Former Jacksonville Pastor Pleads Guilty in Sex Case

The Southern Baptist Convention and many other Baptist churches are not only hysterically anti-gay but would also have the world believe that gays are the biggest threat for child molestation. Of course this is untrue and represents one of the most disgusting parts of the anti-gay propaganda spin machine. Thus, I think it only fair to highlight from time to time the huge problem of predatory clergy in Baptist churches. A case in point involves Rev. Darrell Gilyard, former pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church (which is a very large church), who faces three years in prison after pleading guilty to molesting a teenage girl from his Jacksonville church and sending lewd messages to another. (Joe By God has a weekly compilation each Monday of clergy transgressions which makes for interesting reading). Here are some highlights from the Florida Times-Union on the Rev. Gilyard:

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The Rev. Darrell Gilyard, former pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church, also will be required to register as a sex offender under terms of his plea agreement. His prison sentence will be followed by three years of sex-offender probation, limiting his contact with children and where he can live and work.“You taught us the truth ... but you lived a lie,” one victim’s mother told Gilyard, 47, in court. She said she’d continue praying for him.

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Gilyard and his attorney, Hank Coxe, left court out a back door to avoid reporters. Later, Gilyard told the Times-Union he recognizes he is not yet in a position to ask for forgiveness.

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Gilyard was arrested 16 months ago. He had been charged with two counts of lewd conduct involving sexually explicit text messages sent to teenage girls and one count of lewd molestation for fondling a teenage girl whose parents brought her to him for counseling. The girls were 14 and 15 at the time.

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A Palatka native, Gilyard rose quickly to prominence after seminary. While still in his 20s, he pastored Victory Baptist Church in Texas, one of the nation’s 10 fastest-growing congregations. He was mentored by the Rev. Jerry Vines, pastor of Jacksonville’s First Baptist Church, and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Paige Patterson, both former Southern Baptist Convention presidents.

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Gilyard left Victory amid accusations of sexual impropriety and came to Shiloh in 1993. Court records indicate the West Beaver Street church quietly settled a sexual misconduct allegation against him in 1996.Last month Gilyard and the church settled another lawsuit filed by a woman who said he raped and impregnated her during a 2004 counseling session. Terms were confidential, and no criminal charges were filed. A judge has ordered him to undergo a paternity test.

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While on probation after he leaves prison, Gilyard won’t be able to live within 1,000 feet or work at a school or other place where children regularly gather. He can have no unsupervised contact with children without court permission, must undergo psychosexual counseling and will be subject to electronic monitoring.

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I have said before, as long as the anti-gay Christianists continue to tell lies about LGBT Americans, I will endeavor to spread the truth about them.