I don’t know what’s going on in the world of religious leaders these days, but, recently, in the lives of three of them, it’s been laden with sexual scandal. To quickly bring you up to speed in case you missed it, fallen “angel” Jerry Falwell Jr. has had a hell of a time these past two weeks as three men came forward with claims of having had a sexual relationship over the years with Falwell and his wife, Becki.
The Falwells have denied the claims even as two of the men provided phone recordings and text messages they’ve saved over the years that seem to corroborate the claims of the affairs. In other words, honey, there are RECEIPTS!
Now, in a completely separate and more serious incident involving another “man of the cloth,” Reverend Strick” Strickland has been issued felony charges for paying teens boys to have sex with his wife as he watched. Sound familiar?
Rev. Stricjavvar “Strick” Strickland, 37, of Second Baptist Church in Kalamazoo, Michigan, has been accused of paying teens for sex. Claims surfaced nearly two years ago that the popular minister had been paying underaged boys to have sex with his wife as he watched. Due to their ages, the boys’ names have been withheld. Reportedly at the time, their ages ranged from 13-17.
For the past two years, Strickland has denied any wrongdoing. Today, however, due to the ongoing investigation findings, MLive reports, he faces 11 felony counts involving sexual assault of children, including four counts of human trafficking of a minor. Though Strickland’s wife is named in the allegations, she has not yet been charged.
I know people are supposedly innocent until proven guilty, but this seems like another classic case of religious leaders actually “leading” double lives of sex and debauchery. At least in the alleged cases with Falwells, the accusers were of legal age. In this instance, with Strick, the charges of pedophilia are severe, and a conviction would mean incarceration.
Strickland says the claims are “absolutely preposterous,” including one lurid account of him offering an underaged youth his car to drive in exchange for allowing him to perform oral sex on him. Strick says the claim is “outlandish,”, but it’s one that prosecutors have found credible enough to move forward with the charges. Strick has now turned himself in without incident.
Much like the Falwells, “God will prevail in the end,” was Strick’s response to these horrendous claims. That seems to be the default when pastors and their wives are caught with their pants (and skirts) down. You know, the devil made them do it, but God will get them out of it. I’m not sure that’s how the whole “God” thing works but … umkay.
I commend these fallen pastors for their commitment to religion during such embarrassing public scandals, but in Strick’s case, he’d better be concerned with God and the law prevailing because he could face the rest of his life in prison.
Read more on this story at MLive/ Kalamazoo
