© RawstoryPedophile Rev. John Hays
A Chicago-area minister was arrested Thursday on charges of molesting a boy for six years, beginning when the boy was eight years old.
According to the Chicago Tribune, 57-year-old Rev. John Hays was taken into custody by Chicago police and charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse. Hays is the director of congregations life of the First Presbyterian Church of River Forest.
Chicago Police Department spokesperson Officer Ana Pacheco said that Hays is accused of molesting the boy from February 2003 to February of 2009, beginning when the boy was eight. Hays' accuser, now 19, filed charges against the minister in May.
The victim was reportedly a friend of Hays' family and a congregant at his church. He told authorities that Hays repeatedly molested him in the minister's residence, which is located down the street from where the boy grew up.
Hays is scheduled for a Bond hearing on Friday.
Watch video about this story, embedded below via Chicago's WGN:
Comment: Pedophilia is a rampant epidemic in religious organizations. From
Predators: Pedophiles, Rapists, and Other Sex Offenders, Who They Are, How They Operate, and How We Can Protect Ourselves and Our Children by Dr. Anna Salter:
"One molester, who himself was a minister, said: 'I considered church people easy to fool ... they have the trust that comes from being Christians ... They tend to be better folks all around. And they seem to want to believe in the good that exists in all people. And because of that, you can easily convince, with or without convincing words.'
In interviewing victims in the growing number of cases involving priests, I have been surprised - although I should not have been - by how deeply religious many of the victims' families were. I have never before grasped that it was the most religious families who were thrilled to have a priest take an interest in their children, who wanted their children to be altar boys, who could not believe that a priest would do anything so wrong.
The growing crisis in the Catholic Church just underlines the fact that offenders can recognize ideal settings for child molesters even if the rest of us can't. In truth, a deeply religious and trusting group of people, plus the requirement of celibacy (an ideal cover for any man who has no sexual interest in adults), plus a hierarchy that doesn't report complaints to the police and simply moves the offender on to new and fresh territory with new potential victims, is the ideal setting for pedophiles."
See also:
SOTT Talk Radio: Predators Among Us - Interview With Dr. Anna Salter
Comment: Pedophilia is a rampant epidemic in religious organizations. From Predators: Pedophiles, Rapists, and Other Sex Offenders, Who They Are, How They Operate, and How We Can Protect Ourselves and Our Children by Dr. Anna Salter: See also: SOTT Talk Radio: Predators Among Us - Interview With Dr. Anna Salter