An Alabama Pastor Who Raped Multiple Children Was Released Early from Prison

In 2015, Mack Charles Andrews, the pastor of (the extremely conservative) United Pentecostal Church in Thomasville, Alabama as well as the head of its Faith Christian Academy school, was sentenced to 15 years in jail on charges that included rape, sodomy, and sexual abuse.

One of his victims testified that he raped her on her father’s grave when she was only 9 years old:

“He told me if I didn’t say anything, he would come back and put flowers on the grave,” [the victim] said. “If I did, he said demons would come and get me from my bed.”

…

“My ex-pastor is my rapist,” she told AL.com.

It’s now 2021. Andrews should be locked up for much of the next decade.

Instead, he’s now a free man only five years into that 15-year sentence.

He was released this week due to “good” behavior and none of his victims were even notified about it. The only thing Andrews is required to do is register as a sex offender, but that still means he’s free to attack again.

That victim I mentioned earlier can’t believe it:

“He’s going to do it again,” said Shay Walker. “It’s not like he touched someone one time. He’s a serial rapist.”

…

“People deserve to know they have a serial child rapist living among them,” Shay Walker said after Andrews’ release.

“You don’t understand how evil he is,” she said.

“He is the epitome of what to protect your children from….He called me from a cell phone in prison five months ago and threatened to kill me. I called the prison and alerted his caseworker. They still let him out.”

Andrews is now 61. Young enough that he could, as his neighbor explained, “move to Texas with his son and start another church.”

If we’ve learned nothing else from the broader Christian world over the past few years, it’s that sexual abusers are always given second chances by gullible believers if they claim to be saved in Jesus’ name. The sad truth is that Andrews, with his inevitable story of depravity followed by redemption, could realistically find a home in a pulpit somewhere… even as his victims now have to go through life always looking over their shoulders.

(Thanks to Brian for the link)