wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Former President of Montreat College a Suspect

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Note #7827 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

Former President of Montreat College a Suspect in Criminal Investigation
03275
June 27, 2003

Former President of Montreat College a Suspect in Criminal Investigation

By Alexa Smith

LOUISVILLE, Ky.  Police have seized the home computer of the former
president of Montreat College to search for sexually explicit e-mails sent to
a 13-year-old girl in Statesville, N.C.

	James S. Lindberg, 48, resigned abruptly on June 16 as president of
Montreat College, citing personal reasons for his departure. He was installed
as the college president on April 24, having begun his service there last
July.

	Lindberg was formerly the executive vice president of Gordon-Conwell
Theological Seminary, an interdenominational seminary in South Hamilton,
Mass. He is an ordained Methodist minister.

	The investigation was launched by the Statesville Police Department
in May, when a girl told a school official that she was receiving sexual
requests on
the Internet, according to Lt. Greg Stone of the departments criminal
investigation unit. The e-mail was traced to Lindbergs computer.

	Statesville police seized a laptop computer from Lindbergs home, as
well as discs, on June 24, in a search for evidence.

	"All I can tell you is: The report was filed. The e-mail address came
back to James Lindberg. The search warrant was executed at his residence and
his computer was seized," Stone told the Presbyterian News Service.

	No charges have been filed in the case.

	Lindberg is living in a college-owned house with his wife and two
sons, aged 12 and 17.

	The Citizen-Times, the newspaper in Asheville, N.C., reported that
police said the individual using Lindbergs Internet address knew the girl
was a minor.  It is a felony to sexually approach juveniles; one of the
requests asked the girl to meet for sex at a motel, according to The
Citizen-Times.

	Montreat is located on the outskirts of Asheville.

	Officials at the college say that they are learning the details of
the investigation through the local media.

 The Rev. William E. Dudley, a member of the Board of Trustees, told the
Presbyterian News Service that tending to the shock and grief felt by both
the college and the local community is the first task: Prayer services and
meetings are under way now for staff and faculty.

	The college is closed for the summer, so no students are currently
living on the campus.

	"I dont think anyone in a Christian family, fellowship or community
can go through this without shock and grief. Thats what is involved," said
Dudley, who added that "a wonderful sense of unity" has emerged to respond to
the crisis, linking the college, the conference center, the town and summer
cottage-dwellers.

	The board of trustees will meet on July 3 to begin planning a search
for a new president.

	Interim Montreat College President Don W. King issued a statement on
June 25 asking the college community to join him in praying for all persons
affected by this situation. "The college," he said, "continues to press
forward to fulfill its mission to the glory of Jesus Christ. Because we know
He will sustain us, we look forward to the future."

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