Charges Of Abuse Still Raise Questions About Bush "Partnership" Scheme Between Government And Faith-Based Sectarian Groups...

he head of a religious ministry now under fire amidst charges of child abuse was also a member of the private accreditation committee that certified two homes for youngsters operated by the group, and founded by controversial "Bible discipline" evangelist Lester Roloff.

   Wiley Cameron, head of the People's Baptist Church and CEO of Roloff Enterprises -- the ministry operating the Rebekah Home for Girls and the Anchor Home for Boys -- was also on the private Texas Association of Christian Child Care Agencies. The Association was set up by Texas Gov. George W. Bush, presumably to accredit and monitor private religion-based "homes" for juveniles.

   According to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times newspaper, Cameron resigned from the accreditation firm on Wednesday "to avoid the perception of a conflict of interest." Incredibly, the same Association -- which approved certification for the home in question -- is reportedly conducting an inquiry into charges of abuse at the institution.

   Last Friday, officers with the Nueces County Sheriff's Office raided the 600-acre compound belonging to the People's Baptist Church and arrested superintendent Allen Smith, 42, on charges of unlawfully restraining and injuring two youths at the Anchor Homes. According to published reports, eighteen-year old Justin Simons told officials that a church employee -- reportedly Smith -- punched him, and punished him and another inmate by tying their wrists together and forcing them to run through nearby woods and dig a 15-foot-deep pit.

   People's Baptist Church is part of a ministerial empire founded by the late evangelist Lester Roloff, a fire-and-brimstone preacher known for advocacy of corporal punishment and other stern measures against juveniles. Various rehabilitation homes connected to Roloff and his organization have been the subject of state investigations and critical news stories for nearly thirty years. The state of Texas became involved in a legal battle with Roloff in the early 1970s when the Texas Department of Public Welfare informed him that his youth "homes" would have to meet various licensing standards. Roloff then launched a series of legal appeals, and spent time in jail for resisting legal orders; the incident soon became known as "The Christian Alamo," and culminated in a massive demonstrate of support by Roloff's members and other religious leaders in 1977.

   Roloff died in 1982, but his ministry lived on, along with his "Family Altar" radio program which airs on 120 Christian broadcasting stations throughout the country.

   The abuse charges, though, have led to Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the likely candidate for the 2000 Republican presidential nomination. Bush has supported "charitable choice" schemes and other efforts to transfer public money to religious groups, as well as a "partnership" between churches and other sectarian movements and government as a way of addressing social ills. Bush also established the private Texas Association of Christian Child Care Agencies Inc. as a "monitoring" agency with power to accredit private, religious juvenile facilities. In February, 1999, the TACCCA certified the PBC "homes."

   According to David Blaser, a minister who is also head of the accreditation firm, no one on the TACCCA board asked for Cameron's resignation. Susan Noble of the Texans Care for Children group told the Caller-Times that Cameron's membership on the certification group appeared to be a conflict of interest.

   Nueces County Sheriff Larry Olivarez says that his department is now investigating seven other allegations of abuse, these apparently stemming from incidents in adult "homes" operated by the People's Baptist Church. In addition to the Rebekah and Anchor homes, Cameron's organization also runs the Lighthouse for men 18-25 years old, City of Refuge for men 25 years and older, and a Jubilee Home for Women. Marla Sheely of the Residential Child Care Licensing Division of the Texas department of Protective and Regulatory Services says that her unit is investigation a charge of abuse involving a resident of the Rebekah Home.

   "There's no accountability measure," said Samantha Smoot of the Texas Freedom Network. "They (PBC) feel they are protected from regulatory oversight."

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