COURT HOUSE – Three men have filed separate $10 million civil lawsuits against the Bethel Commandment Church of the Living God of New Jersey in Whitesboro, against men who were in church leadership and against Middle Township, for what they said were years of sexual and physical abuse when they were minors.
Pedro Luis Lopez, 41, of Cape May Court House, Ernell Norman Priester Jr., 47, of East Orange, and William Adams Jr., 42, of Columbia, Maryland, have each filed a civil lawsuit under their own names and listed themselves as the “self-represented plaintiff” in the suits, which name as defendants the Bethel Commandment Church of the Living God, Coast of Judea Inc., Bishop Charles A. Farrow Sr., pastor, and Vincent A. Watkins Sr., deacon. Lopez and Adams further named Watkins’ brother, Deacon Kallaad Watkins Cepada, formerly known as Clyde Watkins.
The suits, filed in the U.S. District Court for New Jersey-Camden Division and the U.S. District Court of Maryland-Baltimore Division, list the complaints as sex abuse, sex trafficking, failure to protect children from such abuse and racketeering.
All three list Middle Township because some of the alleged abuse took place at township facilities, allegedly while Watkins was a township employee or contractor. Adams filed Aug. 29 in Baltimore, and Priester and Lopez filed in Camden on Aug. 30 and Sept. 3, respectively.
All three men allege in their complaints that sexual assault and rape was perpetrated against hundreds of boys, saying the boys were put into the “custody and care” of the named defendants by trusting parents and guardians.
The three suits say the individuals named had an “ongoing scheme to conceal and provide a steading (sic) supply of young African American and Latino boys for their own sexual pleasure, over a period of some three decades.”
Samuel Farrow, the chief financial officer for Bethel Commandment Church, called the events that led to the suits a “horrible situation.” He went on to reference a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision involving the Boys Scouts that might have played a role in the situation, but it could not immediately be determined if that case was applicable. The Boy Scouts are not mentioned in any of the three lawsuits.
The suits charge that the Bethel Commandment officials, who served in various capacities in the church, routinely and repeatedly raped and assaulted young, low-income African American and Latino boys, some as young as 9, over the course of years. Lopez charged that Watkins and Cepada instigated and perpetrated the contacts; Priester named Watkins and Farrow in his complaint. Adams named all three individuals.
Farrow was named as senior management in the church and was named for not preventing the abuse that occurred on church property, and in fact facilitated the “secret and uninterrupted use” of the church for the purpose of the defendants “raping and engaging in sex and sexual activity with the plaintiff.” Priester named Farrow as one of his abusers, when he served as assistant pastor. Adams named Farrow in his suit but did not list specific charges.
Coast of Judea Inc., was described in the lawsuits as a corporation established by Watkins “to provide day care services for young children.” The suits name Watkins as the president and executive director of Coast of Judea. Watkins was named a defendant in his capacities in the church, with the nonprofit Coast of Judea and as an employee and/or contractor of Middle Township.
According to Lopez, between 1991 and 2000, he and others were subjected to sexual abuse by Watkins and Cepada, which took place sometimes at the church, located on George Street in Whitesboro, and sometimes at the Martin Luther King Center in Whitesboro. Lopez alleged that the defendants had “oversight responsibilities of children,” sometimes taking the children across state lines and on overnight trips to visit other churches.
Priester alleged he was abused by Watkins, alone, from 1990 to 1995, when he was between the ages of 13 and 18. He alleged that from 1990 to 1991, Watkins assaulted him in a green minivan, and later in a blue minivan; that in 1993, Watkins would routinely invite him to his home on Saturday nights while his wife was working at the Woodbine Developmental Center; that between 1990 and 1995, Watkins used various means, from gifts to threats of physical harm or public humiliation, to obtain sex from Priester; that between 1994 and 1998, Watkins caused Priester to participate in “youth conventions” in places such as Smithfield and York, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in sex with the plaintiff as a minor.
Adams specifically mentioned being subjected to sexual abuse by Watkins during overnight conventions to the York, Pennsylvania, church, between 1994 and 1998. According to the “Statement of Relevant Facts” in Adam’s complaint, Watkins began abusing him around the summer of 1994 on a church retreat facilitated by Farrow and the church.
He said that from 1995 to 1996, Watkins engaged in sexual activity with him in the Bethel Commandment Church game room, storage room and attic. The complaint said between 1994 and 1998, Watkins used intimidation and threats to sexually exploit Adams on interstate trips, including trips to Six Flags, Raging Waters Water Park in Wildwood, Lake Nummy, the Philadelphia Museum, Busch Gardens, Philadelphia Phillies baseball games, the Statue of Liberty, the Baltimore Aquarium and other places.
Adams also claims Watkins engaged in illicit sexual relations with him at youth conventions at the Bethel Commandment Church in York, Pennsylvania, between 1994 and 1998, when he was between 12 and 15 or 16 years old.
Priester said he specifically recalled 1993 as the first time he was engaged in sexual activity with Watkins, which occurred in Watkins’ vehicle on the road to the Davies Sports Complex.
Middle Township is named in the lawsuits because it owns the MLK Center in Whitesboro and had hired and/or contracted with Watkins to sponsor activities for children under the age of 18. The Priester lawsuit also refers to the Clarence Davies Sports Complex, saying the facility was used in the organization of “interstate and overnight trips,” including visits to other churches, where sexual abuse occurred. The alleged sexual activity with minor boys also took place in hotels during the interstate travel, as well as at the church and at the Middle Township facilities.
Lopez alleged that Cepada used physical force, the threat of physical harm, and threats of public shaming to force him to engage in sexual activity with the defendants. Both Watkins and Cepada, the complaint says, used their positions as teachers, mentors and youth advisers or counselors – Priester said they used the term “God Fathers” – to coerce the plaintiffs and other youth into having sexual relations with them.
All three men are suing for severe psychological harm, financial loss, emotional distress, anxiety and other injuries, and are seeking past and ongoing damages, attorney fees and other costs in the amount of $10 million each.
All three plaintiffs have filed complaints of violations under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, saying the Bethel Commandment Church of the Living God of New Jersey “was the headquarters of the criminal sexual enterprise that facilitated the sexual abuse of the plaintiff.”
Adams, Lopez and Priester have demanded a jury trial to award civil penalties for aggravated sexual assault, sex trafficking of children by force, fraud or coercion, coercion and enticement, transportation of minors and violations of the RICO Act.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
