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Church compound quiet after child porn raid

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Ursus:
Associated Press
Evangelist Alamo arraigned on child-sex charges
By CHUCK BARTELS, Associated Press Writer
Friday, October 17, 2008

TEXARKANA, Ark. – Evangelist Tony Alamo told a judge on Friday that he understood that he could get life in prison if convicted of taking a minor across state lines for sex, and he'll argue next week that he should be released from custody pending trial.

Alamo's appearance in federal court was his first since shortly after his Sept. 25 arrest in Arizona. Five days before the arrest, his compound in Fouke was raided and six girls were taken into protective custody.

Alamo is charged with two felony counts: a violation of the Mann Act — which prohibits children from being brought across state lines for sex — and that he aided and abetted a Mann Act violation.

Alamo, 74, has said he believes girls should be allowed to marry when they reach puberty. In interviews with The Associated Press between the time of the raid and his arrest, Alamo reaffirmed that assertion but denied he conducted any such marriages and said no child abuse occurred at his compounds. Alamo also has operations in Fort Smith, California and New Jersey.

If convicted, Alamo faces 10 years to life in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count. In the indictment, Alamo is listed by his real name, Bernie Lazar Hoffman.

During the Friday hearing, Alamo told U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Bryant he understood the charges, though he said he couldn't read them. He has said he is legally blind. Alamo walked slowly and wore thick glasses.

Alamo's attorney, John Wesley Hall Jr., said the indictment made no mention of child porn, which was the impetus for the government raid on Alamo's compound at Fouke. A document mistakenly released to the media prior to the raid discussed anticipated child porn charges.

Bryant set a hearing for Wednesday on whether Alamo can be released from custody before trial. Prosecutors have said Alamo has shown himself to be a flight risk, but Hall said he'll argue that his client can be put under electronic monitoring.

Hall said in court that he wants access to the search warrant affidavit before the Wednesday hearing, but prosecutor Candace Taylor objected. Bryant told the sides to make their arguments in writing and that he'd rule by Tuesday afternoon.

Taylor declined to comment after the hearing.

The arraignment ended without the judge asking for a plea from Alamo. Hall said later that it is understood that a defendant's plea is not guilty but that Bryant told him he would formalize the plea at the Wednesday hearing.

Bryant also set a trial date for Nov. 19.

In the raid in Fouke, agents were searching for evidence that children there had been molested or filmed having sex.

Hall said he may challenge the charges because the government acted based on the pornography allegations.

Hall said Alamo has health problems, including a heart condition and diabetes. He said Alamo claims not to be getting full medical care.

"That's also going to be an issue," Hall said.

Since establishing his ministries in Arkansas, Alamo has drawn attention for brushes with the law and unusual behavior, such as keeping his late wife's corpse for years under the belief that she would be resurrected.

Alamo was convicted of tax-related charges in 1994 and served four years in prison after the IRS said he owed the government $7.9 million.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups, describes his ministry as a cult that thrives on criticism of homosexuals, Roman Catholics and the government.

Ursus:
Going back in time a bit to the actual raid in late September. Here is some local perspective on it...

The raid was a bit haphazard and ill-planned for a reason. Here's why:

"The raid occurred several weeks before planned because an e-mail about the operation was accidentally sent to dozens of media organizations around the state.

Browne declined to say whether the e-mail complicated the operations."[/list]

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Arkansas Democrat Gazette
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS EDITION
100 cops in sex inquiry swarm Alamo complex
BY JIM BROOKS AND ANDREW DAVIS
Posted on Sunday, September 21, 2008

FOUKE — More than 100 authorities raided the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries compound Saturday as part of a two-year child pornography investigation.

Shortly before 6 p. m., dozens of vehicles belonging to the Arkansas State Police, the FBI and the state Department of Human Services rolled into the southwest Arkansas town of about 800 residents. Several patrol cars blocked access to the Tony Alamo Christian Church, which occupies a former grocery store on the north side of town.

At the same time, police descended on a nearby street. They went into several ministry homes to serve search warrants.

"The state investigation is aimed at allegations that children living at the Alamo facilities may have been sexually and physically abused," said Tom Browne, special agent in charge of the FBI's Little Rock field office.

The federal investigation concerns the Mann Act, which prohibits the transportation of children across state lines for criminal activity.

No one was immediately arrested. Alamo, 74, reportedly was in Los Angeles.

"Every minor child residing inside the Alamo residence is being interviewed by law enforcement officers and state Human Services officials," Browne said. "If the parents of these children can be located elsewhere on the premises, officers will strive to ensure a line of communication is maintained between the children and parents."

Browne said authorities were committed to reuniting children and parents as quickly as possible.

Jeanne Philyaw, who owns a business next-door to the church, welcomed Saturday's events.

"It's a long time coming," Philyaw said. "I'm on the edge of tears of joy and frustration. It's just so upsetting to know what they had been doing and now finally someone is doing something about it."

"There are days when we wondered — why is nobody doing anything ?" she said.

The raid occurred several weeks before planned because an e-mail about the operation was accidentally sent to dozens of media organizations around the state.

Browne declined to say whether the e-mail complicated the operations.

U. S. Attorney Bob Balfe told The Associated Press before the raid that he expected that an arrest warrant will be issued later for Alamo. He said the federal investigation was centered on the production of child pornography while state police were looking into allegations of other child abuse.

In a telephone call to the AP from a friend's house in the Los Angeles area, Alamo — who was once accused of child abuse and has been convicted of tax evasion — denied any involvement in pornography.

"We don't go into pornography; nobody in the church is into that," Alamo said. "Where do these allegations stem from? The anti-Christ government. The Catholics don't like me because I have cut their congregation in half. They hate true Christianity."

Mary Coker and her husband, Dave, watched the raid from the back of their Pacifica. Dave Coker used a digital camera to record the activity. Mary Coker wore a black T-shirt with the letters PACA, the acronym for the group she founded in 2006 — Partnered Against Cult Activity. Mary Coker said her group has 50 members, half of whom are former members of the church.

She was pleased about the raid. "It needed to stop a long time ago," Mary Coker said. "We've been waiting years for this."

Mary Coker said she has been distributing information about the group to local elected officials, and on Saturday her group sponsored a truck in the Four State Fair in Texarkana.

"The people who got out of here are lucky if they have a fourth-grade education. There's no Social Security numbers. There's no birth certificates."

Anthony Lane, 34, a roofer who now lives in Texarkana, said his ex-wife is a member of the church. They have three children whom he hasn't seen in 10 years.

He said he hasn't seen them since he was living in a duplex in Moffett, Okla., that was owned by church members and he was kicked out. He said he hoped Saturday's events will bring him closer.

Copyright © 2001-2008 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc.

Ursus:
Here is more on that "media leak":

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Arkansas Democrat Gazette
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS EDITION
Plea to keep raid under wraps put media in quandary
BY MICHAEL R. WICKLINE AND ADAM WALLWORTH
Posted on Sunday, September 21, 2008

For a news director of television stations in Fayetteville and Fort Smith, it was an easy decision not to broadcast information about a federal government spokesman mistakenly sending out an e-mail to more than 60 news outlets about a child-pornography investigation.

For other news outlets, it wasn't so simple.

The Arkansas State Police was planning an October search of Tony Alamo's compound near Fouke. Assistant U. S. attorney Kyra Jenner wanted to make sure there was a plan for dealing with the 12-, 13- and 14-year-old girls living on the compound, according to her e-mail.

Contacted shortly after she inadvertently sent out the e-mail Friday, Debbie Groom, a spokesman for U. S. Attorney Bob Balfe, said, "This is my worst nightmare." She said it would be "a huge, huge problem if this got out."

Groom later sent out an email that said: "Everyone this is an EMBARGO until investigation completed. Please do not publish. This was an inadvertent e-mail. Information will be forthcoming at a later date when such can be released."

Balfe said news outlets received the e-mail legitimately and could publish or broadcast it.

"But that operation is going to be an extremely dangerous operation for law enforcement, and it involves children," he said. "If any of this information somehow tips off the subject of the investigation, it could be a very dangerous situation."

If the story got out, it could mean harm to the officers who must enter the compound and the girls already there, he said.

Mike Courington, news director of the KHBS / KHOG stations in Fort Smith and Fayetteville, said Groom asked a staff member for the stations not to report about the e-mail.

"For us, it was a no-brainer," he said. "For starters, it's just an investigation. There haven't been any arrests."

There was no benefit in reporting on the investigation because it could have jeopardized the safety of the children at the Tony Alamo compound and the stations' relationship with a federal agency it deals with regularly, Courington said.

Ray Minor, city editor for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Northwest Arkansas bureau, said Balfe and Groom asked the newspaper not to report on the e-mail.

"We had a lot of debates," he said, and editors in Little Rock and Northwest Arkansas held a few teleconferences.

Minor said Balfe indicated that each media outlet that his office contacted had temporarily agreed not to report on the information in the e-mail.

Griffin Smith, executive editor of the Democrat-Gazette, said the newspaper agreed not to publish any report about the e-mail until at least Saturday morning as long as no other news outlet reported about it and to re-evaluate the decision Saturday morning.

"Our folks Googled the story to make sure the story wasn't out there," he said.

Smith said the newspaper's decision to temporarily not report about the information in the email wasn't easy. "We are always in favor of more information rather than less," he said, and news outlets should be uneasy when government officials ask them not to publish information.

Smith said it seemed to be "a slender reed" that a federal government spokesman pushed the wrong button to inadvertently send out information to the news media about a planned raid.

"That didn't seem to justify to be the first one to break it," he said of the story.

Smith said the newspaper has a duty to serve the public, and he couldn't see a reason why an inadvertent e-mail sent to the newspaper "was something the public felt we had a duty to let them know" about late Friday.

"We made a decision based on what we understand to be our duty, not our right," he said.

Jeff Whatley, assistant news director for KARK-TV, Channel 4, in Little Rock, said the station complied with the U. S. attorney's request because federal officials were concerned about their investigation and the safety of the people involved.

"We are more concerned about safety than about getting the story out at this point," he said before the raid occurred Saturday night.

Balfe said each of the media outlets that his office contacted agreed not to report on the information in the e-mail for an indefinite period of time before re-evaluating their decision.

Les Minor, editor of the Texarkana Gazette, said it's amazing that the federal government sent out information to more than 60 news outlets and no one reported on it. "Usually someone spills the beans."

Copyright © 2001-2008 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc.

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