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BY RUTHANN ROBINSON
Times Staff Writer | Sunday, January 11, 2004 | (1 comment(s))
CROWN POINT -- Lake County authorities thought a former East Chicago pastor charged with sexual misconduct was behind bars in Oklahoma awaiting extradition, but instead the Baptist preacher was on a Miami pulpit.
Prosecutors allege the Rev. Chester Mulligan, 38, now pastor of Miami's Grace Baptist Church and Academy, had sexual intercourse multiple times with a 14-year-old girl in his East Chicago Central Baptist Church congregation. They say the incidents occurred from December 1998 to May 1999 while he ministered there.
Mulligan resigned from Central Baptist in December 2001.
Mulligan said he is not guilty of the charges brought by a woman he said was asked to leave Central Baptist when she refused to accept help for her promiscuity.
"She's not as squeaky clean as she's making out to be," Mulligan said Thursday from Miami.
Lake County Sheriff Detective Michelle Weaver said when Mulligan was charged Dec. 18, authorities issued a warrant for his arrest at Fort Sill, Okla., where he was serving as a U.S. Army chaplain. Weaver said Oklahoma authorities were to hold Mulligan for extradition to Indiana.
Instead, an Oklahoma judge let Mulligan post a $9,000 bond and released him.
Mulligan questioned the timing of his arrest -- 4 p.m. on Dec. 19 -- which he said seemed orchestrated to keep him in jail on Christmas.
"They got me on a Friday night, and I had to spend a weekend in jail, and it was a filthy place," Mulligan said. "Even the general on the post was very upset that the warrant came down perfectly timed to keep me in jail over the holidays. But the Lord let me lead three soldiers to Christ."
Mulligan said he understood he had until Jan. 22 to return either to Oklahoma or turn himself in to Lake County authorities.
His year of service as a chaplain was over, and he made plans to move back to Miami with his wife and four children to accept the pastor's job offered by the Grace Baptist congregation, he said.
A legal technicality allowed the Oklahoma judge to release Mulligan on bond, although there still is an outstanding warrant for Mulligan's arrest, said a member of the warrant division of the Lake County Sheriff's Department.
At least one member of the Miami congregation is uneasy with Mulligan's serving as pastor in light of the sexual misconduct charges.
The Miami man, who does not want to be identified, said Mulligan talked about the charges from the pulpit Sunday.
"He said (the charges) were brought by a girl they were having trouble with because she was promiscuous with other men," he said. "Mulligan said they tried to counsel her, but she wouldn't mend her ways, and they had to kick her out, and that's why she went to police."
The church member said he did not want the church footing the bill for Mulligan's defense.
"He told the church he had to come up with $5,000 to hire a lawyer," the parishioner said of Mulligan.
Mulligan said he is a well-known preacher, and other pastors throughout the country are contributing to his defense.
"I am not guilty," Mulligan said. "I'm confident when all the depositions are done, and everybody finds out the true reason behind this, which are vengeance and money, this won't even come to trial."
The probable cause affidavit filed with the charges states Mulligan first tried to have intercourse with the girl in his house in East Chicago. He stopped when she said it hurt, but throughout the next two years had sexual intercourse with her several times at his house, the church office and baptistry, the affidavit states.
The affidavit alleges when the girl wanted to stop the relationship, Mulligan threatened to "start using her sister." The girl's sister told investigators she was fondled by Mulligan when she was the front-seat passenger in a car he drove from a Kentucky wedding in August 2000.
Mulligan denies the charges.
"I never rode alone in cars with girls, and I never closed my (office) door because of this type of thing. Pastors are always being accused of this type of thing. God's never going to bless someone like he's blessed me if I did what she said. I've led more than 700 soldiers to Christ. I will continue to pastor my church and do what I do, because the Bible says they'll know you by your fruits, and I've got a lot of fruit."
Ruthann Robinson can be reached at rrobinson@nwitimes.com or (219) 662-5331.
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VBCPierrePartLA.com wrote on May 25, 2008 6:52 PM: