The 71-year-old founding pastor of the controversial ‘Fight Church’ has pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual abuse charges; stemming from the sexual abuse of two teenage girls who were under the age of 14 at the time, and happening as late as August 2020.
‘Pastor’ Joe Burress pleading guilty to this wicked crime come three years after his son, Paul, also plead guilty to third-degree sexual abuse after being charged with four counts of forcible touching. Paul served a year on probation and has been branded as a sex offender with all the restrictions that accompany such a moniker.
The two came to D-list prominence within the evangelical world after the film Fight Church was released in 2014. The documentary follows the blasphemies of Victory Church, a non-denominational charismatic church in Rochester, NY who formed a Fight Club ministry within the congregation so the men could beat each other up, hosting mix martial arts matches that pit pastor against pastor in a bid to knock the other out, all to the glory of God.
Two well-known lines from the trailer include one pastor asking the congregation “You guys want to see me fight another pastor?” and then explaining “I’ll just be a couple of god-fearing men punching each other in the face.” The other, a participant defends the decision, justifying their barbaric practices by arguing “at the end of the day [this] is about reaching people with gospel regardless of what you do to introduce them into a relationship with Jesus Christ
With Burress senior, second-degree sexual abuse is considered a Class A misdemeanor. It comprises of touching the imitate parts of a child under the age of 14 without their consent. Punishment includes up to a year in prison and registration as a sex offender.
Editor’s Note. This article was written by Pastor Ed Litton and published at Protestia
