Donnie Romero of the Stedfast Baptist church admitted to sleeping with prostitutes in a video: ‘I committed adultery’

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

An anti-gay evangelical pastor, who once described the victims of the 2016 Orlando mass shooting as “scum”, has resigned from his church after admitting sleeping with prostitutes.

Donnie Romero, the leader of the anti-gay Stedfast Baptist church, stepped down on 2 January, saying he had been “a terrible husband and father”.

The now former pastor made headlines in 2016 following the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in which 49 people died. Romero said God should “finish the job” and kill the survivors of the shooting.

Stedfast has been labelled an anti-LGBT hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The church is part of the New International Federation of Baptists, a group of 29 mostly US-based churches which adhere to a literal interpretation of the Bible.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Pastor Donnie Romero in a Stedfast Baptist church Youtube video. Photograph: Youtube/Stedfast Baptist church

In addition to his comments about the victims of the Orlando shooting, Romero has said gay people are “all pedophiles” and that they should be executed.

Romero, who has a wife and seven children, told members of the church that he had “not been ruling my house well”, but did not initially elaborate on why he had resigned.

Steven Anderson, the leader of an associated church, said in a YouTube video that Romero had committed “grievous sins”.

“The major sin involved was being with prostitutes, and then there were also marijuana and gambling,” Anderson said.

After Anderson’s statement Romero elaborated on his behavior in a video of his own.

“I went to Jacksonville, and I went to a casino, and I was drinking,” Romero said.

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“There were girls there that were prostitutes, and I committed adultery on my wife multiple times.

“I drank and gambled multiple times. I even smoked weed.”

﻿Stedfast has two churches, one in Fort Worth, Texas, and another in Jacksonville, Florida. Adam Fannin, a member of the Jacksonville congregation, told the Guardian the situation was “a mess” and said Romero’s actions had caused people to quit.

“It’s already caused a church split in Jacksonville,” Fannin said. “A majority of people have decided to walk away from the church.”

Fannin said he served as Romero’s deputy in Fort Worth for two years. He said did not know whether anyone else from the Jacksonville church had accompanied Romero during his activities. Fannin said he had been “calling for an investigation” into Romero.

Prostitution is illegal in Florida. The Jacksonville sheriff’s department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.