Traditionally, the function of a chaplain within the correctional setting is to function a spiritual advisor to prisoners and assist them meet the necessities of their religious faiths. Equally historically, chaplains have usually been from conservative mainstream Christian faiths and sometimes proselytize among prisoners for those faiths.
There is a few debate as to whether it is proper to have government-paid chaplains at prisons and jails, based on the premise that such arrangements violate the principle of separation of church and state. There can also be dispute concerning whether or not chaplains - who are overwhelmingly Christian - can adequately deal with the religious needs of prisoners with many various faiths, together with Islam, Judaism, Native American beliefs, Hinduism and Buddhism, amongst others, to say nothing of agnostics and atheists.
However, there is common agreement that prison and jail chaplains should not abuse their position as spiritual leaders and use their positions of authority to meet their very own deviant sexual needs. Such abuses do happen, albeit not with the frequency that different correctional employees victimize prisoners. [See, e.g.: PLN, May 2009, p.1].
While incidents involving sexual mis-conduct by chaplains should not frequent, they're indicative of a somber incongruity between the necessity to offer religious providers for prisoners and the exploitation of these prisoners by abusive prison and jail clergy.
Sexual Abuse by Jail Chaplains
Former Henrico County, Virginia jail chaplain Toney Leon McDonald, 42, was arrested on May 17, 2006 and charged with engaging in sexual misconduct with two feminine prisoners.
In line with one of many indictments, McDonald, a member of the good news Jail and Prison Ministry, engaged in oral intercourse with prisoner Ashley Baskerville. Jail authorities recorded a dialog between the two; in line with Sheriff Mike Wade, it "was clearly not the kind of dialog that a chaplain ... should have." McDonald was acquitted of sexual misconduct expenses in New Kent County, but on October 12, 2006 he entered an Alford plea to comparable charges in Henrico County. He obtained a 12-month jail sentence, which was suspended, plus one hundred hours of neighborhood service. [See: PLN, Feb. 2007, p.36].
Before becoming the chaplain on the jail, McDonald had labored as a sheriff’s deputy till he was arrested in 1991 and charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and trying to smuggle marijuana to a prisoner. He served one yr of a six-year sentence in that case.
In April 2004, King County, Washington jail prisoner Terry Shanklin filed go well with alleging that he had been sexually assaulted by Regional Justice Center Chaplain Warren Ungles, who coerced him into having oral sex and masturbating in alternate for assist together with his launch plans.
Ungles claimed he was a part of a church that believed God allowed male sex with preachers. Shanklin passed a polygraph test related to seven sexual assaults involving the chaplain; his lawsuit acknowledged that he had suffered a divorce and psychological breakdowns as a result of emotional trauma of partaking in intercourse acts with Ungles.
Shanklin reportedly settled the case for $7,500 in damages and $1,435.92 in prices. See: Shanklin v. King County, King County Superior Court (WA), Case No. 04-2-10003-eight SEA.
In Texas, the chaplain on the Lubbock County Jail, Gilbert Herrera, 55, was indicted on sexual misconduct prices on July 28, 1999, two days after being fired for insubordination because he refused to cooperate with an internal investigation.
In accordance with news reviews, Chaplain Herrera had beforehand suffered from drug addiction and served time for burglary; he obtained a pardon from then-Texas governor Dolph Briscoe in 1978.
"This is simply a really unlucky incident not only for the sheriff’s office but in addition for the Christian group as well," stated Lubbock County Sheriff David Gutierrez. It was additionally presumably unfortunate for the female prisoner whom Herrera was accused of sexually assaulting.
On June 28, 2000, the former chaplain pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor cost of violating the prisoner’s civil rights; he was sentenced to 2 years’ probation. Despite pleading to the cost, Herrera maintained his innocence and said the accusations were politically motivated.
"We’ll simply depart it at that," his lawyer acknowledged. Herrera had served as a jail chaplain for 10 years.
PLN beforehand reported on sexual abuse by jail chaplains in Florida and Indiana, each involving sex acts with feminine prisoners. [See: PLN, May 2007, p.34].
Paul L. Pierce, 61, the former senior chaplain on the Pinellas County Jail in Clearwater, Florida, apparently confused his missionary position at the ability with the missionary place when he had a 3-12 months adulterous relationship with a prisoner from 2003 till 2006. Pierce reportedly had a love affair with Karleen Doris Bonow, a convicted prostitute.
"He’s the chaplain of the jail; I all the time thought he could be there for me. It changed into he needed sex, and i didn’t know learn how to say no. I didn’t want to lose his love," mentioned Bonow."And I played out the scenario [he] goes to go away his wife and he's going to marry me, and I’m going to stay fortunately ever after and somebody is really going to love me."
However, issues modified dramatically when Bonow grew to become pregnant. Chaplain Pierce advised Bonow to "get rid of it" when he learned about her condition. "It crushed me. It devastated me when he instructed me about getting an abortion and i saw what sort of monster he may very well be," Bonow stated.
Pierce resigned as chaplain on the jail on October 2, 2006 and was positioned on administrative leave, pending investigation, from his chaplaincy position with the Largo Fire Department. The jail’s internal investigation was closed after Pierce quit.
Homer Henderson, a chaplain at the Morgan County Jail in Indiana, additionally was accused of partaking in sexual misconduct with a prisoner. Susan L. Robbins mentioned Henderson had coerced her into performing oral intercourse on him in February 2006, when the chaplain escorted her and one other prisoner to an area high school to take GED tests. In trade for the sex act, Henderson allowed Robbins to go to her boyfriend and members of the family and go to a Taco Bell.
The chaplain tried to get Robbins to carry out oral sex on him once more the next day, but as a substitute she opted to flee and was recaptured five months later. In addition to serving as a jail chaplain, Henderson was also the chaplain for the Indiana State Police. He resigned from each positions but was not criminally charged.
Prison Clergy Abuse Their Positions
Vincent Inametti, 48, a Roman Catholic priest, was employed as a chaplain by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons at the Federal Medical Center (FMC) in Carswell, Texas from August 2000 till September 2007 - when he was charged with engaging in sexual acts with feminine prisoners.
"Unfortunately, it was the mistaken place and the incorrect time," said Michael Heiskell, Inametti’s lawyer, who downplayed his client’s gross misconduct by referring to it as a "lapse of judgment."
Inametti pleaded guilty on November 14, 2007 to sexually abusing two feminine prisoners at Carswell. [See: PLN, Feb. 2008, p.42].
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