Author: Lois | Page 13 | Spiritual Abuse Blogs

When Legacy And Sexual Abuse Collide: John Shivers Part 2

(Some statements in this article are what have been alleged by others. The allegations all appear to be involving adults and not children. There have been no convictions or criminal arrests and to my knowledge, the alleged perpetrator has not admitted guilt.)

This is Part 39 of an ongoing series. Back in March, I posted about a situation in the Western District of the United Pentecostal Church, where it was alleged that one of their pastors had been accused of multiple instances of sexual misconduct. (See Part One.) A complaint had been filed with the Western District in January 2019 and they held an investigation under their judicial procedure and found the minister to be guilty of several serious allegations.

Due to what has been stated in their Manual for years, I believe it is abundantly clear that this minister should have had his license revoked immediately at the end of the investigation. Instead, John Shivers [Video has since been deleted.] was told to resign from the church and undergo more than a year of sexual predator therapy. Because his license was not immediately removed, it is alleged that this continued to be covered up and it was made to appear he was yet the pastor. In addition, as of the 2020 UPCI Directory, which was printed in January, as well as the UPCI online church locator in March 2020, John Shivers was still shown as an ordained minister, with his name listed as the pastor of Centro Vida Church, as well as other churches, though he was no longer mentioned as a District Presbyter, a position which he held for years.

It is my opinion that Shivers may have been treated differently because he married into a famous name within the organization- the Kenneth Haney family. It wouldn’t be the first time a minister was given preferential treatment because of their name or status in the organization. Besides being a pastor, Kenneth Haney served as a General Superintendent, among other things. His father, Clyde, started a UPCI Bible college in Stockton, California, which Kenneth took over after his father’s death. Kenneth and Joy Haney had five children and John Shivers married their daughter, Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Haney.

Besides the accusations against John Shivers, [Note: He has since removed this Facebook profile, but yet has this one.] there are allegations that Kenneth and Joy Haney covered up Shivers’ alleged sexual assault of a student at Christian Life College. It is alleged that Liz Haney was also aware of at least some of the accusations. This entire situation runs very deep in the UPCI and if it is true that the Haney family covered up the sexual abuse of a student, that is inexcusable and reprehensible. Joy Haney yet holds license in the UPCI. The current General Superintendent, David Bernard, would have been made aware of allegations against Shivers at least as far back as when the Western District complaint was filed by one of the victims. The position paper on abuse and sexual misconduct, adopted at the 2019 UPCI General Conference, was at least in part inspired by what has happened in this case.

Despite all this, Shiver’s still was seen speaking at the church on August 5 and guess what he is speaking on? Unforgiveness. (NOTE: Some time after we shared this, the video was made private.)

I will end this by sharing a post made by one of the alleged victims of John Shivers, that was made public by them on Facebook on Sunday, August 2, 2020. [August 8 note: This person has since removed or made private the post.] Please note that the victim mentioned who was allegedly “ignored by the elders of Centro Vida Church and by Bruce Howell” is a currently licensed United Pentecostal minister. It should also be noted that Tim Moran is married to one of the Haney’s daughters. Nathaniel Haney is Kenneth Haney’s son. Bruce Howell is the Global Missions Director of the UPCI. As you can see, this situation has tentacles running throughout the United Pentecostal Church.

PLEASE SHARE this post so that victims who have been silenced, shamed, and threatened, can come forward. Shame belongs to the perpetrator, the enablers, those that covered for the sexual predator. It never belongs to the victim.

“Making it possible to avoid the consequences…” [Lois’ Note: part of the definition of enabler.] How does a (former) minister of the United Pentecostal Church get away with sexual assault, sexual harassment, attempted rape, and 20+ years of being a sexual predator? They are enabled. Kenneth and Joy Haney knew of John Shivers sexual assault of a student at Christian Life College. (as did his wife Elizabeth Shivers, documented and verified) They did nothing. John Shivers was never disciplined. Their lack of action enabled him as a sexual predator for the next 20+ years. After one of his victims was repeatedly ignored by the elders of Centro Vida Church and by Bruce Howell, finally was heard by the Western District Board, John Shivers was investigated and unanimously found guilty. Part of the discipline enacted by the Western District Board was John Shivers was required to resign as pastor of Centro Vida Church. However, it was hidden from the saints at Centro Vida Church as Nathaniel Haney, and Tim Moran, lied to the Centro Vida church (from the pulpit, on video) about the reason John Shivers was no longer in the pulpit. Quote from Nathaniel Haney addressing the Centro Vida Church:

“your pastor never takes any time off, he burns the candle on both ends, but after a while you start getting empty if you don’t take some time to fill back up. . . so Pastor Shivers is filling up right now, so he can come back and feed his people, …we want Pastor Shivers to have that time alone with God… let’s pray that God will speak to him, God will give him new revelation and he will move deeper in the Spirit that he has ever been.”

Tim Moran lied (from the pulpit, on video) to the saints at Centro Vida about John Shivers no longer being the pastor. Instead of telling the truth he instead on a Sunday morning before Elizabeth Shivers took the pulpit (she refused to leave the church even though her husband was no longer pastor, furthering the cover-up of her husbands resignation as pastor) told the church:

“Sister Shivers will be speaking this morning….Her (Liz Shivers) and her husband (John Shivers) are the Pastors of Centro Vida and oversee Life Church. We are the Pastors of Life Church, but we are accountable to them, and they are the seniors pastors. So if you want to know how it’s organized, that’s how we’re organized. We all have to have accountability, we all have to have authorities in our lives.”

After repeatedly failing to adhere to the discipline set down by the Western District Board, John Shivers was stripped of his UPC ministerial license and permanently banned from the UPCI by the Western District Board.

Victims of John Shivers or any other UPC minister/pastor should know that you have as allies, David Bernard, and the Western District Board. They will take action on your behalf. You will not be ignored, you will not be shamed. Your voice will be heard.

Unfortunately, the voices of the women from Calvary Gospel Church have not been heard by David Bernard or the Wisconsin District Board.

Part Three

August 24, 2022 edit: Today the Stockton Record released an article about John Shivers. You must have a digital subscription to read it. See https://www.recordnet.com/story/news/2022/08/24/pastor-john-shivers-accused-sexual-assault-preaching-stockton-centro-vida-pentecostal-church/5695797001/

You will find a complete list of articles in this series by clicking here.

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An Introduction To Elephants

The following was written by former United Pentecostal Church minister Jon Eckenrod, and used with his permission. Jon held license for about twenty years and left the organization in 2007.

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I also want to say a word to my peers and leaders still in the ministry in the United Pentecostal Church, International. For all our efforts to “preach Jesus,” and point people to the cross, in practice we accomplished the opposite. Every time we shamed someone for not measuring up, we turned them from Jesus—not to Him. We turned them to their own lack of ability to overcome, and then to our leadership to help them become better Christians—a subject about which we were ill-equipped to offer counsel. Too many of our congregants just gave up trying and decided to either “look the part,” thereby becoming hypocrites, or leave church altogether. Of course, we attributed this to a “lack of will power” or discipline. In truth, we all know that none of us was able to live as “holy” and “pure” as we preached. Consequently, in practice, we produced an atmosphere conducive to secret sin and hypocrisy. And much to our dismay, our congregants catch on quickly. They follow the leader.

The answer for all of us lies in the grace of God, not in our efforts to become more spiritual. Pastors, it is my prayer for you and your congregations that you discover and experience the grace that I have found. What a relief to find rest, not in my ability to “pray through,” but in the arms of Jesus. – Jon Eckenrod

The proverbial elephant in the room is the issue that is plain to everyone, but about which no one wants to talk. Why don’t we like to talk about the elephants? By their nature elephants are big. To acknowledge them is to begin to deal with a problem that is uncomfortable. Usually the issue is difficult and has no easy solution. So, we ignore it, or at least we try. But, because of their size, elephants are hard to ignore. The longer we turn a blind eye to them, the more difficult they are to address. Some ‘elephants’ may start out relatively small, but over time, if not dealt with, they become enormous. And the cost of dealing with them increases with each passing day.

Dr. Joseph Umidi, one of my professors at Regent University School of Divinity, told our class that when a leader does not address elephants in the room, followers begin to “collect injustices.” In other words, they begin to take note of every mistake the leader makes. They collect them, and soon, all they can see are these injustices when they look at the leader. Dr. Umidi likened it to looking at your environment through a clear pen (one of those old-fashioned Bic pens). When the first injustice occurs, the pen appears, and it is in your line of sight (perhaps at arm’s length), but you can see everything around it clearly. As more injustices are collected, the pen moves closer to your eyes, so that it fills more of your field of vision. Soon, the pen is right next to your eyes, and you can only see everything else through the pen. This is very dangerous and very toxic. That is why it is so important for leaders to be willing to address the elephants in the room—no matter how unpleasant they are.

You don’t need a room full of people in order for elephants to appear. You can create them in your private life, which is what I did. When I saw problems and chose to ignore them, or had doubts and questions, and deferred addressing them until a later date—voila! Elephants were created. When I stopped being afraid of the truth, I began to see the elephants clearly.

Life is so very uncomfortable in a room full of elephants. In some respects, I feel like I know what an elephant stampede is like. It is overwhelming. You feel like there is nowhere to go, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. And in truth, there isn’t. And it is very painful to endure. The elephants come straight at you, demanding to be acknowledged and dealt with. And when the stampede is over—when you have looked each elephant squarely in the eye and addressed the problems that they posed—you wonder what just happened. You try to get your bearings again. I am still in the process of doing that, but now Jesus Christ is at the center of it all. And that makes all the difference.

The journey has not been easy. It has been painful at times, and my family members have been the ‘beneficiaries’ of much of that pain. But, by God’s grace, I was forced to address my elephants. I wouldn’t want it any other way (unless I could go back and stop the elephants from being created in the first place). Why was I afraid to acknowledge the truth? Why did I refuse to look objectively at the group with which I had been associated for so many years? For any one of us, the main reason is fear. Quite frankly, I was afraid that what I believed might be wrong. I was afraid of what that would mean. What would it cost me if I discovered that I was in error—that my organization was in error? What would that mean for my future, and for the future of my family? If I found that we had been wrong about our interpretation of scripture, could I stay in the organization? We were on a promising career track, and I had no desire to jeopardize that. And I certainly didn’t want to experience the ostracism that I had witnessed so many others who had left the organization experience. I didn’t want that for my family. There were too many questions with too many very troubling and painful answers. It was easier to remain ‘willfully ignorant’ than to do anything to rock the boat.

It is a sad commentary on any organization when a person must weigh whether to leave or not based on a fear of ostracism, rather than on truth and what is best for the individual or family. When this is the case, it indicates a major problem with the system. If it is fear that keeps us from looking objectively at our groups, we need to ask ourselves, “What would Jesus do?” Would Jesus cause us to be afraid to leave and go somewhere else? Would he make us fear to ask difficult questions? When we did have questions, would he shame us for doubting? Would he make us feel like we were the ones with the problem just because we questioned him? Finally, if Jesus would not make us afraid to ask the tough questions, then we need to ask another question: just what kind of people are running our organizations? Are we afraid to answer that? What an awful thing fear is. Truly, “fear hath torment,” (1 John 4:18, KJV).

There were times when I would address some of these nagging doubts and questions, but it was always within the context of believing that what I was taught was true. So I had to figure out why my doubts were unfounded. Or I had to figure out a way to prove why another’s objections to my beliefs were invalid. I never addressed these things objectively. That is the way most ministers and congregants addressed these questions. We were right. We just had to figure out why others were wrong. This approach is wrong-headed, and it only serves to make our elephants grow.

My intent in writing this is to expose my own shortcomings—my own humanness, if you will. I want to demonstrate how I ignored signs that I was heading in the wrong direction. I suppressed feelings. I minimized and rationalized away warnings that should have made me stop and reconsider. We all have a propensity to ignore the obvious when it doesn’t fit the context within which we live. We turn a blind eye to information when it could cause our world to crumble down around us. This is really the basis of ‘group think.’ We slowly lose the ability to look at our own group objectively. To a degree, breeding elephants is a result of self-preservation. It helps us survive and even thrive within our groups.

I don’t want people to become critical about everything in life. Life is too short. But I also don’t want people to be afraid to think critically about those things that don’t add up. I want to encourage anyone in any circumstance to not ignore those gut feelings, those signs that cause inner-turmoil. We need to be free to think objectively about ourselves and the groups of which we are a part. It is OK to examine our belief systems, and those of our churches, our leaders, or our organizations.

In doing this, there is one thing that I cannot emphasize enough: we can not be afraid to allow objective observers to look at our lives and speak to us about what they see. It is difficult to do. We are prideful, and we know intuitively that they wouldn’t understand if we tried to explain everything about our groups. But we must make the effort to find someone who doesn’t have some ulterior motive of trying to get us to join their group, and who is good at just listening—someone who won’t judge us, but who will be brutally honest with us. Sadly, for many who are involved in groups like the one I was a part of, we don’t feel like we have someone on the outside that we can trust. We have been conditioned to believe that people on the outside have suspect motives or that they are deceived—so they can’t help. But, if at all possible, we all need to find someone who can look at us objectively, which disqualifies those within our groups. I guess what I am trying to say is, we need to ‘open our eyes!’ It is difficult for elephants to breed when our eyes are open and others are watching with us.

At this point, I must point out that I don’t have it all figured out. As a matter of fact, I still have a lot of questions about a lot of issues. But I am not ignoring them, and I’m not afraid to address them. Also, I do not in any way claim to be a scholar or an expert in theology. I just want to share what I do know, and what I have learned. I hope this helps you learn as well.

State Of Wisconsin Vs Glen A Uselmann: Two Witnesses

(Some statements in this article are what have been alleged by the survivor and some other people. There have been no convictions as of yet and to my knowledge, the alleged perpetrator has not openly admitted guilt.) This is Part 38 of an ongoing series and the thirteenth pertaining to this particular affiliated United Pentecostal Church (see links at the end). In part one of this case, I addressed why Glen Uselmann should never have been given license in the United Pentecostal Church and how pastor John Wesley Grant, a member of the United Pentecostal Church’s Order of the Faith, was reckless and irresponsible in allowing such to happen as he was well aware of at least some of what Uselmann had done. In part two the charges against Uselmann are covered. As a brief recap, a criminal complaint was filed against Uselmann on July 15, 2020. This is Dane County case number 2020CF001760. Uselmann was charged with one count of second degree sexual assault of a child and one count of first degree sexual assault of a child. [EDIT: The first degree count was later dropped and then he was charged with five counts of second degree assault.] Rebecca Martin-Byrd, the survivor, was 12 years old when the sexual assault started. At the time of the alleged events, Glen Uselmann and Rebecca Martin were both members of Calvary Gospel Church (CGC), which is located at 5301 Commercial Avenue in Madison, Wisconsin. Grant is yet the bishop of CGC. Roy Howard Grant, his son, was not in the position of a pastor at this time, as he wasn’t brought in until early 2013.

There are multiple people who can corroborate various aspects of Rebecca Martin-Byrd’s allegations against Glen Alan Uselmann. These are two of those witnesses. These testimonies demonstrate that John Grant was acutely aware of accusations against Uselmann as far back as at least 1989 and chose to not report it to police and instead went on to allow Uselmann to be actively involved in the church, to preach in services and to obtain his ministerial license.

Rebecca Martin’s Letter Confirmed By The Pen-Pal

In the previous article, I wrote the following paragraph:

When Rebecca was 12-13 years old, she wrote letters to her pen pal about what was happening with Uselmann. Her sister, who attended Calvary Gospel Church, allegedly gave the letters to John Wesley Grant, the pastor, who is now considered the bishop of the church. John Grant then brought Rebecca and her parents into the church office and warned Rebecca that if she talked about this, it could ruin Uselmann’s life and damage the church. Rebecca claims that, “Uselmann later confronted her in the church parking lot shortly after her meeting with [John Grant]. Uselmann pushed her into a car and said, ‘You talked!’ Uselmann told her, ‘You cannot tell,’ and also told her they ‘had something special.’ She was terrified at the time and knew she was in trouble.”

I was able to contact Bonnie, the pen-pal that is referred to in the criminal complaint. Bonnie was interviewed by detectives in October 2019 for approximately one and a half to two hours. She was born in 1975 and is less than a year older than Rebecca. It was her sister Lucy, who she referred to as “an awesome big sister” at the time, who took the letter to pastor John Grant. Bonnie was a member of the Immanuel Apostolic Assembly in Wisconsin Dells from the age of four and left in 1991. I questioned Bonnie about her memories of these events and she gave permission to share them as well as use her name and picture as a child. This whole experience has left her very uninterested in any type of organized religion.

I showed her what was recorded of her interview in the criminal complaint and she acknowledged its accuracy. That statement is posted after this section.

Bonnie shared that she remembers Rebecca “before he [Glen Uselmann] really started to prey heavily on her. She was a happy girl and a really fun long distance friend. I got to spend the night at her house once and I thought her house was so HUGE! We had fun in the way 12 year old girls should have fun. I know we wrote several letters back and forth where he was not the focus of her letters. Sure, there was ‘boy’ talk…since I started to ‘date’ one of the other boys at her CGC. I would sort of pry and see what was going on with him and if he was flirting with other girls (he totally was – jerk) – so funny. Then the Glen stuff took over and she wrote a few letters, with him being the focus, of him paying her a lot of attention and she gushed over how she felt so much ‘better’ than the other girls (not in a mean way – just in a pride way) that he had ‘picked’ her. She would talk about how many things he would buy her and how much money he would spend on her.”

Rebecca commented, “I did feel so special. This older minister picked me. I must be worth something.”

When asked if she could share about Rebecca writing that she didn’t want Glen to touch her, she responded, “One thing that really stands out is that she stated she had her menstrual period when he was trying to finger her on the roller coaster at Great America and she said it made her extremely uncomfortable since she was fairly new to having her menstrual cycle and was wearing maxi pads.”

Rebecca responded, “It was my first month with my period. And we went to Great America for a birthday party.”

Bonnie told her sister about the letters and recalls Lucy making copies “and then me feeling a little scared about when ‘shit hit the fan’ – I was scared that I might get in trouble somehow for sharing.” She went on to add, “Once the letters were given to Grant, her letters to me were almost absent and no details on Glen anymore. I probably got 2-3 more letters and it was over. I always wondered what happened to her. I found out that they got married and thought it was really fucking odd.”

When I asked Rebecca to comment about the letters ending she stated, “I did stop writing to her. I felt humiliated and terrible that I had involved her. I was embarrassed.”

Bonnie went on to share, “Remembering those letters always made me uncomfortable and knew it was wrong. I guess I did my part in reporting to an adult. The adults failed her time and time again. I have always wondered about her dad’s part in this ordeal. He was a fucking cop. Seriously? Not only failed by your church leaders, but your own father – who is a cop? This could have so easily been me. I am sorry it happened to Rebecca but am grateful it didn’t happen to me. I was a curvy girl growing up and got some unwanted attention from men not in the UPC – so I know the feeling of not wanting the attention.” More will be written about former Madison police officer Gregory Nowell Martin in a future article.

Bonnie’s Statement From the Criminal Complaint Against Glen Alan Uselmann

BJL’s statement
On 10/31/19, Det. Ware and Det. Bauman met with BJL, who reported the following: When RAM was 12 or 13, Uselmann “paid [RAM] a lot of attention.” She remembered being with RAM when RAM was 12-13 years old and described that RAM was “gushing” about Uselmann. RAM talked about how Uselmann told her she is pretty. She and RAM sent multiple letters back and forth, as a way to keep in touch when she (BJL) was at home. When RAM was 12 years old and she was 13, she remembered receiving a letter from RAM in the summer. She described RAM as being “12 ish.” In that letter, RAM told her about going to an identified business. In that letter, RAM told her Uselmann “tried to touch her up her skirt.” “He (Uselmann) basically tried to finger her on a roller coaster.” RAM also wrote she didn’t want Uselmann to touch her. When she read that letter, she remembered it making her uncomfortable. She described the letter as “graphic” and which is probably why she still remembers it today. She remembered the letter being “super significant” because at that age, it contained “sex stuff.”

Remember John Wesley Grant’s Position

In this case, it is very important to remember that when these events occurred, John Wesley Grant wasn’t just the pastor of Calvary Gospel Church, but he was also the Wisconsin District Superintendent. By 1982, Grant was in this position and remained through part of 1999 when John Putnam was elected. Putnam was replaced by James Booker in March 2018. Due to him holding this position, he was automatically a member of the General Board as a General Presbyter. This is the Board on which the very top elected officials in the United Pentecostal Church preside. John Grant has since retained the position of Honorary Presbyter in the Wisconsin District and Honorary General Presbyter on the national level. In 2014, he was inducted into the United Pentecostal Church’s Order of the Faith, which ironically noted, “He has taught ministerial ethics and Christian principles in a very easy to understand and unique way.”

Rebecca’s Letter Taken To John Wesley Grant

Lucy was interviewed by detectives last fall for approximately two hours. She is Bonnie’s older sister and was born in 1969. She had been a member of the Immanuel Apostolic Assembly in Wisconsin Dells from the age of six through 18, now known as TurnPoint Pentecostal Church. Winton E. Maki was her pastor. While a senior in high school, she was engaged to a man from Calvary Gospel Church, who was 21. They married in 1987 and then she was a member of Calvary Gospel until August of 1990, a little more than a year after this incident took place. John Grant’s handling of this situation was a major contributor in her exit. She had two young daughters and wanted to protect them. As a child, she herself was abused by her step-father and from the age of nine she was considered by others in the UPCI to be a liar, promiscuous and possibly possessed by demons. Lucy’s sister Bonnie remembers being in her wedding when she was 12, “so I knew many of the people and when I continued to visit – which was often – I got to know them much better.”

I questioned Lucy about her memories of the letter Rebecca Martin had written to her sister. She gave permission to share these as well as use her name. I showed her what was recorded of Bonnie’s interview in the criminal complaint and she acknowledged its accuracy. When her sister was very young, she read one of Rebecca’s letters to her over the phone. As this was “a huge red flag of abuse,” Lucy immediately drove to get her sister and the letter. She recalled only seeing one letter that was very long and she made a copy of it. She believes this was in 1989.

When she approached pastor John Wesley Grant with the original letter, it is alleged that Grant proclaimed that she had written it to herself “to get attention.” He proceeded to call Lucy a “liar” and kicked her out the choir for a year. She shared that, “Singing was and is my life.” When the year was over, she approached Grant about rejoining the choir and he allegedly told her to leave his office as she had lied and tried to “strike down” God’s anointed, meaning Uselmann.

In addition, Grant informed Lucy that he would not have her stand in front of the church and repent, so as not to put her husband in a negative light. (Her husband was very involved in the church but did not hold an official title.) Lucy’s husband wouldn’t go with her to see Grant as he deemed it to be “childhood issues.” Grant kept the original letter but was unaware that Lucy had made a copy.

Grant would periodically make members he deemed to have sinned, stand in front of the church and confess to everyone. Lucy shared that, “If he says it you are guilty.” He even did this with children. Will John Grant hold himself to this same standard and openly confess all the things he has done wrong and covered up all these decades? I wouldn’t hold your breath, but he does appreciate a standing ovation from church members, as he did on August 11, 2019 after a local expose was released, sharing several cases of unreported child sexual abuse at the church.

Lucy recalls that the setting in Rebecca’s letter was a theme park and a roller coaster. Uselmann was holding Rebecca’s hand in public and was trying to hide it. It mentioned him kissing Rebecca. Lucy claims to have seen abuse at the church outside of this letter. She recalled trying to approach Rebecca about Uselmann earlier and she ran away. When she spoke to Rebecca after giving the letter to John Grant, she shared that she told her she had the letter and that she took it to Grant. Lucy explained that it was not appropriate for Uselmann to do those things to her and that what he did was abuse and not love. She shared that she had been “hurt” as a little girl and that she’d always be there if she wanted to talk. Lucy claimed Rebecca said nothing and seemed agitated. This still makes her cry for Rebecca.

After Lucy gave the letter to John Grant and he falsely accused her of writing it, he then brought Rebecca and her parents into the church office and warned Rebecca that if she talked about this, it could ruin Uselmann’s life and damage the church. Rebecca claims that, “Uselmann later confronted her in the church parking lot shortly after her meeting with [John Grant]. Uselmann pushed her into a car and said, ‘You talked!’ Uselmann told her, ‘You cannot tell,’ and also told her they ‘had something special.’ She was terrified at the time and knew she was in trouble.”

When I asked Rebecca about Lucy trying to talk to her she replied, “Lucy did try to talk me. We were at a youth function and she asked to talk to me. I was so scared that I avoided her. I don’t think she really had the opportunity to actually talk to me, as I figured that was what she was going to talk to me about, and so I avoided her. It was a bit after I was sending Bonnie the letters. I figured at some point someone would tell. So when Lucy asked to talk to me, I knew it was about the letter. So I avoided her like the plague.”

December 9, 2021 Update: A jury trial is set to start on July 11, 2022 and continue through July 15, 2022.

May 1, 2022 Edit: A jury status hearing is set for June 27, 2022, with jury selection on July 11. The trial is set for July 12- 15, 2022.

Articles:
Charges filed in sexual assault case linked to Madison’s Calvary Gospel Church– July 21, 2020 Capital Times
Columbus man charged with sexually assaulting child while working as Madison church youth minister – July 22, 2020 WKOW
‘My initial reaction was absolute shock:’ Madison woman affirmed after her alleged, childhood abuser charged with sex assault – July 23, 2020 WKOW (video)
Man charged for sexually assaulting girl at Calvary Gospel Church in Madison – July 23, 2020 WMTV NBC15 (video)
Criminal complaint alleges former youth pastor sexually assaulted girl for several years – July 23, 2020 WISC
Former Youth Minister At Columbus Church Charged With Child Sexual Assault – July 23, 2020 Seehafer News
Probable cause found in sex assault case against Columbus man – August 6, 2020 WKOW

You will find a complete list of articles in this series by clicking here.

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Former United Pentecostal Minister Glen Alan Uselmann: Sexual Assault Charges

But in the background, where everyone knew but wouldn’t talk about, was a massive problem. I think because sex was such a forefront issue, and because you were only allowed to marry other UPC-ers, couples were often getting married extremely young and the only compatibility goal was your mate be UPC too. …So affairs, sexual crimes, porn addictions, and unprotected sex was rampant. It was as if most everyone knew – I mean come on, I was a child and could see it, there’s no excuse for the adults not seeing it too – but no one talked about it or addressed it. No one would open that can of worms. Just as I sit typing this I can think of 7 examples of older men dating underage girls, just from my age group and circle of friends. – Rebecca, former member of Calvary Gospel Church

I don’t have any comments. That is ridiculous. I don’t want to comment on that garbage. – Glen Uselmann to the Cap Times in August 2019

Glen Alan Uselmann was born on May 19, 1959 and the charges against him are from when his victim, Rebecca Martin-Byrd, was from 12 to 16 years old. She was born in 1976, so there is a 17 year age difference. They happened when both parties were members of Calvary Gospel Church, which is located at 5301 Commercial Avenue in Madison, Wisconsin. During the years in question, John Wesley Grant was the pastor of Calvary Gospel Church and is yet the bishop. Roy Howard Grant, his son, was not in the position of a pastor at this time, as he wasn’t brought in until early 2013. Glen Uselmann received his local license from the UPCI in 2013, after the alleged sexual crimes, and either lost or relinquished his license in 2019. I cover this more in depth in my previous article. He is presently a resident of Columbus, Wisconsin.

If anything ever comes of this, I will know that I fought for the child I was once was. I have grown up now, and have promised myself to never be that willingly vulnerable again. I can see myself as that young child, and I will be what she once needed, and somehow, hopefully someday, bring her some justice and healing. – Rebecca, former member of Calvary Gospel Church

After almost a year of investigation, a criminal complaint was filed against Uselmann on July 15, 2020. This is Dane County Case Number 2020CF001760. Uselmann was charged with one count of second degree sexual assault of a child, 948.02(2) a Class C Felony, for sexual intercourse with a child under age 16 (Rebecca was 14 years old when this first occurred.) and one count of first degree sexual assault of a child, 948.02(1) a Class B Felony, for sexual contact with a child under the age of 13 (Rebecca was 12 years old when this started.). For the first charge he is facing a possible fine of not more than $10,000, or imprisonment of not more than ten years, or both. For the second charge he is facing a possible sentence of imprisonment up to twenty years. The offense date for the first charge is between July 21, 1990 and July 21, 1992 and for the second charge it is July 21, 1988 to July 21, 1989. [EDIT: The first degree count was later dropped and then he was charged with five counts of second degree assault.] The prosecuting District Attorney is Ismael R. Ozanne. On July 20, 2020 Christopher T Van Wagner was entered into the record as representing Uselmann. His first court appearance is currently scheduled for August 6, 2020 at 10:30 am, with a preliminary hearing set for August 27, which was later changed to September 10. The investigators involved in the case are Detective Bradley Ware, Detective Hall and Detective Bauman.

The effects stick with you, one way or another. The pain may subside, but the scars remain.– Rebecca

Other Allegations Apart From This Case

It has been alleged by more than one person that prior to when he assaulted Rebecca, Glen Uselmann had repeated sexual contact for months, possibly a year, with another minor girl who may have been 15-16 years old. He was at least well into his twenties. In addition, Debbie McNulty recalls a time when Uselmann approached her during the handshaking time at a church service, asking why she was looking blue. (This was during the time Steven J. Dahl was allegedly molesting her when she was 11-12 years old.) Debbie responded that she didn’t think anyone would ever want to marry her. She shared with me that he was definitely flirting with her when he responded. “He smiled at me and said he’d be happy to date me. Then asked how old I was. When I said 12 he said that was too young.”

The Charges: First Degree Sexual Assault of a Child

When Rebecca Martin was in third grade, her parents took her out of public school and enrolled her in the one operated by Calvary Gospel Church. Rebecca was ten years old when Uselmann started showing her attention and grooming her. When the alleged sexual assaults started, Rebecca was twelve and he was 29. From the age of twelve through thirteen, she reports repeated sexual assaults, but not intercourse, at the rate of about once a week. It is alleged that Uselmann would kiss her neck, put his arms around her, finger her vaginally (often in his car), and put her hand on his penis to rub it. It is also alleged that more than once he put only the tip of his penis into her vagina. Uselmann told her not to tell her friends.

While it appears from the court record that Grant didn’t acknowledge this incident, the pen-pal, who received the letters from Rebecca, was interviewed and acknowledged them. She specifically recalled one letter where Rebecca shared that Uselmann “‘tried to touch her up her skirt.’ ‘He (Uselmann) basically tried to finger her on a roller coaster.’ [Rebecca] also wrote she didn’t want Uselmann to touch her.” When the pen-pal read that letter, “she remembered it making her uncomfortable. She described the letter as ‘graphic’.” To her it was “super significant” because it contained “sex stuff.”

However, on February 26, 2020, detectives interviewed John Grant about his knowledge of Uselmann’s sexual assaults. He claimed to have first heard about it when Rebecca and Glen had been married for 12-13 years and Rebecca had confided to Jon Eckenrod, one of the other church pastors, about some of her past sexual abuse. [Note: This time frame given by him is incorrect as the 1995 marriage ended in 2006.] Grant claimed he met with Uselmann after this and that Glen made it appear like it happened once, but admitted to Grant that they had sex before they were married. Grant claimed Uselman told him, “I know I did wrong and it was a long time ago.” On March 9, 2020, Eckenrod was interviewed by the detectives and acknowledged that in late 2005, while a pastor at Calvary Gospel Church, Rebecca came to him in an emotional and distressed state and “alluded to sexual acts as early as 12 years old.”

The Charges: Second Degree Sexual Assault of a Child

Rebecca was 14 when Glen Uselmann, 31, allegedly first forced her to have sexual intercourse. That same week Uselmann had volunteered to be a chauffeur for United Pentecostal Church evangelist Elton Leroy “Lee” Stoneking, who was a speaker at the Wisconsin church camp. He spent a lot of time that week with Stoneking, even taking him out to eat. Rebecca claims that Uselmann “had long obsessed over Stoneking.” After turning 14, Uselmann often drove Rebecca home after church and much of the sexual intercourse occurred in his car, a black Mazda MX-6. He would often park his car somewhere at night while in the process of driving Rebecca home. Assaults also allegedly occurred on his couch at his then residence on Stein Avenue in Madison. It is alleged that Uselmann would first “scroll through his TV channels until he came upon a pornography channel” where the “picture would not tune to see the picture so only the sound could be heard” and then he would start sexual acts with Rebecca.

According to the court records, Rebecca shared that “she spent time at church, school, and youth groups and no matter where she was, Uselmann showed up. [She] said there was ‘no getting away from him.’ [She] said the adults in the church did not seem to see the problem and encouraged it. [She] said her parents allowed Uselmann to see her at their family home. [She] said Uselmann also took her out to eat, bought her things such as clothing, and drove her around.” Rebecca also recalled an incident where Uselmann picked her up from a friend’s home and took her to his residence in Madison, when he was supposed to be taking her to lunch. His roommate happened to come home when Uselmann was on top of her and he hid her in his closet.

Rebecca took her first pregnancy test where Uselmann worked when she was 15. She claims he never wore a condom and that he made her read Bible verses out loud after every time they had sex. There was one time she remembered “where Uselmann stood over her and threatened to urinate on her if she didn’t do what he wanted.” She remembers once when she was 16 and her father, a Madison police officer, caught her and Uselmann together. Glen hid under Rebecca’s bed and she alleges that her father did nothing. More will be covered about former police officer Gregory N. Martin in a subsequent article.

Corroboration From Others

Besides interviewing Rebecca Martin-Byrd, John Grant, Jon Eckenrod and the pen-pal, the detectives also spoke with others. One of them used to babysit for Rebecca and her sister and recalled Uselmann showing “up with [Rebecca] at different events when [Rebecca] was 13 or 14 years old.” They also noted that she “often left with Uselmann in his car after church.”

Another person shared that after meeting Rebecca when she was 11-12 years old, that she told her about Uselmann. They mentioned that church members would refer to Rebecca as Uselmann’s “little girlfriend.” They recalled that Uselmann spent “tons of time together” with Rebecca, even driving her to dinner after church services and that Rebecca would write him “little letters and notes.”

They also remembered witnessing Uselmann kissing Rebecca around 1991, when she would have been 14 or 15. This witness also shared one time at Uselmann’s home while watching television, Rebecca was sitting between his legs and he was kissing her neck and face. They noted that Rebecca was “sitting upright and not moving while the kissing was happening.”

Prior to these events, they also noted that when Rebecca was visiting at the witness’s home, Uselmann would come over to the house a lot, but didn’t come inside. Rebecca would go out to Glen’s car and sit in it with him for long periods of time. It was also mentioned that they saw them kissing once outside the car.

Not only was I preyed on by my perpetrator, who I previously referred to as “Ben”, but inappropriate behavior was common. On my wedding day, I was carried out by one of “Ben’s” friends, while they did the kidnap-the-bride thing, and his friend stuck his hand up my wedding dress and held onto my lady bits (sorry, oddly enough I feel weird saying “genitals”). I squirmed and tried to move, and asked him to stop, but he just kept it up and laughed at me. I couldn’t get away from him as he was carrying me, and he thought it was funny. It wasn’t until all this came up that I have even told that story. I realize now that this guy was so bold that he sexually assaulted his buddy’s wife on their wedding day. But even then I knew no one would believe me or care if I did tell. I have since learned that this same man had previously assaulted two other women, and he was actually made to apologize to the congregation for one assault, but he was still allowed to be a minister there. – Rebecca, former member of Calvary Gospel Church

May 1, 2022 Edit: A jury status hearing is set for June 27, 2022, with jury selection on July 11. The trial is set for July 12- 15, 2022.

You will find a complete list of articles in this series by clicking here.

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Lee Stoneking Lied About A Deaf Boy Being Healed

United Pentecostal Church minister and evangelist Elton Leroy “Lee” Stoneking isn’t known for always being truthful. Five years ago I wrote an article about his false account of Osama Bin Laden having 40 wives that were held in a cave. Some have exposed the errors in his claim to have been raised from the dead. (See Rev. Lee Stoneking Lies To The United Nations, Rev. Lee Stoneking Lies At The UN Part 2 [This article shows that the man Stoneking identified as a doctor, isn’t one. He’s since been in trouble with the law.] and Lee Stoneking lies about everything.) I also wrote an article about Stoneking’s brief appearance at the United Nations where he neglected to address the topic he was to address and instead shared about being raised from the dead. You may partly blame UPCI pastor Art Wilson for that as he claimed to have written Stoneking’s speech. Others have addressed his alleged doctorate and claim to being an adjunct professor of Southern Eastern University in the United Kingdom. I am certain that there are other false claims which he has made and this is one of them.

On July 19, 2020, Lee Stoneking turned 80 and on his Facebook Page he posted this image, where it appears he is claiming to have raised people from the dead, healed people who are lame, blind, deaf and who were afflicted with cancer. I asked on Facebook if anyone could present some documentation that these things had happened during his ministry. No documentation was provided by anyone, though one person claimed to have witnessed a woman being healed of arthritis.

In a private group, one man responded and shared the story of his son, who is deaf, and Lee Stoneking claimed that he was healed and proceeded to tell the story at other churches, even though it was not true and he had been informed it was not.

The following took place sometime in 1987 at a Back to School revival. The boy was under one year old, probably about ten months. On the Thursday night of revival, Stoneking prophesied that this boy would be healed of his deafness. The following night he prayed for the parents and the boy after calling them to the front before he was to preach. He prophesied to the father that God would use him in great ways and that he would be like Gideon. After praying for the man’s son, he did various things to make it appear as if the boy was responding, such as turning his back and whispering. He laid hands on the father and he ‘took off’ as many do in Pentecostal circles. Everyone started going crazy, thinking that this infant had been healed.

The parents believed the declaration of healing, but soon after they began to have doubts. When the speakers to the stereo somehow got turned off and then suddenly blared loudly, their son showed no reaction. That Sunday they went again to the front of the church after Stoneking’s sermon and were ignored by him until they could no longer be ignored. When told what happened, Stoneking shared that it was on the parents now- that they had to keep the faith. He instructed them to play Christian music 24/7 and to put a Bible in the boy’s crib. Believing he would be healed, the parents stopped all intervention and tests which their doctor recommended and told the doctor that their son was healed. An entire year went by and there was no change.

The father broke down and took his son for a hearing test and he was fitted with hearing aids. He had to accept the fact that his son had not been healed, despite following Lee Stoneking’s instructions. Below is the father’s account as he wrote it, with the omission of his son’s name. It is used with his permission and he wishes to remain anonymous due to having family yet in the United Pentecostal Church.

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I have a deaf son, and when he was an infant, Stoneking came to the Pensacola Church. He prophesied telling us my son would be healed. That was on a Thursday night.

Friday night Stoneking called us to the front of the church and told my wife to get our son. He wanted to pray for him. The church went eerie silent as my wife went over and picked up our son from my mom. (That’s been many years ago AND he is still deaf). After praying for him, he told the church he was healed. He did some crazy stuff trying to get my son’s attention. The church went from being eerie quiet to wild.

There was so much theatrics going on that night. I started crying and shouting, my wife is shouting, I am talking a “Holy Ghost hoe down.” We left church truly believing our son was healed.

By Sunday morning it was obvious he wasn’t. So after the preaching during the altar time, we took my son back up for prayer, initially Stoneking totally ignored us. Finally he had to recognize us or he would have been embarrassed. I mean we’re both crying holding our baby, everyone was looking, he didn’t have much choice.

Stoneking told us that Satan was real and that he would test us. He explained that my son’s hearing would come and go. We had to stand strong on God’s word. He told us to play music in his crib, every night, and let him sleep with the Bible. We were told to SPEAK (with faith) that he could hear. In other words, we were told to ignore his deafness, waking up everyday as if he was hearing. He told us no matter what any doctor had to say, we had to in faith, tell them our son could hear.

After the revival, Stoneking went on to his next church and told them that a deaf baby was healed at his last meeting. This rumor got repeated over and over again. Some of y’all might remember it.

My son’s deafness never went away.

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