NORTH CAROLINA
Charlotte Observer
By Joe DePriest
jdepriest@charlotteobserver.com
A former Gaston County pastor has denied having illicit sex with two minors in Haiti while he was giving them food and clothing through a church ministry.
In a federal court hearing Monday in Charlotte, Larry Michael Bollinger, 66, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
About 30 of his supporters were in the courtroom, hoping he’d be released from jail until the trial. But a federal judge denied bond and Bollinger remained behind bars.
Prosecutors said four victims were identified, but Bollinger was charged for his conduct with two girls, ages 11 and 12. They said he met the victims, who were from Port-au-Prince, when they came to the Village of Hope, a sub-ministry of The Lazarus Project. A mostly Lutheran ministry, the Lazarus Project runs a vocational school and medical clinic.
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