Pastor arrested in FBI sting for offering "sexual training" to 11-year-old girl

[Amerigo Vespucci]

FBI Sting Nets Pervy Pastor
Michigan man busted for offering "sexual training" to 11-year-old girl

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/sex/fbi-sting-nets-pervy-pastor



SEPTEMBER 13--An undercover FBI sting has netted a Lutheran Church pastor who sought to arrange a Red Roof Inn liaison with an 11-year-old girl he was planning to offer “sexual training,” The Smoking Gun has learned.

William "Pastor Bill" Bendert was arrested Friday following a two-week probe that began when the 51-year-old Michigan man--who heads King of Kings Lutheran Church in Lake Orion--made contact with an undercover agent in the chat room “train lgl yf Michigan,” according to an FBI affidavit filed in U.S. District Court.

The FBI agent, Brett Leatherman, was posing as “Kara,” a 38-year-old single mother of an 11-year-old girl named “Jenna.”

In a series of chats, Bendert, pictured at left, offered to serve as the “private sexual tutor” of “Jenna,” noting that he could teach the child about “pleasuring a man’s penis, performing oral sex, and learning about her own body.” Bendert, using the handle “Billthebear99,” explained that he wanted “Kara” to be present during these sessions and that he was seeking “the experience of training…helping…enjoying both your company and time.”

According to his church’s web site--which was taken offline after a TSG reporter contacted King of Kings this morning--Bendert was ordained in 1984 and has served at five parishes. A brief bio quotes Bendert saying, “I have a passion for two things in ministry--bringing people to Christ, and then helping grow disciples for Jesus…Beyond ministry, I love to travel and see the wonders of God's creation.” A church secretary said Bendert is currently on “administrative leave.”

[spanone]

1. lutheran church pastor and who's whining about the muslims?

[Amerigo Vespucci]

4. Yep...the "How far is his church from the nearest playground" question

I've found that the biggest mistake we can make as human beings...bar none...is to "categorize."

KIDS understand it...when they color, they color OUTSIDE the lines...ALL the time. Adults try to "train" them to stay inside the lines and that's where the trouble begins.

:patriot:

[kestrel91316]

2. Church is the last refuge of the scoundrel. Or whatever.

[chrisa]

3. Disgusting. K&R

[Canuckistanian]

5. “Billthebear99”?

That's a creepy screen name to begin with.

[chrisa]

8. Oh. He was online? Of course... I missed that the first time.

They always are. Like they invented the concept of trying to rape a child over the internet.


Props to the FBI once again.

[Dappleganger]

6. Looks like they are ELCA.

This is so saddening. I hope they throw the book at him and the victims, their families and the congregation all get the help they need.

BTW, there are some awesome liberals in the ELCA so please don't broad-brush the entire church because of this.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelical_Lutheran_Church_in_America

[Amerigo Vespucci]

7. I created a Website for a local ELCA church, and...

...they are some of the nicest people you'd ever want to meet. One young couple got married and I videotaped the wedding / burned a DVD for them for free.

It bears repeating at this point that I am a Christian, and this kind of story probably saddens me a great deal more than it does people who are not Christians. I see the good and evil. I don;t have blind faith or tunnel vision. This guy has a sickness. He is one man among many.

:patriot:

[BolivarianHero]

9. I'm an atheist...

And I wholeheartedly agree with you.

I was crossing my fingers saying "Please let it be the Missouri synod" when I read this story.

[Canuckistanian]

14. You're bad

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[murielm99]

16. Upthread, someone asked that we not broadbrush an entire

church (ELCA) because of this. I was raised Missouri Synod. I know they are a conservative church, but not everyone in it is politically conservative. I would ask you not to broadbrush them, either.

This is not about a synod. It is about one sick man. We would be just as outraged if he was a teacher or a scout leader.

[newspeak]

34. It doesn't matter what church

Pedophiles tend to be in positions of trust or authority. I remember back in the seventies on Phil Donahue show (my children were toddlers at the time)-he had a pedophile on the show who was aiding the authorities to break up child kidnapping rings-what he said deeply disturbed me. He said that there are worldwide rings who deal in children--if someone is in europe and wants a blue eyed, blond hair girl-they'll get her. That those in positions of trust and authority-police officers, priests, ministers and even judges-there are pedophiles.

[murielm99]

36. My son is an Eagle Scout.

We found out ten years after his Eagle Scout award that someone high up in the area council was a pedophile. Once one boy complained, they started to come out of the woodwork. They all told similar stories. This guy was even stupid enough to keep a journal about his "conquests." My son was sickened by the whole thing. Of course scouting is going to attract people like this one. So will schools and churches.

[Dappleganger]

17. You know what

I had that same evil thought.

Like the other poster, this just makes me sick sick sick. The people at the church are supposed to live to protect and serve "the least of these."

[JerseygirlCT]

26. +1 nt

[mitchum]

10. These guys so often have their sickness override the likelihood that it...

really is a kid on the other end of that chat.
I guess hope springs eternal in the pervert's heart.

[Schema Thing]

13. lol, I may have to quote you.

[customerserviceguy]

20. Not sick, evil

And may the next perv be nabbed by someone other than the "catch and release" kind...

[CoffeeCat]

25. Thank you...pedophiles are not sick, just evil...

Pedophiles understand very well that their actions harm children, traumatize
them and are a violation of their innocence.

Pedophiles will tell you that they love children so much--they just can't
help themselves and that their attraction is benevolent.

Bull roar. Pedophiles HATE children. They hate their innocence and their
carefree, lighthearted personalities. They want to destroy those things
about children. They are not attracted to the innocence because they love
it, they are drawn to it because they want to stomp on it and snuff it out.

These people are angry, vengeful, selfish pieces of shit. Since they are
weak, unhappy, full of self loathing and insecurity--they can't stand to
see children who are happy and free of everything that they are not.

This isn't a sickness or a compulsion or some attraction.

It's an evil choice that they know hurts children while causing them untold
psychological and emotional pain throughout their entire lives.

[mitchum]

30. I'm not using sick in the clinical sense; they are indeed evil motherfuckers

[Vehl]

11. This guy looks creepy nt

[customerserviceguy]

21. If he looked like Justin Bieber

would it have been any less wrong?

[Vehl]

28. well

looking back at my post, yeah i see that it could be mis-interpreted that way.I agree. Even if he looked liked Bieber wrong is wrong :)

ps: not a fan of Bieber though :P

[lib_wit_it]

23. Looks like a cross between Turdblossom, Limblech, and Beckkk. Fright mask! /m

[Vehl]

29. lol

good one

[krabigirl]

12. Yuck. nt

[Initech]

15. The good ol' morals and values crows (tm) at work.

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[customerserviceguy]

22. Yeah, I've heard that for years

Can you come up with any stories of pervs being killed in prison lately? Naw, me neither.

[USArmyParatrooper]

24. I hope that was sarcasm. Assaulting or killing a child molester is like a badge of honor in prisons

[customerserviceguy]

32. Again, I've not heard of any such stories

Perhaps you have links to one or two. While I wish the very worst for this perv, chances are, he's going to be in with scum who would like to hear tales of kids he did violate.

[4_TN_TITANS]

33. True that...

I saw a dude accused of killing his baby daughter get almost beaten to death while I was serving a D.U.I. sentence. It's ironic how a bunch of crappy fathers despise the crappiest among them.

[customerserviceguy]

37. Sorry, there's a difference between jail and prison

Jail is where you go when they haven't fully decided what to do with you, prison is where you go when your lawyer can't get you out of the system because of the severity of what you've done.

If you went to prison for your DUI, then you'd know the difference.

[Dogtown]

39. Did you learn that code of conduct

in prison?

Did you give or receive?

I have no respect for those that delight in prison brutality.

[TheCowsCameHome]

19. Where Pastor Bill is going, there won't be much chatting going on.

Bloated perv.

[Odin2005]

27. What a sick, sick, bastard!

:puke:

[AmandaMae]

31. what a sicko. n/t

[old mark]

35. Think of this guy when someone tells you of all the good religion has done. nt

[Art_from_Ark]

38. I see far too many knees jerking here

Every time there is an article like this posted here, there is always a Pavlovian reaction of people who have already tried, convicted, and even executed, or at least subjected to torture at the hands of foaming-at-the-mouth prison inmates, the accused, based on the evidence presented at a web site. But the man may-- or may not-- be guilty, or even a pedophile. The whole situation just sounds too bizarre for me to believe, in the absence of other information.

Having spent a good deal of time around people who are knowledgeable about computers and Internet security, I was shocked to find how easy it is for someone to access another person's account and create mayhem for the legitimate account holder, who might not even be aware of what is going on. This really sounds like some sort of malicious prank to me, in part because I seriously doubt that a man who was afraid of intervention by law enforcement authorities would write what he is accused of writing to a woman he didn't even know. He didn't show up at any of these secret meetings he supposedly arranged.

Innocent until proven guilty, in a court of law.

[SalmonChantedEvening]

40. Too sick for words.

I hope there are no actual victims out there.