Douglas Goodman
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Douglas Goodman is an evangelical preacher who with his wife Erica were Pastors of Victory Christian Centre in London. He came into notoriety when he was jailed for three and a half years for the sexual assault of 4 members of his congregation. VCC was closed by the Charity Commission but his wife Erica started a new church Victory to Victory in Wembley. The church was one of the largest in the United Kingdom and included celebrities like John Fashanu among its members.
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[edit] History
Douglas Goodman, 49, was born in St Vincent and came to the UK as a child. He was in trouble with the law at an early age for burglary but he was attracted to evangelical Christianity and when he became a preacher found that he had a natural talent for reaching out to congregations. In the 1996 he became the senior pastor at the Victory Christian Centre in north London, a modestly successful evangelical mission with 100 members.
[edit] Charity Commission Report
The Charity Commission opened an investigation into the affairs of VCC and concluded the charity was plunged into debt after "misconduct and mismanagement". Despite a reported income of £3.5 million in its heyday, the church had plunged into debts of £200,000. Pastor Douglas and Erica Goodman owned a £1.5m house in Northampton, drove sports cars and holidayed in exotic places.
[edit] Sexual Assaults
The women who were sexually assaulted were ejected from the church when they spoke to the elders about the behaviour of Goodman. Former footballer Fashanu said that people would pour acid on the faces of people who were attempting to spoil Goodman's name.
In evidence heard in the court, Erica Goodman attempted to exorcise demons from one of her husband's accusers. Erica Goodman, the wife of Pastor Douglas Goodman, exorcised of the 'spirit of witchcraft and Jezebel' from a woman, after the congregation member claimed Pastor Goodman had attacked her. After laying her hands on the alleged victim's head to draw out the evil spirits, Mrs Goodman then accused the woman of sleeping with a 15-year-old boy.
