Monday, January 21, 2013

John Langworthy to Plead Guilty?


Very late word on the street is that John Langworthy will go before a judge on Tuesday morning and plead "guilty" to one or more charges of sexual abuse of a minor! You may recall he exhausted any chance of a plea bargain last month and the case was scheduled to go to trial, so this should mean mandatory prison time.

Watch Keep >> Child Predator John Langworthy to Face Trial

Stay tuned for the latest developments!  The Clarion-Ledger and Clinton TV stations should have coverage tomorrow.

Update:

Clarion-Ledger >> Ex-choir director, minister set to plead guilty to child molestation

Apparently I was mistaken.  It was my understanding that the chance for any plea agreement by Langworthy had expired and that he was going to trial January 28th regardless.  Now I just read that he appeared in court Tuesday morning, entered a guilty plea to 5 of the 8 charges, and the judge gave him a 10-year suspended sentence on each count (a total of 50 years suspended).

He must register as a sex offender.  That's good, but how many people actually check that?

He can't have contact with any of his victims. That means the ones named in the lawsuit. He wasn't in contact with them anyway! What about the victims not named (there were others) and the potential victims out there?  I do not see how this does anything to protect them!

Other than the inconvenience of "supervised probation" for five years and being placed on the sex offender registry this is little more than a slap on the wrist.

Clarion-Ledger >> Victim: 'It's about bringing the darkness to the light.'

WJTV >> Admitted sex offender avoids jail time

Clarion-Ledger >> No prison time for admitted child molester John Langworthy, former Clinton church minister, choir director

13 comments:

Tom Kelley said...

How does an admitted multiple sex offender get no jail time??

New BBC Open Forum said...

A friend (or friends) in high places, perhaps?

Ramesh said...

How does an admitted multiple sex offender get no jail time??

1. Become a pastor or a "man of God"

2. Be a part of Southern Baptist tribe

3. A judge who looks the other way when a "man of God" commits sexual crimes

//Sarcasm begins here ...
Maybe it is time for Southern Baptists to use their tithes to provide paid prostitutes to their "men of God". This will solve some of the sexual problems affecting "men of God". Of course if they need young men or women, then clearly even prostitution will not cover their activities. The next thing would be to make it legal for "men of God" to commit sexual crimes. That will definitely solve the problem.

New BBC Open Forum said...

From one of the comments on the first article:

Rob a Dollar Tree of $3,000 while black = 45-year prison sentence. Sexually molest children while posing as a man of God = home free.

I don't know that race had anything to do with this, but there seems to be a pattern with men-o-gawd getting light or no sentences for similar behavior to Langworthy's.

On the other hand, here is an example of a case where the sentence for an ultra-Orthodox Jewish counselor fit his crimes against a young girl.

From the article:

"The abuse of a child cannot be swept under the rug or dealt with by insular groups believing only they know what is best for their community," Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes said.

and

The Hasidic community has a longtime practice of addressing sex abuse accusations internally, critics say sometimes by ignoring them or intimidating victims into silence.

Just like the Catholics, FLDS, SGMs, Calvary Chapels, and Baptists (of all flavors). It's an epidemic.

Ramesh said...

I think this epidemic is at large in India and in USA too.

Very sad state of affairs. Hard to tell where sarcasm begins and where real life begins.

56 years a Baptist, mostly SBC said...

This is an outrage. The good people of that area need to organize a campaign to replace the judge.

Nicholas said...

The Langworthy scandal reaches to the highest levels of SBC leadership:

http://thewartburgwatch.com/2012/11/07/phillip-gunn-sbts-al-mohler-legal-rightmoral-right/

Nicholas said...

We live in a time of unjust judges who are sympathetic to criminals and evil, not the victims of crime.

Ramesh said...

This comment might appear Off Topic and away from the issue of this post, BUT the underlying trends of justice being selectively applied only to the poor and disenfranchised, but not for the elites and the rich and the oligarchs is a familiar story. This is neither liberal nor a conservative issue. It cuts across both the political divides. I would encourage you to pursue these links ...

Glenn Greenwald > The Untouchables: How the Obama administration protected Wall Street from prosecutions

Naked Capitalism > For Once, Maybe Lying Does Not Pay: DoJ’s Lanny Breuer Resignation Leaked After Frontline Appearance

Amazon > Glenn Greenwald > With Liberty and Justice for Some: How the Law Is Used to Destroy Equality and Protect the Powerful

YouTube > Gleen Greenwald > With Liberty and Justice for Some

Anonymous said...

When Steve Gaines of Bellevue Baptist Church, had a problem with a church leader accused of Child Molestation, they handled the case entirely within the church.

The District Attorney, Bill Gibbons (now promoted to Commissioner for the Department of Safety and Homeland Security of Tennessee) turned a blind eye to the whole mess.

On wikipedia it it quoted as saying:

"When Bill was appointed District Attorney General in 1996, he had no criminal experience as a prosecutor or defense lawyer. When he left the District Attorney's position in 2011, he left with no experience as a prosecutor. In fifteen years on the job, he tried no cases, argued no motions, and negotiated no guilty plea settlements."

the Drake said...

Just as I suspected--Sunday February 3rd we are asked to give extra (prove the tithe). Steve will not be preaching this Sunday night...yeah ex-football players just love to watch the BIG games. Also, what has always bugged me is he does not preach Wednesday nights, but has preached on the subject...'do not neglect gathering together when church is in session' (paraphrased). So, what is he doing Wednesday nights, which is a night for which he is being paid to preach? Don't mean this to be negative, and forgive me, but this seems a little much to digest.

Amy Smith said...

Anyone abused by John Langworthy in Texas or who has information about this case is asked to call the Dallas police child exploitation unit at 214-671-4211. A victim abused by Langworthy at Prestonwood has come forward and made a report to the Dallas police. We hope others abused by Langworthy will also come forward, call the police, get help, begin to heal and protect other kids.

Anyone abused by John Langworthy in Mississippi or who has information about this case is asked to call detective Josh Frazier in the Clinton police department at 601-925-6106.

Dr. Anna Salter, Ph.D. in clinical psychology on prevention of sexual abuse: Sandusky, Langworthy and predators like them

Child predator John Langworthy loses pharmacy license

New BBC Open Forum said...


Eddie Struble