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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums'I Was Just 16': Pastor's 'Adultery' Confession in Church Goes Off the Rails
Prosecutors in Indiana are now investigating after a woman took the stage to confront the pastor. The lies and the manipulation have to stop, she told him.https://www.thedailybeast.com/pastor-john-lowes-adultery-confession-in-warsaw-indiana-church-goes-sideways-victim-says-i-was-just-16
A church pastor in Indiana publicly confessed to his congregation this week that hed committed adultery two decades agobut he was quickly called out by a woman who took the stage to say she had only been 16 when he preyed on her. The public confrontation that played out Sunday at the New Life Christian Church and World Outreach in Warsaw has now sparked an investigation by local prosecutors in Kosciusko County, according to local reports.
Video of the incident shot by an attendee quickly went viral on Facebook, where commentators applauded the woman for coming forward. The footage shows the pastor, John Lowe II, announce his resignation from the stage after he revealed that he had committed adultery. It was nearly 20 years ago. It continued far too long. It involved one person, and theres been no other, nor any other situations of unbecoming conduct for the last 20 years, Lowe told parishioners.
As soon as he walked off the stage, a man and a woman walked up and grabbed the microphone to drop a bombshell. For 27 years, I lived in a prison prison of lies, lying to protect the Lowe family. For years, I thought I was a horrible person, having suicidal thoughts, not realizing what had truly been done to me, the woman, identified only as Bobbi, said.
I would still be in a prison if my brother... had not approached me just two weeks ago with what he had seen as a teenager that bothered him all these years: his pastor in bed with his younger sister, a T-shirt and underwear on, she told the shocked crowd. The lies and the manipulation have to stop. I was a prisoner and you kept me in your prison. Im a prisoner no longer. I was just 16 when you took my virginity on your office floor. Do you remember that? You did things to my teenage body that had never, and should have never, been done, she told Lowe directly, adding, you are not the victim here.
snip
FM123
(10,053 posts)These monsters always try to turn the tables.
calimary
(81,085 posts)J. A. M. Just Another Monster.
AllyCat
(16,135 posts)At least this guy didnt try to explain away what he had done. He omitted a salient detail however.
lindysalsagal
(20,564 posts)These people own the local police departments and cover up for each other.
wryter2000
(46,023 posts)I think I heard that a bishop didn't turn in a relative that was an abuser, but that's it. I've never heard of it among Friends or Methodists and probably others. The Episcopal church has a policy that children are not alone with any non-parental adult.
All Judeo Christian churches are based on patriarchy. European societies in general are based on patriarchy.
lindysalsagal
(20,564 posts)priest on long island who was caught with the wives. Very fancy, wealthy church. At least they weren't underage, so, it wasn't illegal, just immoral.
I've been a group leader for people leaving religion, and I'm here to tell you the emotional and physical abuse is rampant everywhere. No churches actually police their leaders, they just move them around.
no one is exempt.
calimary
(81,085 posts)And nothings done. And no consequences are ever imposed. And no one ever hears about it again. And never is heard a discouraging word.
It happens.
wryter2000
(46,023 posts)I'm talking about abuse of children, which is a whole different thing from engaging in consensual sex with adults. It's certainly wrong to have sex with someone else's spouse, but it's not abuse if it's consensual.
quakerboy
(13,915 posts)Im hopeful not as much as among some other groups, and feel like the less centralized format likely has made it less common, but I know of at least two locally.
Just like Quakers (and episcopals) participated in the boarding schools. Im hopeful that we dont have mass graves on our collective ledger, but our predecessors definitely participated in trying to kill off native culture and society.
wryter2000
(46,023 posts)And Episcopal churches profited from the sale of human beings. There is a great deal in the past we need to make amends for. I imagine secular boarding schools would have been just as bad, but there should be an extra burden on churches that claim to be doing good.
rickford66
(5,521 posts)People in power have the opportunities to use it and some eventually do.
wryter2000
(46,023 posts)Talk as though this is a problem peculiar to religions.
Iggo
(47,534 posts)And disgusting.
Old men fucking little girls is not a new thing.
Tanuki
(14,913 posts)alphafemale
(18,497 posts)Especially if Mr. preacher man has any celebrity status at all.
Jilly_in_VA
(9,940 posts)Brave woman! And you know if there was one, there were probably others.
Delphinus
(11,823 posts)May she get the counseling needed.
calimary
(81,085 posts)SergeStorms
(19,134 posts)Once these people in positions of power and trust get a taste of using that power and trust to manipulate others, they'll do it again and again.
They never stop at one.
calimary
(81,085 posts)theyll always come back for more.
One is NEVER enough.
MagickMuffin
(15,924 posts)As for pastor John he is a liar. What he did was not adultery, it was RAPE!
He was raping a teenage girl for how long we don't know. But please please please forgive me.
MineralMan
(146,248 posts)Thank you. Sadly, stories like this are common. They happen in an enormous number of churches. Maybe even a majority of churches. A similar story happened in the church I attended as a teenager. A youth pastor, a 20-something recent Wheaton college graduate, seduced a shy, depressed, 14-year-old teenaged girl, and was caught in the act. Was he arrested? Nope. Was there any justice? Nope. What happened was that that youth pastor moved to another church, just a few miles away. What happened was that the family of the girl involved moved away from that town.
What happened was that nothing happened to the youth pastor or the minister of that church. It was all covered up. That was in the early 1960s. We all knew about it - the other teenagers in the church. Everyone knew what had happened, but nothing was done about it. The victim was further victimized, to the extent that her family moved away.
That was just one of the events that drove me away from that church and Christianity in general. The victims of such incidents are the ones punished, as in the story you presented here. The victims simply continue to be victimized. That is why such things happen again and again and again - in churches of all denominations. Jesus was not served. Justice was not served. It was all a lie.
Feh!
Ziggysmom
(3,394 posts)at school, as my dad was on his way to work, so I arrived before the bus loads of other students. The priest rectory was next to the parking lot and playground. Some mornings I'd see the parish priest kiss his lady friends goodbye as they left his door before 7 AM. I recall asking my mom about it and she told me to never look again and forget about it, never repeat what I saw. Well, I never forgot. While this was no where as bad as the OP story, it affected me deeply as a kid. I lost trust in all adults and it drove a wedge between my mother and I. The priest was also a drunk, and all the parishioners knew that, too. Finally his liver objected to the booze and he died. Of course he was given a huge Catholic Mass with memorials and everyone said what a great man he was. I stayed home that day, it all really did make me puke.
MineralMan
(146,248 posts)especially with those who pretend to represent religion. They know full well what they are doing, but simply continue doing it. All of which makes me wonder about the validity of their belief.
Iggo
(47,534 posts)dchill
(38,432 posts)Claire Oh Nette
(2,636 posts)Watch as three men step up to intimidate this woman as she speaks truth to the pastor's son.
You can just hear someone say, "She's calling your daddy a liar," as Jr. rapist and friends step up.
Her husband is the only real man in that congregation, if this video is any indication.
Closed, secret societies breed abuse. Twas ever thus.
The church is a business, selling jeebus and god, to like minded members who enjoy rigid authority and myth as entertainment. No different from a music venue or a golf club, drumming up patrons to dance and members to play.
Tax them. Regulate them. Laws apply to baptists, too.
leftieNanner
(15,056 posts)It reminded me of the way TFG lurked behind Secretary Clinton during the debates.
chowder66
(9,045 posts)Claire Oh Nette
(2,636 posts)That's immediately what i thought.
Like they all took the same class at finishing school on lurking, intimidation, and thuggery.
IRS ought to be all over that church. Break them all.
no mandated reporters in home school for jeezus freaks and god botherers, either.
Wild blueberry
(6,615 posts)Intimidation. Ugh. Also, at the end, how everyone swarmed up to the rapist to console him.
Time to end tax-exemption for these grifter businesses. And prison for the rapists.
Hassin Bin Sober
(26,308 posts)Im sure he was security waiting for the word to drag her off.
cab67
(2,990 posts)He may have had blinders on his whole life to what his scumbag father did. The victim was calling his father a liar in public.
Frankly, if someone had called my father a liar like that, I might have reacted the same way - assuming I was unaware of any such wrongdoing.
All this being said, it's entirely possible that the son did know about the wrongdoing - or perhaps had heard rumors or had some sort of feeling about it. I don't know.
Claire Oh Nette
(2,636 posts)It wasn't an affair. It wasn't assault. It was rape on the floor of his ministry office when she was 15 or 16. Rape.
His father is a pedophile rapist. He stood up there in front of Gawd and everyone and LIED. He is NOT the victim. He victimized a child when he raped her.
The son was a grown ass adult, not a child. The son didn't peep about how wronged his mother was, how ashamed of his father he was, or how hurt he was that his father lied to him all these years.
His father, Pastor McRaperson, "confessed" to coveting, cheating, and lying to his entire congregation. Sonny wasn't upset about any of that. Just the part where a woman stood up to the patriarchal bullshit and spoke truth to power. The part where she said, "I was 16."
I'd wager sonny's active in the grift. His physical intimidation move tells me he's likely an abuser, too.
Tax all the churches. Every single one. Require audits. Open them books. Demand they tithe.
Then lock these pedophile pastors up. No statute of limitations on sex crimes.
The Conservatives and the Republicans had to come up with something worse than Insurrection. They looked inward, and realized nothing was worse than grooming kids for pedophilia--they ought to know, because they do it.
cab67
(2,990 posts)He belongs in the slammer. No ifs, ands, or buts.
And you're absolutely right - this was an assault, not an affair.
I was only addressing the rapist's son. He may or may not have known anything about what his father did - or if he did, he may have assumed it was with another adult. If he didn't, or if he was in such deep denial that he couldn't tell reality from fantasy, his reaction made sense. That's the only point I made.
If that explains his reaction, then I seriously hope he comes to accept the truth and does what he can to help his father's victim.
If it doesn't, then feed him to the wolves.
milestogo
(16,829 posts)Fetuses are sacred.
Women, not so much.
poli-junkie
(996 posts)Mariana
(14,854 posts)rurallib
(62,373 posts)that are guilty of such crimes. They happen wherever authority figures can use their power. When it happens in a religious context it just seems so much worse because of the hypocrisy of the perpetrators and because we as a society still (for some strange reason) tend to put trust in the religion and its leaders.
This one really hit close to home for me as I was an abuse victim at age 14. But the worst blow was that my parents refused to believe me.
chowder66
(9,045 posts)That would be a tough road to manage alone.
Evolve Dammit
(16,689 posts)malthaussen
(17,175 posts)For that matter, the age of consent in Indiana is 16, so he is not even guilty of statutory rape. I don't know enough Indiana law to say if he broke a misdemeanor law of corrupting the morals of a minor, but even if he did, 20 years washes it away.
-- Mal
exboyfil
(17,862 posts)He falls under a seduction statute that applies to pastors, therapists, teachers, coaches, etc who engage in sex with 16-18 year olds. Also the video helps to overcome the statute of limitations. He might yet get charged with the brother also confirming that the pastor was in bed with his sister when she was 16 (along with this recording of course). He better lawyer up.
https://nationalzero.com/2022/05/24/indiana-magachurch-pastor-under-criminal-investigation-after-confrontation-with-former-statutory-rape-victim-during-service/
"ABC21 spoke with Indiana University Law Professor Jody Madeira in general about Indiana laws. 'There is one particular offense that could apply, which is called child seduction. This applies when people in positions of trust or authority of a child, law enforcement, mental health practitioners, or anyone with a professional relationship with the child,' she says 'It affects children between 16 and 18 years old, again these people use their professional relationship to engage in sexual conduct with a child and that is the offense of child seduction. The statute of limitations is set by Indiana Code 35-41-4-2. Normally it says that these crimes must be prosecuted before the victim reaches the age of 31, however, there's an exception to that. The exception is basically that if the state obtains a recording, a confession that provides evidence sufficient to charge the crime.'"
cab67
(2,990 posts)....that a depressingly large number of men in that church would want to charge her with seduction.
malthaussen
(17,175 posts)malthaussen
(17,175 posts)I am endlessly fascinated by the multifarious ways the States enact their sexual crime statutes.
-- Mal
Evolve Dammit
(16,689 posts)wryter2000
(46,023 posts)A shame he waited so long, but he's not the criminal.
keithbvadu2
(36,640 posts)hibbing
(10,094 posts)exboyfil
(17,862 posts)Don't you know. /s
halfulglas
(1,654 posts)Facing rape charges of a child under 10 and the judge ended up giving the rapist a suspended sentence because he agreed the victim acted "seductively" to him. Can't document it because there are so many similar ones it's hard to keep track. I thought the judge must be a secret perv too.
Probatim
(2,499 posts)Snackshack
(2,541 posts)What a very courageous woman and what a great example of that courage for others to see who have been so heinously abused by people who hold positions of authority.
Unfortunately too much time has passed I think but hopefully not and this AH will be held accountable by the law now.
This woman is a role model for anyone who has been abused. Dont ever think that being a victim makes one weak. There is a well of strength in all who have been abused in the past
its just a matter of taking that first step to finding it.
moonshinegnomie
(2,435 posts)keep them to the outskirts of town,1000 feet ot more from where kids are.
at least the bookstores dont hide what they are doing.....
dalton99a
(81,383 posts)1WorldHope
(682 posts)and all those assholes that surrounded him at the end. These are the people who supported Trump still do, and want all women to remain chattel. We have to fight misogyny at the ballot box, at work, in church, in every corner of the universe until it is dead.
jmowreader
(50,527 posts)"Dear God, please let this be Greg Locke."
BlackSkimmer
(51,308 posts)And did anyone else notice how it seemed other men were advancing on her as she spoke?
I think if her husband had not been with her that she'd have been "ushered" from the stage forthwith.
IronLionZion
(45,380 posts)these idiots thought they wouldn't get caught? No need to involve law enforcement?
It's not just a sin, it's a felony. Lock them up
cab67
(2,990 posts)slightlv
(2,766 posts)it even happens among us pagans. We try to keep a close eye on things, but it happens. Among the clergy, among the "parishioners"... it has broken up covens, as we try to take hold and fix the situation and help broken people. Whoever above said it happens in all religions is correct. It happens wherever there is power, I'm afraid. One of my first experiences was at the hands of an "High Priest." It made me more sensitive to the situation among my own coveners thru the decades, and was one of the points I stressed in my classes, right in the 101 classes I taught. People can get so caught up in the feelings of "this is what I've been looking for all my life" that they can get carried away and the trust factor can be taken advantage of way too easily. This is true regardless of the religion or situation. As a 40+ year HPS, it's my responsibility to make sure it doesn't happen to one of my coven or to one of my students. It's a responsibility I take very seriously.
cab67
(2,990 posts)I mean, besides the crime this pastor committed?
At the end, he says, "All I can do is ask for your forgiveness."
Really? That's all you can do?
What about asking the congregation to reach out to your victim? How about calling on them to support her? To seek out the kind of resources she needs to heal?
What about an actual apology? A real one - not some "if she was harmed" or "I sinned, but never mind the details" half-apology, but a clear acknowledgment not only that you sinned, but that you left a young woman with a legacy of trauma and pain that she's carried for almost 30 years?
Or how about acknowledging her strength of character? The kind that allowed her to confront you in front of what appears to have been a hostile audience, at least at first? And the strength of her husband, who spoke up to defend her dignity in the face of what you did to her?
And finally, what about contacting your district attorney to relate what happened and to submit to whatever consequences follow?
This asshole literally can't see beyond the tip of his own nose. It's all about him.
Warpy
(111,118 posts)along with having her brother there as an eyewitness, since she never would have been believed if she'd been on her own.
Likely Bobbi will be ostracized by the good Christians in that church, shunned as an evil temptress who cost them their minister. They'll just see the middle aged woman living in shame and pain, not the kid in her mid teens who was abused in the worst way by someone she should have been able to trust. Most of all, the congregation won't be able to admit the man fooled them, too.
I hope Bobbi finds her way to a rape crisis center, because that's what really happened to her and that's where she can begin to heal.
cab67
(2,990 posts)...at least when it comes to her status in the community. Quite a few people reached out to comfort her as she walked away from the stage.
I also recall that most of the voices calling for the preacher to come clean were male.
I get the sense she won't be shunned by everyone in that community. The community may fragment, but I don't think they'll all fall behind the preacher.
Johnny2X2X
(18,967 posts)Posted in another thread, but an ex girlfriend grew up with a pastor father in one of these evangelical churches. When she was 12 or 13 a camp counselor at the church raped her. The church and her parents forced her to go before the whole church and beg their forgiveness for her seducing the 28 year old camp counselor. They grilled her for many minutes, shouted at her, called her a "whore" and a "temptress". Just a little girl, groomed and raped by a full grown man and then made to beg for forgiveness publicly.
She had a rough life, ended up in and out of treatment facilities, got arrested for drugs many times, ended up a stripper. She's clean now, and married to a pastor at a different evangelical church.
This man, John B Lowe, deserves jail, he groomed and raped a little girl. It wasn't cheating, it wasn't adultery, it was child sexual assault. I'm sure there's a statue of limitations protecting him, or maybe the age of consent in IN is 16 or was, but this man is not someone who sinned, he's someone who is a predator with a taste for minor children.
NCjack
(10,279 posts)he molested when she was a child.
Skittles
(153,104 posts)proof that people can be made to believe ANYTHING
alphafemale
(18,497 posts)Not the rape of a child.
onecaliberal
(32,763 posts)LiberalFighter
(50,761 posts)Scrivener7
(50,901 posts)after all this happened.
No one comforting the woman.
Because, ya know, Jesus and stuff.