Here is a gross story for your Friday afternoon. Jorge Juan Castro of Las Buenas Nuevas Church in Norwalk, California, is facing charges after claiming that his hands, his mouth, and apparently his penis, have “healing powers”:
An associate pastor at a church in Norwalk arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting more than 20 female parishioners allegedly told his victims the sex acts were a necessary part of using “healing hands.”
Jorge Juan Castro, 53, was arrested last Friday on allegations that during his eight years as associate pastor at Las Buenas Nuevas Church in Norwalk, he repeatedly sexually assaulted at least 20 parishioners. He told the alleged victims who questioned the sex acts that they were part of the faith-healing process, said L.A. County Sheriff’s Capt. Robert Esson.
“He claimed to have healing hands and ulitized that process to eventually sexually assault them,” Esson said. “He preyed upon them from a trust position. He warned them they’d be the subject of ridicule in the church if they told others.”
Castro also allegedly threatened to have the women — who ranged in age from 18 to 39 — deported if they spoke out, Esson added.
That is a classic example of what social science researchers are talking about when they say that rape isn’t, at its core, about sex, but about power.
[h/t Joe]
