VIRGINIA
Loudoun Times
Thursday, May. 12, 2016 by Crystal Owens
A former congregant of Sterling’s Calvary Temple is upset after 20 current members of the Pentecostal church were allowed to provide outreach to youth in the county’s Juvenile Detention Center on May 2.
Members of the church are under investigation by the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office and Virginia State Police after two women came forward more than a year ago with allegations that they were sexually assaulted by members of Calvary Temple. One woman said she had multiple assailants, including teachers, teachers’ aides and deacons.
Chris Trent, who left Calvary Temple in 1992 after he said Pastor Star Scott told the congregation they must give 20 percent of their earnings to the church, volunteers at the Loudoun Juvenile Detention Center and was the first to express concern over the church members’ visit to the facility.
Trent said his concern is that at least one member of Calvary wrote a letter to a juvenile trying to persuade him to not only stay away from Alcoholics Anonymous, but join the church once he gets out of the detention center.
“AA won’t help you and only if you make Jesus your lord and savior will you stay sober. Being around those same people that have the same problems will only bring you closer to using,” reads the letter to one juvenile obtained by the Times-Mirror. “I wanted you to meet so and so, so when you get out you could meet up with them and come down to Calvary Temple. Since your [sic] going to NOVA you should move down here and get an apartment with so and so.”
(“So and so” was the phrasing used in the original letter.)
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