Tulsa World: Former pastor cleared of sex count

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Former pastor cleared of sex count

By BILL SHERMAN World Religion Writer
Published: 3/8/2007
Last Modified: 3/30/2007 1:42 PM

Correction
This story incorrectly reported the length for the nonjury trial of former Tulsa pastor Lonnie Latham on a misdemeanor charge of offering to engage in a lewd act. The trial lasted one day, Feb. 22.

Lonnie Latham, the former pastor of South Tulsa Baptist Church, was found not guilty Wednesday of a misdemeanor charge of offering to engage in a lewd act.

The verdict came in his two-week nonjury trial in Oklahoma County District Court more than a year after his arrest in Oklahoma City.

Latham was arrested Jan. 3, 2006, after he allegedly invited a male undercover Oklahoma City police officer to his hotel room for sex. No money was involved.

Latham did not return phone calls seeking comment Wednesday.

His Oklahoma City attorney, Mack Martin, said Latham was ecstatic about the verdict when he spoke to him Wednesday afternoon.

Martin said Judge Roma M. McElwee ruled that Latham was not guilty but did not address the constitutionality of the law under which he was arrested.

Martin had argued in the Feb. 22 bench trial that Latham was charged under a lewdness statute that he said should be unconstitutional because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2003 that legalized consensual sex between men.

"If it's not illegal to engage in that conduct, then it shouldn't be illegal to talk about it," he had argued.

The case drew the attention of the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed a

friend-of-the-court brief on Latham's behalf, and national gay-rights organizations, which maintained that inviting someone to a hotel room for sex is not a crime and that no arrest would have been made if the allegation had involved a man and a woman.

If convicted, Latham could have faced up to a year in jail, a $2,500 fine and 40 to 80 hours of community service.

Before his arrest, Latham was a nationally known Baptist leader. He was a member of the executive committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, with 42,000 churches, and was a member of the board of directors of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, with 1,700 churches. He resigned from both positions after his arrest.

He became the pastor of South Tulsa Baptist Church in 2002, leaving his position as the executive director of the Tulsa Metro Baptist Association, now the Tulsa Metro Association of Baptist Churches.

As a spokesman for Southern Baptists, he often defended the church's opposition to same-sex relationships.

Bill Sherman 581-8398
bill.sherman@tulsaworld.com

By BILL SHERMAN World Religion Writer

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	Report Comment Paul Tay, (3/8/2007 9:09:55 AM) Another case of REAL friends, ACLU et al, from some really weird places. Though your sexual orientation might be in question, I NEVER even doubted your INNOCENCE in a court of law. Congrats, Rev. Lonnie! What now? Ever thought of doing stand-up? There are some AMAZING material here for How I Met Yo' Daddy or How I Avoided Being Labelled Pervert for LIFE!
	Report Comment Paul Tay, (3/8/2007 9:10:06 AM) Another case of REAL friends, ACLU et al, from some really weird places. Though your sexual orientation might be in question, I NEVER even doubted your INNOCENCE in a court of law. Congrats, Rev. Lonnie! What now? Ever thought of doing stand-up? There are some AMAZING material here for How I Met Yo' Daddy or How I Avoided Being Labelled Pervert for LIFE!
	Report Comment Chris Gay, Louisville, Ky (3/13/2007 12:31:31 PM) This is not a victory. It is a stumbling block to those who may be on the verge of accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Not Guilty due to a technicality does not mean the offensive action did not occur. How can we expect to win souls for the Lord with people like Rev Latham masquerading around as representatives of Christ? Shame on Rev Latham and may God have mercy on him because that millstone around the neck that awaits God's messengers who mislead His people is waiting on him.
	Report Comment Eric Drexil Holland, Moulton ,Alabama (3/21/2007 9:30:46 AM) "Guilty as sin", appears to have been exchanged for guilty OF sin. This leads me to beg any and all pastors who are engaged in a double life to get help. Go tell your wife that you need to get another job. Find honest work. It won't kill you. Find a Christian who will help you become accountable in your daily life. Throw away your computer. Never go anywhere alone. Do Whatever you have to do! Don't become a headline for evil.
	Report Comment Sue Sorenson, Houston, Texas (1/29/2008 1:21:19 PM) I knew Lonnie Latham back in the 1980s. He held the service for my husband's funeral. I went to a church in Houston where he pastored for several years. It breaks my heart that a man of God can get so unfocused as to do what he has been accused of. If happens but he surely can repent and change however, he has destroyed his witness for the Lord. As my pastor recently said, sin can cause death in many ways. My heart goes out to his wife and son and my prayers are for Lonnie that he can regain what he once had with God.

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