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Pastor who raped daughter, 14, gets light prison sentence because he is a man of God

SolidSnakex

SolidSnakex

Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,419
David Richards, 41, was sentenced to 12 years in jail on Thursday in Knox County Tennessee for raping his adoptive daughter – 60 years less than the maximum term sought by prosecutors.

As he handed down the lenient sentence, Judge Steve Sword cited Richard's work as a pastor and the Bible study he began in jail as mitigating factors.

Richards was found guilty of rape, incest, and sexual battery by an authority figure for abusing his daughter, Amber Richards, for two years beginning when she was 14, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel.
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Victims of sexual crimes are not typically identified in court, but Amber chose to testify publicly after her adoptive father was convicted in February.

She delivered a heart-wrenching victim statement Thursday, saying : 'I wanted to throw my body away. Not a day goes by that I don't, in some way, think of what he did to me.'

'I firmly believe if given the opportunity, he would victimize another girl,' she continued.
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Richards, however, claimed that he was innocent as he took the witness stand in his own defense.

He said: 'I stand before you convicted of crimes I did not commit. I simply believe the system just erred in this case.'

'I'm not sure why I'm here…but I assume it's for his (God's) purpose,' he said.
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Richards was formerly a pastor at My Father's House Church of God in Lenoir City. In court on Thursday, more than 30 parishioners and friends sat on Richards' side of the courtroom in a show of support.

David Thomspon, who shared ministry duties with Richards, testified and expressed doubt at the charges, saying: 'I find it impossible for me to believe he's guilty of this. His business needs him. His family needs him. Our church needs him.'
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https://metro.co.uk/2019/05/13/past...-prison-sentence-man-god-9515582/?ito=cbshare

He also tried to coverup what he'd done

The victim was 16 when she reported the abuse, saying it began two years earlier. She told authorities where they could find DNA evidence at her home and said Richards had texted her about taking their relationship "to the next level." Authorities said they found her mattress stripped bare and his phone factory reset, but they were able to recover his DNA.
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https://katu.com/news/nation-world/...ted-daughter-receives-only-12-years-in-prison

The same judge previously gave a youth minister 30 days in jail and a chance to clear his record after he plead guilty to soliciting a child for sex

https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news...ing-given-chance-clear-conviction/1190648002/
 
C.Mongler

C.Mongler

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
3,881
Washington, DC
Pretty sure raping children should be an automatic disqualifier for being a "man of god", but I haven't been to church in ages so what do I know.
 

Deleted member 7051

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
14,254
His own damn daughter? And they let him off easy? Was the judge a friend of his or something? Or is he just a rapist too and is looking out for his bro? 'cause fuck this whole stupid thing. That judge needs to get his arse fired and that priest needs his balls cut off.
 
EdibleKnife

EdibleKnife

Member
Oct 29, 2017
7,723
There are microcosms of the Catholic Child Abuse epidemic in so many religious spaces. You see stuff like the Duggar family horror, Roy Moore, and this and get to understanding that, despite what the Bible says about children being precious, when the rubber hits the road so many devout people will happily abandon any notion that children have any value to protect their own false and self-absorbed righteousness.

"Children are to be cherished and their little minds & innocent souls need to be protected from trans people and sex education and the gay agenda!!.....
Unless it's my reverend, or youth pastor or church buddy violating them. Then we need to forgive and forget and move forward in Christ!!"

The hypocrisy of many of these people fucking makes me want to fucking scream till I die.
 
Opto

Opto

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
4,546
If he feels like such a martyr, surely he'd agree his sentence to getting nailed to a cross
 
Pooh

Pooh

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,849
The Hundred Acre Wood
It's... kinda hard to think of a type of authority figure that doesn't have sexual abuse as a part of its history. I think it might have something to do with power you guys
 
Mathieran

Mathieran

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,864
This makes so fucking angry. What a shitty person and what a miscarriage of justice. And all the people that went to support deserve a special place in hell too.
 
Diunx

Diunx

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
188
User Banned (Permanent): Inflammatory comment, previous severe infractions; account in junior phase
C.Mongler said:
Pretty sure raping children should be an automatic disqualifier for being a "man of god", but I haven't been to church in ages so what do I know.
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If he is Catholic then raping a child is like a rite of passage.
 
antonz

antonz

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
5,309
EdibleKnife said:
There are microcosms of the Catholic Child Abuse epidemic in so many religious spaces. You see stuff like the Duggar family horror, Roy Moore, and this and get to understanding that, despite what the Bible says about children being precious, when the rubber hits the road so many devout people will happily abandon any notion that children have any value to protect their own false and self-absorbed righteousness.

"Children are to be cherished and their little minds & innocent souls need to be protected from trans people and sex education and the gay agenda!!.....
Unless it's my reverend, or youth pastor or church buddy violating them. Then we need to forgive and forget and move forward in Christ!!"

The hypocrisy of many of these people fucking makes me want to fucking scream till I die.
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Its not even microcosm. Sexual Abuse in Evangelical and Protestant Churches prove to be just as high as in the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church makes for much better headlines though as its a Monolithic Entity compared to Pastor Joe Bobs Church of the Nazarene on Williams and church st. etc. Sadly as a society the abuse of children is way too common.
 
Spenny

Spenny

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,544
San Diego-ish
Fuck that judge. Guess the man couldn't use the old "I'll marry her so it makes it legal" thing most of these pastors do because she was his daughter.
 
Ogodei

Ogodei

One Winged Slayer
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
10,256
Coruscant
The two cases where mandatory minimums make sense are sexual assault and murder. Shouldn't be doing less than 25 for something like this, because realistically how can you ever be trusted with the people closest to you after this?
 
Nooblet

Nooblet

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,637
What is it with priests and pedophilia (incestuous pedophilia in this case) being so widespread?
 
L.E.D.

L.E.D.

Member
Oct 27, 2017
640
This is the exact kind of judges the Republican are jamming into the courts. I think people really underestimate how far backwards in time we are going.
 

Deleted member 7051

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
14,254
Nooblet said:
What is it with priests and pedophilia (incestuous pedophilia in this case) being so widespread?
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You don't become a priest to get closer to your god. Whatever priesthood used to be, whatever it used to mean, is gone. Now it's just safer to assume all priests are pedophiles and never allow any child in a room with one unsupervised.
 
RationalGinger

RationalGinger

Member
Oct 26, 2017
1,004
Yeah...this is no man of God. He needs to be locked in a dark hole forever to contemplate the hell that awaits him.

unlike abortion or euthanasy, it is not a mortal sin :/
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"If anyone causes one of these little ones--those who believe in me--to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea."

Mark 9:42. Messing with kids is NOT okay.
 
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Landy828

Landy828

Member
Oct 26, 2017
13,420
Clemson, SC
Going by this judge's record, I'm 99% sure he's a child / sexual abuser.

Also stripping a bed clean and deleting everything on your phone is definitely what an innocent person does.
 
Maximus

Maximus

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,586
Religion is too engrained in American politics and law and I am sure many would like it engrained in education too. Ridiculous.
 
Wolf

Wolf

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,852
This man will burn in whatever hell he thinks he's avoiding by being a "Man of God".

Fuck this
 
samoyed

samoyed

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
15,191
People in denial about their pastor because they think they'd be sinners if they admitted he was a sinner.
 
Violence Jack

Violence Jack

Drive-in Mutant
Member
Oct 25, 2017
41,834
Bible belt gonna Bible.

Between this and the abortion stuff, it's becoming more and more clear how little men in red states think of women, even as little girls.
 
take_marsh

take_marsh

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,285
Defense of the pedo catholic church is still the norm.

e: I actually don't know if he's catholic. I simply assume. Religious organizations can suck it.
 
Apathy

Apathy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,992
This judge is a piece of shit.

And yet it's atheists and non believers that get looked down upon
 
ArachosiA

ArachosiA

Banned
Nov 4, 2017
818
I wish there was a Hell for fuckers like this, but I'm pretty sure we just cease to exist when we die
 
antonz

antonz

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
5,309
Corrupt Judges are unfortunately more and more the norm and it isn't a bible belt thing. We have these cases showing up all across the country of judges being insane and going easy on sexual predators.

As gaimeguy said though authority figures need to be held accountable even moreso and yet more often then not they find ways to game the system and then the authority figures who are supposed to be the enforcers of the law are just as corrupt .
 
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