Tom Chantry Could Have Been Out of Jail this Week for Child Abuse Charges if He Showed Up for Trial

Tom Chantry is a nationally recognized Reformed Baptist pastor and one of the men who has publicly opposed me for exposing the conspiracy to commit and cover up the sexual abuse of children in Sovereign Grace Ministries, etc.  

I have written about him in Did Reformed Baptist Leaders Cover Up Tom Chantry’s Alleged Sex Crimes & Serious Physical Injury of Children? and My Letters to All Lead Pastors in ARBCA to Investigate the Past Cover Up of Tom Chantry’s Sins & Alleged Crimes. 

Last week, Dee Parsons at The Wartburg Watch posted Tom Chantry Update: Will He Get Out of Jail While Awaiting Trial?  Here’s what she said in large part.   

I received the following information from an alert reader who is closely following the Tom Chantry child abuse and molestation scandal.  When we last left Chantry, he was sitting in a jail cell in Arizona awaiting trial.  That trial is scheduled for March 27, 2017. 

According to our reader (Thank you!) TWW has learned that Arizona has had a change in the law regarding certain sex crimes that allow for pretrial imprisonment if there is enough evidence to presume that the defendant is guilty.  According to the Washington Times, in an article titled Arizona Supreme Court overturns part of no-bail measure, this law has changed. 

It’s unconstitutional to categorically deny bail for people charged with sexual conduct with a minor under age 15 without first determining that the defendants are dangerous to somebody else or the community,  

On March 8, Chantry filed a "Petition for Special Action."  It appears Chantry wants out of jail.  His lawyer, John M Sears filed the petition on his behalf.  However, it seems that the date to resolve this matter is in April. 

On the other hand, his trial is set for March 27.  I am having trouble figuring out if his trial will now be delayed. Can any of you legal experts or reporters help us out here?  It doesn’t make sense for him to wait until April to get out of jail if his trial is in March.  There is something that I am obviously missing. 

The appeal “to resolve this matter” is scheduled for April 12 in the Arizona Court of Appeals in Phoenix.  I’ve talked to people in the know and his trial has been postponed.  

Here’s the irony of it all.  Chantry and leaders in the Association of Reformed Baptist Churches in America (ARBCA) like his father in law, Al Huber, have been declaring his innocent since he was arrested and indicted last July on five counts of child molestation and three counts of aggravated assault with serious physical injury.  In fact, ARBCA leaders have put Chantry forth as a persecuted, suffering servant like Jesus Christ that has been falsely accused and unjustly imprisoned.  I am not exaggerating. 

Here’s the obvious question.  Why does an innocent man appeal for a special hearing to get out of jail when he could be in court today proving he is innocent.  This appeal only delays his trial. That makes no sense if you have a strong defense to offer a jury. I think he has a weak case and the alleged victims have a strong case based on the police offense reports I have studied. Therefore, Chantry is doing all he can to get out of jail now and delay the trial as long as possible knowing a day is likely coming when he will be found guilty and sentenced. 

And if he is likely to be found guilty by a jury, I assume his lawyer will work out a plea deal with the judge to avoid a trial altogether.  As a lawyer, you don’t want a case like Chantry’s going before a jury.  Ordinary people don’t take kindly to the molestation and violent beating of children by a “pastor” or a church association that does not report the abuse to law enforcement.  A jury may find him guilty on all eight counts.  A judge may accept a guilty plea to a lesser number of counts. 

From my perspective, if Chantry were innocent, he and his lawyer would be in court this week.  And if innocent, he would be out of jail by the end of the week.  But that is the problem.  There is strong evidence against Chantry.  That’s why you skip a trial.  That’s why you postpone a trial.  That’s why you try to get out of jail by arguing your client is not “dangerous to somebody else or the community.”  You don’t argue innocence.  You argue not a clear and present danger. 

But try as hard as you may, you are just kicking the can of justice down the road.  Chantry may get out of jail, spend some time with family, and enjoy some fresh air but he will still have to defend against the charges of sexual molestation and aggravated assault.  He will still have to face the body of evidence against him including the testimony of victims and ARBCA leaders who investigated him in 2000 and wrote up a lengthy report documenting his physical abuse.  For that reason, I think he will plead guilty.  Based on his current behavior, he does not want the case going to trial. 

If Chantry pleads guilty or is found guilty, all the ARBCA leaders who have insisted he is innocent will need to repent.  Why?  Because they were ignorant?   No, because they knew he was guilty and covered up for him.  That too will come out in the trial. Numerous top leaders from ARBCA will be called to the stand to tell the jury under oath about the evidence in their possession against Chantry but withheld from law enforcement.   I really hope it goes to trial but I doubt Chantry’s lawyer, John Sears, will allow that to happened. 

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