Minister Arrested in Sex Sting

As all the fundie wing nuts are fuming with spittle flying in their convulsions over the California Supreme Court's gay marriage ruling, it's nice to see that the exampples of Christianist hypocrisy just keep on coming. The latest example comes from Prestonwood Baptist Church, a Dallas megachurch and member of the Southern Baptisit Convention, which no doubt preaches ad nauseum about the sanctity of marriage and the threat of the "homosexual agenda." As I have noted many times, the Baptists have a huge problem with sexual predator pastors that seems to rival that of the Roman Catholic Church - even as the Southern Baptist Convention tries to pretend that the problem does not exist. Perhaps if they spent less time preaching against gays and more time cleaning their own house, there would be fewer sexually deviate Baptist ministers and pastors. Here are some story highlights from the Houston Chronicle:

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PLANO, Texas — A minister who was arrested in an Internet sex sting has resigned his position at a Dallas-area megachurch, the pastor said Saturday. The Rev. Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church, said during services Saturday that the church has accepted Joe Barron's resignation, effective immediately. Barron was charged Friday with online solicitation of a minor. Undercover officers posing as a 13-year-old girl communicated with the 52-year-old Plano man for about two weeks. The online conversations were sexual in nature, police said.

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On May 6, Barron suggested meeting the girl in person. He eventually made the nearly 200-mile drive to Bryan on Thursday, where he was arrested. Police said they found a web-cam and condoms in Barron's car. The pastor said he was eager to move on. "We want to put this in the rearview mirror," Graham said. "We will handle anything we need to handle in terms of our responsibilities and obligations, and any ongoing investigation.

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Prestonwood Baptist Church is one of the largest churches in the country with 26,000 members and 40 ministers.

DiFatta twice detained for lewd conduct in mall restrooms

The GOP sex-capades just keep on coming, this time from Louisiana. The Times-Picayune reported in its October 4, 2007, edition (http://blog.nola.com/times-picayune/2007/10/difatta_twice_detained_in_lewd.html) that a GOP state senate candidate has dropped out of the race due to peccadillo's in public rest rooms:

St. Bernard Parish Councilman Joey DiFatta, who on Thursday withdrew from the 1st Senate District campaign, has been stopped twice since 1996 for suspicion of engaging in lewd behavior in public restrooms in Jefferson Parish, records obtained by The Times-Picayune show. DiFatta, 53, acknowledged that reports he had been stopped are true, but he denied any wrongdoing in both cases. He said he was not prosecuted in either case and has no arrest record.

Kenner police issued a misdemeanor summons to DiFatta in September 1996 in connection with a peeping Tom incident in a men's bathroom at the former Mervyn's department store at The Esplanade mall, according to a Kenner Police Department incident report obtained by The Times-Picayune.

The report states that DiFatta watched a man use the bathroom while peering through a hole in a bathroom stall. The man held DiFatta until police arrived, at which time he was issued the misdemeanor summons and ordered to appear in court. DiFatta said the man eventually withdrew his complaint, and the case was dismissed. A spokeswoman for the Kenner Police Department said the record was expunged.

In the second incident, Jefferson Parish deputies working an undercover detail in a men's bathroom at Dillard's at Lakeside Shopping Center in March 2000 stopped DiFatta after he indicated a desire to engage in sex with an undercover deputy in an adjoining bathroom stall, according to an interoffice memorandum written by Sgt. Keith Conley, one of the deputies involved in the investigation.

The report said DiFatta slid his foot into the deputy's stall and tapped the deputy's foot. In the report, Conley noted that such activity is common among men to indicate a willingness to participate in sex. The deputy inside the stall, Detective Wayne Couvillion, responded by tapping his foot, and DiFatta reached under the partition and began to rub the deputy's leg, the report states.

For the life of me, I can think of nothing more stupid than looking for sex in a public restroom (or park like the Baptist pastor I posted about recently). I mean, how many stories must one read about gay sex busts before a light bulb goes off: Duh, maybe this is not a smart thing to do??? I just do not get it. I also have to ask myself why anyone with this baggage in their background would make them self a target by running for office