(PatriotWise.com)- This is a story nobody wants to hear, and certainly something nobody expects to hear.
Georgia Police recently arrested a Christian pastor and his wife after discovering several disabled people locked up in their basement, which they called a “group home.”
55-year-old Curtis Keith Bankston and 56-year-old Sophia Simms-Bankston are now facing false imprisonment charges.
The bizarre situation was discovered after Griffin Fire Rescue teams attended the property, which was disguised as a church, on January 13. They attended the property after calls about somebody experiencing a seizure. Upon arrival, they discovered that the entrance to the basement was bolted and they had to climb through a window to access the patient.
When they got inside the basement, as many as eight people between the ages of 25 and 65 were discovered locked up in the basement, all of whom were either physically or mentally disabled. It was revealed that the individuals had been locked up by their so-called carers on occasions.
According to investigators, the property had been leased for roughly 14 months, and the two renters had been operating the unlicensed “care” facility as a church named the “One Step of Faith 2nd Chance.”
In a statement, the Griffin Police Department explained how it was “frightening and disgusting” to see how badly these people were treated by people who they were meant to trust.
However, attorneys representing the pair pushed back against claims that the people in the basement were being held against their will. In a press conference, Dexter Wimbish claimed that there was no kidnapping and no fraud, and that this was simply a case of a “Christian man who was following his calling to help those who are in need.”
