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Yesterday in Dane County Circuit Court, Judge Paul
Higginbotham fined Pastor Ralph Ovadal $1,000 for rebuking a lewd-acting
woman on the parking lot of the state-run Mazomanie nude beach and
preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to her. The Judge also added court
costs to the fine. Pastor Ovadal's "victim," Nancy J. Erickson,
had asked the court to fine Pastor Ovadal the maximum possible ($1,000),
put him in jail for ninety days, and then on probation. The Judge declined
the probation, saying it would be too expensive to the State and would no
doubt do nothing to change Pastor Ovadal's behavior anyway. Both the D.A.
and the Judge stated that they had considered putting Pastor Ovadal in
jail, but they are afraid it would make him "a martyr."
During the sentencing hearing Judge Higginbotham gave a
long dissertation on his religious beliefs and stated to Pastor Ovadal,
"I think you and I have different thoughts on what is preaching. . .
. Yes, I called your conduct cruel, savage, truculent . . . it wasn't
preaching."
During his sentencing hearing, Pastor Ovadal spoke of
the evil of the Mazomanie nude beach as well as the duty of a Pastor to
confront evil, defend the weak and innocent, and preach the gospel. He
also explain the gospel of Jesus Christ, including the importance of God's
law in leading the lost to conviction of sin, repentance, and ultimately
salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. In closing, he read the Judge
Psalm 2:10-12 and stated, "I preached the whole counsel of God's Word
to Nancy Jo Erickson. I did it for her sake; I did it for the sake of the
young men on the beach; I did it for the sake of the children of Mazo
beach and the children of the rest of the state, including my new grandson
who was just born last week; and most importantly, I did it out of my duty
as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I will not apologize for my
preaching, because it would be wrong to apologize for doing right."
Judge Higginbotham's decision will be appealed.
Immediately after the trial, Pastor Ovadal and the Christians on hand to
support him went to the state headquarters of the Wisconsin Department of
Natural Resources to picket and hand out a flyer titled "Is the
Department of Natural Resources a Protector of Perverts and Child
Abusers?"
Related articles:
Pastor Ovadal to Be Sentenced Tomorrow
Judge to Sentence "Angry Fundamentalist" Today
If this is justice, Christians are in big trouble.
Is the DNR a Protector of Perverts and Child Abusers?
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