By Jeannie Blaylock
First Coast News
July 6, 2006
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/topstories/news-article.aspx?storyid=60633
Jacksonville, FL -- It is a secret one man has held inside for 25 years until now. We will call him "Dave", and he is the latest person to accuse Pastor Bob Gray of molestation.
In the months that First Coast News has been working with JSO sex crimes investigators and the State Attorney's office on this case, more than twenty women have told detectives Dr. Gray molested them as girls.
"Dave" is the first male to come forward. And that's why "Dave" wanted to share his story.
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"I believe [there's] other people out there just like me," he said in an exclusive interview.
"Dave" spent the first fourteen years of his life at Trinity Baptist. He saw Pastor Gray as something more than a leader at the church.
"I always looked at him like my grandpa," he said. "He was [the] closest thing to God that you would think as a kid."
"Dave" remembers Dr. Gray taking an interest in him.
"I never talked to him until my parents we're going through a divorce," he recalls.
"Dave" says the abuse began in Dr. Gray's office, a story told by many of the other women we've talked to.
"He would kneel in front of me. He'd set me on his chair and he would kneel in front of me and hold my hands and tell me to pray and keep my eyes closed and pray with him."
"Dave" says it got worse.
"Then he performed oral sex on me at that time and I would just sit there and cry."
"And when you cried, what did you do?" I asked.
"That's when he would tell me about, you know, your daddy doesn't do this. Your daddy doesn't love you because he doesn't do this. I am love."
Just like many of the women, "Dave" says he was about eight or nine.
"And how many times did you say it happened?"
"Probably a half-dozen that I can recall vividly," he said.
"Dave" was too scared to run off.
I asked "Dave" whether he thought what had happened was right.
"No. I didn't think anything then. I didn't know what sex was at eight years old."
A few weeks ago Dave revealed his secret to his mother.
She told First Coast News, "It hurts knowing your son was sent to school to be taught Christian values and was being abused by his pastor."
"Dave's" mom said she prays that "this monster who masqueraded as a loving pastor will not escape proper judgement on this earth."
The State Attorney's Office says this new arrest could strengthen the case against Dr. Gray.
We offered Dr. Gray a chance to tell his side of the story, but his attorney, Hank Coxe, had no comment.
Trinity Baptist and Trinity Christian Academy say they are cooperating fully with the investigation.
Now you may be wondering why all the little girls, and now, a little boy.
I spoke with a sex crimes detective at JSO and she says pedophiles generally don't care if it's a boy or a girl. Their preference is for a certain age.
In Dr. Gray's case, all the accusers were around eight, nine, ten and eleven. In fact, one woman told me when she was about twelve, Dr. Gray literally pushed her away and said, "You're too old now."
Gray is free on bond.
Related story:
• Pastor Bob Gray Arrested Again: Accused of Molesting a Boy Years Ago
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