A 16-year-old teen is being hailed as brave after detailing her account of being raped by a South Carolina religious leader, leading to other women coming forward and him being arrested.
Natosha Lehr described in a since-deleted, heartbreaking YouTube video about she was being forced to attend the church of Pastor Ralph Gordon Stair.
She claimed was sexually assaulted by Stair while working at his compound for five months.
Stair, also known as Brother RG Stair, was arrested by Colleton County sheriff’s deputies on Monday morning on charges including criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping, burglary and assault, reported The Post and Courier.
Stair, a radio evangelist who leads the Overcomer Ministry in Walterboro, has gained notoriety for his preachings, which are broadcast to radio stations around the world.
Natosha Lehr, 16 (left), described in a YouTube video how she was assaulted numerous times by Pastor Ralph Gordon Stair, 84 (right), who runs the Overcomer Ministry in Walterboro, South Carolina. Stair was arrested on Monday on charges including criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping, burglary and assault
Several women have since accused Stair (pictured) of sexual assault. In one YouTube video, Stair cups and pats the breast of a 12-year-old girl as members of his church watched
Stair’s commune sits on 130 acres of land about two miles off of Interstate-95. About 70 residents live in mobile homes or hand-built houses secluded from the road by a line of trees.
The followers give all ‘worldly goods and monies to the Lord,’ according to the ministry’s website, and accept Stair as the ‘last day prophet of God’.
Police began investigating multiple videos posted online in October that are no longer available.
The clips showed Stair inappropriately touching underage girls at his church such as in one where he cups and pats the breast of a 12-year-old girl as members of his church watched.
‘How old are you, hon?’ Stair asks the girl in the video.
When she tells him her age, he adds: ‘Twelve, getting right close to it now’, indicating she is close to the age where she could start having sex.
According to a man narrating the video, who said he is a former member of the church, that age is 13, reported The Christian Post.
Stair is then seen telling the girl to come to the front of the church. After making her face the congregation, he places his hand between her breasts.
‘I’m gonna touch those things till nobody else can touch ’em,’ he says about her breasts in the video.
Stair, a radio evangelist whose preachings are broadcast around the world, would allegedly tell the girls he touched: ‘Don’t you wanna please God? This is God’s will. If you love God, you should do this’ (Pictured, children at Overcomer Ministry)
After Lehr uploaded her account, several other women came forward to accuse Stair of sexual assault including mother-and-daughter Pamela and Hannah Brown (Pictured, women at the compound who are not any of the women accusing Stair of sexual assault)
Pamela, 44, said she was able to resist Stair’s advances until an April encounter when Stair (second from right) pressured her into having sex on an outdoor path near the cafeteria. Meanwhile, Hannah, 19, said Stair groped her repeatedly over several years
In the other video, Lehr accused Stair of sexually assaulting her over the course of five months this year.
While Lehr accused the preacher of touching her butt, and lifting her shirt to touch her breasts, she said it wasn’t until the fifth month that Stair took his predatory behavior even further.
‘The fifth month, he asked me to go to the radio room and I didn’t want to go there. I did not,’ she says in the video.
Lehr says Stair began fondling her breast asking her: ‘Do you feel good?’ and then began rubbing her vagina.
The teen told her mother about the incidents but the alleged sexual assaults continued. Lehr confided in her 21-year-old sister, who lives out of state and encouraged her to contact authorities, reported The Post and Courier.
Lehr has since moved to Pennsylvania with relatives and said she was happy to hear about the arrest.
‘Everybody’s happy now,’ she told the newspaper. ‘I hope the whole compound actually shuts down.’
Stair’s commune (pictured) sits on 130 acres of land about two miles off of Interstate-95. About 70 residents live in mobile homes or hand-built houses secluded from the road by a line of trees
The followers give all ‘worldly goods and monies to the Lord,’ according to the ministry’s website, and accept Stair as the ‘last day prophet of God’
In 2002, Stair (right) was arrested on two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct after two women claimed he raped them on numerous occasions. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and battery and was sentenced to time served
A mother and daughter, Pamela and Hannah Brown, also came forward, telling the Post and Courter that Stair also sexually assaulted them while they were living at the commune.
Pamela, 44, said she was able to resist Stair’s advances until an April encounter when he pressured her into having sex on an outdoor path near the cafeteria.
Meanwhile, Hannah, 19, said Stair groped her repeatedly over several years and would tell her: ‘Don’t you wanna please God? This is God’s will. If you love God, you should do this.’
Stair has been charged with three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, one count of first-degree assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct, one count of kidnapping, one count of frist-degree burglary, one count of second-degree assault, and one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor.
The charges closely mirror ones brought against Stair in 2002, when he was arrested on two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct after two women claimed he raped them on numerous occasions.
Stair denied the accusations but eventually pleaded guilty to two lesser counts of misdemeanor assault and battery. He was sentenced to time served.