The writer who co-authored two of Republican presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s books was accused of child molestation in a police investigation and separate civil cases, BuzzFeed News reported late Wednesday.
The writer, John Perry, co-authored Huckabee’s 2007 book “Character Is The Issue” and his 2008 book “Do the Right Thing: Inside the Movement That’s Bringing Common Sense Back to America.” He also co-wrote a book with Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore in addition to “The Vow,” a book that later was adapted into a film starring Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum.
The BuzzFeed report came after Huckabee spent weeks defending Josh Duggar, the eldest son of the family featured on “19 Kids and Counting” and whose parents endorsed both of the ex-governor’s presidential campaigns, amid a molestation scandal dating back to the time Josh Duggar was a teenager.
A 2012 Nashville, Tennessee police investigation into Perry determined that allegations of “sexual battery” of a female victim between the ages of 11 and 14 were “sustained,” department spokesman Don Aaron told BuzzFeed News. Aaron told the news site that the statute of limitations on the offense had already expired by that time, though.
The alleged sex abuse was also the subject of a series of lawsuits filed in county court by a parishioner of a church Perry once belonged to, according to BuzzFeed News. A man named Austin Davis alleged in that case that Covenant Presbyterian Church in Nashville covered up Perry’s child molestation.
Davis submitted to the court what he said were church minutes from 2008 that show Perry was excommunicated after confessing “to committing heinous and repetitive sin […] and has not shown evidence of repentance,” as quoted by BuzzFeed News.
The news site spoke with Perry’s alleged victim, who confirmed that the church excommunicated Perry because of the alleged acts of molestation. The unidentified victim disputed that the church covered up Perry’s abuse, however, and said the church acted appropriately.
A filing submitted by an attorney for Perry’s ex-wife in divorce proceedings also refers to Perry’s “admitted sexual abuse” of a minor child, according to BuzzFeed News. The report said Perry did not deny the abuse, or deny that he admitted to the abuse, in response to that filing.
Neither Perry nor Huckabee’s campaign responded to BuzzFeed News’ requests for comment.
