A Georgia pastor and his wife have been charged with false imprisonment after officials discovered several disabled tenants locked in the basement, police said.
According to the Griffin Police Department, Curtis Keith Bankston, 55, and Sophia Simm-Bankston, 56, were running an illegal “group home” out of their rented home “under the guise of a church known as One Step of Faith 2nd Chance,” NBC News reported.
Last week, the Griffin Fire Department responded to a call after someone reportedly had a seizure in the home. When officials arrived at the scene, they noticed a deadbolt lock on the basement door, prompting them to climb through the window to assist the patient.
While at the Bankston’s home, investigators concluded that the people in the basement had mental or physical disabilities, or both, were “essentially imprisoned against their will, which created a hazard as the individuals could not exit the residence if there were an emergency,” police said.
The couple managed the finances, medications, and disability benefits of those imprisoned in the basement. But, according to authorities, they would sometimes refuse to administer the drugs and medical care.
The residents living in the basement, aged 25 to 65, were all placed into housing by the Georgia Department of Human Services. Five of them are wards of the state, police said.
The Bankston’s are likely to face additional charges, police said.
“It is both frightening and disgusting to see the degree to which these individuals have been taken advantage of by people who were in a position of trust,” the police statement said.
Dexter Wimbish, the couple’s attorney, said the police statements were “fraught with misinformation,” NBC affiliate WXIA of Atlanta reported.
“First, One Step of Faith 2nd Chance Ministries has not been operating a group home but a Christian Ministry that supplies room and board to individuals who have oftentimes been homeless or wards of the state,” Wimbish said.
“Everybody inside this home was here on their own free will. They were free to come and go as they please. No one was kept, held hostage,” Wimbish said.
While the couple did not have the license to run a legit group home, Wimbish said the Bankston’s deny they held the tenant’s against their will and recently repaired the basement door.
“You’re not talking about somebody profiting off of the backs of the poor. You’re talking about somebody who’s actually doing what God commanded us to do—go out into the byways and the highways, spread his message, and feed individuals and clothe individuals. He’s doing what his God has called him to do,” Wimbish said.
“We’re going to fight it with everything that we have,” Wimbish said of the charges. “There is no intention to have a plea. They have not done anything wrong. Their community is standing behind them. Their family’s standing behind them.”
