King County, Wash., prosecutors are charging a homosexual Methodist
pastor for perjury in a 1997 court case.
In addition, the county sheriff’s department named pastor Dan Sailer and
his male lover, Kevin (Mooney) Sailer, as “persons of interest” in an arson
case involving a woman whose home was set on fire in mid-May. Currently,
there is no direct evidence they were involved in setting the fire.
“Mr. Sailer used his position as a pastor to bolster his credibility in
the testimony he offered in the trial,” said King County prosecutor Susan
Mahoney. The prosecutor maintains that Sailer perjured himself while under
oath.
The charges of perjury against Sailer stem from his testimony in a court
case in 1997. The case involved assault charges filed against Kevin Mooney
for pushing Katie Frazier to the ground in a Target parking lot on Dec. 9,
1996.
Mooney and Frazier’s vehicles nearly collided in the lot. When she
confronted him about his driving, he pushed her to the ground and went into
the store to shop. A bystander called 911, and police arrested Mooney,
charging him with assault.
During the court case, Sailer, pastor of the Haller Lake United Methodist
Church in North Seattle, testified under oath that he had been an eyewitness
to the altercation. He disputed Frazier’s version of events and Mooney was
found not guilty. While under oath, Sailer had testified that he did not
know Mooney or Frazier.
“It was Mr. Sailer who testified that he did not know Mr. Mooney and that
he was at a place in time when he was not,” said prosecutor Mahoney. “This
is why he is being charged with perjury.”
Subsequent events have shown that Sailer not only knew Mooney, but they
were homosexual lovers, and Mooney lived with him at the church. According
to eyewitnesses — including his two sons from a failed marriage — Sailer
exchanged wedding vows with Mooney in a clandestine ceremony at the church.
Mooney later changed his legal name to Sailer.
Pastor Sailer now faces felony perjury charges — charges that could
result in six months to a year in jail. However, according to Mahoney, “He’s
not likely to do jail time because he has no prior criminal record.”
Mahoney says it’s ironic that she is going to be calling Kevin Mooney as
a prosecution witness against Sailer in the trial.
“The person who got away with the crime [against Frazier] ultimately will
never be charged with anything,” said Mahoney, because the statute of
limitations has run out. Mooney, however, will be required to testify
honestly under oath about his homosexual relationship with Sailer. It could
be Mooney’s testimony that convicts Sailer and vindicates Frazier.
The United Methodist Church leaders in Seattle have put Sailer — who has
been pastor of the congregation of about 400 people for the last two years
— on indefinite suspension and are conducting their own investigation of
the charges against him. Sailer has been in the ministry since 1980.
Dr. Robert T. Hoshibata, district superintendent of the Seattle District
of the United Methodist Church is in charge of the inquiry. According to
Hoshibata, the perjury charges Sailer faces are a separate issue altogether
from the church’s investigation of his conduct.
“From the church’s standpoint, this is a personnel issue, and
confidentiality must be observed,” said Hoshibata. “We do have formal
complaints, and we’re responding to them.”
Although Hoshibata declined to name the specific complaints against
Sailer, WorldNetDaily has obtained a copy of a lengthy list of charges
against Sailer filed by Frazier.
She is accusing Sailer of violating numerous rules from the United
Methodist Book of Discipline. These charges include: perjury; engaging in
homosexual conduct; immorality; failure to perform the work of the ministry;
sexual harassment and sexual misconduct.
In her complaint, Frazier told the church leaders, “Dan Sailer has a
history of sexual misconduct, sex outside of marriage. He committed adultery
against his ex-wife. By his own admission to his ex-wife and to a counselor,
he has had numerous homosexual lovers. He met his current gay lover in an
online chat room. He currently lives with his homosexual lover in the
parsonage paid for by members of the United Methodist Church. He stands
before the congregation pretending one thing, but he is another.”
According to the United Methodist Book of Discipline, “Since the practice
of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching, self-avowed
practicing homosexuals are not to be accepted as candidates, ordained as
ministers, or appointed to serve in The United Methodist Church.”
Frazier believes Sailer should be immediately dismissed as a United
Methodist minister.
According to Frazier, the Methodist Church leadership in Seattle did not
show any interest in her case until Sailer was charged with perjury and the
story hit the newspapers. Hoshibata and Rev. Elaine Stanovsky, district
superintendent for the Puget District, both made arrangements to visit with
Frazier to discuss her concerns.
During their visit, these church leaders asked her what she needed to
bring a resolution to this controversy. She told them, “I need him to tell
the truth, and I want an apology.”
After that initial visit, Hoshibata and Stanovsky scheduled a second
meeting with Frazier. The second meeting, set for April 27, never occurred.
Suspicious fire destroys Frazier home
That morning, a pre-dawn explosion ripped through the Fraziers’ home,
and family members fled with only the clothes on their backs. The explosion
and subsequent fire did an estimated $500,000 worth of damage to their home.
The Fraziers think the timing of the explosion is suspicious, occurring just
hours before Katie was to meet with church officials to discuss Sailer’s
case.
Local law enforcement officials are convinced the fire is the result of
an arsonist. According to a May 11 story in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer,
the Sheriff’s Department is looking at Mooney and Sailer as “persons of
interest” in the crime.
WND interviewed Frazier about the fire and Sailer’s perjury case.
According to Frazier, Sailer “wouldn’t take a [police] polygraph test or
talk to the police. I heard that he took a private polygraph with his
attorney present and only certain questions were asked. His friend [Mooney],
the man who assaulted me, refuses to take a polygraph, period. He’s hiding
behind the attorney, too.”
No one from the prosecutor’s office has contacted her about testifying in
Sailer’s case.
“Nobody’s contacted me about this, which I can’t understand,” said
Frazier. “I plan on being there. They didn’t even notify me that they had
finally charged him.”
Frazier says she hit a point during this ordeal where she couldn’t stop
crying and started stuttering.
“My family thought I was on the verge of a breakdown and wanted me to go
the doctor. He put me on medication.”
Frazier is convinced that the Methodist Church is paying Sailer’s
attorney’s fees, a charge that has been denied by Hoshibata.
WND spoke with a former member of Sailer’s church who had frequent
clashes with him over what this source described as his frequent “lies.” The
person wishes to remain anonymous, but indicated that the Methodist Church
hierarchy would “circle the wagons” around Sailer if it felt he was being
unjustly treated by the press.
Sailer’s attorney, Todd Maybrown, maintains Sailer’s innocence and claims
he is the victim of a smear campaign.
“Somebody has tried to set him up. A small misunderstanding has become a
very serious situation, more frightening than anything that was of issue,”
said Maybrown.
According to King County prosecutor Susan Mahoney, Sailer’s perjury trial
is set for July 31.
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