Miami-area police arrested two men for sexually abusing a minor.
One of the men, Ricardo Strachan, is the former pastor and current president of Prophetic Worshippers International, according to the Miami Herald.
The victim was the 13-year-old stepdaughter of fellow pastor Avo Avard Roker, who was also arrested for sexual abuse.
An ABC affiliate reports Roker and Strachan repeatedly sexually abused the girl for almost a year. Roker threatened the girl, telling her that Strachan would harm her and her mother if she didn’t comply, the warrant said.
According to the Miami Herald:
Both men were booked into Broward County Jail. Roker was charged with three counts of sexual assault by a person with custodial authority on a victim between the ages of 12 and 18. Strachan, who used to preach at The Prophetic Worshippers International Church, was charged with one count of lewd and lascivious battery on a minor between the ages of 12 and 16 years old.
According to a police report, Strachen had sex with the girl more than 36 times either in the parking lot of a high school during school hours or at a nearby motel between January to December of 2016. …
Documents outlining Roker’s arrest were not immediately available Sunday, Lauderhill police told the Miami Herald. However police say Roker had sex with his step-daughter more than 65 times from December 2015 to December 2016.
Strachan reportedly practiced voodoo and threatened the teen, who had to steal from her family to comply.
Lawrence Hashish, an attorney for Strachan, said his client denies the allegations against him and that the church is standing by the pastor.
“He might be a prophet, I don’t know,” Hashish says. “We’re looking forward to our day in court to challenge these allegations.”
Many of Strachan’s sermons are available on YouTube. In said videos, Strachan preaches while followers cry out, “Go ‘head, prophet” and other exhortations.
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