Las Vegas Pastor Charged With Using Scriptures to Lure Boys Into Sexual Relationships
Las Vegas police say that Billy Eckstine McCurdy, 57, was arrested on charges that he molested two teen boys at his home eight years after similar allegations against him were dropped.
The boys testified in front of a grand jury after an eight month investigation. The teens said that McCurdy used his position in the church and Bible scriptures to force them into committing sex acts.
McCurdy was charged with six counts of sexual assault and five counts of open or gross lewdness. He was being held at the Clark County Detention Center without bail.
McCurdy’s Facebook page details his ministry:
“Never one to sit and talk about a problem or ignore a need Pastor McCurdy developed many ministries including a maximum security prison ministry, convalescent ministry, minimum security and a youth ministry at the Spring Mountain Youth Camp on Mount Charleston.”
What’s particularly disturbing about the case of Billy Eckstine McCurdy and the case of Bishop Eddie Long is that we seem not to be teaching our kids that it’s not okay for anyone to touch them in certain places regardless of their position.
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It’s easy to forget that pastors, judges, lawyers, athletes and entertainers are just regular people with jobs that put them in the spotlight. You would hope that a pastor would not abuse the word of God for his own sexual gain, but as the allegations against Bishop Eddie Long, and now McCurdy prove, teaching your kids about abuse should apply to everyone regardless of their position. Just look at the scandal in the Catholic Church.
In reality, though, the molester is just as likely to be someone you are related to, love and trust.
What’s particularly sad about the Billy McCurdy and Bishop Eddie Long cases is that they both claimed to be men who wanted to reach out and help young men. Long had a youth leadership academy and McCurdy had a youth ministry.
The previous allegations against Billy McCurdy are an example of what we need to teach our children to be aware of.
The AP writes:
In the 2005 case, North Las Vegas police arrested McCurdy after a boy told investigators the pastor tried to fondle him while they slept in the same bed.The teen told police he and other high schoolers were at McCurdy’s house for a swim and slumber party. After swimming the children split up and went to bed.
The teen was planning to sleep on the floor in McCurdy’s bedroom, but the pastor invited him into his bed. The boy woke up a couple of hours later when he felt McCurdy put the boy’s hand on McCurdy’s genitals, according to police. McCurdy then moved his hand toward the boy’s pants, but the boy left and walked to a relative’s house. Many of McCurdy’s flock publicly stood behind him, though he was suspended by the church after the arrest.
You would hope that child’s parents spoke to him about boundaries before they allowed him to spend time with Billy McCurdy or any other adult. Sleeping in the bed with a grown man crosses a boundary.
In addition, these allegations are a real indictment against the state of fatherhood in this country: a lot of young men today are looking for father figures, because their own fathers have not lived up to their responsibilities.
That leaves these young men vulnerable to the wolves in sheep’s clothing. I’m sure a young man being mentored by a pastor would think that a man who comes under the cloak of the cloth must be interested in his well-being. Being molested by a so-called Man of God is a deep violation that makes it difficult for these young men to trust anyone again and will inevitably affect their future relationships. Unfortunately, we know that the sexual abuse of children is a cycle. Those that were abused as a child often find themselves doling out abuse as adults.
Men need to step up and be fathers to their own children so that their children don’t have to look elsewhere for role models. Parents also should teach their children that their are boundaries that should not be crossed.
Even by Pastor.
