Anti-gay Republican Senate candidate faces trial for abusing a boy

http://freethinker.co.uk/2012/11/07...nate-candidate-faces-trial-for-abusing-a-boy/

THERE was never a chance that the Republicans would snatch Delaware from Democratic Party control, but they had high hopes for their State Senate candidate Eric R Bodenweiser, a rabid anti-gay activist and member of the Delaware Family Policy Council.

Eric R Bodenweiser, Christian zealot and homophobe

Then things went horribly wrong. With ballots with Bodenweiser’s name already printed, the Republicans had to find a new candidate after Bodenweiser, 53, was arrested and charged with 113 counts of sexually abusing a young boy more than 20 years ago.

The rising star in conservative politics was indicted by a grand jury and is now on $250,000 secured bail.

The indictment alleges Bodenweiser repeatedly had sex with a boy between October 1987 and August 1990 in Sussex County, starting when the boy was 10 and ending when he was 13.

Bodenweiser defeated incumbent Republican Senator Joe Booth in the September primary to become the GOP nominee for the 19th Senate District on the strength of social conservative support, and quickly got a heartfelt endorsement from former US Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell.

O’Donnell called him:

A great man that deserves our support and that we need to send to Dover. Eric has the kind of character that will stand up against corruption, that will do what is right in the face of opposition, in the face of pressure.

The 39-page indictment charging Bodenweiser with 39 counts of first-degree unlawful sexual intercourse and 74 counts of second-degree unlawful sexual contact, provides little details, beyond a paragraph for each count stating that the incident occurred between October 1, 1987, and August 31, 1990.

At that time, Bodenweiser was working in the family business, operating Bodie’s Dairy Markets, a chain of convenience stories and laundromats based in Georgetown and with locations throughout Sussex County.

During his arraignment, Bodenweiser requested a jury trial. He is scheduled to appear in Sussex County Superior Court for a hearing on November 19.

Incidentally, Obama won Delaware with about 59 percent of the vote. Delaware, which has three electoral votes, is among the top 10 most Democratic states, according to polling done by Gallup earlier this year.

Incumbent Democrat Senator Thomas R Carper cruised to re-election for a third term. defeating three challengers: Bodenweiser ‘s replacement, Republican Kevin Wade, independent Alexander Pires and Green Party contender Andrew Richard Groff. Carper won 66 percent of the vote, compared to 29 percent for Wade.

Breaking news: First openly gay Senator is elected in Wisconsin. Tammy Baldwin, 50, had been running as a Democrat against Republican challenger Tommy Thompson, 70, who formerly served as governor of the state. She first held office as a state representative in 1998, and is stated to have kept her sexuality in the shadows for the most part.


A guy marrying another guy is pure evil but its ok if its a boy!

 

Since I saw this yesterday I guess they can be in the same thread:
http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/...ere-sex-offender-preaches#.UKImoEOMXwo.reddit
Duval court hearing: No kids for now in church where sex offender preaches


Children will continue to be barred from the Jacksonville worship services sex-offender Darrell Gilyard has been leading Sunday mornings since the end of January.

That was determined in court Friday when Gilyard’s attorney withdrew a motion seeking a change in the preacher’s probation status to allow minors in the sanctuary when Gilyard preaches.

The withdrawal came during a hearing in which Circuit Judge Kevin Blazs declared the motion “premature” because a licensed therapist has yet to determine if the request is appropriate. Until then, the court is unable to make an informed decision, Blazs said from the bench.

Search Northeast Florida sex offenders

The judge’s remarks followed a sidebar conversation with attorneys that lasted more than 10 minutes.

Gilyard attorney Richard Kuritz said his client’s preaching complies with his three-year probation, which bars him from having unsupervised contact with minors.

But another law requires a therapist to determine if “supervised contact” is appropriate and, if so, under what conditions. It’s that latter statute that must be fulfilled before the motion will be filed again, Kuritz said.

Gilyard also must be enrolled or have completed a sex offender therapy program in order to be granted supervised contact with minors, Eliot Park, circuit administrator for the Florida Department of Corrections, said in an emailed statement.

Gilyard said he is currently enrolled in such a program.

He and Christ Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church leaders gathered in the hallway at the Duval County Courthouse after the hearing. They agreed Gilyard will continue to preach and that minors will be prohibited from being anywhere on church grounds until a court rules on the matter. Before, children attended a youth church service in another room while Gilyard preached.

The state Department of Corrections has confirmed that Gilyard is in compliance with the rules of his probationas long as minors are not present when he’s in the pulpit. Gilyard also is refraining from performing any pastoral duties, such as counseling.

The pastor and the church leaders who hired him are arguing that minors should be allowed in the sanctuary while he is preaching because they would be accompanied by parents and other adults.

Gilyard said the motion was filed because the North Davis Street church is concerned barring minors could impede its growth and because he refuses to live in the shadows of his offender status.

“Somehow I will prove that life isn’t over when one has committed a crime for which he receives this heinous label,” Gilyard said in a text message Friday afternoon. “You don’t have to languish on the fringes of society.”

Gilyard, 49, was released from state prison Dec. 28 after serving three years for committing sex crimes against two teenage church members at Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, where he was the pastor at the time. After his 2009 conviction and imprisonment, he admitted to fathering a child with a woman who accused him of raping her during a 2004 counseling session.

So far, Gilyard’s status as a registered sex offender isn’t keeping people away, church leaders said. With an average attendance of around 10 before Gilyard came to preach, numbers have shot up to 150 and 200 since his first sermon on Jan. 29, they said.



Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/...er-preaches#.UKImoEOMXwo.reddit#ixzz2D0nYtDIP

 

I'm glad to hear that.