Pastor accused of dragging 'boot camp' girl by van
Published: Monday, August 13, 2007

SAN ANTONIO, Tex. -- A Texas pastor and a camp counsellor are charged with tying a 15-year-old girl to a van and dragging her along the ground after she refused to continue an exercise run at a Christian "boot camp.''

Police say counsellor Stephanie Bassitt pinned the girl down while Charles Flowers, senior pastor at the Faith Outreach Center -- an evangelical church in the San Antonio suburb of Schertz -- tied a rope around her, tied the other end to the bumper of a van, and dragged her on her stomach "several times."

The incident allegedly took place in June and was reported to police by the girl's mother.

The girl was hospitalized for unspecified injuries.

She was taking part in a running exercise at the military-styled "Love Demonstrated Ministries" camp near Corpus Christi, Tex., when she tired and refused to continue.

On the camp's website, Flowers refers to himself as the "commandant."

Promotional text says it "strives to prepare young men and women to positively impact their world with the principles of Christ as their foundation" and is "designed to build character and instill discipline, integrity, unity and morality back into their lives."

The camp is aimed at teens with drug and alcohol and similar problems. Some teens have been referred to the camp by the courts.

© The Vancouver Province 2007