Pastor from Kansas Arrested in Florida on Sexual Abuse Charges from 1990s
Updated Feb. 10. By AT News Team: Pastor Michael W. Hill was taken into custody by sheriff’s officers in Daytona Beach, Florida, on January 8 as he met with the person who made the charges of sexual assault on which Hill is being held. When the alleged assault is supposed to have occurred in 1990 the woman making the allegation was 11 years of age, which means that the alleged crime has no statute of limitations.
Hill and his wife traveled from their home in Kansas to Florida to meet with the woman. During the conversation at Panera Bread on International Speedway Boulevard in Daytona Beach, the Hills were evidently unaware that police were recording the meeting. An attorney asked by WJAX television Channel 4 in Jacksonville to review the official case file for journalists stated that the recording is “very likely to contain a confession.”
Marla Hill, the pastor’s wife, was questioned and released by police. Hill is being held without possibility of bail at the pre-trial detention center in Jacksonville. He was booked there on Jan. 12 after being transferred from Daytona Beach to Jacksonville where the charges were originally made. At his arraignment on Feb. 4 he pled not guilty to two counts of capital sexual battery, according to The Chanute Tribune.
Channel 4 television news in Jacksonville reported that it has obtained a copy of the arrest warrant for Hill which stated that the complainant did not report the alleged rape until 2002. She stated that it happened in 1990 when she was 11 years of age and Hill was a friend of the family. WJAX news labeled Hill’s conversation with the woman in Daytona Beach as “a sting” and stated that “Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office investigators believe there might be other victims.”
On Jan. 19 the president of the Kansas-Nebraska Conference of Seventh-day Adventists told The Chanute Tribune that Hill had been removed as pastor of the Chanute and Thayer, Kansas, Adventist congregations. Pastor Ron Carlson told the newspaper that the action was “solely due to [Hill’s] inability to carry out the duties of a pastor while in jail” in another state. He was likely being careful not to prejudice Hill’s case under a fundamental principle of American jurisprudence that the accused are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Hill began his assignment in the two Kansas churches in November last year. Carlson told the newspaper that Hill was previously a pastor employed by the denomination’s Carolina Conference, which includes the states of North and South Carolina. The routine background check done by the Kansas-Nebraska Conference “came back clean,” the newspaper reported.
Chanute and Thayer are small towns in the southwest corner of the State of Kansas. Chanute has a population of 9,161 and the Adventist congregation has 32 members. Thayer has a population of 486 and the Adventist congregation has 47 members.
Some folks will capitalize on this bad news, but let’s remember–as stated in the article–that it is only an allegation at this point; and he is legally innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law. For the sake of the alleged victim and for the pastor, I pray that the truth will prevail–on whichever side it may be. If it happened 20 years ago, some may wonder why she waited until now to alert the police. Maybe she gained confidence from the news about Bill Cosby.
The alleged victim did report it to police (according to the arrest warrant) in 2002. Also, since this allegation is for an incident “…more than 20 years ago…” and Hill had background checks done by the church several times over the past 16 years, this would have happened BEFORE he entered the ministry.
News Story Link: http://www.news4jax.com/news/warrant-expastor-molested-raped-11yearold-girl/30865776
Franklin, thanks for that newspaper report. It says: “It’s unclear why the victim waited [12 years, until 2002] to report the crime and why police waited until now to react.” I agree with Elizabeth that the recent news about Cosby could have encouraged the victim to take action. It’s also interesting that the police report said he wanted to talk to her about the incident face to face, and did not know he was being recorded when he “apologized for what he did and never denied the allegations.” (At least he was honest and remorseful.) Still, in spite of that reported apology and alleged absence of any denial, he is legally innocent until proven guilty in a court of law or until he makes a plea of guilty or “no contest” in a court of law. We should pray for him, his wife, the victim, and the members of the two small churches that he pastored.
I meant to say Mary (Suarez). She had a good point because a newspaper this week said that Cosby “joked about the allegations against him at a recent show in Canada.” Yet, “more than 15 women have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct,” and a model recently “came forward after hearing about other women describing abuse by Cosby and realizing she might have a valid criminal case.” In the same way, victims of clergy sexual abuse may now feel more comfortable taking action on incidents that they might have previously been afraid to report.
The Holy Bible is true and would make a liar out of any of us. What’s done in the dark shall come to light. If this guy wasn’t guilty, then why he would be confessing.
A question to Atoday: Why do you often “HILIGHT” the sins of SDA members, as opposed to any other members of our communities. It seems as though you are biased to expose SDA’s sins, so as to show them in a different light than other Christian groups.
While I can’t speak for Atoday, I think finger pointing at society at large or other groups is not our task. Reflecting on our own sins, however, is.
Too often we pretend we are a community of saints – we are not. We are a community of sinners. And if one member suffers the whole body suffers….
I don’t agree that we should publicize the sins of SDA’s, or anyone else for that matter. I don’t see how that is helpful to us. But I DO agree that we must acknowledge we are a community of sinners. We are no better than anyone else, and we are all sinners.
So SDA’s are no better than anyone else?
No better than mass murderers, serial rapists or child molesters?
So what is prayer,bible study, church attendance, revival and reformation for? All of this and a member is no better than anyone else?
What is the gospel for? To only let people know that Jesus shed his blood to keep human criminals out of Hell?
Clifford Goldstein wrote an eye-opening book, “The Remnant: Biblical Reality or Wishful Thinking?”
It says: “Incest. Adultery. Theft. Prejudice. Murder. A description of the sins of those who have rejected God in these last days? No. Just a sampling of the sins found in the pews of a church that describes itself as ‘the remnant.'”
http://www.amazon.com/The-Remnant-Biblical-Reality-Thinking/dp/0816311927
In reality, Christians, including Adventists, are not better than anyone else. (Some of the best people I know are atheists.) And God does not save us for “being good.” He saves us for believing in His grace through faith. Not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Maybe this kind of news is being published in response to Ted Wilson’s Revival and Reformation policy.
Uhhhh, “Atoday” stands for Adventists not Christianity at large just might, maybe, be the reason?
My question is, why there are those who seem to object to our sins being made public rather than hidden where the members have no idea and come to believe we are essentially “sinless” and “faultless”. We, after all, did just have a President recently call SDAs “law-abiding” because we harp on the “law” (my paraphrase).
It is pretty much up to us as to which extreme we choose to go to.
Apparently we learned nothing from the Roman Catholic church hiding its scandals.
It would seem that there is a distinct difference between covering up something so that it is not dealt with and allowed to continue and choosing not to broadcast something for “news headline purposes.”
Christ wrote their sins in the dust not the newspaper
The SDA conference does not hide these incidents, they have a zero tolerance police.
Someone said, “Don’t judge someone just because they sinned differently than you”. Let God and the authority He placed handle this . . .
Keeping secrets is an essential part of why such things continue to occur. We need to know about sexual abuse so that congregations, families, & children will be better protected.
Irrespective of his clerical vocation, if it is determined that in fact he is a sexual, pedophilic predator, it behooves the chief elders to act accordingly in the best interest of the abused.
The gospel is God’s rescue from sin, character restoration, and relationship reconciliation program for humans who suffer desperation caused by guilt, depravity and fear of their inevitable death. His pardoning and powerful rehabilitating grace redeems the diligent participant from condemnation of sin and decriminalizes them so they are fit to be resurrected from death, pass God’s parole hearing, and to enter into eternal life with sinless beings.
Thank you atoday for letting us know about these things as we would never know about them at all
I am disgusted by some of the comments on this post defending a child rapist…
He is guilty by his own admission->
“According to the report, Hill apologized for what he did and never denied the allegations”
http://m.news4jax.com/news/warrant-expastor-molested-raped-11yearold-girl/30865776
I hope the church is doing their own investigations to identify and provide support to any other victims.
“Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office investigators believe there might be other victims”
“I am disgusted by some of the comments on this post defending a child rapist…”
“He is guilty by his own admission->”
Best comment.