SUMMARY: elderly people were found locked in the basement of a Griffin Georgia's pastor's basement against their will. He was running an illegal care facility and taking advantage of those he locked away. The pastor has been jailed.
(The Slice): A pastor in Griffin Georgia was arrested after firefighters discovered people locked in his so- called church basement. While responding to a call to assist a person having a seizure, 8 mentally and physically disabled elderly residents were found behind a dead bolted basement door. According to authorities, Pastor Curtis Keith Bankston and his wife, Sophia Simms-Bankston held them against their will in an unlicensed care home state investigators say.
The emergency responders had to climb through a window to get the victims out. It was discovered that the couple controlled their finances and medications. Bankston is now in the Spalding County Jail charged with false imprisonment. No charges have been filed against his wife. All 8 of the people they neglected were safely placed in the custody of the Georgia Department of Human services.
“It is both frightening and disgusting to see the degree to which these individuals have been taken advantage of by people who were in a position of trust,” the City of Griffin Police Department told Atlanta's FOX 5 News in a statement.