LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Before evangelist Tony Alamo’s arrest on sex charges, three girls who lived at his Arkansas compound told an FBI agent he had sexually abused them, and one said he threatened to have “someone take care of you” if she talked, according to a newly unsealed Federal Bureau of Investigation affidavit.
Two of the girls said Alamo married them, one at age 9 and the other at age 11, according to the affidavit unsealed Tuesday. One also allegedly said she saw photos that Alamo had taken of nude girls.
The 74-year-old Alamo, who heads Tony Alamo Christian Ministries, has pleaded not guilty to 10 federal counts that accuse him of violating the Mann Act, a federal law that bans carrying women or girls across state lines for “prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose.”
The minister maintains that “consent is puberty” when it involves sex with young girls.
Thirty-two juveniles associated with him have been taken into protective custody since a Sept. 20 raid on his compound.
![[prison 19] Caption: This is Cellhouse 1, Pod A, from ground level inside the Sterling Correctional Facility which is located outside of Sterling, Colorado Thursday afternoon. Photographer: LEW SHERMAN Title: FREELANCE Credit: SPECIAL TO THE POST City: Sterling State: CO Country: USA Date: 19990617 ObjectName: prison 19 Keyword: PUBDATE____1999_06_22](/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/20151207__denverpostp1.jpg?w=538 "20151207__denverpost~p1.jpg")
