'Ex-Gay' Therapy Is Dangerous And Puts Vulnerable People At Risk, Says Truth Wins Out's Executive Director Wayne Besen
NEW YORK, Sept. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Truth Wins Out expressed relief today that Christopher Austin, an
"ex-gay" counselor in Irving,Texas,
was convicted of sexually assaulting a client. Austin was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but received seven years probation, had to register as a sex offender and was ordered to pay a $2,500 fine.
After years of reported abuse - including several alleged victims who testified at the trial - it is welcome news that Austin has finally been put out of
business, says TWO.
"We are deeply gratified that this 'ex-gay' predator is no longer in
the counseling business, where he exploited his position of authority to
sexually abuse vulnerable clients," said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of
Truth Wins Out. "Ex-gay therapy is extremely dangerous and places confused
clients in the hands of repressed therapists. It is a recipe for disaster."
According to the 283rd Criminal District Court,
a jury convicted Austin
of a Second Degree felony. Court documents said that the ex-gay leader, "unlawfully, intentionally and knowingly caused penetration of [pseudonym Stephen Trask]."
Austin had started
Renew Ministries, a counseling center run out of a
church in Irving.
He was affiliated with the National Association For
Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH). Indeed, Austin taught a
seminar at NARTH's 2004 annual convention entitled,
"Understanding and
Treating Compulsive Sexual Behavior in Men with Value-Incongruent
Homosexual Issues: A Multidimensional Approach."
Austin spoke of the "devastating spiritual effects homosexuality has on
a man's heart." However, he failed to take his own advice when he once
wrote, "Before addressing the brokenness in others, we must defeat all the responses of our own flesh."
"As we have seen with Christopher Austin, Mark Foley and Larry Craig,
gay people who do not learn to accept themselves act out in unhealthy
ways," said Besen. "I hope Austin can use this experience to come out and
have healthy gay relationships, so he won't have to exploit other people."
Truth Wins Out is a non-profit organization that counters right wing
propaganda, exposes the "ex-gay" myth and educates America about gay life.
For more information, visit http://www.TruthWinsOut.org.
