Church Members Charged with Crimes About Assaulting a Gay Man

Five members of a Rutherford County church have been indicted by a grand jury for kidnapping and beating a man because he's gay. The five people belong to The Word of Faith in Spindale, a church that has been accused of enforcing extensive control over its congregation. The Rutherford County Sheriff's Office said the grand jury returned the indictment this week.

Sarah Anderson, Adam Bartley, Brooke Covington, Justin Covington and Robert Walker Jr. have all been charged in connection to a 2013 attack on Matthew Fenner, according to Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office. “I honestly thought I was going to die,” Fenner told WSPA-TV while describing the incident. “My head was being flung back, and my vision was going brown and back.” Full details of Fenner’s account have not been released by authorities, but Fenner claims the abuse nearly killed him. This is the first time members of the church have face felony charges for crimes connected to its history of abuse. Of those charged, Anderson is accused of attempting to strangle Fenner, but her brother does not believe she is capable of such violence. “I knew it was a lie from the beginning,” Patrick Covington, who is also gay, told WLOS-TV. “She is not capable of what he’s accusing her of doing.”

All five are also charged with kidnapping the then-teen and assaulting him.