11/14/09 – TG: Tony Alamo Timeline
Texarkana Gazette
November 14, 2009
Major events since the public became aware of the government’s most recent investigation of Tony Alamo and his controversial ministry.
• Sept. 20, 2008: The Arkansas State Police and FBI execute search warrants for properties in Fouke. The Arkansas Department of Human Services takes custody of six girls, ages 10 to 17, allegedly living in Alamo’s house.
• Sept. 25, 2008: Alamo is arrested a in Flagstaff, Ariz., hotel on a federal warrant alleging he took young girls across state lines for sex.
• Oct. 1, 2008: Alamo is formally indicted by a federal grand jury in the Western District of Arkansas, Texarkana division.
• Oct. 16, 2008: Authorities in Fort Smith, Ark., issue a warrant for John Kolbek, an associate of Alamo’s who allegedly beat adult and juvenile followers with a wooden paddle when they didn’t follow Alamo’s rules. Federal officials later issue a warrant for unlawful flight from prosecution. Kolbek remains a fugitive.
• Nov. 18, 2008: Seventeen children, ages 1 to 17, are seized from SUVs heading for the Texas state line. Three boys who’d just been sworn to testify as witnesses are ushered into state care from the courtroom.
• Nov. 24, 2008: A superseding indictment brings the number of criminal counts Alamo faces to 10.
• Nov. 26, 2008: Texarkana lawyer David Carter files a lawsuit on behalf of two former members, naming Alamo and Kolbek as defendants. The suit claims that while the men were children, they were beaten by Kolbek at Alamo’s behest, endured forced fasts and labored unpaid.
• April 9, 2009: Tony Alamo Christian Ministries and two fathers with children in foster care file a federal lawsuit accusing the Arkansas Department of Human Services of using a child abuse investigation to disband the church. The case is pending in federal court.
• May 14, 2009: A convicted child sex offender living on ministry property in Fort Smith pleads guilty in federal court to failing to register with local authorities.
• July 9, 2009: An Alamo follower pleads no contest in California to 20-year-old child abuse charges concerning the beating of a 12-year-old boy on church property. Warrants remain active for two others.
• July 24, 2009: Tony Alamo is found guilty of all counts after a two-week trial.
• Oct. 23, 2009: Fugitive John Kolbek is ordered to pay $3 million in restitution to two men he beat with a board as children at Alamo’s bidding. Alamo’s case concerning his role in the abuse is set for trial in January 2010.
• Nov. 13, 2009: U.S. District Judge Harry Barnes sentences Alamo to 175 years in prison.
Attorneys John Wesley Hall Jr., of Little Rock and Don Ervin of Houston file notice of appeal on Alamo’s behalf.