The Spanking Pastor, 73, faces jail for spanking female member of his congregation 'to try to cure her depression' - runs his church as a cult

...curing depression or getting his jollies?
 ...casting and binding by smacking a butt

Guilty: Howard Curtis, 73, is facing jail after being found guilty of sexually assaulting female members of his congregation - including spanking one 'to try to cure her depression'
    'Found guilty of sexually assaulting women in congregation'
    'Didn't see harm' in spanking one to try and cure her depression, 
    'claimed he was doing so to cast out evil spirits'
    ' smacking of three women consensual and denied sexual assault'
Story after the cut ....


A pastor who ran his church as a cult is facing jail after being found guilty of sexually assaulting female members of his congregation - including spanking one 'to try to cure her depression'.
Howard Curtis, 73, claimed the 'deliverance counseling' sessions had to be done 'flesh to flesh' on the bare bottom to cast out evil spirits. He said he 'didn't see any harm' in what he was doing.


Photo: SWNS
Curtis, who ran Coulsdon Christian Fellowship in Coulsdon, south London, for decades, had claimed the smacking of the three women was consensual and denied sexual assault


The spankings, which were also dished out to children, were to satisfy Curtis' 'desire for power and sexual satisfaction,' Croydon Crown Court heard.
'An immediate custodial sentence is inevitable in this case,' announced Judge Peter Gower QC. 'I'm granting bail as a matter of mercy so he can put his affairs in order.'
He told Curtis, who is banned from the church as a condition of bail, to return for sentencing on April 22, adding: 'You have been convicted of some very serious offences.'
The father-of-three, of Bloxworth Close, Wallington, ran the Coulsdon Christian Fellowship in south London as a cult, prosecutor Toby Fitzgerald told the jury.
Curtis was convicted of five counts of sexual assault between January 2009 and July 2013 against one female worshiper, one count of sexual assault against another between 2007 and 2009 and two counts of child cruelty against two youngsters.


The five counts regarded one woman he ordered to strip naked before putting her over his knee to slap, continuing the beating when she collapsed to the floor - with one of the dozen or so sessions in front of her husband.
He introduced the woman to his version of 'Christian domestic discipline' - following Bible teachings of keeping women in their place.
'She trusted him completely as a man of God,' said Mr Fitzgerald, explaining the first disciplining - for untidiness - happened in the defendant's office at the church.
'She pulled down her trousers and underwear and lay across his lap. He hit her hard about 12 times until she ended up on the floor.
'She'd become, in effect, a rag doll in the defendant's hands.'
Subsequent discipline sessions were for 'lacking femininity' and having a 'frigid spirit,' the jury were told.
'The defendant told her to strip completely naked and she lay across his lap and he slapped her.
'He also smacked her not only on her bottom, but between her legs for not recognizing her femininity.'



Curtis, who ran Coulsdon Christian Fellowship in Coulsdon, south London, for decades, had claimed the smacking of the three women was consensual and denied sexual assault

Curtis also took naked pictures of her on his mobile phone and fondled her between her legs, the jury were told, but he was cleared of one count of assault by digital penetration.
When arrested Curtis did not deny the spankings, insisting they were consensual.
He told the court: 'She wondered if it could help with her depression. I thought it could.
'It depends if you see depression as an illness or an evil spirit. If you smack somebody it could free an evil spirit.'


The second woman was told it was 'God's will' she be punished, the court heard, and she agreed to his form of discipline, which took place in another follower's house, next-door to the Chipstead Valley Road church.
'She leaned over a banister in the hallway and took her trousers and knickers down so he could spank her bare bottom.
'It depends if you see depression as an illness or an evil spirit. If you smack somebody it could free an evil spirit' - Howard Curtis
'She was told it was important not to tell him when to stop, he would decide when it was time to stop and he continued to beat her forcefully.



'There were 20 to 30 strikes with his bare hand and she felt it was going on forever and was crying. She was black and blue and told all these actions were in God's name.'
Curtis was convicted of one count of child cruelty between March 1, 2007 and February 28, 2008 in relation to the woman's nine year-old daughter.
She was put over his knee and beaten 'very hard' until she started crying, prosecutor Mr Fitzgerald said.
The second child cruelty conviction relates to a worshiper's baby, whose bottom he is accused of pinching, some time between January 1, 1986 and January 3, 1989.




Curtis was ordained in 1988 under the umbrella of the Elim Pentecostal church.
'He presented himself as an inspirational man of God,' said Mr Fitzgerald. 'The Crown say the church was run for this defendant and he cloaked himself in the trappings of a religious leader.
'In reality he was nothing of the sort. He deceived his congregation, including children.


'He said he was going to cast out evil spirits from people and that discipline had to be administered by striking bare flesh with the bare hand.'
Curtis was found not guilty of two counts of indecent assault in relation to a third female worshiper, digital penetration, two child cruelty counts relating to a boy and causing actual bodily harm to a young girl.







Lets us know what you think of this article. Like? Dislike? Funny? Interesting? Cool?  Drop us a line in the comment box or join us on Facebook to help us give you a better reading experience

Courtesy: mail