Pound Pup Legacy

I found this very interesting story about parental rights and church-influence:

Controversial preacher in DA's sights once more

The Rev. Arthur Allen and some members of the House of Prayer are under scrutiny again, this time in the alleged kidnapping of a little girl.

By Christian Boone, Tim Eberly
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 02/09/08

http://www.ajc.com/print/content/printedition/2008/02/09/allen0209.html

The alleged kidnapping of a 5-year-old girl has brought Atlanta's controversial House of Prayer back into the spotlight as Fulton County prosecutors develop a case that could cripple the church and send its defiant leader back to jail.

It's a showdown that's been building for years, ever since child cruelty charges were brought in 2001 against the Rev. Arthur Allen and four members of his northwest Atlanta congregation. All five were convicted of those charges.

Now, two of those defendants, David and Sharon Duncan, are awaiting extradition to Fulton County on new charges of kidnapping and interference with custody. They were arrested Wednesday in Lynchburg, Va., where authorities say they were hiding their granddaughter, 5-year-old Joy Angelique Madden.

The girl's mother, Candea Hardeman, was jailed in April 2007 for contempt of court after she refused to disclose her daughter's whereabouts.

Fulton County Deputy District Attorney Rhonda Brodsky said Allen, who was arrested in October in connection with the girl's disappearance and is out on bond, may face additional charges in the case. Prosecutors believe he was the mastermind behind the disappearance.

"They've been trying to bring me down since Day One," Allen said in an interview Friday. "This [is a] messed up system. What's going to happen to me?"

He denied involvement in any kidnapping or hiding of the girl, and he said he last saw the Duncans in October during the broadcast of a public access TV show he hosts, "God is Love."

He said the 5-year-old was at the taping of his show last fall when police came to arrest him.

He said the Duncans escaped while officers were handcuffing him.

Hardeman lost custody of Joy to her former husband, Carlton Madden, in 2003.

More than four years later, on Wednesday, father and daughter were reunited. Shortly afterward, Allen defended the mother in taking her daughter.

"She broke the law, but I agreed with her," he said. "I believe a mother has first rights. You have a law of nature that's much older than any of these laws."

Allen said Hardeman was stripped of custody because she was faithful to the House of Prayer.

"Candea asked the judge, 'What law have I broken?' " Allen recalled. " 'Am I a bad mother? Am I on dope?' The only reason is because she's a member of this church."

Carlton Madden's sister, Valeria Hardeman, 32, said her brother is motivated by a hatred of Allen. She is estranged from her sibling and her parents, all of whom once belonged to the House of Prayer.

"I don't feel caught in the middle," said Valeria Hardeman, who visits her brother's ex-wife regularly in jail. She is married to Candea's uncle Emanuel Hardeman. "I'm staying where the love is."

Allen blamed his legal problems on the public's image of his church and his commitment to following what he says is a biblical requirement to punish children. The minister remains adamant about the need for corporal punishment, a stance that first got him in trouble with authorities in 2001. Prosecutors called it child abuse, but Allen said: "It's not about beating. It's about teaching."

Allen said he has widespread support, and not just from the 175 members of his church. But the latest clash with authorities could leave Allen and his church isolated.

Brodsky said the House of Prayer will figure heavily in the Joy Madden kidnapping case, with as many as five church members facing charges.

They were acting out of allegiance to Allen, she said, surreptitiously moving Joy around to various "safe houses," some as far away as New Mexico. When Allen was asked to help locate the girl, "he made comments like, 'Only God knows where the child is,' " Brodsky said. "And he would not answer the judge, and he was very deceptive in talking about where the child was."

Beyond claiming his innocence, Allen clearly intends to pit church vs. state in mounting his defense. "I went to prison for two years because of what I preach," he said.

Now 75, Allen hopes to be a father again soon. He has three children, ages 4, 5 and 7, with his wife, Trina —- who at 32, he jokes, is "young enough to be my granddaughter" —- and he is spry for his age, showing off for visitors with some impromptu sprints and jumping jacks.

He admitted he's worried about returning to jail. "It's depressing, and it's pressure on me," Allen said. "But I can't serve God and live in fear. I'm going to obey God no matter what."

—- Staff writer Rhonda Cook contributed to this article.

More can be found here:  http://www.wset.com/news/stories/0208/494407.html

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