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INSIDE EDITION INVESTIGATION: WOMAN WHO WENT VIRAL FOR ACCUSING PASTOR OF ABUSE SPEAKS OUT TO INSIDE EDITION FOR THE FIRST TIME IN TELEVISION INTERVIEW

INSIDE EDITION INVESTIGATION:

WOMAN WHO WENT VIRAL FOR ACCUSING PASTOR OF ABUSE SPEAKS OUT TO INSIDE EDITION FOR THE FIRST TIME IN TELEVISION INTERVIEW

 

He told me this would ruin everybody. ‘Think of the lives that would be destroyed if you ever said anything.’”

 

 

AIRING ON WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8th

Check local listings at  www.insideedition.com

 

ARTICLE LINK (MUST CREDIT INSIDE EDITION AND LINK BACK):

https://ietv.co/3MEknhn

 

New York, NY – June 8, 2022 – In an interview airing on Wednesday, INSIDE EDITION speaks to Bobi Gephart, the woman who stood before her entire church and accused the pastor of having sex with her when she was a teenager. She is speaking out on television for the first time since the now-viral incident.

 

43-year-old Gephart says the secret has haunted her for nearly three decades.

 

“I’d wanted to tell somebody for so long,” Gephart tells INSIDE EDITION.

 

Pastor John Lowe and his wife, Debbie, are fixtures of their community in Warsaw, Indiana.

 

Gephart claims her pastor began grooming her when she was 14, earning her trust and telling her he loved her.

 

“What happened when you turned 16?” asks INSIDE EDITION.

 

“Things progressed,” responds Gephart. “Into a full on sexual, I guess you would call it, relationship.”

 

The age of consent in Indiana is 16. Gephart says the “sexual relationship” lasted 9 years. Pastor Lowe even officiated her 2004 wedding to her husband, Nate. Until last month, she never told Nate about the relationship.

 

“[Pastor Lowe] told me this would ruin everybody,” Gephart tells INSIDE EDITION. “‘Think of the lives that would be destroyed if you ever said anything.’ He would go to prison.”

 

That all changed when her brother told her about a disturbing memory he had when Gephart was just a teenager.

 

“He saw us in the bed together and I just had a t-shirt and underwear on,” says Gephart. “It was the floodgates. I opened up to my brother about absolutely everything and he wept with me. I didn’t know he knew. I didn’t know he saw that.”

 

After Gephart’s brother confronted the pastor over text, Pastor Lowe made a “confession” of sorts during Sunday services, admitting to adultery. He received a standing ovation, but Gephart says she knew he wasn’t telling the full story.

 

“My husband and I sat in the back of the sanctuary, and we were on fire and just shaking our heads saying, ‘I just can’t believe you’re lying to these people,’” Gephart tells INSIDE EDITION.

 

That’s when Gephart and her husband stormed the stage and revealed that the “adultery” began when Gephart was just 16.

 

As they left the stage, members of the congregation embraced her. They also demanded answers.

 

“How do you feel now?” asks INSIDE EDITION.

 

“Many people came to us and there were just sobs and hugs and love,” Gephart tells INSIDE EDITION. “It’s almost like I can’t believe everybody knows my secret now, you know what I’m saying? Just to think that I might be helping one other girl in a similar situation would make this worth it in my opinion.”

 

For INSIDE EDITION’s full report, tune in on Wednesday, June 8th. Check local listings for times and stations in your area.

 

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Press Contacts:

  

Bettina Cataldi

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INSIDE EDITION

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Bettina.Cataldi@viacomcbs.com

 

Samantha Gaudio

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