Georgia pastor and his wife charged with false imprisonment after at least 8 found in basement

A Georgia pastor and his wife last week arrested and charged Eight people were unlawfully imprisoned after they were found locked in a basement. Their lawyers have since commented on the matter and denied the claims against their clients.

according to NBC News, the Griffin Police Department issued a statement saying the Rev. Curtis Keith Bankston and his wife Sophia Sim-Bankston were operating an unlicensed “collective” in the basement of their home. Residential”. After the fire department got a call about someone having a seizure in their home, officials started noticing people in their basement. Upon arrival, they found a latch on the basement door and had to climb through the window to reach patients in need.

Those found in the basement ranged in age from 25 to 65. Investigators claim the people found in the basement were either mentally or physically disabled and said they were “essentially imprisoned against their will, which poses a great danger because if there is an emergency circumstances, individuals cannot leave the residence.”

Of those found in the basement, five were on the state’s ward. After that, everyone was placed in housing by the state.

Reverend Bankston and his wife are also accused of controlling “finances, drugs and public welfare” in the basement. Police said the Collective House had been “under the guise of a church called One Step of Faith 2nd Chance”.

Bankston’s attorney, Dexter Wimbish, echoed those claims, saying: “First, One Step of Faith 2nd Chance Ministries does not operate a group home, but a Christian ministry for the often homeless or warded People provide room and board. State.”

He continued: “Everyone in this family came here voluntarily, they were free to come and go. No one was detained, held hostage.”

Wimbish did admit they didn’t have the proper paperwork to run a “collective home” but said they would get it.

“We’re going to fight it with everything we have. No pleas. They did nothing wrong. Their communities are behind them. Their families are behind them,” Wimbish added.

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TSR Staff: Jade Ashley @Jade_Ashley94