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	Investigation Focuses on A.M.E. Pastor By Tim Townsend St. Louis Post-Dispatch March 13, 2006 http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/religion/story/ 238250C9B8BECA8B8625712E00227C1C?OpenDocument&highlight=2%2C%22laudermill%22 A pastor and former St. Louis community leader is being investigated by the St. Louis circuit attorney's office and the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Missouri and California over allegations of sexual abuse of minors. The Rev. Sylvester Laudermill Jr., who had been a pastor in St. Louis from 1994 to 2004, stepped down last week from his position at Ward A.M.E. church in Los Angeles. A pastor of an A.M.E. church in Los Angeles said the church has launched an internal investigation against Laudermill in that city. Several attempts to reach Laudermill at his home were unsuccessful, and calls to Laudermill's attorney in St. Louis were not returned. A.M.E. church officials refused to talk about their investigations. In December, a 25-year-old male went to St. Louis police and A.M.E. church officials regarding Laudermill. In an interview last week, he said he told them that Laudermill began a sexual relationship with him when he was 14. St. Louis police said they sought charges against the pastor for statutory sodomy after the alleged victim came forward in December. The St. Louis circuit attorney's office refused to issue those warrants, but assistant circuit attorney Ed Postawko said last week the case "is still under investigation." No charges have been filed in either city. A lawsuit has not been filed in the St. Louis case. The alleged victim in Los Angeles could not be reached. Laudermill was the pastor at St. Peter A.M.E. Church at the corner of Margaretta and Shreve avenues in St. Louis, and a community leader during his years here. According to his official biography, he served as president of numerous clergy-activist groups including Metropolitan Congregations United for St. Louis. He also was active in community initiatives, pushing for a vocational education high school in the city in 1996, land-use legislation designed to stop urban sprawl in 1997 and more spending on highway improvements in north St. Louis County in 1999. Laudermill is one of the most visible pastors in the A.M.E. church. He is one of a dozen church officers in the church's geographical district that includes most of the western United States, and he is one of 15 officers who help govern the world-wide church. Bill Bryan of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report. ttownsend@post-dispatch.com 314-340-8221
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