The congregation at Highpoint Church, Memphis, applauded their pastor Andy Savage, after he admitted to a “sexual incident” with a minor 20 years ago, New York Times reports.
The woman had accused him of sexual assault just a few days before Savage decided to admit to his church the offense. The woman, Jules Woodson, wrote that she was 17 years old and that she was in high school when Savage, a youth pastor with her church, sexually assaulted her. He had offered to take her home after driving her to a wooded area and had him blow her a blowjob. Savage only told his church that he had sinned and did not detail what exactly happened. He had taken responsibility for his sin, he said, and had never hidden it from pastors. In Woodson's story, however, she had revealed that Savage had begged her to take the event "to the grave," and she was the one who told the pastors. The pastors, however, did nothing and urged her not to report to the authorities. "Jules, I am deeply sorry for my actions 20 years ago, I remain committed to cooperating with you for forgiveness and healing," Savage told his congregation, the live online service. The congregation had stood up and applauded, the church's pastor, Chris Conlee, coming forward to say that he supported Savage and that he was one of the people who "suffered from the effect of the consequences of this sin ".
Woodson on the other hand revealed to the New York Times that she had texted Savage asking him if he remembered the assault and got no reply from him, before making the story public.
She had thought he would answer, she said, apologize to her, and only after a month of silence, she went public with the story.
Watch the apology video below:
Photo Credit: Highpoint Church
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