This Week In Holy Crimes

Over the last seven days...

Pennsylvania: Pastor Arthur Schirmer arrested for the murder of his wife. Schirmer is also suspected of having killed his first wife nine years ago.
Ontario: Father Kenneth Gibbs sued by five women for sexually abusing them as children. Last year Gibbs was convicted on eight counts of sexual assault.
Michigan: Pastor William Bendert arrested for attempting to have sex with a woman and her 11 year-old daughter. Bendert told the female undercover officer that he had lots of experience "training" young girls about sex.
Dominican Republic: Pastor Daniel Vasquez arrested for molesting 30 boys.
New Jersey: Father Charles P. Granstrand accused of child molestation.
Iowa: Rev. Timothy Parker confesses to child molestation of a female relative.
Britain: Pastor Malcolm Hoare on trial for molesting an 11 year-old girl.
Florida: Pastor Robert Riddle pleads no contest to embezzling $200K from his church.
Ontario: Father Alex Castillo accused of child molestation by two brothers.
Virginia: Pastor Jennifer Michelle Brennan convicted of unlawful sexual intercourse with a child.
Belgium: Father Eric Dejaeger may be extradited to Canada to face charges of child molestation. Dejaeger has been a fugitive since 2002.

This Week's Winner
California: Pastor Dino Cardelli has been arrested on multiple felony counts of sexual assault on a child under age 14. The victim is Cardelli's adopted daughter. His wife Nancy learned of the abuse in January of this year and committed suicide in March without reporting the attacks to police. Cardelli, who is being held in lieu of $750K bail, was an early proponent of Proposition 8 and signed Protect Marriage's vow to fight same-sex unions in California. Cardelli has been scrubbed from his church's website, but the Wayback Machine tells us that God personally told him to start his church. "During this visit, the Lord confirmed to Pastor Dino and his wife, Nancy, that He was calling them to start and Pastor the Calvary Chapel of Arcata." On his Facebook page, Cardelli is a member of Protect Marriage and the NOM affiliate One Man-One Woman. He faces 16 years in prison. Prosecutors have argued against lowering his bail, saying Cardelli has told family members he is prepared to flee to Canada with his victim.