Former Regent assistant dean, wife guilty of child sex abuse
Anytime an adult betrays the trust of a child with abuse it is a tragedy. It’s an even greater tragedy when the trust is betrayed by people who are portrayed as good Christians who host a shelter called Hope Haven. I can’t imagine how traumatic and emotionally shattering it must be to a child to find themselves in what is supposed to be a Godly place of safety and hope that turns out to be a place of sexual abuse and horror.
The two abusers used Bible verses to justify the sexual abuse. Will the children have to deal with feelings of being betrayed not only by what should have been trustworthy adults but of God as well?
Not only was Stephen McPherson a houseparent at the Hope Haven shelter but he was the assistant dean of the Regent University of Law…a distinctly Christian law school. Too often, religion has been a hiding place for pedophiles and too often the church has been deafening silent on the issue of pedophiles within the ranks of churches. It’s time to have the discussion as to what can be done to prevent pedophiles from flying under the radar within the Christian community. It’s our responsibility to ensure that any child who walks into a church or a Christian ministry is safe from sexual predators.
A former assistant dean at Regent University’s law school and his wife pleaded guilty today in Virginia Beach Circuit Court to child sex abuse charges.
Stephen Lee McPherson, 40, and Melina Ann McPherson, 37, both of Chesapeake, entered plea agreements during separate hearings today to charges of taking indecent liberties.
The charges stemmed from incidents between 1996 and 2000, when the McPhersons served as house parents for three sisters at Hope Haven Children’s Home on North Landing Road. Hope Haven is a Christian-based shelter run by Union Mission Ministries, which was directed by Stephen McPherson’s grandfather, the late Rev. Ted Bashford.
Court records show Stephen McPherson repeatedly molested two of the sisters under his supervision and manipulated them by citing Bible verses that he said justified the abuse. Melina McPherson engaged in sexual acts with the third sister, cited Bible verses to justify her actions and told the victim that “they had a special relationship,” according to court records.
September 3rd, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Sage, did you see the move “Doubt” with Meryl Streep?
Sage Reply:
September 3rd, 2009 at 1:30 pm
No, I didn’t.
September 3rd, 2009 at 3:02 pm
You should rent it. When I saw it I went into it thinking “Meryl Streep Anti-Catholic Propaganda Crap”. However, the movie really makes you think. It does a good job of portraying the Catholic priest scandal, and it helped me realize an underlying problem the church was faced with in trying to deal with it.
As to your comments about how particularly tragic it is to be molested in a place of worship, I don’t think your analysis should be limited to just churches. Ultimately, anytime a child is molested in ANY situation where the child has learned to “trust” adults, whether it be church, doctor’s office, home, foster home, school, scouts, relatives, etc., the trauma of the violated trust compounds the the trauma of the molestation.
Sage Reply:
September 3rd, 2009 at 3:17 pm
My analysis wasn’t limited to places of worship, hence the opening sentence: Anytime an adult betrays the trust of a child with abuse it is a tragedy.
The reason I think the trauma is compounded when it is a place of worship because of the effect the abuse may have on the child’s faith.
kert Reply:
September 3rd, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Hmm, interesting, because I didn’t see you mention your concern about the future of the child’s faith.
But in any event, how would you suggest we “prevent pedophiles from flying under the radar within the Christian community”? (Again, no mention of protecting them from pedofiles flying under the radar anyplace else – just the in the “Christian community”.)
Do you have young kids Sage? Because I have to tell you, when you say “it’s time to have the discussion” you sound a little late on the draw – a little out of touch. The “discussion” has been going on for years.
Wizcon Reply:
September 3rd, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Read past the first sentence, Kert. It was a Christian Shelter. Children are supposed to feel safe where ever they are but
“The two abusers used Bible verses to justify the sexual abuse.”
You expect Christians to walk the talk.
Sage Reply:
September 3rd, 2009 at 5:27 pm
The discussion hasn’t done a whole lot of good, has it? Anyone in leadership positions with access to children should have background checks and probably some kind of psychological testing.
And no I didn’t mention other communities because I’m talking about Christian communities at the moment. If the article were about nursery schools I would be discussng nursery schools. You’re as bad as Desert Sage….you think you have to mention every conceivable possibility when discussing an issue. I don’t know if it’s attention deficit disorder or a tactic to change the subject to something you prefer. If you want to talk about other communities maybe you should start your own blog.
kert Reply:
September 3rd, 2009 at 6:44 pm
Wizcon and Sage, as you both probably already know, pedofiles SEEK out situations in which they can get access to kids. So to say “a Christian should act better” just doesn’t make sense. The guy was a pedofile using Christianity as a way to get access to and manipulate children.
Do you think teachers who molest kids became teachers because they want to teach, or because they want access to kids?
Same with scout leaders who molest kids. Same with foster care parents who molest children. Same with step-parents who molest children. Etc. Etc.
And Sage, I realize the article was about a Christian Home for Children, but you said this situation was ‘especially’ traumatic for children because it was a Christian Home, as if it is worse than the other situations. I am disagreeing with that aspect of your post, and I find it difficult to discuss that without mentioning those other situations.
Also, I can’t imagine there is a state left in this country that doesn’t do a background check on anyone having anything to do with children. They are routine here. As to a psychological exam, I don’t know that pedofilia would show up. I doubt it.
I have no idea who Desert Sage is, but if you prefer that I post elsewhere, that’s fine.
Sage Reply:
September 3rd, 2009 at 6:52 pm
Well, I’m speaking from experience. I am close to someone who was molested by a pastor of a church and I believe it was more traumatic because of the faith factor. If you don’t that’s fine.
As for the background checks, I know that youth pastors aren’t subjected to them in my state, or Sunday School teachers or Christian school teachers. I don’t know that they are in any state.
Wizcon Reply:
September 4th, 2009 at 6:50 am
In another time and another place, I was “manhandled” by two men that I considered powerful enough that my father deferred to. Our Pastor and one of his bosses. The first was the pastor. The congregation seemed to have handled it after other girls made the same complaint. He moved on to a larger church in Los Angeles. The incident with the boss was right in front of my parents and brothers. The man “helped” me steer a boat by standing up against and behind me. My brother kept himself between me and the man for the rest of the outing. THAT man went on to serve a high position in the Regan Administration.
To me, the pastor was worse. It came with instructions about my immortal soul, that the ultimate judge would be judging me on my response to it, by the man trusted to teach the word of God. In confirmation classes, no less. Mom had to give me a Librium when the time came for the oral examination in front of the congregation. By then, he had been talked to by at least my father. The pastor was extremely hard on me during that examination, but I was ready for it. By then I was mad.
To me, the incident with the Pastor was much worse because of the long lasting effect it had on my faith and ability to freely have a relationship with God. To me those spouting Christian morals to support their thinking were hippocrates and cop outs who refuse to take responsibility for their actions. It caused me to not only question my own faith but that of others. I no longer cave to demands based on someone elses perception of acceptable christian behavior. I prefer to ponder it and draw from all source’s, including what other faiths say. There is a commonality between tham all
Do I have faith in God? yes. But I made the decision that to do so, no one would stand between us. I visit, on occasion, different denominations. I prefer the meditative Quaker gathering and writings. I am great friends with a couple of catholic nuns as well. They were great support through the death of one of my daughters. Visiting them in their retirement is restorative. They have their rosary beads and I have nmeditation. We all come away restored after basically going to the same place. Bottom line, you will not find me in anyone congrgation consistently. Had I been younger when it happened, I doubt I would have persued a faith in God.
October 2nd, 2009 at 2:30 pm
The rule of law provides the moral foundation of our criminal justice system. Kings and peasants, blacks and whites, Christians and Muslims are to be judged equally under the law.
The case of Melina McPherson raises significant concerns about the rule of law in Virginia Beach. Melina McPherson, the wife of rapist and former Regent University Assistant Law Dean Stephen McPherson, admitted to molesting and psychologically manipulating an adopted child. She violated the child under the cloak of Christianity, citing Bible verses to the victim as justification for the abuse.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Harvey Bryant accepted her guilty plea in return for a recommended sentence of only 40 days. Once she is released, Melina McPherson will continue to “parent” her three natural children. Would Harvey Bryant, a Christian conservative, have made the same outrageous plea agreement with any defendant without such close connections to the Christian right?
Mr. Bryant has proclaimed that he has a no plea deal policy for drug dealers and gun offenders. “I do not permit plea bargaining with drug dealers. A drug dealer…has only two choices: plead guilty as charged and let the judge determine sentencing, OR face a jury of citizens who will determine the sentence.”
Why is Harvey Bryant willing to make plea deals with certain favored sexual predators when he refuses to do so with other defendants? If the no plea deal policy is justified on deterrence grounds, do we not wish to deter sexual violence. If the no plea deal policy is justified on punitive grounds, is sexual violence a lesser evil than a drug sale? Mr. Bryant: sexual predators are far more dangerous to society than drug offenders.
The McPherson case is not the first involving Christian leaders who have engaged in Biblical distortion to justify the sexual assault and exploitation of children. The acts of Baptist minister Ted Haggard and certain Catholic priests from the Boston Archdiocese raised the issue of sexual abuse within the church to national prominence.
Similarly, distortion of religion for the purpose of advancing evil is not confined to self-proclaimed Christians. Islamic mullahs have issued fatwas directing the murder of infidels. Suicide bombers have justified the murder of civilians through the Koran and a claim that they will receive 72 virgins in paradise.
There is no difference between evil that is falsely justified by Christianity and evil falsely justified by Islam. The person who bastardizes Christianity is no better or worse, no more righteous or damned than the person who bastardizes Islam.
Why do we as Americans view these two evils differently? Would we permit or condone Harvey Bryant’s lenient 40 day plea deal for a Muslim who cited the Koran as justification for molesting an adopted child? Would we believe that the same Muslim would limit her sexual violence to adopted children but would be fit to raise her natural children?
If Harvey Bryant demands that drug dealers plead guilty as charged without a sentencing recommendation, how can he agree to allow a pedophile to serve only 40 days in jail and then get her children back? If a Christian conservative Commonwealth’s Attorney would not offer an identical plea deal to a Muslim sexual predator, how can the deal be justified for a Christian?
Our criminal justice system is riddled with inconsistencies. The ideals of America require that we eliminate these inconsistencies and give meaning to the rule of law.
Mark C. Hardman
Candidate for Commonwealth’s Attorney
Virginia Beach, Virginia
*I am a Christian. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose on the third day. I am appalled that anyone would bastardize the message of Christ in such a way as did Melina McPherson, Ted Haggard or certain Catholic Priests. I believe that true Muslims are equally appalled by those who distort their faith.
Sage Reply:
October 2nd, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Mr. Harman….I no longer live in Virginia Beach (I lived there for 10 years) but I still have a sister who does, so I was quite interested in your reply. I have a couple of comments about your comment:
It disturbs me, even as a Christian, that candidates feel they have to cater to the religious and especially the religious right. I agree that Christians who bastardize Christianity for their own purposes are no better or no worse than Muslim extremists who do the same…..however, the Muslim community needs to deal with it’s extremists as Christians need to deal with their own.
What is it that compels prosecutors to treat a marijuana user more harshly than people who are actually dangerous?
I’ll be sure my sister sees your comment here. Thank you for your comment.