Pastor, His Wife Allegedly Locked Mentally-Disabled Patients Inside Basement: Report

Residents of US state Georgia Curtis Keith Bankston and his wife were arrested by the police for allegedly keeping eight disabled people locked inside their home’s basement, according to a report by the BBC.

Officers discovered eight physically or mentally disabled people who were aged between 25 to 65 years of age, according to the report. Following their discovery, authorities called Georgia’s Division of Ageing Services and Department of Human Services and put all those who were found in the basement under suitable medical care as well as housing, according to a statement released by the officials.

Police said that Curtis and his wife leased the property for at least 14 months and ran a ‘personal care home’. They alleged that both of them imprisoned the victims without their consent. They further added that Curtis used the guise of church to operate the facility under the name of One Step of Faith 2nd Chance, according to a report by Atlanta-based daily The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Police also alleged that the husband-wife duo seized control of the finances of the aggrieved ‘residents.’

Curtis and his wife Sophia Simm-Bankston, both face charges of false imprisonment. Police said that both Curtis and Sophia locked patients in the basement during certain parts of each day using a deadbolt.

Curtis’ lawyer Dexter Wimbish denied all allegations and was present with religious leaders. “At no time was anybody held against their will. There was no kidnapping. There is no fraud here. This is simply a Christian man who was following his calling to help those who are in need,” Wimbish was quoted as saying by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Wimbish said that he will not allow the ministry to be ‘attacked’.

The One Step of Faith 2nd Chance, based in Georgia’s capital city Atlanta’s Griffin, registered the program with the state officials but could not comply with local ordinances, hence failing to get a licence.

The incident came to light when emergency workers and firefighters in Griffin rushed to Bankston’s care home to treat a resident having a seizure. According to reports by Atlanta-based news agencies, they climbed through a window to access the patient since the basement door was bolted using a double-lock.

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