We all understand that being charged with a crime doesn't necessarily mean one is guilty. In fact, I've been deeply involved with several cases over the years where facts revealed after an innocent man or woman's conviction helped set them free.
I set my column up like this today purely in the interest of fairness after reading the news story about 32-year-old Keenan Hord of Centerton, who is in the Benton County jail on a $500,000 cash bond awaiting a March trial on multiple sex-crime charges involving four children.
Police say they've identified up to 30 potential child victims with whom he had cell-phone conversations. In one instance, as many as 5,000 conversations were found on one youth's cell phone, along with a half-million texts!
Look, I hope the man is innocent and there has been some kind of horrible injustice. But the injustices allegedly inflicted on these young men and the families who love them stretch far beyond the pale.
If these charges weren't shocking enough, Hord had been a youth pastor since 2018 at the First Baptist Church in Bentonville after previously working for at least one other Baptist church in the region.
I find it difficult to imagine a worse abuse of trust than misusing a ministerial position and the scriptures to abuse children. Who vetted this man before releasing him as a wolf among so many innocent sheep? Did anyone check to see if there were red flags in his background?
This arrest tells me churches of every denomination likely would benefit from reviewing and tightening their background checks.
If Hord, who has pleaded not guilty, is found guilty, he should spend the remainder of his life behind bars. In my opinion, anyone in such a position of sacred responsibility damaged enough to repeatedly prey on one boy, and possibly many others, under the guise of being a respectable Christian leader presents a potential lifetime of danger to children.
I can't imagine the pain his alleged actions are bound to have caused in these young spirits and those of their parents, pain that will reverberate within them for years caused allegedly by one twisted person interested only in selfish self-gratification that violates the Christian teachings he was assigned to both instill and embrace in his misplaced role as a leader.
The news story said Hord's arrest came following a tip left on the Arkansas State Police child abuse hotline in August. If you suspect someone is abusing children, please don't wait to report it.
More on pit bulls
I read last week that 22-year-old Brooklinn Khoury of Mission Viejo, Calif., was just beginning a promising modeling career in 2020 when her cousin's supposedly peaceful "pet" pit bull suddenly attacked her without provocation, in a flash ripping away her entire upper lip and damaging her nose.
News accounts said she was visiting a relative in Arizona at the time.
She's quoted saying, "He was hanging off my mouth," adding she'd initially thought it had been a relatively superficial bite but quickly realized the horror of what had happened.
The Daily Mail reported that Khoury, a competitive skateboarder, said the animal was shaking her head "like a toy" as it ripped away her entire upper lip.
She has since undergone multiple life-changing and expensive surgeries that she admitted to having "very mixed feelings" about beforehand, because of the lengthy healing process. The Mail also reported that Khoury revealed in a YouTube video posted before the first surgery that in the weeks afterwards, she would have to use a feeding tube through her nose.
Suppose the cousin should have had her so-called peaceful, loving "pet" restrained?
Pat Harrelson of Little Rock sent a message following my column last weekend about the thousands of pit bull attacks on people across our nation in recent years and the nearly 300 deaths they have caused.
Here's what Harrelson said: "I totally agree with your column Saturday. It is hard to understand why there are not laws against having unrestrained dogs that have the potential to harm or maim people.
"Personally I know of seven instances where pit bulls either killed or maimed other dogs. These include one attack by a pit bull off-leash in New Orleans on my brother's dog. She was hurt and had to go to the vet.
"I know people who say they love pit bulls and I understand the pity for a species like that. But we still need to either ban them or have very strict laws on confining them. We appreciate your being a voice for this very serious issue."
Pat, thanks for writing. It is a very serious issue that is getting worse, which means state and local legislators must step up and pass meaningful legislation that makes every large dog owner legally accountable for effectively restraining their animal to keep innocent people and their nonviolent pets safe from their unpredictable and potentially brutal nature.
Mike Masterson is a longtime Arkansas journalist, was editor of three Arkansas dailies and headed the master's journalism program at Ohio State University. Email him at [email protected].