Jury finds Brooklyn Center pastor guilty of sexual assault

A Hennepin County District Court jury found a Brooklyn Center pastor guilty of sexual assault, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Wednesday.

Meally Morris Freeman, 56, was convicted on Monday of two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct for an assault that occurred during a prayer session when Freeman was alone with a parishioner. Freeman is in custody and prosecutors will be seeking a sentence of 58 months in prison at his sentencing on Nov. 9.

According to the criminal complaint and testimony in court, law enforcement received a report that a woman had been sexually assaulted by Freeman, her pastor at Grace Mountaineer Tabernacle Church. The victim said she had met Freeman several years earlier at another church where he was working and that she considered him her spiritual father. She told police that she had sought spiritual guidance from Freeman on September 20, 2017 and he advised her that she needed a one-on-one “deliverance” session, before bible study, to exorcise a demon from her body.

At that session, Freeman gave her small cups of oil to drink and after they began to pray, she entered a trance-like state, during which Freeman rubbed oil on her stomach and her abdomen near her breasts. Her underwear was also wet, according to the complaint.

Freeman told her she needed a second session alone with him after bible study that night, and asked her to send her daughter home with a babysitter. After Freeman and the victim began to pray, the victim again entered a trance-like state, and when she was fully conscious again, she realized that her pants and underwear were around her ankles, her underwear was ripped, and her shirt and bra were pulled up over her chest.

Freeman Criminal complaint (PDF)