Evangelist Tony Alamo Arrested on Charges Related to a Child Porn Investigation

Tony Alamo (aka Bernie Hoffman),the 74-year-old founder and leader of Tony Alamo Christian Ministries was arrested on charges related to a child porn investigation. According to an FBI spokesman, Alamo was charged under a federal statute with having knowingly transported a minor across state lines with the intent to engage in sexual activity.

The 74-year-old founder and leader of Tony Alamo Christian Ministries was arrested without incident at 2:45 p.m. (4:45 p.m. ET) as he was departing the Little America Hotel with his wife, said Manuel Johnson, spokesman for the FBI in Phoenix, Arizona.

The FBI, the Flagstaff Police Department and the Arizona Department of Public Safety were involved in the arrest, he said.

Alamo was charged under a federal statute with having knowingly transported a minor across state lines with the intent to engage in sexual activity, Johnson said.

Evangelist and convicted tax evader Tony Alamo waived his right to fight extradition to Arkansas.

Hearings set for girls taken from Alamo compound

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FOUKE (AP) Hearings will begin Friday on whether the state can keep temporary custody of six girls taken from the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries compound after a federal raid, a judge said.

Circuit Court Judge Jim Hudson said probable-cause hearings for two of the girls will be held at 9 a.m. Friday at the Miller County Courthouse in Texarkana. The remaining four hearings will be at 9 a.m. Monday, also in Texarkana, he said.

The girls, ranging in age from 10 to 17, all have been identified through police investigation and birth certificates, state officials said.