Story Archive

Thou Shalt Not

An employee at a church in Apopka, Fla., has admitted sexually assaulting a mentally disabled 14-year-old girl multiple times — including in the church. Joseph Averitt, 33, has been fired from the New Destiny Christian Center after being arrested and charged with sexual battery on a mentally challenged minor. The girl told investigators Averitt molested her “inside the booth inside the sanctuary of the church,” at the apartment Averitt shares with his wife and son, and in his car, where that son “was watching from the back seat and crying.” Church members refused to comment on the case, but Phil Mathis, who lives next door to the church, said he was “not surprised because he’s human. People make mistakes and do wrong things, but they can’t hide behind God when they do it.” (RC/WESH Orlando) ...Human? That’s a matter of opinion.