"It's a hoax," Alamo said. "They're just trying to make our church look evil ... by saying I'm a pornographer. Saying that I rape little children. ... I love children. I don't abuse them. Never have. Never will."
It's clear the government doesn't like this guy. Whether they have enough reason is a good question. On the site Bible Belt Blogger, I found some background. It seems Rev. Alamo has had some brushes with the law, but the implications that he is involved in child abuse seem thinner than those of the infamous Warren Jeffs.
Alamo once was accused in California of directing the beating of a church member’s 11-year-old son. In 1994, he was sentenced to six years in prison on tax evasion charges filed in Memphis, tenn. The judge in the tax case ordered him held pending sentencing after prosecutors argued that the evangelist was a flight risk and a polygamist who preyed on married women and girls in his congregation. U.S. District Judge Jon McCalla said he was concerned over “the very great control Mr. Alamo has over a number of people.”
I wonder if the biggest concern isn't that last comment: “the very great control Mr. Alamo has over a number of people.”
What do you think?
UPDATE
CNN reports that six compound children have been removed.
This reminds me of the Texas FLDS compound - Yearn for Zion raid.
ReplyDeleteStarted out with great fanfare and claims of abuse, claims made by someone they can't even verify actually exists. Hmm, perhaps just an excuse to raid the compound?
I think the claims of abuse or in this case pornography need to be more substantial before mass raids are carried out. I think the judges are issuing warrants on too little evidence.
I don't like many of these cults but my dislike isn't enough of a reason to ban them or harass them. I feel that this has gotten to the point of harassment on many of them.
Question becomes in my mind, why is the government continuing to go after people like this (remembering Branch Davidians in Waco, not far from me), FLDS, and many others?
I see a couple reasons, first is many of these religons home school their kids; taking the kids out of the public school system indoctrination program. Being in Italy, I'm not sure how much you realize the depths the school systems have sank.
Another reason I see is to accustom people to the state having the "right" to determine what is in the best interest of people. Cults are easy targets; secretive, closed off, must be into devil worship, pedophiles, etc. Get people used to the state being able to decide how people in cults can live their life, then it's an easy step to the "normal" people being rounded up for not following along.
Check out the news from England where the child protective services threaten to take obese kids out of their homes for the "crime" of being obese.
I think there is a trend to socialism that the government is trying to accustom people to accept.
Governmental interference in people's lives is growing; transfat, smoking bans, seat belt laws, motor cycle helmut laws.
What happened to freedom?
To be fair, the evidence against Warren Jeffs is pretty solid--at least in regards to his own conduct. I think marrying a 12 y/o girl (who is now 14 and has been placed in foster care) qualifies as child abuse.
ReplyDeleteSee my post from 8/19/08
http://venividivicki.blogspot.com/2008/08/god-told-me-to-marry-your-12-year-old.html