Concord woman Tina Anderson allegedly raped describes humiliation of having to apologise to church | Mail Online

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I felt like my life was over: Woman allegedly raped describes humiliation of having to apologise in front of church congregation
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Last updated at 12:10 PM on 24th May 2011 Add to My Stories Share
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A teenage churchgoer raped by a fellow believer was humiliatingly forced to apologise to her entire congregation for getting pregnant out of wedlock. Tina Anderson, who has waived her legal right to anonymity, was then 'banished' by church leaders to another state more than 2,000 miles away and forced to give her daughter up for adoption. The explosive claims came at the trial of Ernest Willis, who is accused of twice raping the then 15-year-old Anderson, now 29, in 1997. She said: 'I felt completely humiliated. I felt like my life was over.'

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Witness: Tina Anderson alleges that Ernest Willis raped her in 1997 when she was 15 years old Anderson told the Merrimack Superior Court hearing she was forced to face hundreds

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1390300/Concord-woman-Tina-Anderson-allegedly-raped-describes-humiliation-having-apologise-church.html[6/28/2011 3:56:17 AM]

Concord woman Tina Anderson allegedly raped describes humiliation of having to apologise to church | Mail Online

of churchgoers at Concord's Trinity Baptist Church and say sorry for getting pregnant. It is alleged that the then-pastor of the New Hampshire church, Chuck Phelps, arranged for her to move in with a Baptist family in Colorado and place her infant daughter up for adoption. She said she believed 'for years' what the church leaders had told her which was: 'The rapes were her fault and she must learn to forgive and forget.' More... Wife 'stabbed husband to death' five years after he made deathbed confession of affair with her best friend... and then recovered Pictured: Moment a teenage hitman, 15, murdered a helpless mother for just 200 Muslim gang launched horrific attack on religious studies teacher they did not want teaching girls GP 'had romp in the bath with drunken cancer patient' after being 'flattered' by the attention, panel hears During cross-examination Anderson lashed out at defence attorney Donna Brown for 'badgering her' about discrepancies in her recollection of the sequence of events that summer. She said: 'You cannot remember when you are 15-years-old and scared out of your mind. It doesn't mean I was lying. I felt like my life was over.'

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Accused: Ernest Willis is charged with raping Tina Anderson in 1997 when she was 15 years old The court heard that Phelps initially reported the allegations to Concord police but investigators could not locate Anderson and so the case was shelved. It wasn't until 2010 that websites decrying the 'so-called cult-like nature of the fundamentalist Baptist religion' helped lead police to Anderson, who now lives in Arizona with her husband and three children. She said she felt 'complete shock' when she picked up the phone on her husband's birthday last year and a Concord detective asked whether she wanted to discuss what happened in 1997. Her voice cracked throughout much of her first hour of her testimony on Monday, and she said the questions dredged up 'just a lot of bad memories.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1390300/Concord-woman-Tina-Anderson-allegedly-raped-describes-humiliation-having-apologise-church.html[6/28/2011 3:56:17 AM]

Concord woman Tina Anderson allegedly raped describes humiliation of having to apologise to church | Mail Online

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Allegations: Alleged rape victim Tina Anderson said leaders at Trinity Baptist Church, in Concord (pictured), forced her to apologise to the congregation for getting pregnant out of wedlock Willis, 51, pleaded guilty last week to one count of having sex with Anderson, who was under the legal age of consent at the time. He denied having sex with her on more than one occasion and claimed the sex was consensual. Anderson acknowledged she did go to dinner with Willis at a posh restaurant at around the time of her 16th birthday in 1997, after she said both rapes occurred. She said: 'I needed to tell him I was pregnant. I can't explain some of the things I did. I was trying to be the good Christian I was supposed to be - to forgive and forget and pretend it never happened.' Anderson's mother, Christine Leaf, told the court that she did not support her daughter. She said: 'I only support the truth, not a lie.' She confirmed that sending her daughter out of the state to have her baby was her idea, and that Willis had paid for the airfare to Colorado. But she added: 'I needed to get her out of the house because she was very mean to me.' Willis faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of any of the three aggravated sexual assault charges against him. The trial continues.

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1390300/Concord-woman-Tina-Anderson-allegedly-raped-describes-humiliation-having-apologise-church.html[6/28/2011 3:56:17 AM]