Pastor: San Bernardino council ultimatum is unconstitutional
By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer
SAN BERNARDINO -- Responding to a demand that First Church of the Nazarene ban registered sex offenders or to stop receiving city money to host a youth facility there, the church's pastor contended the ultimatum is an unconstitutional violation of his religious freedom.
"I cannot think of anything more antithetical or repugnant to the fundamental values upon which our nation was founded -- freedom of religion, freedom to worship God without interference from the government, freedom to practice Christianity without oppression," Pastor David Rhone wrote Tuesday in a letter to Mayor Pat Morris and the council.
The controversy follows Monday's revelation -- through the leak of a confidential memo -- that a man convicted of incest and lewd and lascivious conduct with a person younger than 14 performed work at the First Church of the Nazarene.
A police investigation determined that the man's presence at the church did not present a danger to children or that any new crimes were committed.
Nevertheless, the issue is sensitive not only because San Bernardino is in the middle of election season, but because the church hosts San Bernardino's flagship Operation Phoenix youth center. That center was managed by Mike Miller until Miller's arrest in July 2008 on suspicion of child molestation.
Miller has pleaded not guilty and is incarcerated while awaiting trial.
The church also hosts SOAR Charter Academy and Valley Christian Pre-school.
Rhone said Tuesday that he would rather sever the church's relationship with the city than let the government decide who can attend services, but he does not expect that to come to pass.
Instead, he expects the council to take back its demand and apologize.
"They've got to reconsider because what they've asked us to do is unlawful," Rhone said.
But City Attorney James F. Penman, whose investigators spent Tuesday passing out fliers reporting a sex offender had performed work at the church, says the council was within its rights to make demands of Rhone's church.
The city attorney said the council did not take over the church's decisions on which sinners can be preached to. Penman maintained the demand is meant to protect children participating in a city-run program and is a condition on partnering with the city.
Penman also thinks Rhone was irresponsible in allowing a known sex offender to perform work near children's facilities.
"There's an old saying that comes out of the Bible: 'Who is without sin can cast the first stone. I don't think Pastor Rhone is a position to cast stones."
For his part, Rhone sees Penman's actions as electoral politics. Penman is challenging incumbent Mayor Pat Morris for the city's top job.
Police Chief Keith Kilmer said Tuesday the mere presence of a registered sex offender in an area does not mandate public notification.
"The threshold is when someone poses a risk to public safety and that would be based on circumstances that are happening, (such as) if someone is hanging around a school and they have no business there," Kilmer said.
Despite the Police Department view that children were not threatened while on church property, all five council members who were present Monday night voted to present First Church of the Nazarene with the ultimatum.
City Councilwoman Wendy McCammack, who recommended the ultimatum to her colleagues, said Tuesday she's not afraid of any legal challenge.
"If it's unconstitutional, then I guess he can sue us," she said. "We have a Constitutional responsibility, local, state and federal, to keep city participants safe."
SOAR issued a statement Tuesday reporting that school officials did not know a sex offender had worked on church property until being notified by the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.
SOAR also reported the man had no contact with school children. Kristin Kraus, one of the school's co-founders and its assistant director, said that contrary to what was reported in the leaked memo, the man never picked up a girlfriend's child from the campus.
"I don't know what to say about that except that it never happened," she said.
Another point of dispute is whether the mayor or anyone working for him should have notified the council. Penman and McCammack say the council needed to know of the situation, a view expressed by other council members at Monday's meeting.
The leaked memo reports that mayoral aide Kent Paxton told police a sex offender was working on church property on Aug. 26.
Paxton said Tuesday that he called police the same day SOAR administration informed him that the sheriff's department inquired about the sex offender's presence.
As to the question of why the Mayor's Office did not notify the council, mayoral chief of staff Jim Morris said the mayor chose to let the investigation remain a confidential matter for police and Child Protective Services.
"It's up to them to decide where and when to share (information), Jim Morris said.
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Andrew Edwards. E-mail Andrew here.
One might ask Mr. Penman exactly what "sin" the pastor committed. Was it the sin of reaching out to people in need,like the former sex offender? Isn't that what churches are here for?
The cops investigated--that's there job. The Charter school did its due diligence. The man posed no threat to anyone but Mr. I'll Save The World decided that he must ride in on his white horse.
It's clear that Mr. Penman and Miss Wendy are willing to harm a church, close a Charter school and pre school in order to get a handful of votes from ignorant people who are frieghtened by the retoric.
Shame on you both. And shame on the cowardly council members who voted without any knowledge.
Does anyone find it amusing that the "sex offender" had already left the city and that there was absolutely no threat what so ever?
What idiots.
Mr. Swenson: No one said the man couldn't attend church. No one suggested closing down the Church's preschool or the SOAR academy. We said he should not be accepting taxpayer's money knowingly allowing a registered sex offender to have access to the premise where four children's programs operate. I have been told that the Pastor did a background check on the man and knowingly allowed the man to work on the campus around the children. The campus is not that big. That may be the sin implied. Would you have allowed it if you managed four children's program on your facility? If you read the paper carefully you'll notice there are inconsistencies in the information given by PD compared to the knowledge of the school officials. I don't believe the newspaper has enough space to tell the readers the whole story. And all the council members had knowledge. We are being TOLD the sex offender has left town three weeks ago. Megan's Law database doesn't show where he's gone. That is bothersome.
Responding to a demand that First Church of the Nazarene ban registered sex offenders or to stop receiving city money to host a youth facility there, the church's pastor contended the ultimatum is an unconstitutional violation of his religious freedom.
Ya think?
Rhone and Morris: it is not a pedophile's right to be around children. You are probably running a kiddie porn ring to be supporting this. MANY pastors have banned pedophiles from their church! They offer to go talk with them separately, AWAY from the church & children.
Amy:
so he loved those kids like they were his, huh? Well, you should know that one of his convictions is INCEST.