The Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO) is being challenged to put mechanisms in place to keep spiritual leaders in this country “in-check.”
The call came from the International Women’s Resources Network (IWRN) on the heels of the latest incident in which Pastor Dave Neaves, 46, appeared before senior magistrate Rae Roopchand for allegedly penetrating a 13-year-old girl.
IWRN president Adriana Sandrine-Rattan said religious and spiritual protocols need to be adhered to.
“The time has come for the Inter Religious Organisation (IRO) to play a greater role in putting the relevant mechanisms in place to ensure that churches throughout this country adhere to particular religious and spiritual protocols,” Sandrine-Rattan said.
“The IWRN is expressing disgust at yet another incident involving gross sexual misconduct inflicted on a minor by a pastor...Such protocols must stipulate the levels of professional distance between pastors and their members which are currently being capitalised on indiscriminately,” she added.
Sandrine-Rattan said the IWRN bemoans that because of the levels of vulnerability that exist in the society, individuals put their trust and belief in their respective pastors who is supposed to be respective as men of the cloth and not take advantage of those situations through inducing them into illegal activities, “which can cause a lifetime of emotional torture if not dealt with effectively.”
The IWRN is also calling on the national community to be more vigilant in observing the behavioural patterns of their religious leaders thereby avoiding any risk of any untoward occurrences.
On October 21, Neaves appeared in court for allegedly sexually assaulting a teen girl.
Neaves of the Grace Worship Centre in Rio Claro, was granted bail but on the condition that he has no contact with the girl.
Senior Magistrate Rae Roopchand granted him $75,000 approval bail with a cash bail alternative of $10,000.
The matter was adjourned to November 18. Back in August, pastor Christopher Perreira appeared in court, accused of buggering a socially displaced man.