A major evangelical preacher allegedly offered male intern money for sex
Preacher Todd Bentley (Facebook/Todd Bentley)
In a snowballing case, a well-known Canadian evangelical preacher has been accused of “sexual advances”, which includes offering money to a male intern for sex.
Preacher Todd Bentley was accused of offering $1,000 for oral sex in 2013 as well as $500 for a masturbation video by a former colleague.
In a winding Facebook post last month (22 August), Stephen Powell accused the faith healer of having a “perverse sexual addiction” in accusations that stretch as far back as 2013.
But reports today (2 September) surfaced of three alleged female victims in Pakistan, when the preacher traveled there in 2017, according to The Christian Post.
Evangelical preacher allegedly solicited sex for money.
Powell formerly worked Fresh Fire USA – a ministry Bentley founded in South Carolina in 2009 – and alleged that Bentley “has an appetite for a variety of sexual sins, including both homosexual and heterosexual activity”.
In 2013, according to Powell, a male intern witnessed Bentley make advances on another male intern. He allegedly alerted Rick Joyner, who helped Bentley create Fresh Fire USA.
However, “nothing was done, and Todd was still allowed to go in ministry as if everything was OK”, according to Powell.
Powell goes onto allege that the preacher made advances on a female assistant. He then claimed Bentley smoked cannabis before offering another male intern sex in 2018.
Moreover, Powell claimed that Bentley watches porn, curses, and he and his wife are “swingers”. He also alleged that Bentley’s wife, Jessa Hasbrook, aided in the cover-up of the preacher’s activities.
Preacher: “I am not guilty of the things that I’m being accused.”
Powell claimed he compiled a 30-page report on these allegations which he shared with more than 100 religious leaders in Bentley’s orbit, including Joyner.
Joyner, a well-known conspiracy theorist, last week dismissed Powell’s claims in a Facebook Live broadcast, where he said Powell was operating in a spirit of “witchcraft”.
In a since-deleted Facebook post, Bentley responded to the allegations by demanding accusers come forward.
“I do have the things in my past I gotta say… whether they are six months, a year, two years, five, six, seven. Many of the things that I’ve addressed and continue to address in my life to be clean,” he said.
He later added, according to Patheos: “I am not guilty of the things that I’m being accused of as far as those homosexual acts.”
But accusations have continued to pile up against the preacher.
Powell has gone onto claim in an interview with The Christian Post to have received a “written statement” by a pastor that claimed Bentley “sexually assaulted three girls” in Pakistan.
PinkNews has contacted Bentley for comment.
