An Alabama pastor of a conservative congregation is being accused of defiling a 9-year-old girl on her father’s grave, AL.com reports. Mack Charles Andrews, a pastor at the heavily conservative United Pentecostal Church is accused of defiling “Jane,” a pseudonym to conceal the identity of the victim, along with multiple other minors. Andrews allegedly started “grooming” her for s*xual abuse when she was only 7.
Jane described how Andrews allegedly terrorized her. “He told me if I didn’t say anything, he would come back and put flowers on the grave,” she told AL.com. “If I did, he said demons would come and get me from my bed.” Jane accuses Andrews of defiling her with multiple objects, including drumsticks, a letter opener, pens, a flashlight and a figurine, in a warrant obtained by AL.com. She says it was Andrews’ way of “preparing” her for s*xual abuse. She says the church Andrews led was “like a cult” where girls weren’t allowed to wear make-up and had to wear floor-length skirts.
Andrews is being held on $500,000 bond and was arraigned on Tuesday. He was arrested in 2013 on counts of s*xual torture, r*pe, s*xual abuse, attempted r*pe and sodomy, and the county prosecutor said he is aware of nine victims who were allegedly violated by Andrews in the ’80s and ’90s. The abuse allegedly went on for years. Jane told authorities hers lasted 5 years until she left the church. She says it resulted in a painful life in which she “made a lot of wrong decisions” and spent time in jail.
“He was the leader, and we were the sacrifices,” Jane said, according to AL.com. “I think there were a lot of people who were ashamed to come forward.”