Pastor Accused Teens of Sex Abuse, Witchcraft
By Micaela Parker
Under the gaze of church members, Lucas Leonard and Christopher Leonard were told to repent for their sins. The teens stood in the small sanctuary of Word of Life Christian Church on the evening of Oct. 11. Lucas, 19, already had been confronted during a service that day about his desire to leave the Chadwicks church, new court documents allege, but questioning took a different tone during the beatings that ultimately would result in the death of Lucas and severe injury to his 17-year-old brother Christopher. Nine people are accused of varying degrees of involvement in the 14-hour counseling session that spanned the evening of Oct. 11 into the morning of Oct. 12. Of those nine defendants, one has accepted a plea offer from the Oneida County District Attorney’s Office while five, as of Wednesday, have rejected their offers. The session, led by Pastor Tiffanie Irwin, focused on a number of allegations she made into the teens’ conduct, according to a court document obtained from the county District Attorney’s Office by the Observer-Dispatch via a Freedom of Information Act request. Utilizing her authority within the church, something that includes congregants’ belief that she was a prophet, the document alleges that she accused the teens, who were barred from leaving of having sexually abused numerous minors, several of whom have family ties to the teens; having fantasized about engaging in sexual relations with the pastor; having practiced witchcraft and used a voodoo doll to harm people; and having planned and/or taken initial steps to kill their parents. Prosecutors and law enforcement officials have stated on multiple occasions that there is no information to support the allegations of sexual abuse by the teens or witchcraft. District Attorney Scott McNamara could not immediately be reached for comment. Irwin’s public defender, Kurt Schultz, said he could not comment on the allegations because of a gag order on discussing the facts of the case. The documents maintain the allegations were meant to incite an emotional response by enraging participants. “Such allegations were brought by defendant (Tiffanie Irwin) with the intent to enrage and infuriate Bruce Leonard, Deborah Leonard and Sarah Ferguson, or under circumstances that rendered such emotional responses a reasonable possibility,” the document states. “It is further alleged that as a result of statements made during the counseling session by Lucas Leonard and Christopher Leonard; Bruce Leonard, Deborah Leonard and Sarah Ferguson struck Lucas Leonard numerous times with a power cord. It is further alleged that co-defendants also slapped, punched and kicked Lucas Leonard during the counseling session.” During a December court session where Deborah Leonard — the teens’ mother — accepted a plea offer for five years in state prison for her involvement in the assault on her sons, she testified that the allegations were “hard to believe” and ultimately false. The prosecution also alleges that during the assault, defendants intentionally struck Lucas in the groin to cause “serious and protracted disfigurement, protracted impairment of health or impairment of the function of any bodily organ.” Lucas ultimately died as a result of his injuries. Follow @OD_Parker on Twitter or call her at 792-5063.
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