Scroll To Top
Religion

Hateful Antigay Georgia Pastor Arrested for Child Molestation

Adkins

Ken Adkins said the victims of the Pulse massacre "got what they deserved." Now he's in jail, accused of molesting a child.

Nbroverman
Support The Advocate
We're asking for your help to continue our newsroom's important reporting. Support LGBTQ+ journalism by contributing today!

A right-wing pastor who operates churches in Florida and Georgia, and made a name for himself by slandering LGBT people, was arrested Friday on charges of child molestation.

Ken Adkins turned himself in to authorities in Georgia, following an investigation from Brunswick, Ga., police and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the The Florida Times-Union reports. Adkins has left his position in the church temporarily, and his wife, "Stormy," said the charges, "are false and that he will ultimately be cleared of any wrongdoing."

Adkins has been a high-profile conservative -- some would say radical -- figure in southern Georgia and northern Florida for years. He fought hard against Jacksonville's proposed LGBT-inclusive human rights ordinance, which failed to pass. During the ordinance debate, Adkins tweeted images of a councilman who supported the ordinance with messages scrawled over his face saying, "I Love Homosexuals. Because I Love Watching. I Am Freaky."

When confronted on his vulgar tweets, Adkins told Jacksonville's Fox/CBS affiliate that as a pastor, he finds homosexuality "vulgar and "pornographic."

After this summer's mass shooting in Orlando at the gay nightclub Pulse -- where 49 people were murdered and dozens wounded -- Adkins tweeted support for the massacre: "[I've] been through so much with these Jacksonville homosexuals that I don't see none of them as victims. I see them as getting what they deserve."

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry responded to Adkins's arrest by telling the Fox/CBS affiliate, "I know nothing more about the allegations than what has been reported in the news, but it sickens me. If he is found to have done what he stands accused of, he deserves the fullest punishment the law allows."

Nbroverman
Stonewall Brick AwardsOut / Advocate Magazine - Jonathan Groff & Wayne Brady

From our Sponsors

Most Popular

Latest Stories

Neal Broverman

Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.
Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.