Pastor charged with spanking
Daryl P. Bujak, 30, the pastor of First Missionary Baptist Church, spanked the girl weekly between March and May of last year, according to police, who said the girl’s parents brought her to the pastor after she accused a relative of sexually abusing her.
Bujak told the couple that the girl was lying and needed to be disciplined, instructing them to bring her to church for spankings before each Wednesday night service, which they did, according to police and the girl’s mother on Thursday.
On Monday, Richmond police arrested the relative, Matthew Resh, 33, of Ingleside. He was charged with five counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child. The alleged incidents occurred between September 2003 and November 2005.
Resh posted $20,000 bond and was released Thursday. He faces 30 to 60 years if he is convicted of all five counts.
Bujak turned himself in Wednesday. He declined to speak to police on the advice of his attorney, posted $500 bond and was released, according to Elgin Lt. Mike Turner.
Battery is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
On Thursday afternoon, after pulling up in front of First Missionary, Bujak said he would not comment on the allegations. Police said the spankings left the girl with bruises and welts on her buttocks and legs.
"The truth is going to come out," Bujak said.
Bujak reportedly lives with his wife in a home attached to First Missionary, whose Web site features a photo of Bujak and describes the church as unaffiliated and fundamentalist in outlook.
The church has a congregation of 30 or 40, according to the woman, who said Bujak’s arrival about four years ago precipitated a split that sent some members to other churches.
In the beginning, she said, she was enthusiastic about what she described as Bujak’s conservative beliefs, which she said included a strong emphasis on traditional gender roles, a ban on "drinking, partying, dancing," and advice to avoid television and movies.
Bujak, she said, is something of a "good old boy" who could be "very charismatic, very funny."
The woman said she did not believe her daughter’s sexual-abuse allegations at first because they were vague. So when the pastor suggested the spankings, she went along with the idea. Bujak determined the girl was lying after talking to her for two hours, at the end of which she recanted, the mother said.
About the spankings, Bujak quoted the Bible: "The blueness of a wound cleanses away sin," according to the woman.
The spankings ended after about a month, when "Bujack said it wasn’t working, she’s too rebellious, we’ll just let it go," the woman said.
Months later, the girl made more specific allegations of sexual abuse that her mother said she found convincing and led to a falling out with Bujak.