NATIONAL BRIEFING / ARKANSAS
State officials asked a judge to take steps to remove from the Internet a leaked video in which a teenage follower of Tony Alamo defends the jailed evangelist and says he would never commit the sex crimes of which he is accused.
The girl told a child welfare official in a September interview that Alamo never touched her and she knew of no one who had been molested by him.
“He would never do such a thing. That’s a sin. He wouldn’t be a pastor. He would be dirt,” said the girl, who is among 36 children in protective state custody. “He would be nothing if he did that. He would go to hell.”
Alamo, 74, faces charges of violating the Mann Act, a federal law that bans carrying women or girls across state lines for “prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose.” He has pleaded not guilty and is in jail pending a February trial.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
