Columbus - The former administrator of a Florida church says a pastor ignored several warnings that he was violating the law by helping a teen who had fled Ohio after converting to Christianity.
In an affidavit filed in Franklin County juvenile court yesterday, Brian Smith says he was told at a July staff meeting that 17-year-old Rifqa Bary feared her parents would kill her for leaving Islam.
He says he later spoke with Bary at the home of the Rev. Blake Lorenz of Orlando-based Global Revolution Church, and that she did not say her father "was going to kill her."
Smith says Lorenz ignored his advice as well as the advice of lawyers, a judge and police to contact the Florida Department of Children and Families about the girl.
A Florida police investigation found no credible threats to the girl.
An attorney for Lorenz says the affidavit is inaccurate and Smith is a disgruntled former employee. He says Lorenz contacted the Florida Department of Children and Families about Bary three times in two weeks.
