KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The grandmother of a 12-year-old girl who was molested by a church minister is calling on faith leaders to perform background checks on anyone who’s going to serve as a minister.
Linda Scott said her granddaughter was molested by a church minister, George Spencer, in February of 2012. Spencer held the position at Greater Works CME Church in south Kansas City and faces multiple charges of sodomy, child molestation and sexual misconduct. For more than a year he eluded law enforcement until the FBI captured him three months ago in New Orleans.
Scott has filed a lawsuit against the church because since Spencer was captured she’s learned that he was a registered sex offender in Kansas. Scott is longtime church goer, and said her faith has been shaken and that not performing a background check on the pastor was unacceptable.
“A guideline for a pastor, especially of a CME church, his background has to be checked. He has to be of good order and standing and known about certain things or they would never have put him in that position,” Scott said.
Scott also believes her granddaughter is not the only victim during Spencer’s time at this church.
In 1998, Spencer was convicted of raping a girl in Leavenworth, Kansas. He failed to continue registering as a sex offender when he landed a position as a minister at Greater Works.
“I want justice done,” Scott said. “I don’t feel he is safe to be on the street. He has done this horrible crime to my granddaughter and other children. I don’t know if there are possibly others that he has threatened. My greatest concern is that he does not be free.”
Leadership at the church has changed as a result of the sexual molestation charges. Scott says her granddaughter still will not return to any church, and she has difficulty trusting men.