Church Suspends Pastor Accused of Raping Family Member: International Bible Way Church of Jesus Christ, Inc, USA has suspended its leader Bishop Robert L. Carter who was accused of rapping a family member at least 600 times beginning when she was 7.
Robert Carter who also is the leader of the church’s Gulf Coast Diocese was arrested Monday and charged with sexual abuse of a family member between the ages of 14 and 17. He also allegedly fathered a child with his victim according to KPRC 2.
In a Wednesday Facebook statement, the South Carolina-based church acknowledged their knowledge of the charges against their pastor. They note also that they have suspended Carter from his diocesan and pastoral functions.
“International Bible Way has been made aware of the charges and statements concerning the alleged conduct of Bishop Robert Carter. We hereby, suspend Bishop Robert Carter of all diocese and pastoral duties concerning International Bible Way,” the statement released on Facebook by the church read.
According to court records cited by the news source, the 36-year-old pastor allegedly started abusing his family member in 2018. He went to the child’s room every night and forced her to perform sex acts on him. Carter is charged with increasing his sexual assault of his victim as she grew older.
The report claims he abused her inside his house, in a parking lot before dropping her off at school and at his grandmother’s house. By the time the victim turned 16, a warrant for Carter’s arrest said the victim got pregnant and secretly gave birth to Carter’s baby.
The victim’s father, who asked not to be identified, told KPRC2 that Carter took the baby from the teenager and gave the child away.
He added that his daughter was damaged by the assault and that there was “an episode where she ended up in the hospital for psychiatric reasons”