The Nassau Guardian
Sands slams launch of Fraser’s new church
Free National Movement (FNM) Deputy Chairman Dr. Duane Sands said yesterday that minors should not be allowed in the new church opened by convicted sexual offender Bishop Earl Randolph Fraser.
Sands, a former senator, said while he believes in second chances he was surprised that Fraser’s decision to open a new church has not garnered wide criticism.
“It raises a question of whether or not we are so politically correct now that we cannot admit to our visceral response, but believe that it’s okay that a sexual predator is not going to have significant limitations put on him,” Sands said.
“If he wants to have a church, fine, then he can’t have minors in the church. No child should come in the confines or environment of the church.”
He added: “While I will tell you that I believe in the power of redemption, I think we also need to call a spade a spade and Randy Fraser has been proven by the courts to be a sexual predator.”
Fraser was released from prison last November.
He was sentenced to three years in prison after being convicted of having sex with a dependant.
During Fraser’s trial, evidence revealed that he began an illicit affair with a 16-year-old girl shortly after their counseling sessions began in July 2005.
The sexual relationship ended in February 2006, his accuser said.
The girl said she and Fraser had sex on Mondays and Wednesdays on the floor of his office before services, and, occasionally, at his home when his wife was not there.
Police found Fraser’s semen on carpet swaths collected from the church’s office.
The Court of Appeal condemned Fraser as a sexual predator who “disgustingly defiled the sanctum of his church” when it upheld his conviction for having sex with the teenager.
He was fired as senior pastor of Pilgrim Baptist Church during a meeting of the board of trustees late last year.
Fraser launched a new church, Palms of Victory Kingdom Ministry, on Sunday.
During the launch, Fraser apologized to the country for his “pastoral misjudgment”.
He told a crowd gathered at Workers House for the launch that he will press forward with his life.
Earlier this week, Dr. Victor Cooper, of New Bethany Baptist Cathedral, who was contacted for comment, said while he believes in “second chances” it may be too soon for Fraser to lead another congregation.
Cooper said before Fraser resumed a leadership position in ministry he should have gone through a “period of counseling and a period of personal introspection”.
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