Youth pastor hid past from church. Terrell faced molestation charges before

[Ian David]

By STEPHEN GURR
The Times
GAINESVILLE

Every few months for five years, she scanned the Internet for his name. The mother of a Cherokee County boy who accused Phillip Glenn Terrell of molesting him in 2001 knew his name eventually would resurface in the news. This month, it did.

"I typed his name in and there was his picture," said the woman, who is not being named by The Times in order to protect the identity of her son. "It was like a knife going through your chest."

Terrell was acquitted by a judge in 2002 of molesting the boy, then 12, when Terrell was a youth detention center guard in Paulding County. His past remained a secret from the members of Gainesville's Emmanuel Baptist Church when he was hired at the red brick church on Atlanta Highway as a youth minister in 2004.

On March 30, Terrell, 35, was arrested by Forsyth County authorities on charges of aggravated child molestation in the alleged assault of a 12-year-old boy in 2006. Hall County authorities have pending molestation charges against Terrell, whom they say molested another 12-year-old boy inside the church late last year.

"It's been very hard on the church," said interim pastor Ken Martin. "The church doesn't want to accuse or condemn or convict anyone. We simply want to be a church that reaches out, and helps and heals."



More:
http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/stories/20070422/localnews/169392.shtml

[MADem]

1. "The church doesn't want to accuse or condemn or convict anyone, eh?

Well, they're fucking idiots, and therein lies their problem. You DO condemn and convict child molesters, you lock them up and you get them off the street so they can't mess with other kids.

Jesus Christ on a bicycle...spare us all from "organized" religion.

[bmbmd]

4. We don't condemn or accuse anyone-

unless you are gay or a democrat...

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. sounds like this creep got away with it once

and figured it was fine to go elsewhere and do it again. One wonders how many children were molested and were ashamed to come forward?

[atreides1]

5. But why did he get away with it?

I could speculate and point to the obvious reason, he was a guard at a youth detention facility and his accuser was incarcerated.

[porphyrian]

3. Did he hide it in that waddle? - n/t