A distinguished Detroit pastor has been charged with sexually assaulting a minor in Farmington Hills for an incident that allegedly occurred in December.
The Rev. Kenneth Flowers, 63, pastor of Better New Mount Moriah Baptist Church in Detroit, was arraigned Friday in Farmington Hills District Courtroom on one rely of felony sexual conduct with drive or coercion and one rely of felony sexual assault with intent to commit sexual penetration. Courtroom information present Flowers stood mute and a plea of not responsible was entered on his behalf. He was launched on a $25,000 private recognizance bond, which implies he didn’t need to put up money or a bond, however would owe the court docket $25,000 if he fails to seem for future proceedings within the case.
The utmost penalty on the felony sexual conduct cost is 15 years in jail and the utmost penalty on the sexual assault cost is 10 years.
After I reached Flowers on Monday night, his solely remark was: “I deny all those charges, and that is all I have to say.”
Maurice Davis, listed in court docket information as Flowers’ legal professional, didn’t return messages Monday in search of remark.
In line with police, Flowers dedicated the alleged assault on Dec. 20, 2023. Courtroom information and a supply educated in regards to the case point out the matter concerned a 17-year-old man who lived in Flowers’ Farmington Hills neighborhood.
The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Workplace declined touch upon the case and few different particulars had been out there in public information on Monday. Extra info on what Flowers is alleged to have accomplished will emerge on Aug. 7 at a scheduled preliminary examination, except Flowers opts to waive the continuing. A preliminary examination is when prosecutors usually current a few of their strongest proof, which typically consists of witness testimony, towards somebody accused of a criminal offense. If a choose determines there’s sufficient proof to go to trial, the case is certain over to circuit court docket.
Flowers has been pastor at Better New Mount Mariah since 1995, when he succeeded the legendary Benjamin Hooks, the longtime government director of the NAACP. The church’s web site says it has 1,000 members and describes Flowers as “a community/social activist for human rights issues” with a global repute.
He’s held in such excessive regard that in 2019, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan appointed him to serve on town’s Board of Ethics. He didn’t serve lengthy, as he was deemed ineligible to serve after it was decided he lived in Farmington Hills.
Flowers was recognized for his outreach to leaders of different faiths and his church’s web site says he’s the “first Pastor ever at Greater New Mt. Moriah to license and ordain females to the preaching ministry and to ordain females as Deacons.”
The church’s web site additionally says that when Flowers celebrated 25 years of preaching the gospel, his gala was “featured in Jet Magazine, was attended by Mrs. Coretta Scott King, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, the Reverend Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and Detroit Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick. Noted TV/Radio Personality Tavis Smiley gave a video tribute to his friend.”
Federal Choose Damon Keith as soon as mentioned of Flowers, in keeping with the Michigan Chronicle: “My job as a federal judge is reading people, and as soon as I saw him and talked to him I knew we had a Christian superstar on our hands. That’s wonderful. He succeeded Ben Hooks, and they had to select (a new pastor), someone with the potential that could keep up the tradition of Ben Hooks, and I’m very proud of him. He’s involved himself in the NAACP, the United Negro College Fund, the Black Pastors of Detroit, and I’m just so proud.
“Detroit has never been the same since Rev. Ken Flowers came.”
M.L. Elrick is a Pulitzer Prize- and Emmy Award-winning investigative reporter and host of the ML’s Soul of Detroit podcast. Contact him at mlelrick@freepress.com or observe him on X at @elrick, Fb at ML Elrick and Instagram at ml_elrick.
“Well bless their hearts.”
