Category: unhealthy churches

This is the second installment of my coverage on former United Pentecostal Church minister, Don Giovanni “Donnie” Martin. Read part one here. He plead guilty on October 28, 2021 to the second degree rape of a minor, a felony. He was sentenced to twenty years in prison, with 18 of them suspended and he must serve five years of supervised probation. He is currently serving his time at the Baltimore City Correctional Center, a minimum security level facility in Baltimore. This is case number C-03-CR-21-002614. You may read some of the court documents in PDF format here.

I am going to share some details of the licensing process and UPCI rules. This case will give you insight into UPCI pastors wrongfully endorsing people for license, as well as what can happen in their judicial procedure. I am not going to jump right into the judicial procedure as there are important aspects of this case that need to be understood. Some may consider this to be tedious or unnecessary, but it is crucial in understanding the egregious nature of what occurred.

On May 18, 2017, Don Martin graduated from the Purpose Institute that was conducted at Abundant Life Church. The church held a ceremony for the four graduates. Purpose Institute is not a college, nor is it accredited. It is a “ministry training institution that partners with local Apostolic trainers” and “enables trainers to develop leader’s ministry skills and to clarify their individual purpose.”

The UPCI has three levels of licensing: local, general and ordained. Many start with a local license, though those who have attended one of the Bible colleges may start with a general. In order to apply for a local license, the applicant must be at least 17 and complete the mandatory requirements set by the organization, of which I will only point out that one includes preaching an average of once a week for six months and another is that the UPCI Manual must be read. They will then meet with the District Board of their state, where they will be examined.

They are expected to “labor in cooperation with, and under the supervision of, their local UPCI pastor until they enter ministerial responsibilities that remove them from their local assembly.” Additionally, a minister holding local license is not permitted to conduct marriages unless they are a pastor or have been authorized by their pastor to do so.

Don Martin applied for, and was granted, a local license in 2019. For this case, there are three important aspects of the application.

On page five, question 38 asks, “Have you ever been convicted of or pleaded guilty to child abuse or a crime involving actual or attempted sexual molestation of a minor? If yes, please explain.” First, no explanation should be needed if the response is ‘yes’ as such should prohibit them from being licensed. That should be an instant denial.

Second, because Martin had not yet been arrested or convicted for his crimes, he could respond to this with ‘no’ and not be lying. The UPCI needs to add to this question, if they have ever been accused of those things and/or ever committed those acts, but was never accused or charged. Had this been added, Martin would have had to answer ‘yes’ and explain what happened…or lie, and answer otherwise.

On page six, two questions are asked which pertain to the reading of the Manual. One asks, “Have you read the Articles of Faith and do you agree with them?” The next asks, “Have you read the ministerial obligations and rules and do you agree with them?” Keep in mind that Don Martin had to read the Manual before obtaining license. Later in this article you will see what he read, which should have shown him that he was not eligible to be licensed or to even preach in a UPCI church.

On the final page of the application, you will see where the pastor, or another ordained UPCI minister, must sign. Applicants need to have the recommendation of their local pastor. That brings us to the inexcusable actions of Martin’s pastor, David Reever, in endorsing him for his license. He clearly violated United Pentecostal Church policy in doing so.

You will recall from the first article, that in 2003 David Reever and two other UPC ministers met with Don Martin as he wanted to return to Abundant Life Church. Reever was not the pastor when Martin raped the victim in 1990, but had been the pastor since 1997. Don Martin admitted at the 2003 meeting to ‘having sex with’ the victim and claimed that she was attractive and came on to him.

When Reever was interviewed by police in 2021, when they were investigating the crime, he remembered who the victim was and shared that Martin admitted to having sex with her when she was a minor. Knowing this, Reever STILL signed Martin’s license application and apparently did not inform the Maryland-Washington DC District Board about his knowledge of Martin’s past. If he did, that makes this extremely more troublesome. In addition, in 2019 when the license was approved, Reever was the District Secretary and most likely was present when the Board met with Martin and voted to approve his license.

Why is this inexcusable? No matter how David Reever viewed what happened, even if he saw it as Martin described, with the 11 year old coming on to him, he should not have endorsed Martin. A minor, especially not one so young, can never consent to intercourse with an adult. If Reever viewed this as repented of and forgiven because Martin confessed in the 2003 meeting, he still should not have endorsed him. A person is disqualified from holding license in the UPCI if they have committed sexual abuse. This was not an affair, nor adultery, nor consensual intercourse- it was the rape of a minor.

David Reever obtained his UPCI license sometime after 1980 and before 1986. (I do not have a complete set of Directories from the 1980s.) The 1981 UPCI Manual, even back then, clearly stated that, “For the purpose of ministerial membership in the United Pentecostal Church International or for ministering in a United Pentecostal International church, immoral conduct shall be defined as: adultery, fornication, homosexuality, incest, and/or any other sexual acts determined by the District Board to be perverted or immoral.”

The 2019 Manual, which was released that January, stated the same and was in effect when Don Martin was granted his license.

Remember that one of the requirements of obtaining license is that the applicant must preach an average of once a week for six months. It is not unreasonable to assume that David Reever would have allowed Don Martin to preach at times before obtaining his license, in order for him to meet this requirement. That would be despite the clear mention in the Manual that said, “or for ministering in a United Pentecostal International church.”

The 2019 Manual continues saying, “Any minister affiliated with our organization proven guilty of adultery or fornication, or committing any other immoral offense, shall forfeit his or her papers immediately. Immoral offense shall include sexual molestation of minors.

“In the event a minister confesses in writing to immoral conduct and surrenders his or her fellowship card, no trial shall be granted. In either case, such minister shall never be qualified for reinstatement into the ministry of the United Pentecostal Church International.” Note that the sexual molestation of minors was specifically mentioned.

While the Manual does not specifically state that this applies to those seeking licensing, it should be clear that Martin’s actions and prior confession would have permanently disqualified him from obtaining one. You will later see that this is true.

I am attaching the entire local license application in PDF form. I have previously written an article on the United Pentecostal Church Rules Regarding Sexual Immorality & Ministers as well as a six part series with information on licensing in the United Pentecostal Church and the rules for ministers.

The June 23, 2021 video below is UPCI minister Scott Graham, describing the local license application.

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

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This past Tuesday, June 21, 2022, was a year ago that United Pentecostal minister Don Giovanni “Donnie” Martin was arrested and charged with second-degree rape, second-degree sex offense and second-degree assault of an 11 year old girl in 1990. Martin would have been 25 at the time of his crime and was married. Pay attention to dates, as these will be important in what I will share in a subsequent post. This is case number C-03-CR-21-002614. You may read some of the court documents in PDF format here.

The assault happened at Martin’s apartment during a youth group sleepover at which his wife was also present. Martin was a youth pastor at Abundant Life Church, previously the Dundalk United Pentecostal Church, and lived on Havenwood Road in Baltimore County.

Martin had been known to flirt with girls in the youth group, including the victim. While the others were asleep, Martin and the victim went out on the balcony where he kissed her, pulled her pants down and penetrated her from behind.

The day after the rape, the girl told her sister and mother. It was reported to the pastor, Chris Tharp, who set up a meeting with the victim and Don Martin. Martin’s wife was also present. Martin denied the accusation and his wife is said to have yelled at the victim. After this, the Martin family left the church and went to Christian Revival Center in Reisterstown, where Charles Curry was, and still is, pastor. Meanwhile, in late 1997, David Reever became pastor of Abundant Life.

In 2003, Don Martin wanted to return to Abundant Life Church due to something that happened at the other church, so a meeting was held where Don Martin and David M. Reever were present, along with two other UPC ministers who worked with Reever, Raymond Almsteadt and Andrew Smith. In that meeting, Don Martin admitted to ‘having sex with’ the victim and claimed that she was attractive and came on to him.

When Andrew Smith was interviewed by police in 2021, he recalled the meeting and shared that Don Martin admitted that he was unfaithful to his wife and that it may have involved a minor. When Reever was interviewed by police the same year, he remembered who the victim was and shared that Martin admitted to having sex with her when she was a minor.

Ray Almsteadt shared that he spoke to David Reever in an attempt to prevent Martin from returning to the church, but he was told by Reever that he had unforgiveness in his heart and needed to forgive Martin.

Martin, born March 26, 1965, originally had five charges against him, but in a plea agreement on October 28, 2021, he plead guilty to second degree rape, a felony, and the other charges were dropped. He was sentenced to twenty years in prison, with 18 of them suspended, and he was ordered to serve five years of supervised probation. Unfortunately, he was not required to register as a sex offender due to how long ago the crime occurred.

On November 29, 2021,  a petition for modification of Martin’s sentence was filed by him and on December 22, 2021 it was denied by the court. He is currently serving his time at the Baltimore City Correctional Center, a minimum security level facility in Baltimore.

One man shared on social media that he was shocked to show up at court and see church members who arrived to support Martin, including David and Christina Reever. The authorities were also shocked that so many showed up for the sentencing of a rapist. How is this consistent with the 2019 UPCI position paper which calls for its ministers and churches to prioritize care for the victim? (“The UPCI charges our ministers and our institutions to create a culture in which victims can safely share instances of abuse and receive necessary care and protection throughout the process.”)

This is not the first time I have heard of this happening, where church members and/or ministers attend court proceedings in support of a perpetrator, instead of the victim(s).

The man wrote, “This came out 30 years later because the perpetrator was given a license to pastor even though his endorsing pastor was aware of the abuse that happened. When the victim confronted the endorsing pastor he dismissed her feelings and said ‘I hope you find healing.'”

The endorsing pastor mentioned is David Reever, the current Superintendent of the Maryland-Washington DC District of the UPCI, having been elected in April of 2021. He has been the pastor of Abundant Life Church, an affiliated UPCI church, for more than two decades.

It is important to note that when an individual applies for a UPC license, the pastor must endorse them and sign their application. This is what David Reever did, after the 2003 meeting mentioned above. Let that sink in. This clearly goes against the rules outlined in the UPCI Manual. Martin never should have even been considered for a license as his crimes forever banned him from obtaining one, as well as being forbidden to ever preach in one of their churches.

Don Martin first appears in the 2020 UPCI Directory, indicating that he received his license in 2019, as the Directories are issued every January. Chester Wright was the District Superintendent then, with Reever the District Secretary. It is extremely important to note that this license was granted after at least four UPC ministers had been made aware of his crimes. There was also at least one other alleged assault of which I am aware, that happened after this victim, but she was not a minor. Martin was asked to resign his license in 2021, which he did.

The crime was reported to police in early 2021, after the victim learned that David Reever permitted Don Martin to preach at Abundant Life. She first reached out to Reever, asking why he was allowed to have influence, as Martin had returned to the church and later became licensed. As shared above, Reever’s response to her was, “I hope you find healing.” When interviewed by police, Reever stated that he allowed Don Martin to preach there because he didn’t have access to children. This is untrue and has been confirmed by more than one individual.

After this was reported to police, they suspected there could be more victims (like in the ongoing Scott and Travis Huse cases in Wisconsin). It is well known that a pedophile does not abuse just one person. In all the years which have passed, there could be many survivors out there and if so, we hope they will come forward. Maryland has no criminal statute of limitations on child sexual abuse. Baltimore Police can still be contacted at 410-307-2020 if you were a victim, or know of a victim. Callers may remain anonymous.

I previously wrote an article on the United Pentecostal Church Rules Regarding Sexual Immorality & Ministers as well as a six part series with information on licensing in the United Pentecostal Church and the rules for ministers.

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

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This is infuriating. How does the United Pentecostal Church expect people to take them seriously when one of their pastors, who TWICE mishandled sexual abuse cases, gets elected as a presbyter of the Western District? Yes, Ron Earl Bohde is now the presbyter of Section 3.

David Bernard, the General Superintendent of the UPCI, states that since September 2021 they’ve been working on the new section of their website called SafeChurch. They are supposed to be making reforms regarding sexual abuse and how it should be handled and prevented. When one of their Districts does something like this, it calls into question how serious they are about addressing the decades long issue of sexual abuse in their midst.

Remember Dylan Ritterman, who pleaded guilty to two counts each of attempted first degree sexual abuse and second degree sexual abuse of two boys at Bethel United Pentecostal Church in Oregon? Ron Bohde was the pastor. He failed to report the abuse to police when he heard of allegations. After that he was uncooperative with the police investigation at first.

Prosecutor Kevin Barton had this to say about Bohde, “This was a worst-case scenario when it comes to a church and a pastor not cooperating.” Let that sink in- A WORST-CASE SCENARIO.

Even SNAP released a statement saying, “This pastor [Bohde] should be harshly punished.” They were deeply disturbed by Ron Bohde’s actions.

After that Bohde headed south and took over as pastor of the Calvary Apostolic Church in Dinubi, California. Remember Victor Becerra, a former licensed United Pentecostal minister? He was found guilty of 19 counts of child molestation involving four minor girls.

It was reported that Bohde and some church members were supportive of Becerra. When people were protesting outside the church, Bohde was quoted as saying in a sermon, “Just to mess with their minds- I’m just praying that they get rain, cold and soaked wet, and miserably enjoy their protest.”

This is the type of man and pastor that the Western District voted in to become the presbyter of section three. This is so very wrong and sends a message quite opposite of what David Bernard is stating.

This District, in my opinion, has failed survivors of sexual abuse once again.

For additional information on Ron Bohde, see our prior article.

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

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