Cases related to Bob Gray and Trinity Christian Academy.

Bob Gray was arrested on charges of child molestation back in May of 2006. This blog has kept tabs of all the major developments in the trial; however, the fact that I am a graduate of Trinity Christian Academy's Class of 1980 (the school Gray founded), and a former member of Trinity Baptist Church (the church Gray once pastored), might have affected my objectivity a bit.

Maybe I'll write about that one day!

Thankfully, Christa Brown of stopbaptistpredators.com was astute enough to create a page devoted to the major issues involved in the various cases against Trinity Baptist Church.

Conservative Babylon also gives a very thorough account of the Bob Gray saga.

Visit Baptist Scandals: Trinity Baptist in Jacksonville, Florida, or Rev. Bob Gray to bring yourself up to speed on this sad drama. However, keep visiting 'Christian School Confidential' for updates on the future trials.

Three are waiting.

Here are the complaints that have been filed, including those that have been tossed:

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The Civil Trials against Trinity Baptist Church:

Download as PDF files:

All of these cases, except two, have been tossed. Jane Doe #2 and #3 appear to still be on the dock.

Jane Doe #1
Jane Doe #2
Jane Doe #3
Jane Doe #4.
Jane Doe #5.
Denise Green

Civil Cases Tossed
(from Duval County Clerk, if you wish to research).

NOTE: Dates refer to when they were posted on the Duval County Clerk's web page. They do not refer to when the decisions were made.

Jane Doe is tossed, 3/19/2008
Jane Doe appeals, and still tossed.
Jane Doe #4, 12/6/2007
Jane Doe #4 is tossed. The above document contains the lines:

The Court concludes that the Plantiff's claim "the Defendant's silence and/or inaction in the face of an affirmative duty to disclose their knowledge of Rev. Gray's sexual behavior constitutes fraudulent concealment. . . for purposes of deflecting the statue of limitations" is without merit.

Jane Doe #4, 1/25/2008
Jane Doe, #5, 10/26/2007
Jane Doe, #5, 12/17/2007
Jane Doe, #5, 1/11/2008
Denise Green, 4/28/2008

Depositions:

Four depositions were used during the writing of Our Pastor Molested Me, Now What?. They may be obtained by contacting Official Reporters, Inc., 201 East Adams Street, Jacksonville, Florida 32202, (904) 358-2090. You must give them the case name, number, and division. That information is listed below.

CASE NAME:
State of Florida vs Robert Calhoun Gray
DIVISION:
CR-E
CASE NUMBERS:
16-2006-CF-07704-AXXX
2006-CF-7704-AXXX
16-CF-2006-07704-AXXX-MA
16-2006-CF-07704-AXXX-MA (Division CR-E/SAD)

Federal Hate Crime Law signed today.

Excerpt from Spring Break Missionaries:

The Moral Majority once again came to Trinity Baptist Church.

Our first period class had been cancelled due to the presentation, AMERICA, YOU'RE TOO YOUNG TO DIE. It was difficult to tell who was meant to be converted. The students were already on Falwell's side, after all, we wrote letters for him twice that year!

We gathered to watch a multi-media presentation complete with singing, dancing (fundamentalists called them 'stage movements'), and video clips of senators, congressmen, aborted fetuses, and grind houses. The feeling received after such a presentation was, "I'm glad I go to a Christian school where drugs and violence are not a part of everyday life!"

After the presentation, we returned to our homerooms waiting to be dismissed to our second period class. A student expressed disgust over a photo of two homosexuals.

"In my day, we knew how to deal with faggots." a teacher said, "They used to gather at Friendship Fountain. When I was going to high school, a bunch of my friends used to go over and pick on them. We once knocked a guy's head into the side of the fountain! He was bleeding like a squashed tomato."

"That's awful!" said a girl.

"They were queer!"

The boys nodded their heads.

"They're still hanging out at Friendship Fountain." One guy said, "I would have done the same thing."

Something about my teacher bragging about violence bothered me.

"There's a teacher at Trinity who brags about beating up gays. Do you think we should tell Brother Gray?" I asked a youth leader.

"Why should it concern you?"

I asked a teacher his opinion.

"Are you thinking of turning gay, Dwayne?"

"A gay person cannot be saved." It was explained to me, "The Book of Romans teaches that God gave men up to unclean lusts. When God gives men up and withdraws His Spirit from them, nothing will stop them from perverting God's plan. Once they step over the boundary into homosexuality, they cannot be saved---even if they want to! As far as God is concerned, their souls are dead. God looks upon them as animals."

"I know they can't be saved." I argued, "But what about public relations? Wouldn't it hurt our testimony if people knew we were beating up gays? It might keep them unsaved."

"Why should we worry about what the world thinks?" another friend shrugged, "God does not want us to be cruel to animals, but if it happens God won't send anyone to Hell for being cruel."

NOTE: To this day, whenever the scene comes up in Bible Madness where my fundamentalist alter ego expresses the same sympathies, I still have people, who knew me then, and should know better, treating this viewpoint like it was an aberration on my part.

"You won't go to Hell if you're gay! When did we ever say that?"

Plenty of times! In those days, however, I wasn't going around with a video camera documenting people's opinions.

Talk to any gay person who went to a fundamentalist school during the seventies and listen to what they say!

How can fundamentalists have such short attention spans when it comes to their history of gay bashing? They'll conveniently forget how they stood against inter-racial marriages, condemned gays to hell, yet still remember everything the Catholic church did to Baptists hundreds of years ago.

Interesting.

Now, if we could only pass some legislation regarding corporate responsibility regarding child abuse in places heavily frequented by children.

Rape Apologism

Excellent article about victim's testimonies being discounted in favor of 'preserving the legacy' of the rapist/molester. Its starting point is Mackenzie Phillips confession about being abused by her father. It ends with a general summary of what rape/molestation victims go through when their attacker is famous or well respected.

from Rape Apologism and the response to Mackenzie Phillips.

Excerpt:

All survivors experience backlash by going public — that backlash is only going to grow tenfold when the abuser is famous. It’s this backlash that makes coming forward so difficult, but also so significant. People don’t like to hear that their heroes can also be rapists, and that rapists can also be heroes. People don’t like to hear that rapists can have separate qualities worth admiring, can have talent, and depth, and people who love them. People don’t want to hear anything about rapists that doesn’t involve them being evil, slimy, instantly identifiable monsters, who have absolutely no worth or humanity. People don’t want to hear it because it makes rape easier to ignore, deny, forget, and believe could never happen to them, could never be committed by someone they know.

That is precisely why people need to hear it.

Mike Crain slices watermelon off Michael Jordan.

from: Jordan's brush with death by samurai sword?

Excerpt:

But Jordan was more skittish than most — and emphatically said, "No." Crain wasn't fazed. He worked the thrill-hungry crowd of inmates to his advantage, and when he began hinting to Jordan that maybe he wasn't quite man enough to handle the job of human cutting board, the 19-year-old responded to the challenge just the way you would expect. He climbed up the wooden platform and laid himself back on a weight-training bench that had been used in an earlier act. And Crain placed the melon on Jordan's belly.

Click photo to see bigger picture.

Mike Crain scandal goes back to 2007.

This thread goes back to 2008:

Mike Crain of Ft. Bluff fired.

Excerpt: 07-15-2008, 08:38 PM
4thetruth
Just Gettin' Started

Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 1

Mike Crain
Our church went recently and we were told that he had to leave. It involved a 9 year old daughter of one of his staff.

This thread is followed by people piling up on 4 the truth.

This is the same manner the Bob Gray situation was introduced on the FFF. One person comes out before the news media catches on, everyone piles on him. Knocks him. Gives him 'red', etc. Although, the FFF did not have 'red' back then.

I remember the first time the Bob Gray situation was mentioned on the FFF. It was eons ago, before the current ownership of the FFF. People replied to the post by saying 'I believe the situation was handled correctly, etc.' along with 'why don't you call them?'. One person from those days actually did call, got a straight answer from Trinity, then posted it on the FFF, and people STILL didn't believe him.

It appears the same dynamic is at work with the Mike Crain saga. People discussing the matter a year or so before his arrest. In this case, stories about him getting fired began in 2007. Word about molesting a girl didn't get discussed until 2008. Heart attack and dementia then, as now, used as an excuse.

Okay, reality check! If this has been going on since 2007, I can't keep defending these people. If this had been recent, I could understand. Sounds like they've been down this river before. Now, it's reached the trial stage.

Let's see what happens.

More Mike Crain

The Fort Bluff camp, founded by Mike Crain, is being remarkably open about the situation involving the arrest of their founder for molestation. What's interesting is the three acts of molestation occurred after Crain suffered a heart attack, thus reducing his mental capacity to that of a 6 year old. So far, it does not look like any acts of molestation occurred before his heart attack.

We'll see if anyone crawls out of the woodwork with any accusations that might have occurred before the heart attack.

This reminds me of an incident at Trinity someone pretty much warned me against discussing. I was specifically told not to blog about a similar situation that happened over a decade ago with a former TBC bus worker.

Ah, ya' gotta love the South and it's bordering neighbors like Texas and Tennessee!

Growing up there's a lot like growing up in Disneyland.

Gotta be careful what you talk about. Nobody ever gets ill. Or dies on premises. Or gets molested.

And mental illness? Surely, you jest!

So, knock me all you want! Things like this have happened before and were quickly hushed up.

That's why I'm glad to see Tim Walterback speaking up about this. Because of his openness, I'm 'almost' willing to give Crain a break (that is, if there are no other accusations stemming before his heart attack). It wouldn't be the first time someone, in the fundamentalist world, who had a real mental illness, overstepped his boundaries.

The only caveat I make concerns one of the victims who was molested twice. Did she tell anyone between incidents? Who did she tell? Did officials try to cover it up the first time?

After praising Marty Braemer to high heaven, then having it revealed, through the FFF, that some were intimidated from speaking out about his situation (adultery, leaving the pulpit to pastor in Florida, etc), I'm a little nervous praising too many people.

Article: Founder of Fort Bluff Charged With Sexual Battery.

Mike Crain may be best-known nationwide for a poster several years ago showing his Karati skills, or one where he sliced a watermelon on the stomach of a young Michael Jordan.

Article: Christian Camp Director Accused of Sexual Battery.

Excerpt:

"He was an icon, everybody loved Big Mike," Tim Walterbach, the Executive Director of the Fort Bluff Camp, says.

Tim Walterbach says that's why Mike Crain's recent arrest on three counts of sexual battery astounded people across the country.

"They're shocked and saddened by the situation as we are and yes a big part of my job has been mending broken hearts,"

Mike Crain arrested.

This brings back memories! He chopped ice blocks off people's stomach's in church services and when we witnessed on Daytona Beach during Spring Break. I remember our youth director, Ron Reilly, telling me about sleeping on the floor with Mike Crain during the early days of Trinity Youth Camp (I believe?).

It was a long time ago! Crain is definitely one of the 'golden agers' when it comes to the history of Trinity Baptist Church. He also founded the Fort Bluff Camp and the National Association of Christian Athletics.

His lawyers are allegedly threatening a blogger over the use of an image on his vinyl records. If you want to see vintage Mike Crain, click here.

Mike Crain was arrested on three counts of sexual battery on October 13, 2009. One of the assaults happened while the victim was asleep. She awoke to find Crane allegedly assaulting her.

The defense argument appears to be "progressive cognitive dementia".

Article: Mike Crain turns himself in to sheriff's department.

What's the deal here? Is this a matter of just 'bide your time' and everyone you ever saw behind the pulpit will eventually be arrested for some sexual crime? Okay. . .whose next?