Barry Duke, the Angry Atheist

Pointing and laughing at religious lunacy for more than half-a-century

Florida megachurch pastor faces a lawsuit over the alleged historic abuse of a child aged 7

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M. Wayne Blackburn, above, senior pastor at Victory Church in Lakeland, Florida, has been accused in a lawsuit of being complicit in the cover up of the sexual abuse of a 7-year-old boy by an Assemblies of God church volunteer — registered sex offender Walter K Steverson, inset — approximately 40 years ago.

According to The Christian Post, Christopher Woods Sr, plaintiff in the lawsuit is seeking damages and costs exceeding $50,000 from both Blackburn and Steverson as well as the Assemblies of God Peninsular Florida District.

He is suing Steverson specifically for battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress; the Assemblies of God Peninsular Florida District for vicarious liability; and Blackburn for intentional infliction of emotional distress by telling to the plaintiff to keep his mouth shut about Steverson’s abuse.

Blackburn allegedly told Woods that his mother would not believe him if he told her about Steverson’s abuse, and continued to allow Steverson to be alone with plaintiff.

Woods’ attorney, Boz Tchividjian, an abuse advocate and grandson of the late Rev. Billy Graham said:

Defendant Blackburn’s conduct, knowingly and intentionally caused severe emotional distress and physical injury to the plaintiff.

‘Mistaken identity’

In a statement responding to the lawsuit on behalf of the Assemblies of God Peninsular Florida District and Blackburn, lawyer Trinity Jordan said Woods must have mistaken Blackburn for someone else.

We are aware of the lawsuit filed against Pastor Blackburn and the Peninsula Florida District Council regarding events that allegedly occurred over 40 years ago. While we deeply sympathize with anyone who has experienced abuse, we firmly believe this is a case of mistaken identity. The District is reviewing the Plaintiff’s claims with counsel and will respond to the lawsuit as appropriate.

He added:

With respect to the claims against Pastor Blackburn, he was not an employee of the church where the Plaintiff claims the incident took place, nor was he involved in the youth program at the church where the allegations are centered. These facts strongly indicate that Pastor Blackburn is not the person referenced in this lawsuit, and he emphatically denies that he is the individual referenced in the lawsuit.

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My apologies to readers for lack of activity over the past week or so. I was laid low by the flu that developed into a severe chest infection that kept me bedridden for more days than I care to count.

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Barry Duke

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6 responses to “Florida megachurch pastor faces a lawsuit over the alleged historic abuse of a child aged 7”

  1. Broga Avatar
    Broga

    Barry: Sorry to hear about your severe chest infection. Good luck for a full recovery.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  2. Barry Duke Avatar
    Barry Duke

    Me and the Pope both got ill at around the same time. He got thoughts and prayers. I got chicken soup which worked better.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. malcolmjdodd Avatar
    malcolmjdodd

    Barry, have you considered that your recovery could be due to the the mohammedan who slaughtered the chicken with a blessed knife whilst praying and facing Mecca!

    Glad that you are feeling better.

    I am having great difficulty finding religion-free meat, now eating only pork, pheasant, fish and meat that is guaranteed to be uncontaminated by religion from a butchery about ten miles away. The supermarkets have all told lies about New Zealand lamb being religion-free when their source has told me all New Zealand lamb is hellhell slaugheterd.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. Barry Duke Avatar
    Barry Duke

    Malcolm, you raise is important point. In Spain it is easy to avoid halal meat products simply by looking at labels. Supermarkets are obliged to show such labels if the meat is religiously-slaughtered. Very few, in my experience, do because the demand is low. If halal is stated, simply shun it. I do. I have noticed that Muslim shoppers have no hesitation in buying, for example, non-halal chickens. Though slightly more expensive, free-range poultry is freely on sale, and I am happy to bear the additional cost. I tend to favour ham and pork. That said, I my consumption of meat fell dramatically after I moved to Spain because the country is quickly moving away from meat products and is increasingly meeting the demands of vegetarian/vegan consumers. A recent survey (https://sanygran.com/en/news/transforming-the-spanish-diet-the-rise-of-plant-based-foods/) says “48 % percent of meat consumers report reducing their intake in the last year, marking a significant shift in the country’s dietary patterns. Among them, 16% have cut consumption by 50% or more, with the majority focusing on reducing beef and pork consumption by 40% and 24%, respectively.”

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. malcolmjdodd Avatar
      malcolmjdodd

      Barry

      Wow, I have always admired the superb meats available in Spain, especially lamb, pork, jamon serrano, jamon iberico, suckling pig, kid etc – I could go on; I haven’t visited Spain for 20 years, would I still get all of them?

      If you can buy NZ lamb in Spain it will be hellhell slaughtered. Disgracefully, in the UK, supermarkets do not have to label religion contaminated meats; the movement to stop religious slaughter has lost momentum due to mohammedan and jewish pressure on our pathetic government, who allow bits of little girls and boys to be chopped off – there has only ever been one FGM prosecution, despite thousands getting mutilated each year!

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  5. Barry Duke Avatar
    Barry Duke

    Malcolm, all the pork products you mentioned are still freely available in Spain, and remain the cheapest meat. Lamb, though, is mainly domestically produced — i’ve not seen any from NZ or elsewhere — and is incredibly expensive.

    “Spain is the European Union’s second largest producer and a large consumer of pork, with over 24 million pigs.” (https://www.foodswinesfromspain.com/en/food/products/fresh-meat)

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