Pastor confesses adultery to congregation; woman shocks with her version: I was 16 … not ‘just’ adultery

An Indiana pastor’s attempt to confess his sins went off the rails Sunday when his victim decided to speak out and tell his congregation the real truth.

To hear New Life Christian Church pastor John Lowe II tell it, all he’d done was engage in adultery with one person 20 years ago.

“I committed adultery. It was nearly 20 years ago. It continued far too long. It involved one person, and there’s been no other. There were never any other situations of unbecoming conduct for the last 20 years,” he announced to his congregation.

“I will not use the Bible to defend, protect, and deflect my past sin. I have no defense. I didn’t make a mistake, I didn’t have an issue, I didn’t have an affair, I didn’t make a misjudgment – I sinned. I need to say that, and you deserve to hear it.”

The first half of the video below contains his remarks:

 

Watch. Listen. This is the truth. This is what the church stopped streaming for their live video. This is my family.

Posted by Maisey Cook on Sunday, May 22, 2022

The pastor continued, “Twenty years ago, I repented. Now the day for this fresh hurt, I ask you to forgive me for the deep wound I have caused. I’ll make no excuse for my sin, the betrayal of deep friendship, trust and love are beyond my ability to express.”

He added that, in accordance with the church’s by-laws, he’d be stepping down from his role as pastor and submitting himself to the judgment of the church’s board.

His confession was met with roaring applause from the adoring congregation. But then something extraordinary happened: A woman stood up along with her husband and began telling the congregation the real truth.

“For 27 years, I lived in a prison. It was not 20 years. I lived in a prison of lies and shame. Lying to protect the Lowe family for years. I thought I was a horrible person, having suicidal thoughts, not realizing what had truly been done to me. That I was a victim and I would still be in a prison if my brother … had not approached me, just two weeks ago, with what he had seen as a teenager that bothered him all these years: His pastor, in bed, with his younger sister, with a T-shirt and underwear on,” she said.

“People knew but were too afraid to come forward. The lies and the manipulation have to stop. I was a prisoner, and you kept me in your prison. I’m a prisoner no longer. I was just 16 when you took my virginity on your office floor. Do you remember that? I know you do. And I have plenty of other stories that I could bring to remembrance. You did things to my teenage body that had never and should have never been done. If you can’t admit the truth, you have to answer to God. You are not the victim here.”

The woman also accused Lowe of covering up a church associate pastor’s molestation habits by sending him to work at another church.

New Life Christian Church & World Outreach statement concerning Pastor John B. Lowe II.

Posted by New Life Christian Church & World Outreach on Monday, May 23, 2022

The woman’s husband spoke next.

“Listen. My wife – it’s not just adultery, it’s another level when it’s a teenager, and I will not let this man talk about my wife like that. It happened for nine years. When she was 15, 16, the sexual grooming started. It lasted until she met me and we started dating. This is the truth, and that’s all we’re going to say,” he claimed.

“We are working through love and forgiveness. We are working through it. But people have to be held accountable and they can’t just bamboozle people and just say, ‘Well, I just committed adultery.’ It was far beyond adultery.”

As the couple walked away after they finished speaking, a man in the congregation shouted, “If you did it, you need to admit it! One hundred percent!”

But again Lowe doubled down on his “adultery” claim.

“I told you I committed adultery. I told you it went on far too long. Yes, we did it. She was 16 years old, OK, and it was wrong. I can’t say it, I can’t make it right, I can’t make it any better. That’s just the way it is,” he said.

What remains unclear is whether the pastor will face any tangible consequences. The problem is that in Indiana, the age of consent is 16. There’s also the statute of limitations to keep in mind.

However, according to Indiana University Law professor Jody Madeira, there may be some hope.

“There is one particular offense that could apply, which is called child seduction. This applies when people in positions of trust or authority of a child, law enforcement, mental health practitioners, or anyone with a professional relationship with the child. It affects children between 16 and 18 years old, again these people use their professional relationship to engage in sexual conduct with a child and that is the offense of child seduction,” Madeira said to local station WNDU.

“The statute of limitations is set by Indiana Code 35-41-4-2. It covers several offenses involving children including molestation, vicarious sexual gratification… sexual misconduct with a minor, and incest. Normally it says that these crimes must be prosecuted before the victim reaches the age of 31, however, there’s an exception to that. The exception is basically that if the state obtains a recording, a confession that provides evidence sufficient to charge the crime.”

According to WNDU, the Kosciusko County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has confirmed that an investigation is underway.

Vivek Saxena

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