Men [of God] at work Illinois

27 Feb 2001

ILLINOIS

AURORA - Rev. Paul Goodman, 54, has been indicted by a grand jury on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse with 3 teenage girls. The television minister, who runs weekly church services at Provena Mercy Center, is accused of having sexual contact with the teens, ages 13, 16 and 17, according to the indictment.

His family is calling the allegations a gross misunderstanding. His wife, Arvis, said the situation began last fall when her husband wrote a letter to one of the teens. She called the note a "written lecture" on dating, with references to caressing. The minister's family contends that the note fell into the hands of one of the girls' aunts, who went to state authorities worried that the letter might be a sign of an abusive relationship.

Charges were leveled against Goodman after a grand jury gathered testimony from witnesses. Goodman was taken into custody without incident in Chicago. He was being held in Kane County Jail on $100,000 bond awaiting arraignment.

Arvis Goodman said the teens have realized a mistake has been made and have gone to authorities in an attempt to have the charges dropped.

Goodman's attorney, David Camic, said word that the girls allegedlyhave taken back their incriminating statements is troubling. "Obviously that's a concern to us," he said. "It's our understanding there's been a recantation. And I'm surprised that, given the recantation, the bond is so high."

Arvis Goodman said she and her husband have been members of Faith Deliverance Church in Aurora. The couple run the Sinners Repentant Church of Jesus Christ, a group that Goodman said ministers to people with alcohol and drug problems. The Goodmans also are known in Aurora for their cable-access television program, "God's Information Station."

? 3/31/2000

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CLINTON - A state district judge levied a total of $20,000 in fines against a minister charged with two counts of molestation of a juvenile.

Rev. William Thomas Rose III, 51, pleaded guilty on April 24 to molesting two girls in Wilson while he was pastor of the First Baptist Church of Wilson in 1986. The girls are now ages 19 and 23, according to court records.

"Unless you come to grips with the fact that you molested two little girls, you're in trouble - because it could happen again," District Judge Wilson Ramshur told the defendant. "Contrition is one step toward salvation," the judge added.

Ramshur also sentenced Rose to two consecutive 10-year prison terms, but suspended the sentences and placed him on probation for 10 years. As a condition of probation, the defendant is prohibited from being alone with anyone younger than 18.

Advocate 6/28/2000