Posts Tagged ‘Tony Alamo’
Evangelist convicted of abusing his five underage “wives”
Daylife/AP Photo used by permission
Evangelist Tony Alamo is going to prison.
A raid forced in haste, a prosecution relying on decade-old memories and a jury dealing with a century-old morality law could have given Alamo, 74, a chance to walk away from sex-crime charges a free man.
The five women he took as underage “wives” when they were as young as 8 didn’t let that happen.
Jurors cried with the women through their testimony, listening as they related how Alamo told them God commanded them to be his sexual partners and even molested one girl while in federal prison. They did not falter under cross-examination, staring down the man who took their childhood and exploited their faith.
“I just don’t want him to hurt anybody else,” the woman Alamo took as a “bride” at age 8 said on the stand, weeping. “I don’t want him to touch my little sister. She’s only 12…”
“I’m just another one of the prophets that went to jail for the Gospel,” Alamo called to reporters as U.S. marshals escorted him back to jail.
Shouts of “Bye, bye, Bernie” — Alamo was born Bernie Lazar Hoffman — came from a crowd gathered to watch.
Throw away the key!
UPDATE: Practically the same as throwing away the key. Found guilty – and sentenced to 175 years.
