'Despicable': Former megachurch pastor Robert Morris indicted on child sexual battery charges



A grand jury in Oklahoma indicted Robert Morris, founding pastor of the popular Texas-based Gateway Church, on five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child. The Wednesday indictment concerns alleged sexual abuse that dates back to the 1980s.

Cindy Clemishire, the victim by Morris' own admission, expressed relief that after four decades, the former pastor might finally have to answer for his alleged crimes.

"There can be no tolerance for those who sexually prey on children," Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said in a statement. "This case is all the more despicable because the alleged perpetrator was a pastor who exploited his position. The victim in this case has waited far too many years for justice to be done."

Prior to his resignation in June as senior pastor, Morris admitted in a statement to the Christian Post, "When I was in my early twenties, I was involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady in a home where I was staying. It was kissing and petting and not intercourse, but it was wrong. This behavior happened on several occasions over the next few years."

Clemishire suggested that by "young lady," the former pastor actually meant a 12-year-old girl.

"He says there was no sexual intercourse, but he did touch every part of my body and inserted his fingers into me, which I understand now is considered a form of rape by instrumentation," said Clemishire. "I was an innocent 12-year-old little girl who knew nothing about sexual behavior."

"I was 12 years old. I was a little girl. A very innocent little girl," added Clemishire, now in her 50s.

Clemishire first publicly accused Morris in June, telling the Wartburg Watch, a watchdog blog that details incidents of abuse within various churches, about how Morris morphed from family friend to villain.

'The law has finally caught up with Robert Morris.'

Clemishire indicated that she and her family first met Morris in 1981 at a youth revival in Tulsa. Morris was subsequently invited to participate in a youth revival in Clemishire's hometown of Hominy, Oklahoma, then began regularly preaching in town. He soon befriended Clemishire's family, staying with them on occasion.

While visiting with the family on Dec. 25, 1982, Morris allegedly told Clemishire to go to his room and then molested her. According to Clemishire, Morris repeated this behavior until 1987.

When the girl's father found out about the abuse, he reportedly informed the head pastor of Shady Grove Church, where Morris was then a pastor, and threatened to involve law enforcement unless the alleged pedophile abandoned the ministry.

Morris told the Christian Post, "In March of 1987, this situation was brought to light, and it was confessed and repented of. I submitted myself to the Elders of Shady Grove Church and the young lady’s father. They asked me to step out of ministry and receive counseling and freedom ministry, which I did. Since that time, I have walked in purity and accountability in this area."

Morris apparently stepped down for two years — a resume gap Morris attributed to an excess in pride in his 2011 book "From Dream to Destiny."

The former pastor suggested further that when he rejoined the ministry in March 1989, he had the blessing of the victim's father and church elders.

When Clemishire went public with her story, the Gateway Church's board of elders downplayed their founder's alleged pedophilia and characterized Morris as a purified man, stating, "Since the resolution of this 35-year-old matter, there have been no other moral failures. Pastor Robert has walked in purity, and he has placed accountability measures and people in his life."

The church's board of elders changed its tune amid growing backlash, announcing on June 18 that it had accepted Morris' resignation and retained a law firm to "conduct an independent, thorough, and professional review of the report of past abuse to ensure we have a complete understanding of the events from 1982-1987."

The five instances where Morris allegedly molested Clemishire identified in the criminal indictment all took place between Dec. 25, 1982, and Jan. 24, 1985.

Clemishire's attorney suggested last year that the statute of limitations for criminal or civil action had likely run out. However, Drummond's office indicated that the "statute of limitations is not applicable in this case because Morris was not a resident or inhabitant of Oklahoma at any time."

Each of the sexual battery counts with which Morris has been charged are punishable by three to 20 years in prison.

Clemishire said in a Wednesday statement obtained by the New York Times, "After almost 43 years, the law has finally caught up with Robert Morris for the horrific crimes he committed against me."

"My family and I are deeply grateful to the authorities who have worked tirelessly to make this day possible and remain hopeful that justice will ultimately prevail," added Clemishire.

Gateway Church said in a statement Wednesday, "We are aware of the actions being taken by the legal authorities in Oklahoma and are grateful for the work of the justice system in holding abusers accountable for their actions."

"We continue to pray for Cindy Clemishire and her family, for the members and staff of Gateway Church, and for all of those impacted by this terrible situation," added the church.

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DeSantis signs measures targeting child predators



Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently signed legislation meant to protect minors by targeting child predators.

One of the measures will establish a program to provide law enforcement with grants to conduct online sting operations.

"There is created within the department the Online Sting Operations Grant Program to award grants to local law enforcement agencies to support their creation of sting operations to target individuals online preying upon children or attempting to do so," the measure reads. "The department shall annually award to local law enforcement agencies any funds specifically appropriated for the grant program to cover expenses related to computers, electronics, software, and other related necessary supplies."

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Another measure the governor signed declares it to be a third-degree felony for an adult to send sexual communications to a minor.

"An adult who engages in a pattern of communication to a minor that includes explicit and detailed verbal descriptions or narrative accounts of sexual activity, sexual conduct, or sexual excitement and that is harmful to minors commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084," the text declares. "A person's ignorance of a minor's age, a minor's misrepresentation of his or her age, a bona fide belief of a minor's age, or a minor's consent may not be raised as a defense in a prosecution for a violation of this section."

A Wednesday tweet on the @GovRonDeSantis X account declares, "Today I signed legislation to ensure grooming and other child-directed sexual offenses are punished severely. I will always stand to protect the innocence of children."

"Thank you, @GovRonDeSantis, for protecting innocent children from predatory abuse and sexual exploitation," Florida first lady Casey DeSantis said in a tweet.

— (@)

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Illegal alien arrested after foiled abduction of girl at Utah school



The mother of a 13-year-old Utah girl discovered troubling messages exchanged between a man and her daughter on social media. The concerned parent notified police — and just in the nick of time, too.

Miguel Angel Vega Sedano, a 21-year-old illegal alien, was arrested Friday and charged with a first-degree felony count of child kidnapping and two third-degree felony counts of possession of forgery writing/device.

The girl's mother alerted Granite School District Police last week to indications on Instagram that Sedano allegedly planned to abduct the child from her West Valley City school, reported KTVX-TV.

According to a statement of probable cause, police ultimately found Sedano waiting for the girl in a vehicle on school property. Officers reportedly found a fraudulent Social Security card and a false permanent residency card on his person.

The Granite School District said in a statement obtained by KTVX that on Friday afternoon, "Granite District Police detained the suspect as he entered the campus after school had been out for about 30 minutes. West Valley City Police responded and took the man into custody."

"We are grateful the student disclosed the conversation to their parents and the student was not harmed," the district added. "This is an unfortunate, but very real, reminder of the dangers of social media. Almost 60% of teenage girls say they've been contacted by a stranger on social media platforms in ways that make them feel uncomfortable."

Following his arrest, Sedano allegedly admitted to police that he intentionally communicated with the 13-year-old girl and had traveled to the school to "pick the girl up and take her home."

KSL-TV indicated that Sedano indicated he neither knew the girl's parents nor had their permission to pick her up.

The would-be abductee is apparently not the only minor the illegal alien has targeted. Sedano also reportedly told authorities he had been communicating with another 13-year-old girl whom he has met in person three times.

In addition to confirming his intention to abduct the minor, Sedano reportedly admitted to obtaining his false documents from a family member in Arizona.

Sedano was booked into Salt Lake County Jail on Friday. Jail records appear to indicate that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement filed a detainer request over the weekend against the illegal alien.

In fiscal year 2023, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations made 170,590 administrative arrests. 43% of those arrested had previous criminal convictions or pending criminal charges. There were nearly 300,000 charges and convictions spread among those 73,822 illegal aliens picked up who had criminal histories, including 1,713 for homicide; 1,655 for kidnapping; 4,390 for rape; 33,209 for assault; 3,097 for robbery; and 6,964 for burglary.

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Popular TikTok transvestite outed as a pedophile who stalked a mother and molested her children



A cross-dressing TikTok star has been exposed in court as a pedophile who molested children and stalked a family into homelessness.

The mother of the victims told the pedophile in court Tuesday, "You can wear any mask you like, but the truth is out and everybody knows who you really are, finally."

The Adelaide Advertiser reported that the middle-aged man who calls himself Rachel Queen Burton was arrested in October 2022 by the elite Joint Anti Child Exploitation team over crimes that took place in rural and regional South Australia in 2019.

— (@)

Burton, a self-described "proud Trans Woman living [his] best life with no regrets," initially denied the allegations; however, he has since pleaded guilty to aggravated counts of producing and possessing child porn, gross indecency, and indecent assault.

Judge Rauf Soulio of the South Australia District Court heard that Burton repeatedly molested two children prior to his rise as a local LGBT icon on TikTok, where he netted over 36,000 followers and frequently appeared with the transgender flag.

The victims' mother told the court that she fled with the kids upon discovering the abuse, but that they were pursued by Burton.

The mother indicated she managed to take the children to a police-issued safe house, but even there, safety proved illusory as Burton "showed up at the window, peering in," prompting them to flee again, reported the Advertiser.

"No food, scared children, too scared to go anywhere, never knowing if you could find us," said the mother. "When the children did sleep, nightmares haunted them."

Burton appeared in court via video link from a men's prison during the hearing, affording the mother an opportunity to address him.

"You are the monster, you make me feel sick to my stomach," she said.

"You are a gross, phony, self-indulgent thing who has cheated my children out of so much, and took it away from them without care," continued the mother. "In your online rants, you showed no remorse for your bad behavior, all while knowing what you had done … getting an audience for your false life was far more important."

The pedophile reportedly blubbered throughout the victims' statements.

The woman's daughter, the youngest victim, said, "I was happy before you broke the rules, I didn't know what was going on at the time, I feel angry at you for doing the wrong thing to me."

"I felt like a bird trapped in a cage," added the youngest victim. "All I wanted was to be free."

The girl's brother noted he has chronic nightmares on account of the abuse.

The victims' older brother, who was reportedly not abused by Burton, characterized the transvestite as "repulsive, filthy and vile."

Reduxx reported that Burton had revealed in a January 2022 video that he had been taking sex-change hormone therapy for over a month.

"I [thought] I was supposed to get moody. But I haven't been moody since starting the testosterone blockers ... I got a little b****y — just a little b****y, that was when I was straight on the estrogen," said the pedophile. "I still cry. I still cry heaps. I'm still an emotional wreck. But it's a nice emotion."

Despite his alleged use of hormones, there is no indication he will be transferred to a women's prison.

Critics have taken notice of Burton's seamless transition from predator to trans influencer.

The Texas Family Project asked, "Does this surprise anyone?"

Genevieve Gluck, co-founder of the feminist publication Reduxx, noted, "Paraphilias, or sexual fetishes, are symptoms of sexual pathology, and they often escalate and overlap."

South African billionaire Elon Musk wrote, "If evil people are given a moral cloak that cannot be questioned, they are certain to wear it. This is not to say that all transgender people are bad – that would be false – but rather that they should be no more above questioning than anyone else."

Burton will reportedly remain in custody until further sentencing in April.

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Carl Weathers, 'Rocky' and 'Predator' star, has died



Hollywood star Carl Weathers — who appeared in the first four "Rocky" films and "Happy Gilmore" — died on Tuesday at the age of 76, according to his family.

"We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Carl Weathers," his family said in a statement. "He died peacefully in his sleep on Thursday, February 1st, 2024. … Carl was an exceptional human being who lived an extraordinary life. Through his contributions to film, television, the arts, and sports, he has left an indelible mark and is recognized worldwide and across generations. He was a beloved brother, father, grandfather, partner, and friend."

Weathers was born on Jan. 14, 1948, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Weathers was best known for his role as Apollo Creed in the first four "Rocky" films. He also appeared in "Happy Gilmore," "Action Jackson," and "Little Nicky." He was the voice of Combat Carl in the animated film "Toy Story 4" and voiced a character in Adam Sandler's animated Hanukkah comedy "Eight Crazy Nights."

Weathers appeared in over 75 films and television shows during his prolific 50-year screen career.

Weathers made appearances in TV series such as "Magnum P.I.," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "Chicago P.D.," "Chicago Fire," Colony," "ER," "In the Heat of the Night," "Serpico," "Cannon," "Six Million Dollar Man," "Kung Fu," and "Good Times."

Most recently, Weathers appeared as Greef Karga in Disney's hit TV series "The Mandalorian" between 2019 and 2023.

Weathers is survived by his ex-wife, Mary Ann, and their two sons.

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The Shocking Truth About Pornhub | Guest: Arden Young | Ep 932
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The Shocking Truth About Pornhub | Guest: Arden Young | Ep 932

Investigative journalist discovers a shocking truth about Pornhub



Journalists like Arden Young are keeping the integrity in their practice alive.

Young, from Sound Investigations, recently set her sights on the website Pornhub — which boasts millions of pornographic videos online and over 180 million unique visitors daily.

The journalist went under cover to dig up the truth about Pornhub’s disgusting practices, straight from the mouths of its unwitting senior employees.

She recorded these employees admitting to illicit, illegal, scandalous practices behind the scenes. The information she exposed is so damning that Pornhub is ironically threatening to sue for lack of consent in recording its employees.

Young tells Allie Beth Stuckey that she decided to go after the company because “sexual exploitation has always had a close place in my heart.”

This closeness is due to growing up in Hollywood, where she was “put in and witnessed a lot of very inappropriate situations.”

She zeroed in on Pornhub when she saw a 2020 New York Times article called ‘The Children of Pornhub.’ The article detailed the victims' attempts to get their abuse videos removed from Pornhub. Many of these victims were underage.

While Pornhub claimed to change its ways after that article, Young and her partner “had a hunch that this just wasn’t the case.”

And with the jaw-dropping information Young tirelessly gathered and revealed to Stuckey — it’s clear that their hunch was right.

To get the full story, watch the episode below.


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Scientists catch culprit behind serial seal decapitations in the act



Decapitated seals have been turning up along North American coastlines for several years. Some experts have suggested humans were to blame for sea lions, harbor seal pups, and various other pinnipeds losing their heads. One private investigator went so far as to suggest the "cuts were surgical."

It turns out that canids, not beachfront butchers, were to blame.

What's the background?

Private investigator David Stuart was among the beachgoers to express concern in 2016 about the discovery of headless seals and ponder their fate. After coming across one such decapitated mammal on Garry Point Park beach in British Columbia, Stuart told Richmond News that the incision was extremely clean, "almost laser precision."

"The seal's rectum has been removed and cauterized; it makes no sense," continued Stuart. "This was a crime scene as far as I was concerned; this needed to be looked at."

Years later, after numerous other incidents were reported on the West Coast, 21 headless seals turned up on the other side of the continent, along the shores of Nova Scotia, Canada. Mammal zoologist Dr. Anna Hall, who noted a similar trend was impacting sea lions in British Columbia, suggested humans might have been responsible, reported the National Post.

"The carcasses have a distinct similarity to them," said Hall. "While we can't say definitely that the seals on the East Coast have been decapitated by human efforts, it does seem that is a distinct possibility looking at the photographs."

Marine mammal biologist Tonya Wimmer alternatively suspected scavengers were to blame, stating, "From the images and information we've received, many of the holes are where the umbilicus would have been and is likely scavenging by other animals."

Caught in the act

Sarah Grimes, a stranding coordinator at the Noyo Center for Marine Science in Mendocino County, California, long speculated about the cause of the headless wonders.

"It was so gruesome," she recently told the Mercury News regarding the headless harbor seals she encountered along the high-tide line in MacKerricher State Park, near Fort Bragg. "I was like marine mammal CSI, seeing all the dead pups with their heads torn off, and I'm like, 'What the heck did that?'"

Frankie Gerraty, a Ph.D. student at UC Santa Cruz, ultimately provided Grimes with an answer, capturing the culprit on tape in MacKerricher.

"We set up camera traps and got one really solid video of a coyote dragging a harbor seal pup and beheading it," said Gerraty. "We are pretty confident there has been predation at four sites along the Northern California coast."

The student noted that contrary to popular wisdom, coyotes — who have made a big comeback from having their numbers suppressed by farmers and ranchers for decades — are often beach dwellers.

"Coyotes are underappreciated predators in shoreline ecosystems, and marine mammals are the largest and most calorically rich nutrient parcels in the ocean, and really anywhere in the world," said Gerraty.

It's unclear both why coyotes only eat the heads and whether this behavior is altogether new.

Gerraty told the Los Angeles Times, "My guess is that the brains are pretty nutritious compared to a lot of other seal parts. Blubber can be pretty hard to get through."

The student indicated that the coyotes' hunting pattern is unlikely to have a substantial impact on seal populations but may prompt them to relocate where they give birth and "haul out."

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'One of the most egregious cases': Police arrest former editor in chief of leftist news site on child porn charges



Slade Sohmer, who helmed the leftist political site the Recount up until last month, was arrested Friday and charged with two counts of possession and two counts of dissemination of child pornography.

The 44-year-old, who lives in Otis, Massachusetts, is accused of possessing "hundreds of child pornography images and videos," including a compilation video of boys as young as 3 being raped. Sohmer is also said to have trafficked at least two illicit files, reported the Berkshire Eagle.

Sohmer pleaded not guilty to all charges and was released on $100,000 bail Monday,

According to his LinkedIn page, Sohmer served as co-director of Camp Power for the past 13 years. The organization purportedly "provides kids from NYC's most underfunded and underserved neighborhoods with freedom and encouragement that are often lacking in their communities back in the city. [Their] signature program is a weeklong camp."

The camp operates out of New York and Pennsylvania.

Between camping excursions, Sohmer worked over the past four years as editor in chief at the Recount, a struggling left-wing political site recently acquired by the News Movement, a video news organization started by former BBC and News Corp. executives.

The Recount told the Eagle in a statement, "Slade Sohmer is no longer Editor-In-Chief of The Recount following a company restructure exercise in early October to focus on our editorial and commercial plans."

Sohmer left footprints elsewhere in left-leaning virtual spaces, serving as editor in chief at HyperVocal, co-hosting the "Politics Powered by Twitter" program on SiriusXM's POTUS 124, and running the anonymous social media app Whisper's news service.

A newly deleted BuzzFeed article, entitled, "People Are Touched by This Writer's Conversation with a Bunch of Fourth Graders," revealed Sohmer has not been averse to broaching the matter of sexuality with children. The article provided the leftist's account of how he brought up his gay relationship with a bunch of 10-year-olds he had just met for the first time.

"Am I about to come out of the closet to these kids? At this point I looked to my mother, who kind of nodded and mouthed something like 'go ahead.' So I said, 'I live with my boyfriend,'" wrote Sohmer. He later noted his outing was well received.

"It's not like I ~misjudged~ these kids or had any preconceived notions," Sohmer told BuzzFeed. "I just don't know what today's fourth-graders know about love and sexuality and gender and all its modern permutations. I'm glad it went down the way it did."

"If adults would stop teaching children that queerness of any stripe is wrong, especially transgender folks, the world would be an infinitely better place," added the alleged pedophile and critic of Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

The Berkshire Eagle indicated that police arrested Sohmer several weeks after seizing multiple electronic devices, which allegedly were loaded up with child sexual abuse images. They also searched his home on Oct. 18.

According to court documents, the investigation started with a tip from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children to the Massachusetts State Police Cyber Crime Unit that on Sept. 30, 2022, an individual circulated a video of an adolescent boy masturbating. The victim was identified and the video traced back to the IP address associated with Sohmer's home internet account.

Police found that 53 videos sent from one of Sohmer's phones were potentially child pornography.

First Assistant District Attorney Marianne Shelvey told the TheWrap that this is "one of the most egregious cases" she has ever come across.

Shelvey indicated more charges are likely coming, especially since Sohmer allegedly recorded a video call where he had a child perform sex acts.

"We went from just dissemination of child pornography to production of child pornography," Shelvey told Judge Danielle Williams of Southern Berkshire District Court on Monday, reported the New York Post.

Police indicated that in a 2021 conversation on Telegram with a user identified as "Zeph," Sohmer allegedly noted his "ideal age range" was 13-16, reported the Eagle.

TheWrap reported that Sohmer allegedly detailed how to kidnap and rape a child in text chats, which Shelvey suggested added "a level of extreme cruelty" to the case.

The criminal affidavit claims Sohmer admitted on Telegram to having "baited" a 14-year-old boy while posing online as a teenage girl "a couple of years back." While the boy showed up at their planned rendezvous, Sohmer allegedly said he "chickened out" and did not go forward with his scheme.

If convicted of the charges he presently faces, Sohmer could do anywhere from five to 10 years in prison.

The Boston Globe indicated that Sohmer's attorney, Andrew Levchuk, declined Tuesday to comment on the case.

While Sohmer is not due in court again until December, Judge Williams has barred him from using the internet, making contact with minors, or traveling without giving notice in the meantime.

Sohmer can be seen below hosting the Recount's "Chatterbrain" trivia show.

Chatterbrain: The News Game Showyoutu.be

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Charlotte Pride gives 2023 Harvey Milk award to convicted sex offender



An LGBT festival that runs from August 19-20 in Charlotte, North Carolina, has conferred a top award to a convicted sex offender.

Charlotte Pride, which is sponsored by Bank of America, McDonalds, Bud Light, Lowe's, Nascar, and a host of other ESG-captive corporations, has given its 2023 Harvey Milk Award to Chad Sevearance-Turner.

According to the event's site, this award is given annually "to an individual to honor exceptional leadership, service to the community, and those who champion LGBTQ causes that impact the Charlotte community and beyond."

Sevearance-Turner was apparently awarded for his work as president of the Carolinas LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce — a role in which he has overseen the chamber secure "valuable partnerships with prominent organizations like Fifth Third Bank, NASCAR, Duke Energy, Wells Fargo, Sonoco, and Novant Health."

WBTV-TV reported that Sevearance-Turner had previously served as the president of Charlotte's LGBT Chamber of Commerce but resigned after his track record with young boys had been flagged as a possible discredit to any future work conducted by the group. At the time of Sevearance-Turner's resignation, the group had been pushing to allow transvestites to use women's bathrooms.

The North Carolina Sex Offender and Public Protection Registry lists Charlotte Pride's new awardee as a registrant, noting he committed the offense for which he was convicted in July 1998.

Reduxx highlighted that Sevearance-Turner only served two years out of a 10-year sentence for molesting an adolescent under the age of 16 and was then released on parole.

Sevearance-Turner, formerly the music director at the New Harvest Church of God in Gaffney, South Carolina, had been found guilty by a jury in Cherokee County, South Carolina, of molesting a 15-year-old parishioner while the boy slept.

GoUpState.com reported in 2000 that Sevearance-Turner had been charged with three counts of lewd act on a minor but that two of the three cases would be tried separately.

One of the alleged victims, reportedly 14 at the time, indicated that Sevearance-Turner invited him over to his then-Bessemer City home and asked him "how he'd feel about a man performing oral sex on him," noting that he figured the music director had been joking at the time.

The same victim claimed that on an another occasion, during a sleepover at second alleged victim's house following a revival meeting, he awoke to find Sevearance-Turner molesting him.

The alleged victim noted why he hadn't come forward straight away: "I was ashamed. ... I thought there was something bad about me."

The victim who had been 15 when molested said that Sevearance-Turner had on another occasion invited him to his home and played a pornographic film for him. Following his molestation, the boy indicated Sevearance-Turner had told him that if he ever told the pastor, "he'd make me look like a fool and a liar."

Another boy, then-15, claimed the future Charlotte Pride awardee had fondled him several times.

Of the three cases, Sevearance-Turner was only convicted on one.

Since his conviction for molesting a minor, at least two LGBT activist groups have provided honors to Sevearance-Turner

Reduxx reported that the LGBT news site QNotes named him "Person of the Year" in 2015.

Sevearance-Turner also accepted the "N.C. Organization of the Year" award from the Human Rights Campaign, a powerful LGBT activist group, in 2016 on behalf of the Charlotte’s LGBT Chamber of Commerce just prior to his resignation as its leader.

Sevearance-Turner's latest award takes its name from Harvey Bernard Milk, a California politician who similarly preyed on boys.

Milk's biographer, Randy Shilts, noted in "The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk" that the politician, whose early campaign was funded by the notorious cultist Jim Jones of the Jonestown Massacre, "had a proclivity for male minors, who included 16-year-old Jack Galen McKinley. ... Milk would prime troubled, underage boys and young men with booze and drugs, then coerce them into sexual acts," reported the Federalist.

Shilts, a San Francisco Chronicle reporter and close friend of Milk, who died of AIDS in 1994, wrote, "Sixteen-year-old McKinley was looking for some kind of father figure. … At 33, Milk was launching a new life, though he could hardly have imagined the unlikely direction toward which his new lover would pull him."

McKinley later committed suicide.

Per California's current statutory rape law, instituted in 1970, having sex with a 16-year-old is statutory rape, rendering Milk a rapist.

Despite his criminal pederasty, Milk was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by former President Barack Obama.

Concerning his recognition by Charlotte Pride, Turner said in a LinkedIn post, "I am honored to be to be chosen as the 2023 Harvey Milk Award recipient! I am also humbled to be listed with these amazing humans who do so much great work for our region. Charlotte Pride, thank you for your daily work and advocacy for the LGBT and community and beyond!"

Carolinas LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce said in a statement that Turner's receipt of the award is "a testament to his unwavering commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusivity in the workplace and marketplace," and thanked him for "making a positive impact."

Reduxx indicated that Charlotte Pride has yet to comment on whether it knew of Sevearance-Turner's background prior to conferring the award to him.

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