Isanti County pastor charged with sex assaults on men he was counseling

[Thegonagle]

Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune

An Isanti County pastor who participated in a ministry devoted to helping people put their homosexuality behind them has been charged with sexually assaulting two men he was counseling.

Lakeside Christian Church's senior pastor, the Rev. Ryan J. Muehlhauser, 55, of Cambridge, appeared in court Tuesday on eight felony counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct and remains free pending another hearing next month.

According to the criminal complaint:

One of the men told investigators that Muehlhauser "blessed" him by cupping his genitals outside of his clothing several times and that Muehlhauser asked the man to masturbate in front of him for "spiritual strength." Muehlhauser would also fondle the man at times. Their encounters occurred over a period of nearly two years.

Another man told investigators of similar encounters spanning most of this year, adding that Muehlhauser feared he would "lose everything" if anyone found out. At one encounter, Muehlhauser fondled the man and then the two joined the pastor's wife for a dinner outing.

Read more: http://www.startribune.com/local/177906901.html

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Oh the sad, sad irony...

And dinner with the pastor's wife after? Awkward!

[Swede Atlanta]

1. This is why the who "ex-gay" therapy thing is so creepy........

I would certainly never say that a person who was attracted to both sexes (i.e. a bisexual person) may not at some point through a personal decision or on some other basis decide to either marry a person of the other gender or become more or less exclusively homosexual in their attraction and practices.

But sexual preference is not something that can be "prayed" away or changed through therapy. First of all, if God makes no mistakes (often the religious blanket which the advocates of "change therapy" wear), then God created people as str8, gay, bi, etc. So there is no need to "pray" away the gay. Further the overwhelming majority of mental health care professionals throughout the world agree, same-gender sexual orientation is not an illness and is in fact quite natural.

So the people that claim to have been cured of their homosexuality are usually living in a haze. They aren't really cured and in fact I think sometimes these people have such strong self-loathing they can never love themselves. Their attractions don't go away and they either eat at them or, as in this reported case, manifest themselves in all forms of bizarre behavior. Quite honestly while I have empathy for those that are so filled with self-loathing, if they want to wallow in their own self pity and anger, fine. But when it manifests itself in a way that harms others then it is not okay.

[SubgeniusHasSlack]

2. One of marcus bachman's buddies, no doubt.

"I'm SUPER, thanks for asking."

[bpollen]

3. As happy as I am to see hypocrisy being brought to task...

I was a little disappointed that it wasn't Bradlee Dean... though, in retrospect, he's probably more of a Wright County repressed-homosexual homophobic "preacher."

[jerseyjack]

4. The pastor was just trying to show the guy the things the Lord doesn't want him to do.

[chef jeff]

5. Note to self:

Any pastor, priest, minister, reverend, bishop. shamen or holy-man
who wants to 'counsel' you about anything, ANYTHING, at all in life
at his very own, secluded, 'private prayer cabin'...
unless you want to sit in court showing a jury
where you were touched on an anatomically correct doll:

Immediately call "STRANGER DANGER" and Run. The. Hell. Away.

What is up with repressed Minnesota? First Marcus Bachmann, now this?
Those boys up there are gayer than a tree-full of parrots singing Broadway show tunes.
It sounds like you're talking about trying to 'pray away the gay' in a state so repressed
and so filled with self-hating homosexuals that prayer simply won't work:
you're going to need a young priest, an old priest and a full-on excorsism.

[truthisfreedom]

6. Ok, 5 poster, fuck off, Minnesota is not repressed.

We have Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar and Keith Ellison, and we used to have Paul Wellstone, plus former Veep Walter Mondale. Fuck the fuck off.

[MrsMatt]

11. Marcus Bachmann isn't a native Minnesotan

I echo the sentiments of truthisfreedom (reply #6).

[Scuba]

7. No one could have predicted that.

[ronnie624]

8. Two adults allowed Muehlhauser to fondle them for a year or two,

and presumably one of them masturbated for him before they decided to file charges?

The sexual assault part is rather elusive.

[valerief]

9. So typical. nt

[muriel_volestrangler]

10. Kick (nt)

[Evasporque]

12. DInner and a groping...groping first...dinner with wife...hahahaha....nt