Christian Coalition Leader Lou Beres Charged with Molesting Underage Girls

Christian Coalition Leader Lou Beres Charged with Molesting Underage Girls

According to a Gresham police report, the teenage sister-in-law of former Christian Coalition executive director Lou Beres was sleeping on the couch in the Beres home when Lou Beres came into the living room in his underwear and "began to kiss her on the mouth and 'lick' her all over" and touch her sexually. He is also accused of molesting two underage friends of his daughter.

Beres at first denied the allegations but has since confessed. He has claimed that his behavior was due to "stress." No charges have been filed because the statute of limitations has passed; the abuse took place in the 1960s and 1970s. Sister-in-law Elizabeth Jonas filed a $2 million civil case against Beres in Multnomah County Circuit Court on March 9, 2006.

Beres's nephew, Richard Galat, told the Portland Mercury (August 17, 2006), "There wouldn't be a civil case if Beres had confessed [earlier] and tried to make amends. But he has been so aggressive, this was the only way forward for our family."

One sexual-abuse survivor of our acquaintance has noted that among persons attending support groups for incest survivors, approximately 60 percent come from Baptist and Mormon families. It appears that religious repression and sexual repression go hand in hand and that fundamentalists are often motivated by the guilty secrets they seek to hide.