for nearly two years on multiple sex offenses involving multiple minors, will spend the rest of his life in prison. "My ex-pastor is my rapist," she told AL.com. Court records show Andrews is set for a settlement docket Tuesday at 9 a.m. At a settlement docket, judges typically ask whether a defendant wants to enter into a plea agreement. Efforts to reach Andrews' court appointed attorney, Jan Jones, were not immediately successful Friday. Andrews was arrested on Oct. 3, 2013 on multiple counts of rape, sexual abuse, attempted rape, sodomy and sexual torture, according to court records. He is being held at the Clarke County Jail on $500,000 bond. Warrants filed by Thomasville police at the time of the arrest outline charges involving multiple minors in the late 80s and into the 90s. District Attorney Spencer Walker said he is aware of nine victims. "I don't have any indication there are others, but it is possible," the DA said. If convicted, Andrews faces life in prison. Andrews has not been affiliated with the church for several years, according to the district attorney. Efforts to reach the church, which has changed its name, were not successful Friday. One warrant states Jane was subjected to sexual torture in September 1988 when Andrews allegedly violated her with drumsticks, pens, letter openers, a figurine (she said it was the talons of a brass eagle) and even a flashlight, the warrant states. Jane said that was to prepare her for the rape she would endure two years later. "A 7-year-old girl isn't ready to take a full grown man," Jane said. Andrews "started grooming these girls early," she said. Warrants filed in 2013 tell of four victims. In January 1990, Andrews allegedly raped another girl, then 13, another warrant states. Andrews allegedly attempted to rape another 13-year-old girl in March 1990, yet another record states. In summer of 1994, Andrews allegedly sexually abused a 16-year-old girl. She herself was victimized from age 7 until she was 12 and left the church – which had a regular attendance of about 40-50 people when she attended -- at age 13. "A lot of the victims continued to stay," Jane said. Although she physically left, Jane said she was scarred by the years of abuse and a hard life of poverty. She did some time in jail. "I made a lot of wrong decisions. It took me a long time to straighten out," Jane said. Jane said she doesn't know how many victims exist but believes it was a great many. "It was like a cult," she said of the church that forbids girls from wearing make-up or pants and required females to wear floor length dresses. "He was the leader, and we were the sacrifices," Jane said. "I think there were a lot of people who were ashamed to come forward." jgray@al.com
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