Ex-pastor told girl Jesus approved of their tryst

HAMMOND, Ind. (AP) -- A former pastor of a northwestern Indiana megachurch who pleaded guilty to having a sexual relationship with a teenage member of the parish told her in a letter that Christ wanted them to become "eternal lovers," according to documents filed by federal prosecutors.

Jack Schaap, former pastor of the First Baptist Church in Hammond, is scheduled to be sentenced next Wednesday after pleading guilty in September to transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.

Schaap, 55, told U.S. District Judge Rudy Lozano at the time at the time of his plea that he had three sexual encounters with a parish girl over a four-week period last summer, starting the week before she turned 17. He said the encounters occurred in Indiana, Illinois and Michigan.

Schaap, who has been married 33 years and has two adult children, said he didn't realize his actions were illegal and blamed his behavior on stress, exhaustion and burnout caused by laying off church employees and working 100-hour weeks.

He is requesting leniency, citing his church work with the homeless, people with substance-abuse problems, students and the elderly. Court files show 140 letters of support for Schaap were sent to the court, including two from his wife, Cindy, who said her husband "made a tragic mistake during a crisis time in his life."

Federal prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum filed Wednesday that Schaap abused his position of trust and that many people deal with extreme stress, exhaustion, depression and burnout without committing crimes.

They also contended that the only way Schaap could have been working 100-hour weeks during the time investigated by the government "is if he's counting the many hours he dedicated to grooming and sexually abusing the victim."

Prosecutors said Schaap took advantage of the girl while counseling her after a school official told him she was engaging in self-destructive behavior. They cite letters he sent her, including one in which he wrote: "In our `fantasy talk,' you have affectionately spoken of being `my wife.' That is exactly what Christ desires for us. He wants to marry us + become eternal lovers!"

The victim wrote that she grew up listening to Schaap's sermons three times a week and considered him a celebrity, a father figure and a man of God. In a statement to prosecutors, written as a letter to Schapp, she said, "When I asked you if it was wrong, you said, `No.' You told me that I was sent to you from God, that I was his gift to you."

Her father told prosecutors his daughter has had to change schools and has gone from being an A student to failing several classes.

"She often sleeps with my wife and I so she can stop crying and feel safe," he wrote.

Both the U.S. attorney's office and Schaap's attorney are asking Lozano to sentence him to the minimum 10 years in prison as part of the plea deal.

Prosecutors also want Lozano to sentence Schapp to 10 years of supervised release once his prison term ends.

Schaap had been pastor at the 15,000-member Hammond church for 11 years when he was fired in July.