This is found at tennessean.com. Notice that they are entertaining prosecuting the parents- could this open the door for jw prosecutions? Knowingly allowing their children to be in a position where they are subject to abuse and neglect
Minister arrested in rape case
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The Leaf-Chronicle
State had removed some of church's children
A Clarksville minister was arrested yesterday and charged with the rapes of several young people, including two children, after an almost four-month police investigation.
Police booked the Rev. La Monte McNeese into the Montgomery County Jail on 19 counts of statutory rape, eight counts of sexual battery and two counts of child rape. He was released a short time later after posting $50,000 bail.
''Taxpayers' money is being used for people's personal agendas,'' McNeese said as police led him into the magistrate's office. He declined to comment further.
A telephone call to McNeese later yesterday was not returned.
McNeese was charged in a sealed indictment by a grand jury earlier this month.
In a sealed indictment, the charges are not made public until an arrest is made.
McNeese, 42, is founder and minister of One Way Apostolic Assembly, 703 Providence Blvd. He was arrested at his residence yesterday morning.
A police investigation launched April 27 into allegations of child abuse later prompted the state Department of Children's Services to take custody of 11 children who attended his church.
DCS spokesman Carla Aaron said parents of the children who have been taken into custody could be charged.
''It's always a possibility if you have parents that knowingly allowed their children to be in a position where they are subject to abuse and neglect,'' Aaron said. ''You have to look at what was told to the mother.''
McNeese's previous criminal record includes a 1991 guilty plea to patronizing a juvenile prostitute in Washington.
He was originally charged with second-degree rape for the incident involving a 16-year-old girl, Washington state authorities said in May.
Court records show that McNeese served one day behind bars, and that a judge suspended his jail sentence.