A Surrey provincial court judge is expected to hear more submissions Tuesday morning in the case of a former Cloverdale youth pastor and his wife who have pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including sexual assault, sexually touching a minor, and threats to cause death.
Samuel Emerson, 35, was formerly a pastor of Cloverdale Christian Fellowship Church, which is known locally as “Cloverdale Church.” In October 2017, Surrey RCMP announced that he faced 25 total charges. He is currently on trial for five counts of sexual assault, two counts of touching a young person for a sexual purpose, and one count of sexual interference of a person under 16.
Madelaine Emerson, 38, is on trial for two counts of sexual assault, one count of touching a young person for a sexual purpose, and one count of threatening to kill someone.
Both have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Madelaine is alleged to have been party to some assaults and to have facilitated others, including driving victims to the pharmacy to purchase Plan B and birth control.
The assaults are alleged to have happened between 2013 and 2017 – when Samuel was a youth pastor at Cloverdale Church – at the Emerson family home and at sleepaway camp, specifically the Cowichan River Bible Camp where he preached as a youth pastor and she accompanied him. None of the offences are alleged to have occurred at Cloverdale Church.
There is a publication ban on any information that could reveal the identity of alleged victims or witnesses.
tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.comLike us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram and follow Tom on Twitter
