BishopAccountability.org
	Joubert Surrenders to Norwalk Police By the Steve Kobak The Hour January 2, 2010 http://www.thehour.com/story/480059 A Norwalk minister facing multiple rape charges in New York City turned himself in to the Norwalk Police Department on Thursday on a warrant for domestic violence charges. The Rev. Phillip Joubert, 48, was charged with risk of injury to a minor and third-degree assault. He posted $5,000 bond and will appear in court Monday. "Reverend Joubert has been receiving calls and letters of support from all over the country," said Phillip Russell, the Greenwich-based attorney representing Joubert in the Norwalk case. "We expect that any charges against him that are not dismissed will be tried, and we expect that at trial he will be vindicated." Russell, who has represented Joubert since Dec. 4, said Joubert and his legal team did not know about the Norwalk warrant, and they had checked with numerous law enforcement and child welfare agencies that would have been involved in the investigation. The domestic violence incident sparked the investigation into allegations that the pastor had raped a minor, according to a source close to the case. The same source told The Hour that police were called to Joubert's Lexington Avenue home on Nov. 17 because Joubert had beaten a minor with his fists and while the child's mother was consoling the victim, the child told her mother about the sexual abuse. The alleged sexual misconduct took place in July at Joubert's home in Queens, N.Y., according to a source close to The Hour who has knowledge of the case. Another minor was in the house but on a different floor at the time the alleged abuse occurred, the source added. Norwalk Police subsequently turned the rape investigation over to the 112th Precinct of the New York City Police Department and began investigating the domestic violence charges. Joubert was taken into custody Nov. 24 by officers from the 112th Precinct of the New York City Police Department as he arrived at JFK International Airport in Queens after a trip to Israel. He spent three weeks in a jail cell on Rikers Island but is currently free on a $350,000 cash bond. At various times during his criminal processing, Joubert had to be checked for any pending arrest warrants in the NCIC database, which lists pending warrants. "We've made inquiries on numerous occasions about whether a case was pending with the Norwalk Police Department," said Russell. Court records show that Joubert's wife filed for divorce on Sept. 28, and Joubert was served with divorce papers on the date of his arrest. "This is an acrimonious divorce and not much more," Russell said.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.